REVIEW
 
So we have been studying the Names of God for a few months now and we are doing this not just to be able to win a theological argument and to be able to impress God or others with our knowledge. No, we are studying God’s Names in order to truly “hallow” who He is. That means that we are attempting to make who He is more holy in our eyes.
 
And for what purpose? Why is it important to have hearts that both understand and glorify His Names? It is to know Him better and have more confidence when we approach Him!
 
It’s all about knowing God, church, and no, not just knowing about Him, but knowing Him personally & intimately.
 
So that is what we have been doing – coming to know our God more so that our prayer lives can blossom and our walk with Him can go to a different level.
 
So we came to first know God as Elohim – the All-Powerful, All-Knowing Sovereign Creator who rules over all, and who is the judge over all His creation.
 
Then we looked at a few of Elohim’s descriptors –  El Shaddai, El Elyon, and El Roi. These three Names show us God as the All-Sufficient One, the Most-High God, and the All-Seeing Creator.  
 
We then turned our attention to the most accurate Name for God, the Name, Yahweh. We saw how this name describes God as the Great I AM, the self-existing One, and the one who was and is to come. Through this Name, the LORD essentially says, “I AM” and we would say, “The LORD IS.” Yes, this Name basically invites us and even teases us to know Him better by leaving an open-ended sentence of who He is.
 
So then we saw how, through this Name Yahweh (which is commonly known as Jehovah in our English-speaking Bibles), He began to reveal Himself more specifically to His chosen people and answer that question – Who is He?
 
So far, we have learned about six of His “Jehovah Names.” These Names are:  

1. Jehovah Shammah –The LORD is There.
2. Jehovah Rapha – The LORD is (our) Healer.
3. Jehovah M’Kaddesh – The LORD is (our) Sanctifier.
4. Jehovah Sabaoth – The LORD of Hosts.
5. Jehovah Rohi – The LORD is (our) Shepherd.

 
Most recently, we looked at the Name, Jehovah Jireh – the LORD our provider.


We looked at the story where this Name came from – where the LORD told Abraham to go sacrifice Isaac in Genesis chapter 22 – and a couple of our biggest takeaways were how the Lord’s nature is to be a provider and how that provision comes into our lives.
 
First of all, we learned how the LORD being called our provider should not surprise us because, in our lives, who is supposed to be the provider for us according to the flesh? It’s our earthly fathers. This is meant to be our first exposure to what provision is supposed to look like.
 
And then, after we leave our father and become one flesh with another, who is generally meant to be the provider in that next relationship? The husband. And aren’t we called the Bride of Christ? Therefore, we are married to the LORD as His body, and we can expect that same “Jireh” tendency in our covenant with Him.
 
So if the LORD is called our Heavenly Father and our Husband, then you will not meet a better provider than Him! Yes, God knows how to provide for His children and His bride. He delights in providing for His creation. He loves being the source of any and all provision – of course, first spiritually, but also in the physical realm.
 
Now like I said, another big point that was made last week is how the LORD does indeed provide, and we saw how this provision came to Abraham for several reasons:
 
Number one, he was willing to do what the LORD was asking Him to do. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t balk. No, he rose early in the morning and went where God told him to, which is a big point in God’s provision.
 
He also believed God’s Word: We saw how from Hebrews 11:17-19 he was holding fast to God’s Word that in Isaac, his seed would be called – meaning, He believed the LORD would provide a solution. We saw that this was why Abraham said to his servants that he and Isaac would come back to them when they went up the mount together that God showed him. 
 
Then we saw how Abraham spoke out his faith further to Isaac when he said that the LORD would provide for Himself the necessary sacrifice – showing us that its important to use your words to activate the faith for God’s provision.
 
And finally, we saw how where the LORD told Abraham to go had everything to do with the provision being present because the mountain that God showed Him already contained the ram that would wind up being the sacrifice. Therefore, the pro-vision – the ability to see the need beforehand – was already at the place God showed Abraham to go to. Therefore, his provision was where he was supposed to be, not necessarily where he was.
 
Church, Jehovah Jireh is who He is. The LORD desires to provide for you. In fact, He has already made that provision. All you need to do is find out where He wants you and simply believe that He is who He has said He is. Amen!
 
JEHOVAH TSIDKENU
 
Now the next Name of God that I would like us to cover is one that is written all over your Bible – Jehovah Tsidkenu – describing the LORD our Righteousness.
 
No, this Name of God is not a phrase that you’ll find in more than a couple of places, but what I am referring to as being all throughout the Scriptures is the concept of righteousness. Yes, the term “righteousness” most certainly is a word that is laced throughout our Bibles in both the Old and New Testament.
 
You see, righteousness was what the LORD was constantly having to correct Israel about through His prophets – their inability to do what was right in God’s sight. And it was what the LORD came to restore to us through the Lord Jesus Christ and was a hot topic throughout His epistles to the church. So from beginning to end, we see righteousness as a word that is used over and over. Therefore, because the Lord speaks so much about it throughout His Word, we can see that it is in His heart in abundance – for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
 
But even though God speaks much about righteousness in His Word, there are only two uses of this Name “Jehovah Tsidkenu” in the Bible, and they are both in the Book of Jeremiah. So let’s look at both of these instances because we don’t just want to study what this Name means; we also want to look at the historical and Biblical context that this Name of God was given in.
 
The first time Jeremiah speaks of Jehovah Tsidkenu is in Jeremiah 23:5-6 when the LORD said, “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
 
Now it’s important to understand that Jeremiah was the LORD’s prophet during a very difficult time in Israel’s history. He was the man of God that both warned Israel of what was to come and also witnessed the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian empire as well as the destruction of the Solomon’s Temple. This was the period known as the “Babylonian captivity”, when the Israelites were exiled into Babylon.
 
So Jeremiah was prophesying here to a people who were being carried away into bondage that there would be a restoration of Jerusalem through the reign of a righteous king, which I’m sure provided Israel with hope even in the midst of their difficult circumstances.
 
The second time the Name “Jehovah Tsidkenu” appears is ten chapters later where Jeremiah again makes the reference to the restoration of Israel:
 
Jeremiah 33:14-16 says, “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
 
So the LORD basically repeats Himself here to remind His chosen people of what He was promising to do for them.
 
Church, I don’t know if we fully realize how important it is to have truths repeated to us like this. If Jeremiah’s listeners were anything like us, they probably had forgotten what the LORD had said a couple of chapters after he said them, much less ten chapters later. Therefore, the LORD repeating things to us is most certainly necessary.
 
And here’s a good word of wisdom for us: When the LORD repeats things to us, they are truths that we need to pay special attention to. And this truth of the Branch of Righteousness who was to come is certainly the Truth that we need to hear.  
 
You see, what Jeremiah was ultimately prophesying about is this day & age that you and I are blessed to be a part of – the new and better covenant of the Christ. Therefore, when the LORD is called here – Jehovah Tsidkenu – THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS – it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is being prophesied about. So, Jesus is both the LORD of righteousness and the LORD our righteousness.
 
This is important to understand because oftentimes the Jews were looking for an earthly Messiah when it came to the bondage they found themselves in. Yes, they were looking for some sort of a king to save them from various forms of oppression they incurred. During Jesus’ day, it was their Roman oppression, and during Jeremiah’s day, it was their Babylonian oppression.
 
Yes, Israel had been through a variety of captivities – all self-induced, mind you: They had been enslaved by the Egyptians, conquered by the Babylonians, governed by the Persians and then by the Greeks, and finally, they were conquered by the Romans.
 
So by the time of Christ, there were many movements pushing for an overthrow of their latest oppressors, and they looked towards the Messiah as prophesied in the Scriptures to come and deliver them from their worldly oppressors.
 
This is where Jesus did not meet the expectations of many of the Jewish people. Instead of leading them in a political revolution, He repeatedly explained that his kingdom was “not of this world”, and that the real enemy he came to deliver them from was sin and their slavery to the devil. In other words, he was not aimed merely at their freedom from Roman rule, but at the freedom of all human beings from the tyranny of sin and death. Therefore, in the freedom that Christ brings, we can become truly righteous. And it is only through Jesus, the Savior of the world, who makes this righteousness possible. That is why he is our righteousness and why Jeremiah calls him “Jehovah Tsidkenu.”
 
Now it is important to understand that God does care about the natural oppression that people face. It’s certainly not that He turns a blind eye to it. There is just something that is more important – and that is the spiritual oppression that people are under. Therefore, their Messiah came to first deliver God’s people from their spiritual bondage to sin and not to the physical bondage they were in. 
 
We do know that the LORD does indeed care about righteousness being executed on the physically oppressed because of how He constantly corrected His people about this very thing. Yes, we see Him oftentimes referring to the virtues of righteousness and justice in regard to what He expected His people to do for the poor, the widows, the orphans, their servants, etc. So it is clear that the LORD’s pet peeve was injustice towards those in need.
 
So yes, our righteous LORD certainly cares about us practicing righteousness on the oppressed and needy. He has done this for us numerous times and He expects us to do the same for others. 
 
So for this to be repeated in Jeremiah’s Book and also to be a reoccurring theme in the rest of the Prophets, it must be a big part of God’s nature and Name because He is the LORD of righteousness.    
 
WHAT IS RIGHTEOUSNESS?
So what exactly is “righteousness”? I don’t want to just assume everyone knows this term, but want it to be clearly understood.
 
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines “righteousness” as so – Purity of heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law. Righteousness as used in Scripture and theology, in which it is chiefly used, is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes all we call justice, honesty and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is true religion.
 
Now that’s about how clear righteousness is to a lot of people. Not only that, but that definition makes me realize that not only is it hard to comprehend, it’s hard to apprehend as well!
 
So let me dummy it down for you: The term righteousness is just a religious cliché. But it’s really very simple – this term really just means “rightness,” that is, being right and doing right. And when I say, “being right,” I’m not referring to being right in our opinion or our doctrine. No, this refers to being right in God’s sight.   
 
This is why a good layman’s definition of righteousness is simply, “right standing with God.” Righteousness is the condition of being in right relationship with the Lord. So essentially being righteous is being considered righteous by God and therefore, our relationship with Him is “right” where it needs to be.
 
Now another term that you’ll see used to describe this righteousness is justification or being justified. I like a play on words that I’ve heard used before – it’s “just-if-I’d (never sinned).” And that’s exactly what righteousness is – It’s being justified in the eyes of God to where, when He looks at me, He does not look at all of my mistakes and shortcomings. He sees me “just if I’d never even had those mistakes or shortcomings.” 
 
A rather comical story along these lines that I’ve heard my father in the faith tell before is when he had a job developing pictures in a photography studio. People would come into the studio to look at their proofs and say things like, “This picture doesn’t do me justice.” I never had the nerve to say this, but I often thought, “You don’t need justice, you need mercy.” LOL!
 
And thanks be to God that all of us who once deserved justice for the things we had done have received mercy instead. That’s what righteousness is.
 
So again, righteousness can simply be defined as “rightness.” I like to define it as so – righteousness is who or what is right in God’s sight and in agreement with His standards. And when you look at the various Scriptural examples of what the LORD calls “righteous and righteousness,” you’ll find that it is taking someone who is in a less fortunate position and elevating them up out of it. This can be meeting the needs of the poor, healing the sick, or providing for the orphan or widow. 
 
So again, in the Old Testament, when we see so much about the LORD correcting His chosen people about it, what we are seeing is God admonishing the Jews for not doing the “right” thing. And in the New Testament, when we see so much about righteousness being what God freely makes all of His children, what we are seeing is the LORD bringing His people into right standing with Him once again.
 
So righteousness is both what we do and what we are. I call this positional righteousness and practical righteousness. Positionally speaking, we have been made right through the blood of Jesus and, practically speaking, we are also called to do what is right through the help of the Holy Spirt.  
 
So when God is called the LORD our righteousness, what that means is that He is the LORD of rightness. He is the One who delights in making people right and in agreement with His standards, and He is the One who desires right to be done for people who need help. This is His Name – Jehovah Tsidkenu.
 
THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
 
Now it’s important to understand that while God has His own Names, the devil has his names too. And these names that he is given in the Scriptures likewise teach about who he is and what he does.
 
You see, one of the devil’s proper names – “Satan” – literally describes an “adversary” or “opponent.” So when Lucifer rebelled against God and tried to take His spot, he became known as Satan – the adversary or opponent of God. He is the great adversary of all that is of God. Anything that God has authored or is doing, he will be right there to oppose it – and that includes us.
 
In First Peter 5:8, he is specifically called our “adversary.” In this word lies a key to understanding one of his weapons that he loves to use against us.
 
You see, this word comes from the Greek word antidikos and literally describes “an opponent in a court of justice.” In other words, the devil is “the prosecuting attorney.” This word antidikos comes from the word anti meaning “against” and the word dikos where the word “righteousness” is derived from. Therefore, this title of “adversary” describes Satan as being the one who is “against righteousness.”
 
We see this characteristic of Satan play out in several places in the Scriptures:
 
We see it first in the Book of Job (Job 1:6-12) where Satan comes to present himself before God regularly to bring accusations against people because he is the accuser of the brethren. But we also need to understand that not only does he accuse us before God, day and night, but he also will accuse us directly both day and night. In other words, one of his primary devices that he uses against us is condemnation!
 
Another example of this is found in Zechariah 3:1-5 where we see how the high priest, Joshua, was standing before the Angel of the Lord and how Satan was standing at his right hand to oppose him. 
 
In this story, we see the devil standing there again at Joshua’s right hand like a prosecuting attorney. It is because this is his nature – to stand before our God both day and night in order to bring accusations against us.
 
Saints, this is what the enemy does – He accuses! He lives to uncover our flaws, reveal our mistakes and expose our weaknesses. When we miss it in an area, he is sure to bring a case against us in an attempt to condemn us.          
 
Yes, the devil is constantly trying to make us feel guilty and worthy of punishment. The word “condemn” in the dictionary is defined as “to deem unfit for use” in reference to a building being condemned. And this is what the enemy desires to accomplish—to convince us that we are unfit to be used by God.
 
So if this is what the devil spends all his time doing, you can bet the bank that God is doing the opposite!
 
THE ADVOCATE
 
The apostle Paul makes this point in Romans 8:33-34 when he asked the questions: “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?” and “Who is he who condemns?” That is clearly the accuser of the brethren, that prosecuting attorney himself, church!
 
Then Paul goes on to answer those questions by essentially saying, “It ain’t God doing that!” No, he says God is the One who justifies! In other words, God is not the condemner; God is the justifier! Yes, and Jesus is the One ever living to make intercession for us.
 
Just as it was with Joshua, the high priest – our Angel of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, responds to Satan’s accusations against us with, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” (Zechariah 3:2)
 
Now for the rest of the story… Zechariah 3:3-5 goes on to say, “Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, ‘Take away the filthy garments from him.’ And to him He said, ‘See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.’ And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.”
 
This is a beautiful picture of what the Lord has done to our filthy garments – that is, our filthy rags of unrighteousness. He has taken our filth from us! He has removed our iniquity and clothed us with His rich robe of righteousness! Amen!
 
So the truth is that we have an advocate (i.e., a defense attorney) with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous (First John 2:1) and that makes the LORD the One who fights for our righteousness!
 
You see, First John 2:1 teaches us some invaluable truths about the nature of the LORD of righteousness:
 
Notice first that the apostle John said, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin …”
 
So what was it that John wrote in his epistle? It was LOVE and it was TRUTH. But oh so many feel that sharing about God’s great love will only drive one more into sin. This was not at all John’s intention. He said here that he wrote the things he did so that his readers would not sin. But here is the part that GRACE imparts – “… And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 
 
Notice Jesus Christ is called “the righteous” here. That’s describing His nature as that of righteousness. But His point here is that if we do miss it, sinning and falling short of the glory of God, righteous Jesus is there to advocate for us with the Father.
 
The word “advocate” comes from the Greek word parakletos which describes one called alongside of us. It was a term used to describe a legal counselor who would plead another’s cause before a judge. And this likely describes what we are told in Zechariah 3:5 when it says, “And the angel of the LORD stood by.”
 
Isn’t this also the way Jesus described the Holy Spirit to us as well – as One called alongside to be our helper? That means that the Holy Spirit, likewise, is not a condemner. Sure, He will show us when we miss it and lead us from sin, but His nature is to be our defense attorney.
 
Now we have this little saying in the world about playing “devil’s advocate.” And while I understand this just describes someone who pretends, in an argument or discussion, to be against an idea or plan that a lot of people support, in order to make people discuss and consider it in more detail, I don’t like to use it. Why? Because the terms “devil” and “advocate” shouldn’t be used in the same sentence, as the devil is the exact opposite of an advocate.
 
So we can clearly see that both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are on the side of righteousness. And if they both are, then you can be sure the Father is too! Yes, the Godhead is on our side – Jesus being our Great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for us!
 
And the truth is if He be for us who can be against us (See Romans 8:31)? In other words, if He, being the greatest defense attorney ever, is on our side then who can successfully win a case against us!?! Romans 8:32 implies that if God gave His only begotten Son for us then how could we believe that He wouldn’t forgive us of individual sins after we have been saved. If God was merciful to us when we were His enemies, how much more will He show us mercy now that we are His children? (Romans 5:9-10)
 
So again, in Romans 8:33, the apostle Paul asks the question— “Who shall bring a charge (or, accusation) against God’s elect (i.e., favorite, picked out, the one God voted for)?” He answers his own question by saying, “It is God who justifies!” In other words, “The LORD is the One busy making people right before Him!”
 
You see, God is the One who declares people innocent and righteous! Again, in Romans 8:34 he asks that other question— “Who is he who condemns?” And again, He answers his own question by saying, “It is Christ who died…” That simply means that Christ took all of our condemnation and died in our place! Praise God! But thank God, He didn’t stay in the tomb! Paul went on to explain— “…and furthermore is also risen.” Romans 4:25 says that He was raised for our justification.
 
You see, it would not have been good enough for Jesus to just die for our sins. He also needed to be raised so that we could be justified with Him. So, Paul told us that He was not only raised from the dead, but He was also raised to the right hand of God, which is the ultimate place of power and authority.
 
I think the next phrase is so awesome! Not only did Jesus die for us, not only was He raised from the dead for us, and not only was He raised up to the right hand of God for us. On top of all that, He is the one “who also makes intercession for us!” You see, Jesus is not the one bringing accusations and condemning us! He is the one standing between us and the Father, defending us as our Advocate and Intercessor! The devil is the prosecuting attorney, but Jesus is the defense attorney, which is essentially what an advocate is!   
 
You see, church, Jesus says to all of us what He said to the woman caught in adultery— “Where are those accusers of yours?... Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:10-11).
 
So, if Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), then He is saying that to all of us today— “Neither do I condemn you!” Yes, the only time He will ever cast judgment on anyone is on that Great Judgment Day, when those who did not believed on Him will be condemned. But until then, He says “Neither do I condemn you” yesterday, today and forever. Amen!

REVIEW
 
What is eternal life? Jesus revealed to us in John 17:3 that eternal life is all about knowing God and Himself. So this is what it is all about – knowing the LORD personally, intimately, and experientially.
 
No, it’s not about religious practices and keeping a bunch of commandments. Eternal life is a relationship, not a religion. Therefore, knowing God is the goal and the bullseye of Christianity.
 
And what better way is there to come to know God but by hallowing His various Names? Yes, these Names of God reveal to us His nature, character, and person. So if you want to truly come to know God, you need to know His Names as they describe Him to a T.
 
So we’ve come to know God first as Elohim – the All-Powerful, All-Knowing Sovereign Creator who rules over all, and is the judge over all His creation.
 
Then we looked at a few of Elohim’s descriptors –  El Shaddai, El Elyon, and El Roi. These three show us God as the All-Sufficient One, the Most-High God, and the All-Seeing Creator.   
 
We then turned our attention to the most accurate Name for God, the Name, Yahweh. We saw how this name describes God as the Great I AM, the self-existing One, and the one who was and is to come. Through this Name, the LORD essentially says, “I AM” and we would say, “The LORD IS.” Yes, this Name basically invites us and even teases us to know Him better by leaving an open-ended sentence of who He is.
 
So then we saw how through this Name Yahweh (which is commonly known as Jehovah in our English-speaking Bibles) how He began to reveal Himself more specifically to His chosen people and answer that question – Who is He?
 
So we then learned about names such as:

1. Jehovah Shammah –The LORD is There.
2. Jehovah Rapha – The LORD is (our) Healer.
3. Jehovah M’Kaddesh – The LORD is (our) Sanctifier.
4. Jehovah Sabaoth – The LORD (of) Hosts.
5. Jehovah Rohi – The LORD is (our) Shepherd.

 
In this last name we covered, we learned that Yahweh is the epitome of a Shepherd in that He leads, knows, cares for, and tends to His sheep. Even Jesus said of Himself – “I AM the Good Shepherd.”
 
We learned how Jehovah Rohi specifically “feeds” His sheep first, showing us that God’s nature is to be sure to teach us His Word, giving us the spiritual nourishment that His sheep need. He then “keeps” His sheep, revealing to us that His tendency is to guard and protect His sheep. We even saw that Jehovah Rohi could be translated that the LORD is our Pastor – showing us that He is the Chief Shepherd over His flock.
 
There were lots of good things that we came to “appreciate” about our Shepherd last week.
 
JEHOVAH JIREH
 
Now this week, we are going to cover one of the most well-known Names of God that we have in the Scriptures – Jehovah Jireh. And not only is it one of the most well-known Names God is given, it was one of the first Jehovah Names that appeared in the Scriptures.
 
We see this Name mentioned in Genesis chapter 22, in the very familiar story of Abraham and his son, Isaac. So let me give you the backstory in case you are unaware of some of its details …
 
In Genesis 22, we read the story of Abraham being commanded by God to take his son Isaac to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him. Isaac, of course, was the son of promise, a miraculous gift from God when Abraham and Sarah were old. He was the promised child whom God had said that He would make into a great nation. Might we say, he was God’s “provision”? Absolutely! God provided for them a son, giving both Abraham and Sarah the desire of their hearts when everything in the natural said it couldn’t be done.  However, there came a testing time for Abraham and his provision. And that’s where we pick up this event – in Genesis 22:1.
 
We are told at the beginning of Genesis 22:1 – “Now it came to pass after these things …”
 
Now when you see a phrase like this, what you should immediately be asking is — What were the things that happened before what we are about to read? The reason being is because oftentimes this phrase lets us know that what is about to happen is tied together with the events that happened prior.
 
So what was it that happened in Genesis chapter 21?
 
Well, at the beginning of the chapter, Isaac was born, God fulfilling His promise to Abraham & Sarah. This is definitely important regarding what we will be covering in Genesis chapter 22.
 
Then we have the situation where, when Isaac was being weaned, that Ishmael mocked him and subsequently Hagar and Ishmael were sent away from Abraham’s tent. This, likewise, will become a big part of our story that we are covering today.
 
Then finally, we see how Abraham made a covenant with Abimelach – all of this culminating in Abraham planting a tamarisk tree in Beersheeba and there calling on the name of the LORD.
 
I’ll tell you, church, calling on the name of the Lord is a big part of what we are covering in this series. And Abraham was showing us here how even he knew the importance of knowing & calling on God’s Names when it comes to walking by faith.
 
Then Genesis 22:1 goes on to say – “… that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’
 
Here we see that God decided to “test” Abraham: Now this is a sticky topic. Does God test people and, if so, how does He do it? But before I answer that question, I want you to notice what happened when God called out to Abraham: Abraham responded with, “Here I am.”
 
Now this is not the only time the Bible tells us of a time where God called someone’s name, and they responded with these words. Why is this important? It’s because I think it’s important that we are there when God comes calling. Now I understand we might be physically present, but having the ability to hear Him and being willing to be present when He calls our name is a whole different story.
 
So I say that to say, that we need to always be present in the moment where God might be speaking to us and be willing to “wait” on the Lord (that is, be His servants ready to serve Him in whatever way He so desires).
 
But back to this idea of God testing Abraham: The first thing we need to understand is that there is a difference between God “testing” His people and Him “tempting” His people. The Scriptures are clear that God does not tempt us with evil (James 1:13).
 
You see, what was happening with the recipients of James’ letter when he said this is that they were under intense persecution as being Jewish believers. Families were being divided and they were being forced to leave their homes, jobs, etc. (See James 1:1). Therefore, because of this pressure that was being put on them, they were being tempted to sin and depart from the faith. So James was quick to let them know that God was not the author of these terrible things that they were enduring, Him being the author only of good & perfect gifts (See James 1:17).
 
So no, God does not bring harmful & destructive things upon us that tempt us with doing evil like sinning and turning away from God. That should be obvious. However, “testing” is somewhat different:
 
Just consider this situation with Abraham. He was being given a choice, wasn’t he? He was able to choose whether he would obey God or not, whether he would do what his flesh wanted or whether he would do what he knew God was directing him to do. And that is something that God might do with you and I.
 
You see, Jesus taught us to take up our cross and follow Him. Why would He tell us to do this if it were automatic or easy? No, it’s not something the LORD will force on us. So all of these people that say that the unfortunate things that have come upon them such as physical afflictions and other forms of tragedy are just their cross to bear are incorrect. No, a cross is a choice. Jesus had the option to choose to carry His Cross. Therefore, if we cannot take up or lay down the adversity that comes into our life, it is NOT (and I repeat, is NOT) our cross.
 
However, we might be presented with a choice that will test our loyalty to God, like will we do what we know is right or will we choose to do what is easy and convenient. And those kinds of things are sometimes tests that will show both God and us what is in our hearts. No, this choice won’t necessarily have a bearing on whether we go to heaven or not, but it may determine our usability to God and how much He can trust us with in the future.
 
And in the case of Abraham, his passing of the test unlocked a tremendous blessing on the human race …
 
Notice the rest of verse 2 – “… Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’”
 
You see, I personally believe that if Abraham would have failed this test, God’s hands would have been tied as to being able to do the exact same thing that Abraham was being asked to do.
 
Church, God believes in the concept of covenant. He is faithful to His Word and how He has set things up. So since the LORD gave this planet to mankind and gave us dominion, He needs us to do the right thing with this authority we’ve been delegated.
 
So when the LORD established a covenant with this man of His choosing, Abraham, He needed Abraham to first be willing to do the exact thing that God would have to do to redeem the human race – be willing to sacrifice his son. And because Abraham was willing to follow through with it, the LORD was able to follow through with it Himself.
 
Then the next thing we read in verse 3 is – “So Abraham rose early in the morning …”
 
So, Abraham promptly obeyed, didn’t he? He did not hesitate to do this difficult thing that the LORD asked him to do, but rose early in the morning to follow God’s instructions. But while we like to view this situation through our eyes, I do not believe Abraham labored over this like most people would. No, he was willing to sacrifice Isaac “by faith”— meaning, he was not grieving over doing it. He wasn’t vexed by all the emotions that one might think would accompany sacrificing their own child. No, Abraham was a believer, being called “faithful Abraham” in the Book of Galatians.
 
And the reason I can say this with such confidence is because Hebrews 11:17-19 reveals to us that Abraham acted in faith believing that God would raise Isaac from the dead.
 
You see, Abraham had a promise from God. The LORD told him what Hebrews 11:18 says – that “In Isaac, your seed shall be called” (Genesis 21:12).
 
Now this quote came from the time when Sarah saw Ishmael laughing at and mocking Isaac at the time when Abraham threw a great feast for Isaac on the day he was weaned. So when Sarah told Abraham to cast out the bondwoman and her son because Ishmael would not be heir with her son, Isaac, Abraham was very upset. You see, he obviously loved both his sons and did not want to lose Ishmael. But that is when God said these words to Abraham that “in Isaac, your seed shall be called.” What this meant was that Isaac was the only one meant to be his heir. In other words, Abraham’s name & lineage was to be passed on through Isaac.
 
So then, after the LORD told Abraham this, we see one chapter later God testing Abraham.
 
Now think about that – if the LORD told Abraham that in Isaac, his seed shall be called, why would God then terminate Isaac’s life? That wouldn’t make any sense unless you believed God didn’t mean what He said. But if you do believe that the LORD will do what He said and isn’t changing His mind or not holding true to His Word, then what’s the only conclusion you can have when He tells you to go sacrifice your son? It’s either that He isn’t really going to make you do it when you get there or that, as Hebrews 11:19 says, that God will raise Isaac back up from the dead if you do have to go through with it.
 
So the reason that I believe that Abraham concluded that God was going to raise Isaac from the dead on that mountain is because he didn’t have a reference point of God not following through with His instructions. So if God told him to go to a mountain he was going to show him and sacrifice Isaac, that was likely what was going to happen. Therefore, the only way to reconcile what God had said to him earlier with what He was asking him to do now was a resurrection! Amen!
 
Now think about that – Isn’t that tremendous faith? I mean, I doubt Abraham had ever heard of someone being raised from the dead, much less witnessed it first-hand. Yet, he believed it was going to happen here. And all because He had a WORD from God that “In Isaac, your seed shall be called.”
 
Now why do I place such emphasis on this? It’s because what we are about to learn about Jehovah Jireh and how God being a Provider has everything to do with what we believe. Yes, taking God at His Word and putting faith in what He has said is what set Abraham up for God’s provision on this day. And I can promise you that today, that if we are going to see more of Jehovah Jireh in our life, then we are going to have to do the same. Amen?
 
So like we said, Abraham rose early in the morning and took a couple of his men with him as well as Isaac and some wood for the sacrifice. Verses 4-5 pick up with this – “Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.’”
 
Notice that it was on the third day when Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place where the sacrifice was to be made afar off. Significant events tend towards happening on third days, huh?
 
And notice that we are told here that he “saw the place afar off.” What place? The mountain that He spoke about showing Abraham in verse 2. So what this means is that the LORD had a specific mountain for this sacrifice to take place on. And we will learn later in this message why this is so important.
 
But notice what Abraham said to his helpers – “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
 
Wait, what? And WE will come back to you? Most read this that Abraham said this because he didn’t want his helpers to know what he was about to do, but I don’t believe this is why Abraham said this. I believe he said they were both coming back because of what we know He believed based on Hebrews chapter 11 – that God was going to raise Isaac from the dead after he sacrificed him!
 
Then we read in verses 6-8 – “So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.’ So the two of them went together.”  
 
Church, this is where we first have the principle of God’s Name of Jehovah Jireh mentioned in the Scriptures – in these words Abraham spoke to Isaac that God will “provide” for Himself the lamb!
 
HE WILL SEE TO IT
 
Now we commonly know the Hebrew word for “provide” as jireh, but when you look it up, we “see” something a little different …
 
You see, this word comes from the Hebrew verb, ra’a, which literally means to see, look, or understand. So you might be wondering, what does God seeing have to do with Him providing? Well, some interpret this “the LORD seeing” as the LORD will see to it – meaning, He sees our situation and the need and, therefore, “sees to it” to meet that need and provide for us in our situation.
 
In fact, our own word “provide,” comes from the Latin word meaning, “to see before” (pro meaning before and videre meaning to see). So like we say that we will see to a matter; possibly this expression hits the nail on the head. Our Heavenly Father sees our need, and with divine foresight of love prepares the supply. He sees to a need to supply it; and in the seeing he is seen, in the providing he manifests himself.
 
This becomes apparent in the story of Abraham and Isaac because, how many of you know, the ram that was caught in the thickets didn’t just miraculously appear there at the last second? No, that ram was provided well before the need ever manifested itself when God led it to be in that specific place at that specific time. It’s possible that the ram had begun its journey up the other side of the mountain at the same time that Abraham & Isaac began ascending it on their side.
 
Well, is this not what the Scriptures teach us about the Lamb of God – that He was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world? (First Peter 1:20, Revelation 13:8, & Ephesians 1:4). In these verses, we are taught that Jesus was that “Passover Lamb” that was selected before the actual time of the sacrifice. Likewise, Jesus was that Ram that was picked out to be the provision for Abraham & Isaac.
 
So Yahweh saw before …  
 
So, for God to see is for God to provide, as He does not just sit back idly when there is a need present before Him. Like he told us through James, if we “see” a person naked and destitute of daily food, we are to provide them with the things they are lacking (James 2:15-16).
 
Therefore, the Name of God, Jehovah Jireh, literally describes God’s nature of being our provider. And this should not surprise us because, in our lives, who is supposed to be the provider for us according to the flesh? It’s our earthly fathers. This is meant to be our first exposure to what provision is supposed to look like.
 
And then after we leave our father and become one flesh with another, who is generally meant to be the provider in that next relationship? The husband. And aren’t we called the Bride of Christ? Therefore, we are married to the LORD as His body, and we can expect that same “Jireh” tendency in our covenant with Him.
 
So if the LORD is called our Heavenly Father and our Husband, then you will not meet a better provider than Him! Yes, God knows how to provide for His children and His bride. He delights in providing for His creation. He loves being the source of any and all provision.
 
Of course, this begins with Jesus, that Lamb of God who is the sacrifice for our sins. But it includes anything & everything that we need that pertains to both life and godliness.
 
We see in the Scriptures that He desires to provide us with all of our need (Philippians 4:19) such as the food we eat and the clothing we wear (Matthew 6:33). He even wants to provide us with more than just our own basic necessities; He will provide an abundance so that we can give into every good work (Second Corinthians 9:8). Not only that, but He even delights in providing us with the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4) and giving His children good gifts when we ask Him (Matthew 7:11). And this provision of good gifts isn’t just acceptable things; its good things that go beyond what we could have ever asked or imagined (Ephesians 3:20).
 
I could go on and on with verses of the things God will provide for His people. But just know that the list has no end. It’s basically whatever we need, want or desire – that He will provide. If it’s wisdom we need, its wisdom He will provide (James 1:5). If it’s finances we desire, its finances He will provide. If it’s healing we want, its healing He will provide. There are no limits. Everything applies. The only thing God is not willing to provide are things that include sin and death. But outside of that, all things are game.   
 
HOW WE KNOW GOD IS A PROVIDER
 
Now we will get back to how the LORD provided for Abraham & Isaac in this situation, but I did want to pick up in our story and see how it exactly played out …
 
So then at the end of verse 8, we are told that the two of them went “together” up the mountain. To me, this is a significant phrase because it shows not just that they went but how they went – “together.”
 
You see, Jesus willingly went to the Cross for us. Yes, He was the Lamb who delighted to do the will of His Father – only doing what He saw His Father doing and saying what He saw His Father saying. They did all things TOGETHER, and that includes the Cross. 
 
Genesis 22:9 goes on to say, “Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.”
 
Again, all of this is descriptive of the place where Jesus was crucified – the name of that place was Golgotha, and on that mount, the LORD placed the “wood” in order, the middle Cross being reserved for His only Son. Then he “bound” Jesus, His Son, and laid Him on the altar, upon the Cross.
 
Then notice what happened next …
 
In verses 10-11, we read – “And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ So he said, ‘Here I am.’”
 
Again, we see that when the LORD called Abraham’s name that he heard Him and responded with – “Here I am” – showing us that Abraham was always there when God was wanting to talk to him.
 
So here we see Abraham’s willingness to follow through with the sacrificing of His son, Isaac. But when Abraham got to that point where he took the knife to slay his son, the Angel of the Lord calls out to him, stopping him. And we see that it was only a test, as the Angel of the Lord speaks these words to him in verse 12 – “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
 
So the test was complete, and Abraham passed with flying colors! And like I said earlier, this did something for all of us because now God was going to be able to return the favor for all of Abraham’s seed …
 
Now one would think that God already knew that Abraham feared Him, right? He knows all things, doesn’t He? Well, of course He does. But this teaches us that God does pay attention to our works and us doing something with what we believe. Likewise, Jesus’ work on the Cross should mean something to us as well!
 
You see, by Abraham not withholding His only begotten son, it proved to God that Abraham feared Him. Well, just as it was said that the Angel of the Lord knew that Abraham feared God because He did not withhold His son, His only son, from Him, likewise we should know that God loves us since He did not withhold His Son, His only begotten Son from us. Again, Jesus’ death on the Cross is the only proof you and I need that God loves us! Amen.
 
You see, the LORD did not withhold His Son, His only Begotten Son, from us! He willingly offered up the Lord Jesus for us, and guess what? That likewise ought to do the same thing for us that Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son did for God.
 
Again, He said, “for now I know that you fear God” because of Abraham’s willingness to offer up Isaac. Well, God’s willingness to offer up Jesus doesn’t let us know that God fears us, but it certainly should let us know that He LOVES us. Amen?
 
You see, the Scriptures teach us that Jesus’ death on the Cross IS THE MANIFESTATION of God’s love for us (See First John 4:9). In other words, we don’t need any more proof that God loves us than Him being willing to sacrifice His Son for us.  
 
But the wonderful truth is that if He loved us enough to give us Jesus; He loves us enough to freely give us all things! Sounds like a Scripture to me …
 
Romans 8:32 is such a powerful verse that reveals to us what our Heavenly Father did for us through the giving of His Only Begotten Son. In it, the apostle Paul says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
 
You see, we can be convinced that God is for us (See verse 31) because He did not spare His own Son for us. In other words, because God sent His Son, Jesus, to the Cross for us, we can be completely convinced that the love that inspired Him to do this for us, will freely “provide” for us anything else we need.
 
It would be like you desperately needing a blood transfusion, and the only person’s blood that would save you was my son, Levi’s. Well, if I were to sacrifice his life, shedding his blood, so that you could live through his blood, then do you really think I would not give you something else much less valuable if you needed it? Of course, I would! Why? Because if I was willing to give you my best, why would I not give you the less? Therefore, we can be completely convinced that God will heal us, meet our financial needs, and do anything else we need in our lives because, through His love for us, He has given us His very best. This proves God’s love for us.
 
So, what I believe the Holy Spirit wants us to understand is that the provision of Jesus is God’s manifestation of love. We need look no further than Jesus to know and believe that He loves us unconditionally. We need to not base God’s love for us on our circumstances. Just as we should not be moved by what we see, hear, or feel—only by what we believe—likewise, we should not let ourselves be moved off of our faith in God’s love by what we see, hear, or feel. We must simply believe He loves us because the Bible tells us so! Just like this simple childlike faith in the rest of God’s promises is what brings their manifestation to pass in our life, faith in His love is what yields a greater manifestation of that love in our lives. Amen?
 
OUR PROVISION IS THERE
 
So after the Angel of the LORD told Abraham this, notice what happened next …
 
Genesis 22:13 says, “Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.”
 
Now the provision was seen! Abraham already had seen that the LORD would provide through the eyes of faith, but now we have the substance of his faith – the ram caught in a thicket by its horns. This was what Jehovah provided – the substitute sacrifice!
 
So when we are introduced to the LORD our Provider in the following verse, it’s important to understand that this is not in the context of the various forms of provision that we generally might think of like groceries, an automobile, a spouse, money, etc. No, the provision God made here was LIFE – more specifically, a life for a life. Yes, what the LORD provided here was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns – the substitute sacrifice for Isaac, His only son (See Genesis 22:13).
 
Now this story is so very clear as to what we know the LORD has done for us: Of course, we know that Abraham and his only son, Isaac here typify Father God and His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus was a miraculous conception (i.e. a virgin birth) just like Isaac’s birth was also a miracle. Isaac was beloved of his father just as Jesus was loved by His Father. Abraham was told that all nations would be blessed by his seed. Well, that certainly has happened through our Heavenly Father’s seed, right?
 
So yes, there is so much that parallels Isaac and Jesus. Therefore, this specific instance is clearly showing us how God was willing to offer up His Only Begotten Son as a sacrifice for us. However, the story shows us how God provided Abraham with a substitute sacrifice for Isaac. So now our story shifts from Isaac being a type of Christ to the Ram that was provided being a type of Christ – showing us how when we were the ones who should have been sacrificed because it was our sin that made a sacrifice even necessary, God provided for Himself a sacrifice to atone for our sin. Amen!
 
So there are so many types & shadows here that point us to the Lord Jesus Christ and how God provided us with His life so that our lives could be spared.   
 
And then we come to the verse where we get this beloved Name of God from – Genesis 22:14. It says, “And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, ‘In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’”
 
So once Abraham had this wonderful experience of God’s miraculous provision, he decided to name the place, the mountain that this miracle occurred on. He called it “The-LORD-Will-Provide” – that is, Jehovah Jireh.
 
But what I think many miss about this story is that this provision had every bit as much to do with where it occurred as to how it occurred.
 
If you recall, the LORD told Abraham at the beginning to “go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (verse 2). So first of all, he wasn’t to go to just any land; he was to go to the land of Moriah. And there, the LORD told him that He would tell Abraham which one of the mountains to offer the sacrifice on.
 
Verse 3 goes on to tell us that Abaham did exactly what God told him to do by going “to the place of which God had told him.”
 
Then in verse 4 we are told – “Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.” So somehow, Abraham knew that this specific place was the spot the LORD was showing him.
 
And even one more time, just before Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, we are told in verse 9 – “Then they came to the place of which God had told him.”
 
So I want you to notice how many times we are being told in this chapter about the place where this sacrifice was going to occur and how it was not just anywhere Abraham decided to go, but was a specific place of God’s choosing.
 
Why do you suppose we have such an emphasis placed on this part of the story? Well, I believe it was because when it comes to God’s provision, we can’t just expect it to be just anywhere we go. God’s provision is always in the place we are supposed to be.
 
You see, what was the provision in Abraham’s situation? It was the Ram, right? Well, what if Abraham would have gone to another mountain of his choosing and only partially obeyed God? Well, that Ram wouldn’t have been there. So the provision was where Abraham was - where the LORD showed Him to be.
 
We have a great illustration of this in the game of football: A quarterback doesn’t throw the ball where the receiver is; he throws it where he is supposed to be. And just as it is with passes thrown to a receiver, God never throws the provision where we are; He throws it where we are supposed to be!
 
You see, in order to receive God’s best, we need to be where God told us to be. And a big key to running the right routes is knowing the playbook – the Word of God.
 
One of our best examples of this is found in First Kings 17:2-7 – “Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.’ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.”
 
Again, we see that the LORD will lead us to the place called “there” and that’s where our provision is. God did not send Elijah’s provision to where he was; He sent it to the place He was supposed to be. 
 
This was a good combination of natural provision (the brook) mixed with supernatural provision (the ravens). Then notice that the brook dried up – showing us that the natural provisions are capable of drying up. This is why we don’t put trust in those things.
 
Being in our place called there does not guarantee us not going through adversity. Therefore, the adversity should not lead us out of our place. Only the Word of the Lord does that (see verse 8).
 
 
You see, what if Abraham would have received these instructions from the LORD and decided to not even go to the land of Moriah, but to stay close to home? What if he would have gone into this land, but rejected the mountain that the LORD showed him, saying, “I don’t like the color of the pews on that mountain,” “I don’t like the music on that mount,” “the people on that mountain don’t respect me,” etc. etc. etc.
 
I’ll tell you, saints, this is much more of an epidemic in the Body of Christ than most realize. I fear that over half of the Christian population doesn’t go and stay in the place where the LORD has directed them. This includes everything from marriages, jobs, churches, friendships, etc. And what they fail to understand is that those places are where their provision is. It’s where Jehovah Jireh has ordained to take care of their needs. But we “wander” around our mountains looking for our provision when it is where we are supposed to be. It’s been well-said that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side. But the devil would love to have us chasing our provision, thinking its always in doing this differently or chasing after this.
 
Church, the LORD is a provider. There is no doubt about this. He desires to provide us with everything we need spiritually & physically. But there is something to be said for being in the position to receive that provision. And a lot of times that has everything to do with being in the right place at the right time, with being obedient to do whatever the LORD tells you to do, and with believing His Word above all else. This is how we can know the LORD as our Jehovah Jireh. Amen.

REVIEW
 
So we have been studying the Names of God for a couple of months now, which all has been aimed at helping us know Him better and, therefore, it helps us to approach God better. So no, we are not studying this just simply to accrue more knowledge in our heads but to grow in a more personal & intimate knowledge of Him. 
 
The title we gave this series is “Hallowed Be Your Name” because this is how the Lord Jesus taught His disciples to pray – by first recognizing His Name. I made the point that this evidently is a big part of our prayer life because if one does not truly know the One they are praying to, it can hurt their faith and level of confidence when presenting their requests to Him. However, as Daniel 11:32 says, the people who know their God will be strong and do great exploits. And that certainly applies to prayer. Amen?
 
Now you might question how knowing God’s Names can affect us so much, but in Bible times, the names of people, places, and things taught you a lot about the one you were referring to. Likewise, with God, His Names reveal to us who He was, who He is, and who He forevermore shall be. In other words, His Names reveal to us His nature, who He is at His core, and what we can count on Him always being.
 
So we’ve looked at several Names of God so far, beginning with the first name we see Him called – Elohim, which describes Him as the All-Powerful, All-Knowing Sovereign Creator who rules over all!
 
We then learned that Elohim needed a little more specific description, so there were several names given to it like El Shaddai, El Elyon, and El Roi.
 
We then turned our attention to the most accurate Name for God, the Name, Yahweh. We saw how this name describes God as the Great I AM, the self-existing One and the one who was and is to come. Through this Name, the LORD essentially says, “I AM” and we would say, “The LORD IS.” Yes, this Name basically invites us and even teases us to know Him better by leaving an open-ended sentence of who He is.
 
So then we saw how through this Name Yahweh (which is commonly known as Jehovah in our English-speaking Bibles) He began to reveal Himself more specifically to His chosen people and answer that question – Who is He?
 
So we then learned about Jehovah Shammah –The LORD is there. From this, we learned how God’s nature is to be faithfully present with His people.
 
Then we looked at Jehovah Rapha – the LORD is our Healer. So we learned that this describes the LORD as the One who heals and wants His people healthy.
 
We then looked at the Name of God, Jehovah M’Kaddesh, which means “The LORD is our Sanctifier.” In its simplest terms, this means that the LORD is the One who separates or sets apart something to make it different and special.
 
And then last week, we looked at what is the most often used Name of Yahweh in the Scriptures, the Name Jehovah Sabaoth. We saw that is where we get that familiar phrase “The LORD of hosts” from in the Scriptures and then we looked at what these hosts are that He is LORD over. The Scriptures describe all of His creation as part of His hosts like the stars in the heavens, the birds of the air, the fish in the sea, etc. His heavenly hosts are also included such as His army of angels, but His hosts also refer to man and the people He has put on this planet to execute His will. So we learned from this that the LORD certainly likes to use others to accomplish His purposes, and those “hosts” that He uses are to operate in rank & file, in unity and as one.
 
JEHOVAH ROHI
 
Now the next Name of God that I feel led to share on is one that is certainly appropriate for what we are doing here at HPC today. I want us to look at the Name, Jehovah Rohi, the LORD our Shepherd.
 
Now Jehovah Rohi is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible like some of His other Names, but it’s derived from a combination of two biblical words used in the 23rd Psalm, one of the most famous and beloved passages in the Old Testament.
 
King David begins this Psalm with, “The Lord is my Shepherd” (See Psalm 23:1).  
 
So the first three words we see here are “The LORD is …”, and this is the Hebrew word Yahweh. Like we’ve learned, Jehovah is a variant of this divine name Yahweh, which is often translated as “LORD.” And as we’ve also seen, Yahweh/Jehovah literally can be translated as “The LORD is” and describes the Great I Am, the Self-Existing One.
 
But the next two words – “… my Shepherd” – come from the Hebrew word rohi (derived from the Hebrew root ra’ah). This verb encompasses the actions and responsibilities of a shepherd, such as guiding, caring for, feeding, and protecting his sheep.
 
Therefore, when the Psalmist declares, “The Lord is my shepherd,” it conveys the idea that God fulfills the role of a loving, caring, and protective Shepherd in the lives of His people. And since this is a Name of God, it indicates that God’s core nature is that of a Shepherd.
 
Now it is easy to understand where this Psalm’s author got his inspiration from: King David of Israel had himself been a shepherd as a young man, caring for his father’s flocks. So he knew from personal experience how vitally important it is to the safety and well-being of the sheep to have a good shepherd who would care for them even if it meant putting himself at risk or hardship. As we learn in First Samuel 17:34-36, David killed both a lion and a bear that were attacking his flock.
 
Now we will get back to the 23rd Psalm, but I did want you to know that it is by no means the only picture in the Bible of the LORD as being our Shepherd. Yes, references to Jehovah Rohi are sprinkled throughout the Scriptures and this idea of God himself being the Shepherd of Israel and his people comes from deep within the Old Testament, from the first family to the latter prophets. Here are a few examples:
 
Isaiah 40:11 says, “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.”
 
Jeremiah 31:10 says, “…‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’”
 
Ezekiel 34:11-12 says, “For thus says the Lord God: ‘Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.”
 
Psalm 100:3 says, “… We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
 
Now unfortunately, just as sheep do not always follow their shepherd and wander off, we, too—God’s sheep—have failed to follow Him. We often wander away. Therefore, the Bible says in Isaiah 53:6 – “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
 
So from just this handful of Scriptures, we can clearly see what David said in Psalm 23:1 – that the LORD is indeed our Shepherd, our “Rohi.”
 
WHAT A SHEPHERD DOES
 
Now a lot of times what I like to do when discovering the meaning of certain Hebrew or Greek words is I like to look at how these words are translated the most. And I believe that would be a good practice here with rohi …
 
Did you know that even more than “Shepherd,” the original King James Version translates the word rohi as “feed”? So this shows me that one of the most important responsibilities of a shepherd is to feed his or her sheep.
 
Isn’t this some of the first things we see David describing that the Lord our Shepherd does for His sheep in the 23rd Psalm? He begins with saying, “… I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1).
 
This reminds me of what David said in Psalm 34:9-10 – “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.”
 
Notice the comparison between “no want” and to a young lion lacking and suffering hunger. So to me, not “wanting” would definitely include being fed and not lacking the nourishment needed.
 
Psalm 23:2 goes on to describe how our Good Shepherd “makes us to lie down in green pastures and leads us beside the still waters.” Now this wasn’t just for peace & rest. How many of you know that those green pastures were to feed on and not just sleep on? Also, those sheep weren’t being led by the still waters to go sightseeing but to drink from.
 
So in the 23rd Psalm, we are seeing that the first things that the LORD our Shepherd does for us is make sure we are fed.
 
Now when it comes to us, His sheep, we are not just referring to physical food. We are also talking about spiritual food. And we know Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
 
So God’s Words are our manna! Yes, His Words – both the logos and the rhema – are our spiritual nourishment and what feeds our souls. Therefore, the LORD our Shepherd desires to feed us His spiritual food, being our teacher & preacher.
 
Now the first time we see this Hebrew word rohi used is in the story of Cain & Abel when in Genesis 4:2 we have described to us what these two brothers did. It says, “Then she (Eve) bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”
 
It’s interesting that the word “keeper” is used here instead of shepherd because it reveals to us one of the primary responsibilities of a shepherd – to “keep” them (i.e. to protect them).
 
Isn’t the LORD described this way? As a keeper and protector? Oh yeah, He is certainly described over and over again as our shield, refuge, fortress, and strong tower. Time and time again the LORD is said to be the keeper of His sheep.
 
THE LORD IS MY PASTOR
 
Guess how else this Hebrew word rohi is translated? It’s also translated as “pastor.”
 
Now I’m sure some of you know this already, but this New Testament office that Jesus has gifted to His church of pastor literally describes a Shepherd. In fact, that’s the primary way that pastor is defined in our New Testament.
 
Now what is a pastor supposed to do? We are there to tend to God’s flock. We are there to feed His lambs and tend His sheep. This is what the Lord told Peter in John 21 when He asked him those three times if Peter loved Him. Jesus told Peter to “feed My lambs, tend my sheep, and feed my sheep.” So while this is not everything a true pastor does, it certainly is the primary thing.
 
Well, the Lord is the ultimate pastor! When our pastors drop the ball, mess things up, aren’t led & inspired by the Holy Spirit in what they say / teach, etc., God doesn’t. He is the perfect pastor and the One we should ultimately look to when it comes to our spiritual lives.
 
I say this because there are a lot of Christians out there who look to man for all their spiritual needs. Yes, they depend on their pastor to be their source of revelation. They look to the evangelist to bring people into the kingdom. They rely on the prophets to hear from God for them. But the fact is – David said that the LORD is my shepherd.
 
So you could translate this as David saying, “The LORD is my pastor.”
 
Now of course this does not mean that the LORD doesn’t give us pastors after the flesh and that He doesn’t use people to feed, keep, and tend to our needs. But my point is that you never put your faith and hope in flesh. We are all fallible and capable of missing it. We can let you down. But God is incapable of missing it and letting us down. He is faithful! Remember that!
 
You see, there are many Christians that like to put their “pastor” (or as some say, their “preacher”) up on a pedestal and either view them as a hireling who is there to do their bidding and come running every time they snap their fingers, or as the one that they hear from God through and the one that does their praying for them. Both of these mentalities are wrong.
 
A pastor is not there to hear God for you, to be the one who is always praying for you. I spent my first (close to) 4 years here developing a culture that we are not a one man show. You can believe God yourself. You can pray for others. You don’t need someone to hear from God for you. You are blessed. You are called. You are also in the ministry. My job is to simply equip and encourage you to go do the work of the ministry. Amen?  
 
Now don’t hear what I am not saying here. Robert and I are here to help, counsel and pray for you guys. We all at different times in our life need someone to hold our arms up when we are weak and weary, like Moses in the battle with Amalek (Exodus 17:11-12). My point is simply this: we do not want to live year after year, decade after decade, running to the pastor or even someone else every time we have a spiritual or natural need. As we learned last week, God has said that we all shall know Him from the least to the greatest. We all have a direct line with God and can pray and believe Him for ourselves. So, next time you have a need, don’t be so quick to run to the phone; first run to the throne – the throne of grace, that is. Amen!   
 
You see, if the Lord is my pastor, then that means I am to be taught of Him and He is my counselor and my comforter. Amen.
 
Again, this does not mean that you don’t need teaching from a man or woman, and it doesn’t mean that you don’t ever need counsel from someone other than God. Don’t get into either of these ditches. It just simply means that we need to go to God first – knowing that He is our Chief Shepherd. Amen?
 
First Peter 5:4 calls Jesus this when it says, “When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”
 
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
 
Now I’d like to tie this up today by looking at how Jesus specifically described Himself as this Jehovah Rohi and what our Chief Shepherd does for His sheep – John chapter 10.
 
But before we focus in on those verses, I did want to make sure we understand that John chapter 10 is certainly not the only passage that reveals to us that Jesus is our Shepherd.
 
In Matthew 18:12-13 Jesus said, “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.” Luke 19:10 specifically tells us that He seeks and saves the lost like this.
 
So there is obviously a lot that points to Jesus having a shepherd’s tendencies, but it is important that we go over to John chapter 10 and look at the section of Scriptures where our Lord Jesus Christ revealed Himself as our good shepherd …
 
As we read this parable in John chapter 10, it becomes clear that Jesus is revealing Himself as not only our shepherd, but also as the door that the sheep enter in and out by. The premise of this parable is to show how our Lord is the shepherd as opposed to the hirelings – the thieves and robbers – that have come before Him.
 
The context of this parable is not my point as much as the characteristics that our shepherd possesses, because He reveals in this parable some wonderful attributes that we should take heed to. 
 
In verse 11, when Jesus reveals Himself as the Shepherd He described in this parable, He doesn’t just say He is any old shepherd – rather He says, “I am the good shepherd!” and goes on to describe Himself as the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep.
 
Now there are a lot of things that make the Lord a “Good” Shepherd, but nothing trumps this one point – that He died for us that we might live! In other words, He gave His life for His sheep. Amen!
 
Now we acknowledge the fact that Jesus died for us and that the Father did not spare Him so that we might live. However, I think what Christians have failed to reconcile is that if the Father gave up His only begotten Son for us, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? (See Romans 8:32) Amen?
 
In other words, if He was willing to give us His very best – the Only Begotten of the Father – then why would we doubt that He would give us anything else we needed? That would be like me sacrificing Levi for you and then you doubting that I would help you pay your power bill. No, if I would give up my son for you, then I would most certainly be willing to give you things of much less value. Amen? He wants to take care of every area of our lives, and He has made the provision for this.
 
Jesus said in Luke 12:32, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
 
Here, Jesus was establishing our hearts in a very important truth – that the reason we do not need to fear or worry about our needs being met is because it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom!
 
Now a very important point here is how He referred to us as His “little flock.” Little flock of what? Of His sheep, of course! Now a flock of sheep was not a band of pets. You realize that, right? Back then a flock was a business! So God sees you as His business, and He is not about to let His business fail.
 
All this rests on the fact that we must trust God - to hear Him, to know Him, to receive from Him.
 
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD. THEREFORE…
 
But I want you to notice that in John chapter 10, there are some specific promises given to the Good Shepherd’s sheep and these are, therefore, things we can count on the Lord our Shepherd doing for us … 
 
Notice in verse 3 that Jesus says that His sheep:

1. Hear His voice.
2. Are called by name.
3. Are led by Him.

 
So, here we have three awesome promises of the Lord being our Shepherd:
 
HE KNOWS MY NAME
 
Let’s start with the fact that His sheep are called by name …
 
In verse 14, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” So again, we see the importance of knowing the Lord like we discussed last week. But I want you to notice that here we see the flipside of this: While it is certainly important to know that the Lord is not just our Shepherd, but that He is my own personal Shepherd, it is also important to know that our Shepherd knows us individually and specifically. So not only can we know His name; He knows our names too!
 
Isn’t that just awesome that our Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, knows His own sheep and calls them by name. Friends, that is a personal relationship. He knows who I am individually and who you are personally. He knows our names – which is not just knowing that we are Joe, Mary, etc.; it is knowing our personality, character, etc. He knows everything there is to know about us! Hallelujah!
 
This is so super important to understand because it creates confidence in God – that He knows who I am, what I need, what I like, etc., etc., etc. He knows me and, therefore, will not leave me hanging! Amen!
 
So we can see that the LORD wants us to know His Name, yes. But He knew our name first. Glory!
 
HEARING AND KNOWING HIS VOICE
 
In this passage, we also see that Jesus said that His sheep hear. In verse 4, He goes as far as saying that they know His voice. Therefore, if the Lord is our Shepherd we can rest in the fact that we hear and know His voice.
 
Now I understand that many Christians struggle with this, saying things like – “I just don’t feel like I hear from God.” Well, I believe a big reason for this is because many born again, Spirit-filled Christians have a serious misconception as to how God speaks to us.
 
When I hear this doubt in Christians that they can hear God, what I want to tell them is – If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you do indeed hear from God! Yes, you already do hear from God! How do I know this, you ask? I base that on these very Scriptures in John chapter 10. So, if Jesus – the Lord, our God – says that we hear His voice, shouldn’t we come into agreement with Him and start believing that we hear His voice? Of course, we should!
 
But you will hear believers cite their own experiences saying, “But I don’t hear His voice! I have asked and sought to hear from God, but I just don’t hear anything.” This is when we must base our belief system upon the foundation of His Word. As the apostle Paul said in Romans 3:4 – “Indeed, let God be true and every man a liar.” In other words, if our experiences and testimonies conflict with what God said in His Word, then those things are a lie in comparison. Saints, God’s Word is absolute truth. So, if He says here that we hear His voice, then we hear His voice, whether we feel like we do or not. This is one of the cornerstones of hearing from God – faith that we hear Him!
 
You see, we get what we expect from God (based on what He has spoken and promised to us). Things that God has provided are only going to be fully manifested in our lives as we actively put our hope in those promises and mix our faith with them. Everything from our initial salvation to hearing His voice is fully realized through our faith and hope – our confidence and expectation of them. So, we need to start believing and confessing that we do hear from God for He has said that His sheep hear and know His voice!
 
But someone will say, “Well, maybe I do hear something, but my big problem is that I do not know when what I am hearing is God or the devil, the Lord or myself.” I am glad you made that point because notice again what our Lord said… He said in verse 3 that His sheep hear His voice, but at the end of verse 4 He said that we know His voice! That means that not only do we hear from God, but we know when what we are hearing is God.
 
But in my experience, the general problem here is us: It is not that God is not speaking; it is us who are not hearing correctly.
 
A good example of all of this is that just as there are signals being transmitted in the air all around us right now – radio frequencies and television signals – there are also spiritual messages being transmitted in the atmosphere around us right now. But how many of you know that it would be ridiculous for one to say that they don’t believe that there are these signals and frequencies in the room with us right now just because they don’t see or hear them?
 
So, regarding this example, you can tell some people this and they might counter by saying – “I don’t hear spiritual frequencies and I don’t see these spiritual signals.” Well, it might not be that it is the transmitter that is broken; it might be that the problem is with their receiver!
 
You see, all of these unseen programs are being constantly broadcast, but if you do not have a receiver of some sort, you will be oblivious to them and won’t see or hear anything. And it is like that with all of those spiritual realities that we are promised exist. Friends, there is a spiritual world around us right now that actually is more real than this natural world we live in. Why? Because the spiritual world parented this natural world. All things were made by the things unseen (Hebrews 11:3).
 
That’s what faith does – It believes that the things that are made were created by unseen things. This verse teaches us an incredible lesson – that the Word of God was the parenting force that created all the things which are seen. And, bless God, you can bet the bank that it still works this way today! God’s Word can bring to reality in the natural realm things that are already a reality in the spiritual realm. The mirror of God’s Word reflects what is seen in God’s world. (Example of Elisha and his Servant, 2 Kings 6:17)
 
So, you see, it’s already there and we are not trying to get God to do something that He has not already done. No, we are simply positioning our receiver to hear and see what He has already done. Amen! And this certainly pertains to this promise of hearing God’s voice …
 
But I personally believe that the reason that many people’s hearing of God’s voice is so fuzzy is because they simply have not learned how He is communicating to us.
 
That is where this third and final benefit of our Good Shepherd comes in – He leads us …
 
Let’s look at a couple of passages that clearly indicate that we do hear from God and know His voice … 
 
AS MANY AS ARE SHEEP = AS MANY AS ARE LED
 
Let’s now look over at Romans 8:14 at another passage of Scripture that verifies my point that God’s children do hear His voice. Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
 
Many will read this and say something like – “Oh, well, I better start being led by the Spirit of God so that I can become a child of God.” No, it is actually saying the opposite - It is saying that the by-product of being a child of God is that you are led by the Spirit of God.
 
Now I have heard some try to make a distinction here saying that being led by the Spirit requires great maturity - thus the reason Paul refers to the phrase “sons of God” like these believers are the grown-up ones, but I disagree with this mainly because Paul uses the terminology “children of God” and “sons of God” interchangeably. You can look down at verse 16 and see where he uses the term “children” and in Galatians 3:26 says, “For we are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
 
No, I see all of this as an excuse of why more people are not led by the Spirit. And whether you were just saved yesterday or 50 years ago, you can be led by the Spirit of God just the same. In fact, I believe many baby Christians are able to be led better than Christians who have been saved for a long time because their hearts are more soft, pliable and sensitive to His direction – not being hardened by the constant friction of not walking in the light that they have. 
 
But notice again that the Bible tells us that the sons (or daughters) of God are led by the Spirit of God … Not can be led, not should be led, but are led! This verse is basically equating “as many” who are led by the Spirit to “as many” are the sons and daughters of God. Therefore, if we are God’s children we are led just as if we are God’s sheep and we do hear His voice. So, again, we need to get into agreement with God and start believing and expecting to be led by the Spirit of God.
 
So the LORD indeed is our Shepherd. He tends, keeps and feeds us like a good shepherd cares for his sheep. He knows each of us by name, we hear and know His voice, and we are led by Him. We can count on Him to take care of us, church.

REVIEW
 
So we have been studying the Names of God for a couple of months now, and we are approaching this study with how knowing & understanding His Names has so much to do with how His people approach Him.
 
We have entitled this series “Hallowed Be Your Name” because this is how the Lord Jesus taught His disciples how to approach their Heavenly Father in prayer. So we learned that this is evidently one of the most important ways to come to know Him, through His Names.
 
And the reason for this is because, in Bible times, the names of people, places, and things taught you a lot about the one you were referring to. Likewise, with God, His Names reveal to us who He was, who He is, and who He forever more shall be. In other words, His Names reveal to us who He is at His core, what His nature is, and what we can count on Him always being.
 
So while we began with the more general term for “God” (the Hebrew word Elohim), we saw that it’s important that we allow the Lord to take us beyond just simply knowing Him as the Creator, the All-Powerful, Sovereign One that the general population knows Him as. So, we moved on to seeing His primary Name – Yahweh – and how this Name reveals Him as the Existing One and as more relational than most see Him. Through this Name, the LORD essentially says, “I AM” and we would say, “The LORD IS.” Yes, this Name basically invites us and even teases us to know Him better by leaving an open-ended sentence of who He is.
 
So then we saw how through this Name Yahweh (which is commonly transliterated Jehovah in our English-speaking Bibles)  He began to reveal Himself more specifically to His chosen people and answer that question – Who is He?
 
So the first “Jehovah” Name of God that we looked at was Jehovah Shammah, which means “The LORD is there” and thus denotes – Yahweh is present. So we saw that this Name of Yahweh reveals God’s nature to always be there and present with His people. We then looked at a lot of Scriptures that echo this part of His Person where we learned that God is our ever-present help in a time of need and that He has promised to never leave or forsake us. Yes, God is faithful – God the Father always being the same, Jesus always being true, and the Holy Spirit always being there.
Then we looked at another Name of Jehovah – the Name Jehovah Rapha – and we learned that this describes the LORD as the One who heals and wants His people healthy. We looked at a ton of Scriptures that reveal God’s heart to heal His people and be our Great Physician. So as I said, God’s in the healing business and He’s not planning on going out of business anytime soon! He was the children of Israel’s healer yesterday, He is the church’s healer today, and He will always be the One who heals His people tomorrow. 
 
Then last week, we looked at the Name of God – Jehovah M’Kaddesh – and we learned how this describes the LORD who sanctifies. This means that the LORD is the One who consecrates, dedicates, hallows (sound familiar?) or makes holy. In the simplest terms, it means to separate or set apart something to make it different and special.  
 
We looked at how God has “set apart” certain things like this such as

1. The Bible, calling it the Holy Bible in that it is a special Book that is unlike any other book.
2. The Sabbath, making it holy in that it is a special day set apart to God and unlike any other day of week.
3. The tithe, saying it is a special form of giving to the Lord because He said it is His.

 
I could go on and on with these examples, but the fact is, when God sets something apart, that makes it holy to Him and it is indeed special in His eyes. And we saw how that includes us because of the myriad of Scriptures in the New Testament that calls the church, a body of “saints.” So we looked at several verses that shows us how in Christ, we have been sanctified through the Holy Spirit, revealing to us that Jehovah M’Kaddesh is still all about making things holy.
 
JEHOVAH SABAOTH
 
Now the next “Jehovah” name of God that I want us to look at is probably one of the most often used ones – Jehovah Sabaoth (Saab-A-Oth)
 
This Name occurs more than 270 times in the Old Testament! Wow, that’s a lot of times for God to be called this, isn’t it? And you might be wondering – If this Name of His is used this many times in the Bible, how have I missed it? Well, that’s probably because what you’ve been seeing is the translation of it – Lord of hosts. Yes, when you see God referred to as the Lord of hosts, that is almost always a translation “Jehovah Sabaoth.”  
 
You see, the Hebrew word, sabaoth, literally describes a “host” or “multitude.” So when we put Yahweh together with Sabaoth, we get “The LORD is (In this case, the Lord of) hosts or a multitude.”
 
Various translations handle Jehovah Saboath in different ways: The NIV translates the name as “Lord Almighty.” The NLT has “the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” The NASB has the broader translation of the “Lord of armies.” And the NET has the even broader “Lord who rules over all.” All of these translations reflect the truth that the host or multitudes that He is over is a part of His might, His army, and what He rules through.
 
So let’s get a little more specific with this word “sabaoth” and answer the question – Who is this “host” that He is Lord of?
 
Well, the first thing that’s important to understand about the word “sabaoth” is that it’s most often used as a military term. Now it is by far translated “hosts” the most in the original King James Version, but it is also translated as “war” (41x), army (29x), battle (5x), and also as warfare, soldiers, etc. So we can clearly see that the majority of the times it is used, it is describing an army of some kind.
 
Now sometimes it is used to refer to an army of men (See First Samuel 17:45; Isaiah 13:4) and other times it is used to describe an army of angels or other heavenly hosts (See Psalm 148:2; First Kings 22:19). But sometimes it is just used to refer to the innumerable stars in the night sky (See Psalm 33:6; 103:20, 21).
 
But the important thing to understand about this Name for God is that whether it is referring to armies of men, multitudes of angels, or a host of stars, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts, is the One who creates, calls, and commissions these people and things both on earth and in heaven. Yes, He is the Lord over these multitudes, both organizing and leading them.
 
Now the first time Jehovah Sabaoth appears in the Bible is in First Samuel 1:3 when we are told that Hannah’s husband, Elkanah, went up from his city annually to worship and sacrifice to the “Lord of hosts” in Shiloh. And then, verse 11 goes on to describe how childless Hannah, who wanted a son so badly and earnestly prayed that the Lord would grant her the desire of her heart. This verse says, “She made a vow and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life’.”
 
Now it is of great interest to me as to why these verses are the first time we see the phrase “the Lord of hosts” used: Perhaps its because this is how Samuel, the likely author of this Book of the Bible, saw the LORD. Maybe it’s because the Holy Spirit who inspired the author to call the LORD this was wanting us to see how the Lord’s kingdom operates.
 
I believe the latter is most likely: You see, the Books of First and Second Samuel are what chronicle a different season for Israel – the time where God began bringing more structure to His chosen people by giving them their heart’s desire for a king and establishing His kingdom, first through Saul, but mainly through David and his sons.
 
So the “Sabaoth,” the hosts or multitudes, that the LORD is Lord of could be a reference to His kingdom that He is establishing through his first couple of kings. Which teaches us something important …
 
Just as Samuel was given to the Lord by His mother, Hannah, in exchange for the blessing of giving her a son, the Lord of hosts looks for a people, whether that be a king or a priest, a prophet or just a regular man or woman, to be Lord over and who will do His will. We will get into this more momentarily.
 
Let’s now look at some of these other instances of “Lord of hosts” in the Scriptures to gain a clearer picture of those God is organizing or sending to fight for Him.
 
The first time we see the word sabaoth used by itself is in in the account of creation in Genesis 2:1. This verse says, “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.”
 
So “host” here is not used to describe any particular people, but of all of the “things” God created. So we can see that host is not always referring to entities, but sometimes to other created things like stars, trees, animals, etc. 
 
In First Samuel 17:45, it is in this Name that the young David took up Goliath’s arrogant challenge: This verse says, “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’”
 
Notice in this verse that David said he was coming at the giant in this specific name, Jehovah Sabaoth. And then he goes on to specifically describe who the Lord of hosts is – the God of the armies of Israel. So again we see the tie in of the word Sabaoth and armies, and we see that the army of Israel is the specific host David was referring to.   
 
Later on in David’s life, we see how Jehovah Sabaoth blessed Him and was backing him: “So David went on and became great, and the Lord of hosts was with him.” (First Chronicles 11:9). So because the LORD of hosts was backing Him, it increased David’s influence and the ground he was taking through God’s anointing.
 
Psalm 46:7 says something similar: It says, “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah” So because the Lord of hosts is with us, we don’t have to fear. We know we will be protected.
 
Psalm 103:20-21 shows us who these hosts are that are fighting for us: These verses say, “Bless the Lord, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.” So in these verses, we certainly see the LORD of hosts as the Lord over the heavenly hosts who excel in strength, do His word, and minister on His behalf, doing His pleasure. Hebrews 1:14 describes this host of angels as “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation.”
 
So the host of angels, His ministers who do His pleasure, are sent forth to minister for us who have inherited salvation! Yes, they are watching over us to fight for and defend the children of God. Amen!
 
Now this name of God, the LORD of hosts, occurs mostly in the Prophets, especially in those speaking about the failure of Israel. It appears nearly 80 times in Jeremiah, 14 times in the 2 short chapters of Haggai, nearly 50 times in Zechariah, and 25 times in Malachi.
 
One of my favorites is found in Zechariah 4:6 where the LORD told Zerubbabel – “ ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
 
What the Lord was telling this man who had a tall task ahead of him to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple was that it wasn’t going to be by his “might” (that is, his collective strength of man-power, etc.) or by his “power” (that is, his own individual strength of his intellect and personal abilities), but it was going to be by the Spirit of God. And then by adding, “says the Lord of hosts,” I hear the LORD telling Zerubbabel – “But by My might and by My power because I AM the LORD of hosts!”
 
Finally, Malachi 3:17 (a verse I quoted last week) says, “ ‘They shall be Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘On the day that I make them My jewels.’ ”
 
This verse is obviously prophesying our Day when Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection will make us children of God, His pearls of great price and hidden treasures. And I also believe that we today are part of the “hosts” that He is Lord of.
 
SEEING THE LORD OF HOSTS
 
So who are the hosts over whom the Lord has authority? We’ve seen that His hosts involve all of His creation like the multitudes of stars in the heavens, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, etc. Yes, all of God’s creation is a part of His hosts and He will use them as necessary to see His kingdom come and will be done.
 
But it doesn’t stop there: We’ve seen that His hosts also include those in heaven like His angels and other spiritual beings surrounding His throne and inhabiting heaven. Therefore, Jehovah Sabaoth uses all of His spiritual hosts to accomplish His purposes as well. This is threaded throughout the Scriptures.    
 
But His hosts are not just spiritual entities. We’ve seen how His hosts are also described as His physical hosts such as the armies of Israel that He leads into battle and other armies of the nations He musters against His enemies.
 
I wonder how much our perspective would change if we saw this Name of God the way it is in truth. It would probably be like going from being Elijah’s servant in Second Kings chapter 6 who only saw the king’s horses and chariots surrounding the city to being Elijah who saw the horses and chariots of fire that the LORD of hosts had surrounding the mountain. His servant was freaking out because he could only see the “hosts” that were against them while Elijah was at peace because he saw the “hosts” who were more in numbers and strength and were there to protect them.
 
Yes, church, God’s people are always transformed when we recognize Jehovah-Sabaoth. It’s all a matter of perspective. It is a simple saying, yet there is a great deal of truth to it – small God, big problems: big God, small problems.
 
THE HOST ABOVE ALL HOSTS
 
Now I believe that there is some light we can gain about this Name of God by looking at how we primarily use the word “host” today.
 
So in our modern-day society, how do we primarily use the word “host”? It is used to describe “a person who receives or entertains guests socially, commercially, or officially” (Webster’s Dictionary). In layman’s terms, a host is someone who invites a person or people to maybe a party at their home, a meeting at their place of business, etc.
 
So the Lord is the Lord of Hosts – meaning, the Lord is all about Hosting. We see this throughout the Lord’s parables as He is described as a Man who threw a great dinner and invited many (See Luke 14:15-24), as the Father throwing a party in his house for His servants & sons (See Luke 15:22-27), etc. The LORD is the best host, and He sure knows how to throw a party!
 
But my point from these examples is that the LORD is obviously all about inviting others to be a part of what He is doing. Yes, He loves congregations! He delights in assemblies! He rejoices in family! Why? Because Love doesn’t like doing things alone. It loves to involve others – to bless them and let them be a part of something special.
 
Well, God, who is Love, is no different. The Lord of hosts obviously doesn’t just work alone. I think I’ve had this incorrect imagery of God – that since He doesn’t need anyone else to get things done, being the Almighty, All-Powerful Being that He is, that He doesn’t use anyone else. But how many of you know that’s not how the Lord of hosts operates? No, He uses others for His kingdom’s purposes.
 
For example, there are multiple verses that show us that when the Lord had enemies to defeat, that He would send angels to do His bidding. Oftentimes, He even used angels to deliver His Word to people. Did He have to do things this way? Couldn’t He simply move His pinky finger and defeat His enemies here on the earth? Couldn’t He just speak audibly to those He had a message for? Why use angels for these things? Well, I don’t believe it’s because He has to use angels. Rather, I believe it’s because He chooses to do things this way.
 
You see, there is a great misconception out there as to how the Lord operates: Consider the example of us as His creation and how He uses human beings. There is a very popular theology out there called the Sovereignty of God, and a big part of this doctrine teaches that God is in control and does whatever He wants to do. So if something happens to us, it was because God permitted it to happen for His purposes. This belief system goes as far as saying that everything – good or bad – that comes into our lives is a part of God’s sovereign plan.
 
Church, these things are simply not so. No, some things happen because the Lord has given man authority to do something about it and we didn’t. Yes, even evil is accomplished on this planet, not because God is allowing it, but because we yield ourselves to the flesh, sin, and satan. This is all part of God’s design when He created the heavens & the earth. He gave us dominion over His creation and told man to rule over this world that the Lord had given Him.
 
Psalm 115:16 says, “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men.”
 
So the earth is ours, not His – all because He chose to give it to us. Yes, ultimately, He is the owner of His creation, but He has essentially leased out this planet to mankind. Therefore, it is our responsibility to guard our garden, taking care of it both naturally and spiritually.
 
So I say all of this to say that God has chosen to not do it Himself, but to delegate His authority to us to handle. And this couldn’t be more true for the host that the Lord has redeemed, saved, and sanctified – the church of the Lord Jesus, the body of Christ. Yes, we are Christ’s representatives here on the earth, His delegated ambassadors called to occupy till He comes.
 
That certainly does not mean that He doesn’t use the hosts of heaven like angels to do things, but if you study the New Testament, you’ll find how the church is meant to work together with the armies of angels that God gives us to guard and protect us.
 
But one of the primary ways that God uses His “hosts” to get the job done is through unity. Yes, it’s through the body of Christ working together. Yes, it’s through His church being fitly joined together. This is what releases the power of heaven’s hosts to do the most damage to the kingdom of darkness.
 
Let me give you some examples from both the Old and New Testament to show how this works …
 
THE POWER OF UNITY
 
Psalm 133 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing-- Life forevermore.”
 
Friends, this psalm is prophetically declaring that there is a corporate anointing for the body of Christ, and when we dwell together in unity – forgetting our cultural differences, putting aside our doctrinal differences, and laying down our pride and insecurities – for one common purpose and one common goal, that it is a good and pleasant thing! When we join together as the body of Christ, that oil of the Holy Spirit can then flow from one part to the next, from the top of the head down the edge of the garments. This is what happens when our Host has an assembling of His hosts!
 
So it is no wonder why Satan fights unity so much, right? It is because He fears the corporate anointing and he is afraid of a body of believers who might join together with one common goal. This is why you see church splits. This is why you see division in the community. And this is why you see such an escalation of divorce. It is because his number one goal is to divide! For a house divided against itself cannot stand.
 
Do you remember when Jesus was accused of casting out demons by Beelzebub? What was His response? He said that Satan cannot cast out Satan, for a house divided against itself cannot stand. In other words, you even see order in Satan’s camp. It is not perfect chaos. He has systematic order in his kingdom because he knows the power of operating in this way. Ephesians 6:12 shows us how, in his kingdom, he has ranks of demons: First, there are the principalities. Under them, there are the powers (or, authorities). Then comes the rulers of the darkness of this age and then the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Friends, he has order and each demon in his kingdom works according to their assignment and their position. 
 
Let’s turn over to Genesis chapter 11 and see an example of how Satan inspired an event called the Tower of Babel…
 
In Genesis chapter 11, we see the story of man called Nimrod and this man had a plan. He and his people decided they wanted to make a name for themselves. So they planned to build a tower that would reach to the heavens lest they be scattered across the earth. Well, God saw what they purposed in their heart to do and came down and divided their language because He said in verse 6, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.” That is a powerful statement! God basically said something similar that came out of the mouth of Jesus when He said that nothing shall be impossible for us. And why was there the prospect of this people accomplishing anything and nothing being impossible for them to do? It was because they were one! It was because all had one language! It was because they had tapped into a spiritual law that when a people become one and they pursue a common goal - with one mind, one mouth, and in one accord - nothing shall be impossible for them.
 
So if this is a true principle for Satan and the ungodly, how much more do you reckon this will work for the body of Christ!?! I guarantee you that if it works for them tenfold; it will work for us a hundredfold!
 
And, as a matter of fact, we’ve already seen it work in the Book of Acts! Turn over to chapter two…
 
Acts 2:1-3 says, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord and in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues (that’s the only thing you will ever find divided in God’s kingdom), and one sat upon each of them. And then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
 
Friends, this is Psalm 133 fulfilled! When they gathered together in that upper room in one accord, the Holy Spirit – the Anointing Himself – came upon each one of this royal priesthood and took ordinary men and women and made them extraordinary! That oil was poured out on them and was mixed with those tongues of fire, and they became the light of the world. Hallelujah! They became that golden lampstand filled with oil and with fire at the wick to burn bright in this dark and perverse generation. But how did it all start? As they were in one place and in one accord!
 
Yes, saints, this is when the church was truly empowered and commissioned. It’s when it became the Lord’s army, His hosts that were capable of turning the world right-side up! It was, is, and evermore shall be the heart of Jehovah Sabaoth, our Lord Jesus Christ – to have a unified body that is one even as He and the Father are One. 
 
Lord, may these lamps burn bright for your glory! May these churches be golden lampstands in this community! May we be the lights of Middle Georgia! 

REVIEW
 
Church, it’s all about knowing Him! This is the simplicity of Christianity and if our pursuits in the faith are not wrapped up in this one thing, we might just be practicing religion and missing the boat.  
 
God has always just wanted to have a relationship with His creation. It is not about following a bunch of rules or just being good, moral people. There’s nothing wrong with some of those things, but at the foundation of our faith is the knowledge of God – that is, knowing Him personally & intimately and enjoying good fellowship with Him.
 
And I have come to find that one of the most meaningful ways of coming to know the LORD better is by studying His Names, because the name of a person represents their character, personality, and behavior. So if I want to know Him, then learning who He is becomes paramount.
 
So we started off looking at His first, general Name for “God”— the name Elohim – which is generally the first way we all come to know Him – as the all-powerful, sovereign, creator of the heavens and the earth whom we must give an account to in the future as our Ruler and Judge. However, we ought not stop there as so many of God’s children do.
 
We need to come to know ALL of His Names in order to have the complete picture of who He is revealed to us. So that’s why God revealed Himself to Moses and the children of Israel in a much more elaborate and detailed way than He did with the Patriarchs – So they could fully KNOW Him.
 
So this is where His Name Yahweh/Jehovah came in: The LORD said He wanted Israel to know Him this way. And that’s my desire as well!
 
So what we are spending the majority of our time doing in this series is focusing on the covenant-keeping, Jehovah names of God in the Old Testament – the Names He revealed Himself by to Israel. These are those Yahweh/Jehovah names of God that further amplify what our God is, was, and ever more shall be, our Lord who always keeps His covenant, and who will do what He promised for those He is in relationship with.
 
So the first “Jehovah” Name of God that we looked at was Jehovah Shammah, which is what the LORD revealed Himself as in Ezekiel 48:35.  
 
We learned that Jehovah Shammah means “The LORD is there” and thus denotes – Yahweh is present. So we saw that this Name of Yahweh reveals God’s nature to always be there and present with His people.
 
So we looked at a lot of Scriptures that echo this part of His Person where we learned that God is our ever-present help in a time of need and that He has promised to never leave or forsake us.
 
You see, church, God’s character is that of faithfulness, and being faithful means you are consistently there for the one’s you love. So the LORD’s nature is to always be present and there for us, the objects of His love. Which He took to another level under this new and better covenant that we have with Him because now Christ is in us, being with us even to the ends of the earth, and the Holy Spirit lives in the temple of our body to abide with us forever.
 
So Jehovah Shammah – the LORD is there and present – is most certainly a part of God’s nature and character from the beginning of the Bible to the end of it. 
 
Then last week, we looked at the Name He revealed to the children of Israel in Exodus 15:26, the Name Jehovah Rapha.
 
We saw that this Name literally described the LORD as the One who heals or make healthful – which is certainly a part of God’s nature when you consider the plethora of Scriptures that talk about God’s will to heal His people, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
 
But we also saw how “rapha” describes curing, mending, or repairing, and it was even the word used to describe a physician or doctor. So not only could we say that the LORD is our Healer, but we could say that the LORD is our Doctor! Yes, even Jesus was referred to as a Physician during His ministry – because He was doing what Jehovah Rapha does – healing, mending, curing, and repairing.
 
So we walked through the example of going to our doctors, and the process of getting help from them, because the LORD showed us that there are a lot of parallels there to how we receive from our Great Physician.
 
If you missed that, go back and listen to that study on the LORD being our healer because that is really important to Him – that He be your Divine Physician, and that you be made healed & whole.  Yes, God’s in the healing business and He’s not planning on going out of business anytime soon!
 
 
 
JEHOVAH M’KADDESH
 
Now the next Name of Yahweh that I want us to look at is His Name “Jehovah M’Kaddesh.”
 
This particular Name of God is used not once but twice in the Old Testament – both in Exodus 31:13 and Leviticus 20:8. We will look at both of these in a moment, but first, let’s look at what Jehovah M’Kaddesh actually means …
 
Of course, Jehovah comes from God’s Name of Yahweh, and as we’ve seen, it describes the Great I Am. So it means that the LORD IS this or the Lord IS that. Here, it means that the LORD IS He who “sanctifies.”
 
Now invariably you’ve heard the words “sanctify” or “sanctification” if you’ve been going to church for any length of time. Unfortunately, even though we are using Biblical words and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that, many church going people do not know what these words mean. So let’s define what it means to sanctify someone and thus learn what sanctification is.
 
The Hebrew word M’Kaddesh means to consecrate, to dedicate, to hallow (sound familiar?) or to make holy. In the simplest terms, to sanctify means “to separate or set apart.” So “sanctification” describes the act of consecrating, dedicating, making holy, and setting something apart – thus making it different and special.  
 
Now let’s take a look at the two times Jehovah M’Kaddesh is used because I believe these two examples help us to understand sanctification better …
 
The first time it was used is when the Lord spoke to Moses, giving him the Sabbath law for His people. And in Exodus 31:13, He said, “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” So here we see that the LORD was saying that the keeping of His various Sabbaths was meant to be sign between Him and His people and that they would know that He is Jehovah M’Kaddesh … 
 
Now I think it is interesting that the LORD gave them this Name regarding them keeping the Sabbath. What does the Sabbath have to do with the LORD sanctifying His people?
 
Well, the Sabbath itself was blessed and sanctified, wasn’t it? Genesis 2:3 says, “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”
 
So the LORD set this particular day apart. Doing what? Making it a “special” day, unlike the other six days of the week.
 
So in Exodus 31:13, I believe it relates to how their keeping the Sabbath made them different and special. Yes, that was not a normal way that the world did things. The world certainly doesn’t practice a Day of Rest where it rests from its labor and recognizes the One True & Living God for the abundance of everything He has blessed them with. Heck, no!
 
Well, the Sabbath made Israel special. It set them apart. It let the world know and was a sign that the LORD had dedicated and consecrated them as His own special people. Amen?
 
Now you’ll hear this as a common theme today, but it is important to understand that it is God doing this setting apart here in Exodus 31:13. The children of Israel did not first dedicate, consecrate, or separate themselves. It was God who did it to them.
 
Why is this important to understand? It’s because far too many of us, when we think of this idea of sanctification, think that this is what we do. WE set ourselves apart to the Lord. WE dedicate ourselves to Him. WE consecrate our lives to Him. And yes, these things are important things for us to do, but we ought not get the cart in front of the horse. What do I mean by that? I mean that when you study “sanctification,” God is the One who does it to us first, and then and only then, are we able to do it unto Him.
 
So in our first example, God calls Himself Jehovah M’Kaddesh. He is the One who set His people apart through the Sabbath because the Sabbath itself was a special day that the Lord set apart in the beginning.
 
Now in our other example of this Name of God, we do see the Lord telling His people to sanctify themselves, with the context being that the LORD was warning His people to not commit harlotry with the false of gods of the land.
 
In Leviticus 20:7 He says, “Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.” Then He tells them in verse 8 – “And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”
 
The idea of them being consecrated and set apart to Him in these verses was referring to not committing idolatry – which ultimately was viewed by God as spiritual prostitution.

So again, it’s about relationship with the Lord, and the fact that He has already sanctified His people shows that He, the Holy One, has set them apart for Himself, and therefore was dedicating Himself to them. Now, He is expecting His sanctified people to be holy and set themselves apart for Him.
 
So again, it starts with Jehovah M’Kaddesh being the LORD who sanctifies us and then ought to be reflected in our lives as well by us staying consecrated to Him. Amen? 
 
 
 
WHO IS THE SANCTIFIER?
 
So since the LORD is our Jehovah M’Kaddesh, the LORD who sanctifies, it is clear that God first does this work of sanctification in things. Let me give you a few verses that teach us this …
 
In the Old Testament, the LORD oftentimes reminded Israel that they were His own special people, His treasures that He had picked out for Himself. While these verses don’t specifically refer to “sanctification,” they imply it – for the LORD’s calling them out to be His own special treasure reveals God setting them apart for Him.
 
But when turning to the New Testament, we see how what Jehovah M’Kaddesh originally did for Israel has also been done for all who put their trust in Jesus Christ, His Son.
 
First Peter 2:9-10 say, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”
 
Again, this beautiful passage of Scripture clearly shows us that the sanctifying work that the LORD did for the children of Israel has been done for the Gentiles who are in Christ. Yes, we are now a chosen generation, His own elect! We are His royal priesthood, being His kings and priests! We are His holy nation, being made citizens of the kingdom of God! We are His own special people, His hidden treasure and pearls of great price!
 
Let’s look at some more Scriptures in the New Testament that show us this sanctifying work that He has done in us … 
 
Acts 26:18 – “to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”
 
In recounting his testimony, the apostle Paul described what would happen for those who are converted. And among all of the things, he ends with those who are sanctified by faith in Me – showing us that this setting apart takes place as we believe on Jesus.
 
First Corinthians 1:2 – “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”
 
So the apostle Paul refers to the Church at Corinth as those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus – not will be set apart, but ARE this way. Why? Because they are in Christ Jesus.
 
And that’s why He goes on to call them saints (a point we will revisit here shortly) …
 
First Corinthians 1:30 – “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption …”
 
Notice that Paul says here that Jesus became for us these things – righteousness, redemption, and sanctification. So it’s not you becoming sanctified for Him; He became that sanctification on our behalf.
 
First Corinthians 6:11 – “And such were some of you. (fornicators, adulterers, thieves, drunkards, etc. See verses 9-10) But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
 
So this verse implies that while we once were sinners – practicing all of these abominable things – since then, we were washed, justified, and sanctified – meaning, we were set apart when we were born again.
 
The Book of Hebrews likes to refer to this concept of sanctification …
 
Hebrews 13:12 – “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.”
 
Hebrews 10:14 – “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”
 
Hebrews 2:11 – “For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,”
 
So how does this “sanctification” work? Sure, we’ve seen that it happens as we believe on Christ, but it happens through the Holy Spirit. Check out these verses …
 
Second Thessalonians 2:13 – “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,”
 
First Peter 1:1-2 – “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:”
 
These verses show us that we become God’s elect / chosen ones in and through sanctification by the Spirit – meaning, it’s by the Holy Spirit’s work that this sanctification occurs.
 
So it is clear that Jehovah M’Kaddesh has accomplished this “sanctification” for all those who believe on His Son. Yes, sanctification comes by faith and is a product of a work of the Holy Spirit in us, not the other way around.
 
However, like we’ve touched on already, there is a responsibility of us living sanctified lives too. Yes, the Lord desires our walks to reflect what has taken place in us through Christ. And this goes for everything that Jesus has done for us: The Lord wants us to live righteous lives because we’ve been made righteous. He wants us to love because we’ve already been loved. He desires for us to live holy because He has already made us holy.
 
And while we are on the subject of sanctification, I want to remind you of what part of our definition was for sanctify – it also meant “to make holy.” So the LORD is the One who sanctifies and makes holy. This is why I can say He has already made us holy.  
 
Now when you hear the truth that He has already made us holy, is that tough to swallow? I know a lot of us have been taught differently – that we are the ones responsible for making ourselves holy. But what we are learning today is that God is Jehovah M’Kaddesh – the One who sanctifies us and makes us holy.
 
Let’s look back at the Old Testament and then ahead to the New Testament and see how the same thing that God did for Israel then is what He has done for His church now …
 
A HOLY PEOPLE
 
Let’s begin in the Book of Deuteronomy, particularly, Deuteronomy 7:6-8. I want us to look first in this passage of Scripture because I believe God’s heart in choosing the people of Israel to be His own, chosen people mirrors what God did for us in Christ Jesus. 
 
In these verses, God began to say to the children of Israel— “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth…”
 
Now, first of all, when He began by describing them as a “holy” people to Himself, we need to understand that He was not using this term “holy” like we do today. No, He was not saying that they were perfect, blameless, or flawless. The children of Israel were far from that! No, what he was saying is that they were different “to the Lord your God”—meaning, they were not like the other nations, but were special, different, and precious to Him.
 
For example, oftentimes in the Old Testament, you would see the Lord say that certain items like things in the Tabernacle, etc. were “holy” unto Him. He called the tithe as holy unto Him, so what that meant was that particular kind of giving was different, special and precious to the LORD.
 
Another good example is how the Word of God is called “The Holy Bible.” What that means is that it is a special Book, and not to be considered like just any other book out there. It’s different in that it is inspired by God and ought to be precious to us. Likewise, Israel is called God’s own special people and precious to Him. We see this in the rest of verse 6 when He said, “…the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.”
 
Now can you imagine how this must have made Israel feel? “We are special to God! We are His favorites among all the peoples on the face of the earth!” But this was obviously not because they deserved it either. God set them apart for Himself before all of their mistakes and flaws, and why? This verse says it was because He “chose” to choose them.
 
Notice what the Lord went on to say in verses 7-8— “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
 
You see, there are two very important things to understand in these two verses about God sanctifying Israel:

1. He said that He did not set His love on them or choose them because of how mighty and strong they were in terms of numbers. What this is saying is that the Lord does not choose people because they are strong, smart, talented, or worthy of being chosen in any way. No, He actually delights in choosing the weak, the poor, the dishonored, etc. In other words, one is not chosen because they are sufficient in themselves or because of their own abilities and work. It is all by His grace, and as He goes on to say, because of His love.
2. But He also said that He chose them because He was keeping His promise which He made to their fathers. In other words, the Lord is a covenant keeping God. If He swore an oath to someone, He will keep it no matter what. And the great news for us is that Father God’s covenant is now with His Son! So, now God will keep the covenant that He swore to His Son! Glory and hallelujah!

 
But here is another good example of how “holy” can also mean to be different and special: First Thessalonians 5:26 says to greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. Now how many of you know that you are not to go around kissing other Christians like you would kiss your wife!?! You better not come to this church kissing on people like you kiss your spouse. No, a holy kiss would obviously be both a pure and a different kind of kiss—meaning, it’s not like other kisses out there while at the same time being void of any impure motives.
 
Well, just like we have a “Holy Bible” and “holy kisses”—which are precious and pure things—God’s church is said to be holy and without blame before Him in love. That means that He views us, spiritually speaking, as “infallible, without error, precious and prized.” Yes, we are different, His own peculiar treasure, that is passionately loved by our Creator!    
 
Church, I believe this is the way the apostle Paul used this term “holy” in Ephesians 1:4 when he said that God chose us in Him “that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”
 
Now when we look at the terminology here, we can read it as saying that Jesus chose us in Christ so that someday we should become holy and without blame before God. But that is not what Paul was saying here. He was saying that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world so that we should, at the moment we receive Him, be holy and without blame before God. In other words, in Christ Jesus, we are holy and without blame at the moment we are born again and remain that way as we remain in Him. Amen! 
 
And notice how this verse says that we are holy and without blame before Him: You see, we might have a different opinion of ourselves, and others might have different opinions of us, but it’s not anyone else’s opinion that is important; it is God’s opinion that truly matters. And if He views us as “holy” (i.e. special, precious, different, and prized) and “blameless” (We will look at this in a moment) then that’s the way we are. Period. Amen?
 
SAINTS!
 
Now one of the ways that you know how someone views you is by how they refer to you. And when we look in the mirror of this new covenant that you and I are in with God, we see a term that is commonly used to refer to us—the word “saints.”
 
Of course, this term is used when someone like the apostle Paul was referring to one of his churches, but again, we need to take these references like “beloved, saints, etc.” like God is talking to us, as all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and these men were moved by the Holy Spirit to write the things they did. Therefore, when we see that we, as a body of believers, are referred to as “saints,” then I take that as how my Heavenly Father sees me.   
 
In fact, I have found that we as the body of Christ are referred to as “saints” over 50 times in the New Testament! (See Romans 1:7, 8:27, 12:13, 15:25-26,31, 16:2,15; First Corinthians 1:2, 6:1,2, 14:33, 16:1,15; Second Corinthians 1:1, 8:4, 9:1,12, 13:13; Ephesians 1:1, 1:15,18, 2:19, 3:8, 3:18, 4:12, 5:3, 6:18; Philippians 1:1, 4:21-22; Colossians 1:2,4,12,26; First Thessalonians 5:27; Second Thessalonians 1:10; First Timothy 5:10; Philemon 5,7; Hebrews 6:10, 13:24; Jude 3,14; Revelation 5:8, 8:3-4, 13:7,10, 14:12, 15:3, 16:6, 17:6, 18:24, 19:8, 20:9). That’s a lot! In fact, it is used many more times than the term “Christians, believers, etc.”—any of these other titles that we give ourselves today as followers of Christ. So, apparently, this is one of the predominant ways God sees us. Glory!
 
You know, the way that we generally use the term “saints” today is to either refer to old Christians or dead ones. That’s right—we like to call the elderly Christians who have lived somewhat “holy” lives this, and some also like to refer to the renowned Christians who did great things many generations ago this way too. But again, the Bible doesn’t share these same sentiments. Like we said, it refers to every born-again believer this way time and time again in the New Testament.
 
Now someone might then gravitate towards watering down the meaning of the word “saint” when they see it refers to every Christian, but it does essentially mean what we have believed it to mean. It comes from the Greek word hagios which literally means “holy ones.”
 
In fact, this word hagios is the very same word used to describe God’s “holy” law (See Romans 7:12), the “holy” apostles and prophets (See Ephesians 3:5), the “Holy” Scriptures (See Romans 1:2), the “Holy” Spirit (Romans 5:5), the “Holy One,” Jesus Christ Himself (See First John 2:20 & Revelation 3:7), and, yes, the Lord God Almighty Himself who has the hosts of heaven constantly declaring that He is “Holy, holy, holy!” So, do you know what that means? It means if we are His holy ones, then we are in the same boat with the rest of these other Most Holy things! 
 
Romans 11:16 gives us this same principle: “if the root is holy, then so are the branches.” We might say that, according to Jesus’ word in John chapter 15, if the Vine is holy, then the branches are truly holy as well!
 
Now I understand that there are those out there who might say, “Well, don’t the Scriptures say that we are to be holy even as He is holy? (See First Peter 1:16) Yes, but the context here specifically refers to being holy in all our conduct, and we need to understand that there is a big difference between our “who” and our “do.” No, I am not talking about your hairdo, but about your actions, conduct, etc. So, yes, there is a difference between who you are and what you do.
 
Speaking of hairdos, this is one of the very things some church people think makes someone holy—how they wear their hair. They take Scriptures like First Peter 3:1-6 and say, “See there, if you are going to be holy, then you can’t be fixin’ your hair, wearing jewelry or nice clothes.” No, no, no. That’s not Peter’s point here. He was not saying that a Christian should not wear nice clothes, put on jewelry, or wear makeup. Listen, if an old barn needs painting, paint it, bless God! Just don’t make your outward man your priority. So, what Peter was teaching them was that we shouldn’t “merely” be concerned with adorning our outward man—for its beauty is fleeting—but we should give our attention to what we are wearing on the inside for that is what is very precious in the sight of God. And I’ll tell you, the hidden man of our heart is what is important! It is to God and ought to be to us as well!
 
So, should we walk in holiness? Absolutely! We need to live lives that correspond with who we are in the spirit and reflect our holiness for all the world to see. What we should avoid, however, is basing our holiness on our actions. We are not holy because of what we do; we are holy because of what Christ has done. 
 
Let’s look at another verse in this Mirror that reflects the same truth, just in a different way:
 
 
 
WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE
 
In the Book of Colossians, which is a mirror book to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Paul says, “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight - if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I Paul, became a minister.” (Colossians 1:21-23). What a powerful passage of Scriptures!
 
Now when Paul begins with the words “And you,” what he is doing is continuing along the lines of what he said in the prior verse about Jesus making peace through His blood and reconciling the world unto Himself. So, a good paraphrase of these truths might be: “Not only has God reconciled all things back unto Himself through Jesus Christ, He also has reconciled all of mankind that receive His Son Jesus Christ to Himself.” Glory to Jesus! This will become important when it comes to what he said next …
 
Paul goes on to say, “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works.” Notice that this says we “who once were.” That’s a far cry from “who now are.” But it sure doesn’t feel this way sometimes, does it? Sometimes those “wicked works” can leave us feeling in our minds like we are alienated from and enemies of God, can’t they? Yes, when we miss it and fall short of God’s glory, we are left feeling “alienated,” which literally means “to be excluded, separated, or foreign to.” This means that His life can feel “foreign” to us. Not only that, but we can even feel like God is hostile towards us.  
 
But I want you to notice where the core-root of this alienation from and hostility towards God was located— “in your mind.” In other words, what we experienced was a result of the way we were thinking and what we believed in our heart. So, what this means is that if it was our “stinking thinking” that led us away from God in the first place, then the renewing of our minds must be part of the process of restoring us back to God. In other words, if this alienation began in our minds, it is possible that we can continue to experience alienation in our flesh & soul until our thinking changes.
 
And I am telling you the truth, the majority of Christians who have been fully reconciled to God do not sense or experience that reconciliation, and they live their entire lives feeling like God is way up there somewhere and they are stuck way down here all alone. This ought not to be so, church! This verse goes on to say, “yet now He has reconciled.” Not, “yet in the future He will reconcile,” but “now He has reconciled.” Therefore, all who have put their faith in Christ have been and currently are reconciled unto God! Glory!
 
Once you renew your mind to that truth—when you own it as yours—then say goodbye to feeling like you are alienated from God and His enemy! Praise God! You will experience that peace that comes through His reconciliation!
 
Then notice the glorious truths of verse 22— “in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, blameless, and above reproach in His sight…” So, Jesus offered up His life as a sacrifice for our sins in order to present us to God like an offering that is holy, blameless, and above reproach in the sight of God!
 
Now we’ve already touched on this word “holy,” but let’s look at the other terms used to describe our reconciled condition in Christ …
 
The word “blameless” refers to being “faultless & without blemish”—like the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament were to be without blemish. In fact, this word “blameless” is the same word used in 1 Peter 1:19 to describe Jesus as the Lamb “without blemish” and without spot. Therefore, we have been presented to the Father like pure and spotless lambs because we are in the Lamb of God who is pure and spotless! That means we have no spots, no wrinkles, and are presented that way to our Holy Husband (Compare with Ephesians 5:26-27).
 
Notice the next words— “above reproach.” This literally means “not called in” (i.e. “not called to account”). This phrase describes being totally free from any charge being on our account. You see, not only are we made without blemish, but all the charges that we previously had on our account have been washed away in the blood of Christ! Glory! But wait, it gets even better …
 
Paul goes to say that we are holy, blameless, and above reproach “in His sight.” This is the same “sight” that all things are naked and open to the eyes of (See Hebrews 4:13). The Greek word for “sight” literally means “to look down it,” denoting a deep inspection and a penetrating gaze. You see, God has so thoroughly cleansed us, made us blameless, and erased the charges we once had, that not even God’s most thorough and penetrating inspection can detect a flaw in our newly recreated spirit! Glory!
 
Again, the picture that Paul is painting here in verse 22 is of God’s most desirable offering under the Old Testament. He began by showing how Jesus—who truly was the perfect sacrifice—died for us so that He could present us—who were imperfect in ourselves—as “holy, blameless, and above reproach in the sight of God.” Yes, Jesus Christ—the Lamb of God who is without blemish and without spot—suffered in our place—so that we could become His perfect and holy people, that even under the most complete and thorough inspection of God Himself would be found to be perfect and complete before Him! Glory to God!
 
Church, we must set these truths ever before us and proclaim them in the face of all temptations to believe otherwise. Yes, when our flesh, our own heart, or the devil tries to tell us that we are impure, unclean, or not special, it is then that we need to proclaim that we are “Holy!” When our mind or the enemy tries to tell us that we are to be blamed, it is then that we must proclaim that we are “blameless.” When any of these things try to bring an accusation of something we may have done, it is then that we must proclaim that we are “without reproach.” Yes, we can declare today and everyday that we are sanctified because He is the LORD our SANCTIFIER! Amen!      

REVIEW
 
Hallowed be His Name! That’s exactly what we’ve been doing over the past month where we have been specifically focusing on the Names of God in an attempt to get to know Him better.
 
You see, as we made the point of in the beginning of this series, in Bible times, a person’s name told you a lot about that person.  Oftentimes, people were named things that the one naming them desired to see in their lives or what God specifically was prophesying that they would become. So a name represented the person’s character, person, and behavior. Likewise, God’s Names specifically reveal to us His person, character, and attributes.  
 
So, if you and I want to come to know God better, studying His Names is a great way to do so. And what will this produce? It will yield more confidence, assurance, and boldness in how we approach God and do things in His Name.
 
So, we started off looking at His first, general Name for “God”— the name Elohim. This describes God as the all-powerful, sovereign, creator of the heavens and the earth whom we must give an account to in the future as our Ruler and Judge. This is a good, healthy way to know God initially. However, we ought not stop there as so many of God’s children do.
 
We need to come to know ALL of His Names in order to have the complete picture of who He is revealed to us. And we then started looking at how “God” was more than just the all-powerful One but that He is the One who is Most High, All-Seeing, and our All-Sufficiency – three of those “El” names of Elohim.
 
But what I wanted to spend the majority of the time doing in this series is focusing on the covenant-keeping, Jehovah names of God in the Old Testament – the Names He revealed Himself by to Israel. In my opinion, these names show us very clearly what the LORD has promised to be to us, His covenant people.
 
Speaking of LORD, we spent a week talking about this term because all of these other names stem from it – the Name Yahweh. And we learned how this Name is the relational Name of God.   
 
You see, it’s all about relationship with Yahweh. In fact, this name of His is a very relational name as it’s used when God gets involved with His creation and shows us His redeeming power. Yes, Yahweh is God’s covenant keeping name and what He “exists” to do on our behalf.
 
I intentionally used the word “exist” there because, at its root, Yahweh means “to be.” We learned that this is why, when Moses asked God to give him His name, that He said to tell the children of Israel that “I Am Who I Am” had sent him to them. So Yahweh’s full meaning is – “The One who was, who is, and who is to come” – which is what Jesus revealed Himself as to the apostle John (Revelation 1:8).
 
But we also learned that Yahweh was the name that God had intended to reveal Himself as to the children of Israel – a name that was not fully realized by even Abraham and the rest of the patriarchs (See Exodus 6:1-8). In other words, Yahweh/Jehovah was going to be the name that God was going to use to further expound on His nature & character through the covenant He would establish with Israel.
       
Which leads us to what we began looking at last week – the Yahweh/Jehovah names of God that further amplify what our God is, was, and ever more shall be, our Lord who always keeps His covenant, and who will do what He promised for those He is in relationship with.
 
Yes, these names are the fulfillment of what God meant in Exodus chapter 6 when he said that He was going to reveal His name as Yahweh to His people and they would REALLY come to know Him in a way that the patriarchs never did. Thereby, Israel would be able to obtain the promises that escaped the patriarchs.
 
Now as I said last week, I am going to use the name Jehovah for all of these names because that is how I learned them as an English-speaking American, but you are free to substitute Yahweh for Jehovah on each of these names if you so desire. 
 
So last week, we began with the name God revealed Himself through in Ezekiel 48:35 – Jehovah Shammah.   
 
We learned that Jehovah Shammah means “The LORD is there” and thus denotes – Yahweh is present. So we saw that this Name of Yahweh reveals God’s nature to always be there and present with His people.
 
So we looked at a lot of Scriptures that echo this part of His Person where we learned that God is our ever-present help in a time of need and that He has promised to never leave or forsake us.
 
You see, church, God’s character is that of faithfulness, and being faithful means you are consistently there for the one’s you love. So the LORD’s nature is to always be present and there for us, the objects of His love. Which He took to another level under this new and better covenant that we have with Him because now Christ is in us.
We saw this illustrated in the first verse of the Bible that Shammah was used in when Genesis 2:8 says, “The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.”
 
The picture that was painted here is of God planting a garden and then placing the man whom he created “there” (i.e. Shammah). So when you and I were saved, a garden was planted in us – our old, stony heart was taken out and new, soft, cultivated spirit was placed in us. Then the “Man” was put in THERE. That’s the Lord Jesus Christ, the Last Adam. Glory!
 
So if Christ abides within us, then you and I can’t have the Lord any more “there” than that, amen? Likewise, the Holy Spirit has filled our temples if we’ve received Him. So that’s another member of the Godhead “present” and He was promised to abide with us forever. Amen! 
 
But oh, how often do God’s people feel like God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have left them and forsaken them? It’s more than it ought to be – because if we’ve got these exceedingly great and precious promises of Him always being with us, why would we let the way we feel get in the way of what He has promised?  
 
Yes, saints, God is with us and will never not be – all because He is Jehovah Shammah and He always will be present, whether we feel Him or not.
 
THE ORIGIN OF RAPHA
 
Now the next name of God that I would like us to look at is probably one of the most well-known “Jehovah names” of God – the Name “Jehovah Rapha.” Not that it’s meaning is embraced and esteemed by the majority of the Lord’s church in terms of believing in and trusting Him for it, but this name is certainly more commonly recognized than the LORD’s other names.
 
This Name of God is mentioned first in Exodus 15:26. Let me give you just a little background of it …
 
Immediately following the miracle at the Red Sea where God parted the waters, the children of Israel passed through it on dry ground, and the pursuing Pharoah was drowned in it, the LORD brought them into the Wilderness of Shur. So after three days of wandering in this wilderness, the Israelites were in desperate need of water. Then they discovered a river called Marah, but its waters were too “bitter” to drink.
 
Interestingly enough, the word used for “bitter” here was also used to describe the attitude of bitterness. So to me, this describes the “attitude” we should have toward bitterness – that we should never drink of it like we would never drink of bitter waters like Marah.
 
You see, church, there are certain vices like bitterness, unforgiveness, offense, etc. that we need to have zero tolerance towards. In fact, these little foxes are what will spoil our vines the most (Song of Solomon 2:15). So I hold to the standard that I have zero tolerance of these particular sins just like I would stealing, killing, adultery, etc.
 
So as the children of Israel complained against Moses for leading them out into the wilderness with nothing to drink, he cried out to the Lord and the Lord showed him a tree – and not just any tree, but this was a special tree that provide the cure/remedy for the water’s bitterness. (Is the Lord talking to anybody in this place today?)
 
So when Moses cast that particular tree into the waters of Marah, we are told that the bitter waters were made “sweet”—that is, good and pleasurable.   
 
So following this miracle, we are told that God made a statute and an ordinance for them after testing them there. And so then we come to Exodus 15:26 where He declared Himself as Jehovah Rapha to His people …
 
He said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26)
 
This promise was obviously a gesture of assurance from God to the children of Israel – calling it a statute and an ordinance – who had witnessed the plagues that God had released over all of Egypt prior to their release from slavery. However, the timing and connection here to the bitter waters of Marah being made sweet by the tree is what is interesting to me – for this seems to just come out of the blue.
 
But I don’t think that’s the case – I believe the waters being “healed, cured, and remedied” is the cause for our introduction to Jehovah Rapha because this is what Rapha describes. Let me explain …
 
I AM YOUR HEALER
 
So before we get into anything else, let’s look at this name God gave Himself at the end of Exodus 15:26 – Jehovah Rapha. 
 
Now the Hebrew word “rapha” literally describes to heal or make healthful, but it also describes curing, mending, or repairing.
 
But again, let me remind you that the name/term “Jehovah” has come from the Hebrew word Yahweh and at its core, Yahweh describes the One that “Be.” We learned that this is why, when Moses asked God to give him His name that He said to tell the children of Israel that “I Am Who I Am” had sent him to them. So Yahweh’s full meaning is – “The One who was and who will be. Therefore, He is the One who IS.
 
Therefore, when we have these names of God that begin with Yahweh/Jehovah, they were prefaced with – “The LORD is ….”
 
That means that like when “Shammah” was added on, God’s Name is – “The LORD IS There.” So here when “Rapha” is included, the LORD’s name is – “The LORD IS Healer.” Yes, He’s the One who Cures, Mends, Repairs, Makes Whole, and HEALS!
 
And if you’ve spent any time objectively studying the Scriptures, you’ll see that this is most certainly who He was, is, and evermore shall be – The LORD our Healer!
 
Let’s look at some of the Scriptures that clearly reveal God to us as our Healer …
 
Now like it was with Jehovah Shammah where we saw that there are boo coo’s of Scripture that echo God’s Name of “I AM THERE,” there are also a whole lot of Scriptures that echo Jehovah Rapha. And this shouldn’t surprise us – for if these are His Names, then they are core characteristics of His divine nature and, therefore, will be laced throughout the Scriptures. Amen?  
 
So let’s take a look at some of the verses that describe God as the LORD our Healer, beginning in the Old Testament …
 
ü  Exodus 23:25 – “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.”
 
ü  Deuteronomy 7:15 – “And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.”
 
ü  Psalm 103:3 – “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,”
 
ü  Psalm 107:19-20 – “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”
 
ü  Psalm 147:3 – “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
 
ü  Isaiah 53:4-5 – “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
 
ü  Jeremiah 17:14 – “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise.”
 
ü  Jeremiah 30:17 – “For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord …”
 
So Yahweh was certainly a Healer in the Old Testament, but what about the New Testament?


Well, Jesus was sent to us as the “express image of God” (Hebrews 1:3). He said that if we have seen Him, we have seen the Father (John 14:9). Why? Because the Son came to declare Him when no man can see God on their own (John 1:18).
 
So I say all of this to say, if we want to learn about God’s “Name” then just look at Jesus because His works reveal to us the true nature of God.
 
Now in Jesus ministry, we have a lot along the lines of Him being a Healer …
 
ü  Matthew 4:23 – “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.”
 
ü  Matthew 9:35 – “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”
 
ü  Matthew 10:1 – “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.”
 
ü  Mark 16:17-18 – “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name … they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
 
ü  Acts 10:38 – “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
 
Then toward the end of the New Testament, we have one of my personal favorite verses that reveals God’s desire for us to live healthy lives …
 
ü  3 John 2 – “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”
 
So through all of these verses, it is crystal clear that the LORD is our Healer! Amen? Yes, He was in the healing business in the Old Testament. And is in the healing business in the New Testament. And guess what? He always will be in the healing business. Yes, He has always been in the healing business and He’s not going out of business anytime soon! Amen!
 
THE LORD OUR PHYSICIAN
 
But when it comes to the Hebrew word “rapha,” there is something about this word that I believe is extremely important to note: Next to be translated as “heal” in the original King James Version, the second most used translation of this word rapha is the term “physician.”
 
In fact, when we look at how “rapha” is defined, we can see how a physician or doctor could come from it – for the word means to heal or make healthful, and also included to mend, repair, and cure – all of which are things that someone from the medical community have devoted their lives to do. Amen!
 
One example with this word “rapha” is used in the Old Testament, where there was a specific connection being made between a person’s disease and how they went about being healed: This was the story of King Asa in Second Chronicles 16:12 where we are told – “And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe, yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.”
 
The word used for “physicians” at the end of this verse is the Hebrew word “rapha.” So what do we see happening here in this story? We see the Scriptures giving us a warning that when it comes to healing, it’s important to our Great Physician that we seek Him first for it.
 
I’d compare it to this – Say you have a doctor already, but then when you have an issue, you go to another doctor. Well, if your doctor learned that you did that, it might be little offensive to them, right?
 
You see, the LORD does not want us turning to anything or anyone above Him, and this certainly applies to the needs we have in our lives like healing. He wants to be our source! He desires for us to seek Him first, not second, third, fourth, etc. This is important to our Great Physician. 
 
Now don’t hear what I’m not saying: The Lord is not against us going to doctors, having surgeries, or taking medicine. In fact, sometimes He will lead one to do these things. Why? Because both our Great Physician and the physicians of this world are fighting the same battle. My point is simply that when it comes to the care for our bodies, the Lord wants us to turn to Him first and see how He wants us to handle it – all because again, He is our Great Physician.
 
So this is why you probably have heard God referred to as our Great Physician. This comes from Jesus’ words – both when He said that those who are sick are the ones in need of a physician, obviously referring to Himself (See Luke 5:31), and also when others would quote the proverb to Him, “Physician, heal yourself!” So Jesus was obviously referred to as a Physician (See Luke 4:23).
 
Now I’d like to walk us through the example we have in this world of going to our doctors and the process of getting help from them because the LORD has shown me that there are a lot of parallels there to how we receive from Him.  
 
You see, if God is our Great Physician, the true expert in this profession of health and healing, then it would behoove us to go to our “Doc” and let Him lead us into our healing. Amen?
 
So let’s look at this natural example of us going to our physicians and the steps that are taken to help lead us into healing …
 
STEP #1 – GOING TO THE DOCTOR
 
So what’s the first thing that we have to do to allow our physicians to help us with our health? Well, I think the obvious answer to that is you have got to go to them!
 
You see, so many people don’t ever make appointments to see their doctor until it’s an absolute emergency. But wisdom would be to prepare for healing before there’s ever an issue, right?
 
So getting in the presence of the physician is obviously the first step. Likewise, getting in the presence of our Great Physician is a vital part of receiving His healing.
 
You see, there are a lot of us Christians who go to God with the same frequency that we go to the doctor – meaning, sure, we go to Him when there’s an emergency, but other than that, we rarely seek the Lord. How many of you know that shouldn’t be the case? We don’t need to just seek God when we are in tough spots. We ought to seek God and come to Him regularly.
 
Now I can give you plenty of Scripture on the need for us to come to the Lord …
 
For one, on almost every healing that Jesus performed during His ministry and that was recorded in the Gospels, the sick & infirm came to Him. Of course, there are times where someone came on behalf of the sick like say the Centurion with his servant and Jairus with his daughter, but the fact is, the person with the authority in that household came to the Great Physician. There were a couple of instances where Jesus seemed to initiate the healing/miracle, but the vast majority of people who got healed in Jesus’ ministry had to come to Him to initiate it themselves. And the good news is that every person we see that came to Him in faith got what they came for!
 
Now we might have to make an appointment with our doctors here on the earth, but none of these folks did. They just oftentimes showed up at Jesus’ office and barged in. So it’s obvious that our Great Physicians policy is “No appointments necessary!” Yes, come as you are, says the Lord! As Isaiah 55:1 says, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.” So not only is the Lord saying that no appointment is necessary, but He also says that He’s not expecting payment either. Just simply draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. He doesn’t need us to clean our act up; He just needs us to repent – which is to turn unto Him and away from anything that is contrary to Him. Amen!  
 
So simply going to the doctor is the first step to receiving the help we need. Perhaps this is why we see passages of Scripture like the 91st Psalm, that promise Him delivering us from the perilous pestilence and taking away the plague from our dwelling, starting off with dwelling in the secret place of the Most High and abiding under the shadow of Shaddai. It’s because living in Jehovah Rapha’s presence will do nothing but help yield healing in our lives.
 
Psalm 91:1 reads: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” So what this verse is saying is that it is the one who dwells in the secret place of the Most High (El Elyon) that shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (El Shaddai) and thus receive Elohim and Yahweh’s promise of provision and protection, including healing. 
 
You know, that wise saying – “You become like who you hang around” – certainly applies to God as well. Yes, just maintaining a good, healthy relationship with Him and staying close to Him will yield the fruit of His Name more times than not. For example, if God is a blessing, then hanging out with Him will produce blessing in our lives. Likewise, if God is a Healer, then sticking around Him will produce healing in our lives as well. Amen?
 
So hopefully you can see just how important getting in the presence of the Physician is. Oftentimes, just getting to the Door is the first step. 
 
STEP #2 – SPEAK THE TRUTH
 
But like it is with us going to the Doctor, that’s usually not enough. When you’re there, there are other things that must be done to get the help that you need …
 
Now this part needs to be said – What is usually the first thing we have to do when we get to the doctor’s office? WAIT! Yeah, you might have to wait for an amount of time that your flesh ain’t too comfortable with.
 
And sometimes it feels that way when spending time with the LORD. Yes, we might have to wait on the Lord, and do it when it doesn’t feel like He is there with us.
 
But what have we learned already? He’s always there! So you got to do it by faith sometimes and wait for the manifestation of His presence. Wait on the Lord, I say.
 
Now once your name gets called in the waiting room, the next thing you have to do is ultra important: When one of the doctor’s techs or nurses come into the room and start asking you all of their questions, you have to be honest and disclose everything!
 
Yes, when we go to the doctor, the first thing they usually do is ask us some questions by doing an assessment and then the doctor themselves will ask you certain questions when they see you. Well, if you don’t give them all the information and disclose all your symptoms, history, etc. it’s going to be more difficult for them to diagnose your problem.
 
So how does this relate to us with our Great Physician? Well, you have to be truthful with Him. You can’t hide things (not that you could ever hide anything from Him anyway).
 
Did you know that sometimes healing simply comes as you are willing to be transparent? I have personally experienced how, as being the “preacher,” that people try to hide their weaknesses, faults and shortcomings from me. They will hide their cigarettes when I approach them. They will clean up their language when I am around them. But what we need to understand is that if we are not willing to put our struggles & weaknesses on the table, then the Lord is going to have a harder time taking them from us. We must walk in truth and transparency – being willing to acknowledge and deal with our stuff in order to have it eradicated from our lives.
 
This certainly applies to the Lord – our Physician and Counselor. He wants us to walk in the truth with Him, to be open and transparent.
 
STEP #3 – LETTING THEM RUN DIAGNOSTICS
 
Another thing that happens as we go to the doctor and they do their assessment is that after they gather their information, they oftentimes will do diagnostic tests – that is, they will do labs, x-rays, ultrasounds, etc.
 
And why do they do this? It’s because there are a lot of things that cannot be determined with the naked eye. They have to go deeper and find out what is going on beneath the surface to be able to nail down what the real problems are.
 
Well, how does this relate to the Lord, our Great Physician? It’s simple – the Lord obviously sees deeper than we can. He is said to be the One whom no creature is hidden from His sight, but that all things are naked and open to Him (See Hebrews 4:13). Yes, His Word is able to cut deep down and discern the thoughts and intents of our hearts (See verse 12).
 
So my point is that our Physician knows how to run some diagnostics. He knows better than anyone what is our true condition deep down in our hearts. Therefore, He always comes to the correct conclusion when it comes to the root causes of all of our infirmities and also knows the correct course of action.
 
And this is why we need to go to our Divine Physician first – because even our best doctors can’t see everything. Yes, they can miss it. God, on the other hand, knows what the root cause of everything and sometimes the physical problems we have are a result of spiritual issues. Therefore, going to Him and letting Him look deep into our lives is critical, as He is omniscient.
 
Now that leads me to the next thing …
 
STEP #4 – BEING REFERRED TO A SPECIALIST
 
One of the things that happens when we visit our doctor is that, based on the issue that we are having, he or she will have to direct us to a specialist. Like for example – if our primary care physician sees that our issues are likely heart related, they might refer us to a heart specialist (i.e. a cardiologist). If our doctor believes that our physical symptoms are being caused by neurological issues, they will refer us to a neurologist. You get the point.
 
So I say this to say that when we go to the Lord, our Great Physician, there is a chance He might “lead” you to go this person or that person to get the help you need. That might be you going to your pastor. It could be you going to a particular meeting where your answers lie. It could be listening to a certain teaching that contains your answer. The possibilities are endless. My point is that sometimes the Lord will “refer” you to something or someone else that might specialize in the issues you are having, and you and I need to be open to that.
 
It's not that the Lord doesn’t have all the answers and can’t give them to you, but you’ve got to understand something – It’s not always about what He can do; it’s really about what we can receive. And that certainly relates to healing.
 
The bottom line is the Lord wants us well, so if we are going to best receive by having a certain person speak truth into our lives, then He will lead you to that. We just have to remain open.  
 
STEP #5 – FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS & FILLING THE PRESCRIPTION
 
Then finally, one of the most important things that one must do is that, when the doctor gives you instructions, you gotta do what he or she says and not despise the counsel the doctor gives you!
 
You see, sometimes our physicians might tell us that we need to shed some of that excess weight through exercise. Sometimes they might tell us to make some dietary adjustments by eating more of this or less of that. And sometimes (which today seems more like most of the time) they will prescribe you with medicine of some kind.
 
And I understand – when it comes to our natural doctors, we might not trust their instructions. We might be leery of the medications they are prescribing to us. But when it comes to our Great Physician, you can and should always trust His prescriptions.
 
For example, He might prescribe you some “Psalmex” – saying, “Take Psalm 91 and call me in the morning!” He might call you in some “Romanol” and have you taking a concentrated dose of your righteousness in Christ. He might have you taking some “Philippian” and focusing on your joy levels.   
 
There are a lot of options and direction He might take to cure your particular ailment, but this is why its important to get in His presence and let Him give you the proper diagnosis.
 
This is what I like to call taking God’s “medicine,” which actually has a Scriptural basis.
 
So, let’s turn in our Bibles over to Proverbs 4:20-23 where Solomon writes – “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”
 
Notice, first of all, that Solomon is referring to His sons (and daughters) by saying, “My son…”
 
Now, although Solomon was the man who penned this, we know that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Therefore, this is God communicating with us, His sons and daughters. So, let’s read this that way—not just as black letters on white pages but as it is in truth, God speaking to us His children.
 
Now we also made the point last week that exhortations like these to give attention to His Words, etc. are done solely in love just like we tell our children things like - “Now make sure you brush your teeth, take your vitamins, etc.” Now why do you tell them things like that? Because you understand things they don’t yet - that doing certain things are for their own good and you are trying to make their lives more healthy and prosperous. Amen?
 
Well, this is why God tells you things too. Jesus said that if we being evil know how to give good gifts (including instruction) to our children, how much more does our Father in heaven know how to give good gifts (including instruction) to His children? Amen! Yes, saints, God is not trying to get something through you; He is trying to get something to you. He loves you so much that He gives you specific instructions like this to make your life better. Thank you, Lord!
 
Now notice down in verse 22 that HE (the Holy Spirit through Solomon) says, “For they (They what? They—His Words and His sayings) are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.”
 
But I want you to notice that the latter part of verse 22 does not say that God’s Word is “healing” for all our flesh. No, it says that His Words are “health” to all our flesh. In fact, the Hebrew word used for “health” here describes “medicine.” Yes, if you look in the margin of your Bible, you will see that the word “health” literally describes “medicine.” This word comes from the Hebrew word “marpe” which is defined as “restoration of health, remedy, cure, medicine.” This word occurs 13 times in the Old Testament, coming from our word “rapha” (the verb) which, like we said, means to heal, cure, or repair.
 
So, what this Scripture is stating is that God’s Word is medicine, a remedy and a cure to all of our flesh! Amen!
 
Now it is important to understand that medicine does not always produce an instant cure. Sometimes you have to take it for days before it takes effect. Well, God’s Word is like that. But here is the great part: It will work every time because it is a spiritual law and His Word is packed full of life and healing remedies, like a capsule or pill has contained within it what you need to be healed.
 
Now let me say that if God’s “Words and Sayings” will heal you and bring health to your body, then how could it not be God’s will for everyone to be healed? Let me ask it this way, if God told us here how to get health to all our flesh, then shouldn’t this be clear that God’s will is to heal? Someone will say, “How does this prove to us that it is God’s will to heal, Trey?” Well, aren’t God’s Words for everybody? Would you say that it is not God’s will for you receive any of His Words? Of course not! If anyone said that you would call them a heretic, right? No, friends, God tells us how to receive health and healing to all our flesh and it is through receiving His Words. So if His Words are for everyone, then healing and health must be for everyone, for His Word is life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. Amen! On top of that, why would God tell you how to get something like life and health and it not be His will for you? No, if He tells you how to get it, then it most certainly is to be “gotten.” Amen!
 
Now we are not just talking about healing verses in the Bible. This Scripture does not specifically say that His promises of healing are health to all our flesh. No, all of God’s Word is life to those who find it and health to all our flesh.
 
For example, God’s Word is food for our spirit, and just like we do not have to know what the molecular structure of a piece of corn or the complete makeup of a grain of wheat, we can still partake of it and receive all the benefits. In other words, you don’t have to know everything about what you put in your body—whether it be what you drink or what you eat and even the medicine that you take. All you have to do is take it, and it will perform what it is programmed to perform.
 
Brother Kenneth E. Hagin used to say that when he was a little boy, he used to wonder how a brown cow could eat green grass and produce white milk which when churned became yellow butter; but all the time, while he was trying to figure it out, he was enjoying the butter and drinking the milk. Hallelujah!
 
Friends, just put God’s Word in you. You don’t have to understand it all. You don’t have to have a theological degree and understand the original Greek and Hebrew. Just take God’s Word—take it at face value and let His medicine become health to all your flesh! Amen!
 
 
 
So if God’s Words and Sayings are medicine to all our flesh, then do you reckon God has a prescribed formula of how to take His medicine? In other words, if His Word is our medicine, then does God’s Word also give us directions on how to take it?
 
You see, our Great Physician has given us a prescription - which is an instruction written that authorizes us to be provided a medicine or treatment. Well, that would most certainly be God’s Word: It contains the prescription that authorizes you and I to obtain His medicine. Hallelujah! So we already have the prescription! It’s waiting at the pharmacy, with our name on it! Our health insurance—the stripes of Jesus—have already paid for our prescription. Amen! No, in God’s kingdom, there is no co-pay. There is no deductible that needs to be met. It’s already been paid for 100% by our Great Physician!
 
So it’s not God’s fault if we aren’t taking our medicine - He’s already made available what to take and He’s already paid for it! So there are no more excuses. We don’t have to wait for the gifts of the Spirit to be in operation to receive healing and health. C’mon somebody!
 
All we have to do is follow His directions for taking His medicine, and those directions are listed right here, in Proverbs 4:20-21. Yes, God’s directions for taking His medicine – which is health to all our flesh – are listed here in Proverbs 4:20-21. Amen!
 
Yes, these verses contain the directions for taking God’s medicine so that it can take full effect in our body! Amen!
 
First, we need to give our full attention to His Words—that is, using both our ears and our eyes. Second, we need to incline our ears to His Words—that is, putting ourselves in the best position to hear. Third, we need to keep God’s Words ever before our eyes by meditating on them day and night. And, last but not least, by following these first three directions – His Words will enter into the midst of our heart. Then it is our job to keep them there. And we do this through giving even the more earnest heed to the things we have heard. Amen! 
 
If you follow these four directions that are on God’s medicine bottle, it will be impossible for any sickness, weakness, disease, etc. to remain in your body - because this is some potent medicine! It will work for everyone – regardless of who you are or what you’ve done. Amen!
 
Again, if you, following these specific directions, will take enough of God’s Word for long enough, you will be healed! Amen and amen! 
 
Church, this is the prescribed formula that our Great Physician has given to us that works every single, solitary time. But we first have to go to Him. We have to wait on the Lord in His presence. Then we need to be honest and transparent, and then let Him examine us. After that, if He sends you to a certain “specialist,” by all means go! And finally, if He calls you in some specific meds, take them. God’s way is always perfect, saints! You’ll never find a better Physician than Him. 

REVIEW
 
In our series on the Names of God, we have been learning more about Him which certainly will cause us to approach Him differently – in more confidence, assurance, and boldness. This is what Jesus was trying to teach His disciples when He taught them to pray by first “hallowing” His name.
 
You see, when we see His name as different than just any other name and when we come to know His true character, the natural result will be drawing near to Him in faith. And we all know – if we want to receive from the Father, we must come to Him in faith and by faith.
 
So we started off looking at the first name the LORD was given in the Scriptures – the name for “God” which is Elohim. And we learned that this name describes what most people inherently know about God – that He is the Ruler, the Judge, the Supreme, Almighty, All-Powerful God.
 
You see, most of the people on this planet – believers and unbelievers alike – have no issue seeing God in this way. And you know what? That’s actually a healthy thing! Yes, it’s good to understand that God is the top of the food chain and is the Creator of all things. It is a good thing to understand that He is the All-Powerful and All-Knowing God whom we must give an account to one day.
 
The problem is, however, if we only see God this way, we miss so many of the privileges that are afforded us of having a personal relationship with Him. Yes, those who know Him as “Elohim” (no, not by that actual name but by what that name means) have a difficult time seeing God as He is in truth – as love, as merciful, as good, as kind, etc. This is why we need to learn about ALL of His names because that is what will cause us to draw near to Him and desire to know this wonderful God named Elohim.
 
This is why we also then looked at a few of the names given to Elohim in the Book of Genesis – El Elyon, El Roi, and El Shaddai. Each of these names showed us another element of who our Supreme and Sovereign God truly is.

1. He’s the Most High God who dwells together with those who are contrite and humble themselves under His mighty hand. Therefore, our Almighty God is truly a God of humility.
2. He’s the God who Sees – the One who sees us even when we feel unseen – meaning even though He is the God over all creation, He still takes it upon Himself to see us individually and know everything about us.

 

1. He’s the God who is More than Enough who supplies the needs of His people in fullness and abundance. In other words, He doesn’t just barely meet our needs and desires; He gives more than enough provision because He’s that good.

 
So Elohim is all of this and so much more.
 
But we looked at what His most popular name is last week and the name that He said will be remembered as a memorial before Him forever – and that name is Yahweh.
 
Now as we made the point of last week, this name has other names that have been derived from it:
 
For example, the name Adonai came from this name in that the Jewish people got to the place where they didn’t want to risk taking His Name in vain, so they started calling Him Adonai instead of the name He gave them, Yahweh. And we can see when this was used in our English Bibles because when Yahweh was the Hebrew word, they put the word LORD in all caps. However, when Adonai was used it was like so – Lord.
 
Also, when Yahweh was transliterated from Latin, the letter “Y” was substituted for a “J,” and this is where we get the word “Jehovah” from. So Jehovah is well known to us in English speaking countries because our Bibles gave us this transliteration of Yahweh.
 
Now we addressed these things in last week’s message because it’s important for us to not become “Pharisaical” about what name we use because the Holy Spirit told me – “I don’t care what you call Me, just don’t call me later for dinner” – meaning, it’s not about the name we use but that we know what His name represents and invite Him into our hearts and enjoy good, rich fellowship with Him.
 
You see, church, it’s all about relationship with Yahweh. In fact, this name of His is a very relational name as it’s used when God gets involved with His creation and shows us His redeeming power. Yes, Yahweh is God’s covenant keeping name and what He “exists” to do on our behalf.
 
I intentionally use the word “exist” there because, at its root, Yahweh means “to be.” We learned that this is why, when Moses asked God to give him His name that He said to tell the children of Israel that “I Am Who I Am” had sent him to them. So Yahweh’s full meaning is – “The One who was, who is, and who is to come” – which is what Jesus revealed Himself as to the apostle John (Revelation 1:8).
 
But we also learned that Yahweh was the name that God had intended to reveal Himself as to the children of Israel – a name that was not fully realized by even Abraham and the rest of the patriarchs (See Exodus 6:1-8). In other words, Yahweh/Jehovah was going to be the name that God was going to further expound on His nature & character through the covenant He would establish with Israel.
        
Which leads us to what we will begin looking at today – the Yahweh/Jehovah names of God that further amplify what our God is, was, and ever more shall be, our Lord who always keeps His covenant, and who will do what He promised for those He is in relationship with.
 
Yes, these names are the fulfillment of what God meant in Exodus chapter 6 when he said that He was going to reveal His name as Yahweh to His people and they would REALLY come to know Him in a way that the patriarchs never did. Thereby, Israel would be able to obtain the promises that escaped the patriarchs.
 
So are you ready to look at these covenant keeping names of God? These are who God IS for those believe on Him and what He has promised to be for those in covenant with Him.
 
Now I am going to use the name Jehovah for all of these names because that is how I learned them as an English-speaking American, but you are free to substitute Yahweh for Jehovah on each of these names if you so desire.  
 
According to my count, there are nine Jehovah names of God:

1. Jehovah Jireh
2. Jehovah Rapha
3. Jehovah Rohi
4. Jehovah Nissi
5. Jehovah M’Kaddesh
6. Jehovah Tsid Kenu
7. Jehovah Shalom
8. Jehovah Sabbaoth
9. Jehovah Shammah

 
Now the spelling of each of these names can vary based on the source, but again, things like the spelling and the pronunciation are not as important as knowing in our hearts what they mean and seeing Yahweh this way.
 
Let’s begin this week with the last name on my list – Jehovah Shammah.   
 
JEHOVAH SHAMMAH
 
The name Jehovah Shammah appears in Ezekiel 48:35 as the name of a city the prophet Ezekiel was shown in a vision. Jehovah Shammah means “THE LORD IS THERE” (Ezekiel 48:35). Thus it denotes – Yahweh is present in that place.
 
Now the background to this Name of God is as follows: When Ezekiel received this vision from God, the Jews had been in captivity in Babylon for twenty-five years (See Ezekiel 40:1). Jerusalem and the temple were in ruins. But God had promised that His people would be restored, and that the city and the temple would be rebuilt (See Jeremiah 25:11,13; Daniel 9:20-27).
 
So in the closing chapters of Ezekiel, the prophet describes what God told him in a vision about this coming restoration of the land, the city, and the temple. It included detailed plans and measurements for the restored city. And so the final words of Ezekiel’s book are these: “And the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE [Jehovah Shammah]” (Ezekiel 48:35).
 
Of course, the name, Jehovah Shammah, doesn’t occur in the New Testament in that you don’t find too much Hebrew contained in the New Testament. But the apostle John clearly takes Ezekiel’s description of the restored city and applies it in his vision of the New Jerusalem which will come down to Earth out of heaven when sin is no more (See Revelation chapter 21).
 
Notice the parallels between the two cities:
 
Again, its name is Jehovah Shammah—God Is There – in Ezekiel 48:35. The apostle John says of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:3 – “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”
 
In Ezekiel’s vision, God takes him up to a high mountain to show him the restored city (See Ezekiel 40:2). And the apostle John says that an angel “… carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:10).
 
Ezekiel saw a man with a measuring rod who begins to measure the different parts of the city and announce its dimensions (See Ezekiel 40:3), and the apostle John says, “He who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall” (Revelation 20:15).
 
Ezekiel’s city had twelve gates (three in each of the four walls), and each gate is assigned to one of the twelve tribes of Israel (See Ezekiel 48:30-34). In like manner, John’s city has the same—three gates in each wall with a gate for each of the twelve tribes of Israel (Revelation 21:12-14).
 
Ezekiel’s city was in the shape of a square, with each side measuring “four thousand five hundred cubits” (See Ezekiel 48:30-34). The apostle John’s city is also a square, although the dimensions are slightly different (Revelation 21:16).
 
So it is clear that what Ezekiel was seeing and prophesying would come to pass was something that was way off in the future, where to even we today have yet to see its fulfillment because it’s literal and complete manifestation will come when His kingdom comes, the New Jerusalem from heaven.
 
I AM PRESENT
 
But I’m here to give you some good news today: This promise of a city where God is present is not only for those in the past or for us in the future. God is there for us today as well …
 
Let me remind you that Yahweh means at its very root that the Lord is the Great I AM. Yes, this includes Him being the One who was and the One who will be, but this indicates that He always IS.
 
So as we consider this name of God that means THE LORD IS THERE or THE LORD IS PRESENT, we don’t need to look at this promise as THE LORD WAS THERE or THE LORD WILL BE THERE; no, He is not just in the past or in the future. He is in the PRESENT! No, He is not Jehovah Shammah, the Lord who will be there. HE IS THERE! Yes, right now Yahweh is present!  
 
You see, the first time this Hebrew word “shammah” is used where we get the word “there” from is in Genesis 2:8 when we are told – “The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.”
 
So the picture that is painted here is of God planting a garden and then placing the man whom he created “there” (i.e. Shammah). And so when we look at this name of God – Jehovah Shammah – this is exactly how we should view our God!
 
You see, when we were born again, God planted a garden in us. Yes, He gave us a new spirit. He took out that old calloused & hardened heart and put a new soft and sensitive heart inside of us. But do you know what else He did? He placed the Last Adam in us! Yes, Christ is in us! He is “shammah”; He is there! (If you’re a born-again believer in this place, point at your belly and say, “He is there!”)
 
So the reality here is that God cannot get any closer to you than He already is – for He lives within you and plans to abide there forever!
 
But it sure doesn’t always feel that way, does it?
 
You see, the name Jehovah Shammah would have had special meaning for those Jewish exiles that Ezekiel’s prophecy was written to. Why? Because can you imagine how they might have felt all of those years in Babylon? I’m sure they felt forsaken and cut off from God. They knew that they got themselves in this situation. So you know that emotions such as condemnation, guilt, regret, etc. had to have been feelings that they were experiencing.
 
This reminds me of what happened in the Garden of Eden after man’s sin:
 
You see, Adam and Eve were perfect. They were righteous, holy, and had God’s glory. But when they sinned, they fell short of the glory of God. Sin entered and they died spiritually. And I’m sure that at this time, they had all the same feelings that the Jews had while in Babylon – feelings of guilt, condemnation, etc.
 
And I want you to realize that there are a lot of us here today who probably feel a lot like both these Jewish exiles and Adam & Eve did. We feel forgotten. We feel exiled from the presence of God. We feel we’ve been kicked out of the Garden because of our sin. Sure, we know we made mistakes and, therefore, feel justified in being “exiled” from the place of His presence.
 
THE NEW JERUSALEM
 
You see, many believe that God hates sin so much and is ready to punish us when we sin because of what happened to Adam and Eve after they sinned. Many believe that God kicked them out of the garden because He wanted to judge and punish them for their mistake, but this is simply untrue…
 
If you look at the end of Genesis chapter 3 you will find the reason why God had to banish them from the garden after their sin…
 
Genesis 3:22 says, “Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’- therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”
 
You see, God did not kick them out of the Garden to punish them; He sent them out of the Garden to protect them! He knew that the tree of life was inside the garden and if they were to partake of the fruit of that tree after partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would live forever in a dead and cursed state. In other words, if they were to eat the fruit of the tree of life then they would live forever physically in a spiritually dead condition. And God loved them too much to let that happen. So He sent them out of the garden and guarded its entrance.
 
This is how much God loves us! He loves us enough to protect us. Ultimately, this is why God gives us commandments, statutes, and ordinances. He is not saying “Thou shalt not…!” from the standpoint that He is trying to control us and keep things from us. It is ultimately His protection! He, as any good father, will give His children boundaries, not just because He is trying to get us to do what He wants us to do, but because He wants the best for us! We don’t tell our children to look both ways before they cross the street because it brings us pleasure to see them obey us. No, we give them those types of commandments because we are trying to protect them and because we want it to be well with them. So how can we believe that God is any different when He loves us infinitely more than we love our own children?
 
No, this is the nature of our God… He is love! He is merciful! He is full of grace! And He only gets to a place of anger and judgment when His great longsuffering is tested. So don’t ever let the devil or religion tell you otherwise! He is for you, not against you! 
 
Likewise, this belief we have that God forsakes you when you sin is not true either. No, He doesn’t leave us. What happens is we leave Him. Yes, our guilt and condemnation cause us to leave His presence because we either believe that God won’t have anything to do with us or because we feel we don’t deserve to be close to Him, and so we willfully flee from his presence like Adam & Eve did.
 
But what we learn is that what the First Adam lost in the beginning, the Last Adam restored to us in the end. Let me explain … 
 
What we see in the first two chapters of the first book of the Bible is exactly what we see in the last two chapters of the last book of the Bible. We see the original creation of the heavens and the earth in Genesis chapters 1&2 and in Revelations chapters 21&22 we see the new creation of the heavens and the earth! In the beginning, we see the birth of the Garden of paradise and in the ending, we see the new birth of the Garden of paradise! And everything in between is the process of our restoration to that place we held in the Garden!
 
You see, Second Corinthians 5:17 says that when we were made new creations in Christ Jesus that old things had passed away and behold all things became new. Did you know that this same verbiage is used in the last couple of chapters of the Bible, in Revelation chapters 21 & 22, referring to the coming of the New Heavens and the New Earth? Yes, these verses in Revelation unveil how Second Corinthians 5:17 is almost repeated verbatim in these verses. Let’s take a look at them…
 
Revelation 21:1-5 says, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had (what?) passed away. And there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new…’”
 
Any of those phrases in there sound familiar?  
 
Now, of course, this is referring to the literal coming of the kingdom of God on the earth after Jesus has returned and destroyed all of His enemies. But what the Lord has shown me is that this also typifies what has already taken place in us when we were made new creations in Christ. In other words, what we see here in the end, when God creates the new heaven and new earth, is the fulfillment of what He has already done in every born-again believer’s spirit. 
 
Now the price was paid for the salvation of our soul and body as well, but they will not experience what we have already experienced in our spirit until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. And on that glorious Day, when He returns, this mortality will take on immortality and we will receive in our bodies exactly what we received in our spirits. 
 
And this is my point: If we have been born again, we have already received spiritually what we will receive naturally when God creates the new heavens and the new earth and brings His kingdom to the earth. So what I want us to do is look at these Scriptures in Revelation as already being fulfilled - in our spirit.
 
Again, Revelation 21:1 says that the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. That sounds like familiar verbiage, does it not? You see, just as Paul said that when we became new creations in Christ, that old things have “passed away”, so our life before Christ came into our world had passed away. All that was first, has passed away! Praise the Lord!
 
Then notice verse 2…
 
Notice, first of all, how the holy city, the New Jerusalem, was “coming down out of heaven from God”…
 
Did you know that when the Bible speaks of being born again that the literal translation of that phrase “born again” is to be “born from above”? And this paints a beautiful picture of where the new birth originates. It originates from heaven! We are born of God! Our new nature, the new creation itself, has come down from heaven and replaced our old, sinful nature. Praise the Lord!
 
Then just as the holy city of God—the New Jerusalem—came down from heaven to the new earth, God placed within us His holy city - His New Jerusalem! We were made His temple - His Jerusalem - that is, His chosen people, His kings and priests are we! As First Peter 2:9-10 says, “But you (all who are Christ’s) are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a (what?) holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” As Gentiles, we were without hope and without God in the world. Then God, in His infinite mercy, made us His covenant people. And He didn’t put us in the holy nation; He put the holy nation in us! Therefore, the holy city of God now resides within us, and we are now the Israel of God.
 
This is why Paul can say in Romans 2:28-29- “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.” This clearly tells us that those who are born again, those who have received the spirit of Christ, are the chosen people of God today. We are the New Jerusalem! Not that God has forsaken His original chosen people—the nation of Israel—for He cannot deny Himself and is faithful to His covenant with Abraham. But what we need to understand is that we who are in Christ have been made what the original chosen people of God were made. The difference is that they were made the people of God naturally; we were made the people of God spiritually. They were placed in the holy nation; we had the holy nation placed within us. They were born Jews from a physical standpoint; we were born again as Jews from a spiritual standpoint.
 
This is in no way intended to make us look at the original covenant people of God in a lesser way. We should certainly honor God’s covenant with Israel by faithfully praying for His chosen people. But at the same time, we need to elevate in our minds the covenant God has made with us through Christ. We do not need to act like we are still stuck in the outer courts! We are not in outer courts anymore! We have been given access into the inner courts through Jesus Christ, and not only that, but our new and better covenant has rent the veil and now we can enter the holy of holies. Hallelujah!    
 
And notice how else verse 2 describes this New Jerusalem that descended from heaven… It says it was “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Now we see a repeat of what we talked about last time we were together…
 
Not only are we made the Israel of God and a holy nation in our spirits, but we were at the same time made the bride of Christ! This was all made possible because we have been washed in the water of the Word and cleansed where there is no spot nor wrinkle in His new creation. We are, right now, the bride of Christ because we have been born from above. Thank You Jesus!
 
Then in verses 3-6 we see further what spiritual realities have taken place within us…
 
Revelation 21:3 says, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”
 
What an awesome promise! Just as God will physically “tabernacle” with us when the new heavens and new earth are created, coming to dwell with us forever, He has already accomplished this in our spirits! He has come to tabernacle within us! He has promised to never leave us or forsake us, and to be with us and in us until the end of the world! The Apostle Paul said that this is the mystery of the New Covenant - Christ in us, the hope of glory! One of His names is Jehovah Shammah, which means the Lord is present! Praise the Lord, He is present! He is in our midst because He dwells within us! The Lord has made His tabernacle within us and our spirits are now the holy of holies. This is where God resides! Hallelujah!
 
Now notice Revelation 21:5&6… These verses quote the Father as saying, “Behold, I make all things new!” (This sounds strangely familiar, does it not?:) Then He says, “It is done!” (or, it is finished!) Everything in regard to our salvation and sanctification of spirit has been completed! It is finished, as Jesus said on the Cross!
 
Truly, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end! His work in us is typified in both the beginning (i.e. Genesis) and in the end (i.e. Revelation)!
 
So again, He is Jehovah Shammah today just as much as He promised to be in both Ezekiel’s prophecy and the apostle John’s revelation. He is present! And we have boo coos of promises of this.
 
So let’s end today’s teaching with a bunch of Scriptures in the Bible that emphasize this truth that God is Jehovah Shammah …
 
JEHOVAH SHAMMAH PRESENT THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPTURES
 
First of all, once God cut covenant with the children of Israel, there was a promise that He emphasized and reemphasized again that He would be with them.
 
In the Book of Exodus, when Moses asked God to go with them on their journey through the wilderness, God made a promise to Him …
 
He said in Exodus 33:14 – “… My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
 
Here, the LORD assured Moses of His presence and promised to bring rest to His people. Likewise, as we travel through life, God goes with us too. And guess what this should result in? Us entering into His rest. Yes, knowing God is with us wherever we go should cause us to be at peace and rest, even in the midst of the busiest and most tumultuous seasons.
 
Then in Deuteronomy chapter 31, we have the instance where Moses said at 120 years of age, that it was time to turn the reins over to Joshua. And in his words to the children of Israel, he says, “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
 
Now why do you suppose Moses said this to them? I can guarantee you it was because they might have believed in their hearts that Moses was the reason why God had been with them up to this point. So Moses here was encouraging them to be strong and of good courage in knowing that God will still go with them.
 
In fact, Moses then turned to Joshua himself in Deuteronomy 31:7-8 and said, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
 
Now what is interesting about this is that later on, after Moses had died, the Lord speaks directly to Joshua and essentially says the same words –
 
He says it multiple times to him, but says one last time in Joshua 1:9 – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
 
Church, it’s important that we realize that God is with us wherever we go to. When God enters into covenant with His people, He is resolved to always be present and there for them – and that certainly includes us.
 
And the fact that God spoke this multiple times to His people first through Moses and then Himself directly shows us that there will likely be a need for us to have to hear this more than once because it’s just natural (and might I say, carnal) to not let our hearts embrace this as truth. 
 
But it did not end in the Torah … I have found several passages of Scripture in the Psalms themselves that declare to us God’s promise to continue to be Jehovah Shammah.
 
Psalm 23:4 says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
 
Here, we are reminded that even in the midst of our darkest moments, God is with us, providing comfort and protection. And His presence is a source of strength and assurance that we need not fear.
 
Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.”
 
This Psalm reminds us that specifically in times of heartbreak and sorrow, God is close to us. Why? Because He is compassionate and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
 
Psalm 139:7-10 says, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
 
This Psalm reminds us that no matter where we are, whether in the highest heights or the deepest depths, God is with us. His Spirit is present even in the most remote places. This verse brings comfort, knowing that there is nowhere we can go where God’s presence cannot reach us. His guiding hand is always there, leading and protecting us, regardless of our circumstances.
 
Psalms 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Later on in the same Psalm, the psalmist repeats this truth – “The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” (verses 7&11)
 
Of all the verses that we are using, I think this one best describes Jehovah Shammah …
 
You see, as our refuge and strength, God is a very present help in trouble. That means that He is there, yes. But He’s there, He’s present, to help us in whatever trouble we find ourselves in. So if that is physical trouble, then He’s there as our healer. If that’s financial trouble, then He’s there as our provider. Whatever we need, Jehovah Shammah is there to help. Glory!
 
As we move on to the Book of Isaiah, we see this repeated in Isaiah 41:10, we are told – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
 
God’s promise again connects fear with God’s presence – meaning, when we understand that God is with us, it expels fear. Yes, knowing that the Almighty God is holding us with His righteous right hand gives us a sense of security and peace. We can trust in His strength and find comfort in His unfailing love.
 
Isaiah 43:2 also says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
 
In times of trials and difficulties, this verse assures us that God will be with us. He promises to protect us and keep us safe, even as we navigate through the most challenging circumstances.
 
God’s presence is our shield against the overwhelming floods and fiery trials of life. With Him by our side, we can have confidence that we will not be overcome or destroyed.
 
Again, in Isaiah 43:5, the Lord goes on to say, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.”
 
In this verse, God assures His people that they need not fear, for He will be with them and gather them from all directions. This promise extends to us today, reminding us that God’s presence is with us, providing comfort and protection.
 
Even in times of uncertainty or when our loved ones are far away, we can take solace in the fact that God is with us. His watchful eye is upon us as He gathers and reunites His people.
 
But what we can find even more solid certainty in, is in the promise of Him being Jehovah Shammah in the New Testament …
 
At the very beginning of the New Testament, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and quoted Isaiah’s prophecy, saying, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us’).” (Matthew 1:23)
 
You see, Jesus is referred to as Immanuel, which means “God with us.” This name highlights the incredible truth that God became flesh and dwelt among us, fulfilling God’s promise to be Jehovah Shammah.
 
At the end of His ministry, Jesus promised His disciples – “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
 
Jesus spoke these words to His disciples before ascending to heaven, assuring them that He would be with them always. This promise extends to us as His followers today.
 
Jesus even said during His ministry – “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20)
 
When we gather together in Jesus’ name, His presence is among us. This verse emphasizes the importance of community and reminds us that we can experience the presence of God as we come together in fellowship and worship.
 
Later on in the New Testament, in Hebrews 13:5-6, we have another awesome truth. It says, “… For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’ ”
 
Here, we are encouraged to trust that God will always be with us, never leaving or abandoning us.
 
But did you know that the same is true for the Holy Spirit? He is the Third Person in the Godhead, so guess what? He is also Jehovah Shammah.
 
Let’s look at a couple of verses that declare this …
 
Jesus said in John 14:16-18, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
 
In these last chapters of John’s Gospel, Jesus was preparing His disciples for His soon departure. And here He was promising to send them someone who will “remain forever”— the precious Holy Spirit.
 
You see, the Holy Spirit is our advocate and helper, assuring that we will never be alone. The Spirit of truth resides within us, providing guidance, comfort, and the constant presence of God.
 
So Jesus assures us that we will not be left as orphans, for He Himself comes to us through the Holy Spirit. We can take solace in the fact that we are never alone, as the Spirit of God dwells within us.
 
And finally in First Corinthians 3:16, the apostle Paul reaffirmed the fact that He will abide with us forever, and the main reason is because He lives in our body.
 
He asked the question – “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
 
This verse highlights the incredible truth that as believers, we are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit resides within us, and He too will never leave us nor forsake us. Yes, He is there to bring God’s presence and power into our lives constantly.
 
But oh, how often do God’s people feel like God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have left them and forsaken them? It’s a lot. So just because it feels that way, does that make it true? Not hardly. Feelings are not indicative of reality.
 
I can feel one way like, for example, I can feel rejected because of the way a person acted, but that might not at all be what they were doing. I can feel afraid when there is truly nothing to be afraid of. Feelings are fickle and they are not the evidence of what is true.
 
So what is true? Nothing is more true than God’s Word because Jesus said, “Your (God’s) Word is truth.” (John 17:17). Therefore, God’s Word is the only true reality. So if God says He is always there and He will never leave you or forsake you, then it doesn’t matter if every sensory organ in your body tells you otherwise, He is still there!
 
Yes, God is with us and will never not be – all because He is Jehovah Shammah and He always will be. 

Today, we begin a new teaching on the names of God, and I have entitled this series “Hallowed Be Your Name.” Why this title? It’s because evidently “hallowing” His name is extremely important when it comes to how we approach God.
 
You see, this phrase obviously comes from the Lord’s prayer, which would be better called “The Model Prayer.” The reason I like this other title better is because this is not the prayer the Lord prayed. Rather, it was Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray. In other words, it was a prayer of protocol – that is, an outline of how we approach God and what We petition Him for.
 
That is not our lesson in this series, but the fact that the Lord began this protocol of prayer with “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name …” is our point …
 
So what Jesus was teaching in Matthew 6:9 is that when it comes to prayer, we are to begin by “hallowing” God’s “name.”
 
Now the word “hallowed” comes from the Greek word hagaidzo and means “to set apart, dedicate, consecrate, or to make holy.”
 
So, what does it mean to “set apart, consecrate, and make holy” His name? It means that we are, in our hearts, making a distinction between His name and other names. It means that we are magnifying His name and glorifying it the way we ought to.
 
This is important because the tendency is to not do this. Yes, the tendency of our hearts & flesh is to not see His name in a special, holy, and consecrated way, to just normalize it. But the truth is, God’s name is indeed holy and worthy of being hallowed. And when we do this, we will see Him in an honorable way, which positions us to approach God in the appropriate way.
 
So what does it mean to make holy or set apart His name? Well, the key to answering this question is to, first of all, find out what the “name” of someone describes …
 
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
 
The “name” of a person describes all that that person is: It describes their character and their nature. It describes their authority and their power. It also describes their reputation and what they are known for.
 
So, when we “hallow” God’s name what we are doing is we are setting apart in our hearts all that He has a reputation for being and doing. And when we do this, those characteristics begin to become magnified in our own eyes because we are intentionally focusing on who He is.
 
But do you know what most people do when they approach Father God in prayer? They hallow their own name. No, they don’t do this intentionally, rather, many Christians enter into their prayer times saying things like— “Oh God, I know I have not talked to you all day or that I missed it in this area and in that area and that I am an unworthy little worm, but…” This is praying in our own name, which is the wrong way to enter into God’s presence! Instead of us approaching Him talking about all that we are, why not approach Him declaring all that He is!?!
 
You see, we need to enter into God’s presence through “hallowing His name”, not “hallowing our name.” And we do this through giving Him thanks, praise, and worship! Yes, even if we feel like we are “good for nothing” then we should praise Him that He loves us despite our inadequacies. The bottom line is we need to stop magnifying our weaknesses and start magnifying His goodness! That is why Psalm 100:4 tells us to enter into His gates with thanksgiving because we magnify Him with thanksgiving (Psalm 69:30). And the result of us magnifying Him is our faith will soar!
 
So what I see as an important part of prayer is approaching God by setting apart and consecrating His name – that is, praying His names, declaring who He has revealed Himself as and magnifying His names.
 
So when I refer to God’s names, I am not simply referring to the names He was given, but to His person, character, nature, and reputation that His names describe. 
 
You see, names are not just words. In our modern-day American culture, names don’t have a lot of meaning. We name our kids things that we like the sound of or for other superficial reasons, but in Bible times, names had meaning. Children were named what their father saw in them, even prophesying their future by what they would be called.
 
Well, the names of God do something similar: They reveal to us who God is, not just what He is called. Therefore, in order to truly know God, we must understand what He called Himself.
 
For example, most people know God just by that term, God. Therefore, they know Him as this sovereign creator, who is out of reach and beyond knowing. And sad to say, the majority of protestant churches think the same. They too call Him “God” and see Him as this unapproachable & unknowable being – this great puppeteer in the sky, if you would, who does whatever He wants to do, allows whatever He wants to allow, and sovereignly dictates everything that happens here on the earth because of some hidden purpose that He has.
 
Unfortunately, that is how most of the Body of Christ sees Him, but the truth is God is not like most have pegged Him to be. He has given us His Word, which clearly reveals to us who He is and what He will do. And one of the ways God has chosen to reveal His true nature to us is through the various names He gave Himself throughout the Bible.
 
So what we are going to do through this series is learn who our God is. We are going to come to learn His true nature through His names and thereby come to know Him better.
 
THE FRUIT OF KNOWING GOD
 
Now why is it so important to know Him better and to approach Him this way?
 
Daniel 11:32 says, “… the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits.”
 
So this is one of the promises of knowing God – that the people who come to truly know Him will be “strong” and they will do great “exploits.”
 
But along these lines, guess what the promise then is of those who don’t know their God? They will be “weak” and “be exploited.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be a weak Christian who is constantly being exploited by the devil. I want to be a strong believer who is doing great exploits in His name.

Well, how is this going to happen? By coming to know God. And how can we come to know God this way? Well, one way is to learn who He is by studying His names and coming to understand His character through these ways that He has revealed Himself to us.
 
So if you want to remain a weak Christian and continue to have the devil exploiting you, then you should probably stay home on Sundays for next couple of months – because your weak, powerless, abused, cheated, and mistreated life is in serious danger of turning around. Amen? 
 
ELOHIM
 
So let’s begin studying the names of God by first looking at the first name He is given in the Scriptures. In fact, this is generally the first way that anybody comes to know Him.
 
Elohim is a Hebrew word that denotes “God.” It is one of the most common names for God in the Old Testament, starting in the very first verse of the Bible: “In the beginning (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). In fact, the name Elohim occurs over 2,500 times in the Old Testament.
 
The basic meaning behind the name Elohim is one of strength or power. Elohim is the infinite, all-powerful, sovereign God and He is the creator, sustainer, ruler, and supreme judge of the world.
 
Now sometimes the word Elohim is shortened to El and used as part of a longer name. El Shaddai, for example, means “God Almighty” (Genesis 49:24); El Elyon means “God Most High” (Deuteronomy 26:19); and El Roi means “God Who Sees” (Genesis 16:13).
 
Personal names of people can include the name of God: Daniel (“El Is My Judge”), Nathanael (“Gift of El”), Samuel (“Heard by El”), and Elijah (“El Is Yahweh”) are examples. Place names, too, can contain the shortened form of Elohim: Bethel (“House of El”), Jezreel (“El Will Sow”), and, of course, Israel (“Prince of El”) are examples.
 
So my point is that God’s plural name of Elohim is oftentimes shortened to El to name people or places and to further describe things that God is and that God does.
 
Interestingly, the word Elohim is grammatically plural rather than singular. The singular form of Elohim is likely Eloah. So what does this mean – that God is not a singular entity? No, the Bible makes it clear that God is One (See Deuteronomy 6:4). So there is not a bunch of God’s floating around out there like Greek mythology believed. 
 
I believe that the reason Elohim is plural is because God is a Trinity. In other words, He is a three-part being made up of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and so with Elohim not being just a singular being, we can see all three members of the Triune Godhead. This is why, when the idea is presented about creating man in His own image and after His own likeness, Elohim said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness …” (See Genesis 1:26). Notice the three (interesting that’s the number there, huh?) references to God being plural.    
 
So it’s for this reason that I believe (along with many others) that Elohim is plural because God is plural – possessing a triune nature of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
 
It’s important to understand that Elohim is used in other ways in the Old Testament besides referring to the One True & Living God …
 
In some contexts, elohim refers to human rulers or judges (See Psalm 82:1&6)—the idea is that such people are to act as God’s representatives on earth, exercising authority wisely and ensuring justice. The warning of Psalm 82 is that the human elohim must answer to the Supreme Elohim one day.
 
Elsewhere, elohim is used to refer to false gods: For example, Deuteronomy 4:28 says, “And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.” In this verse, the Hebrew word for “gods” is elohim – and this doesn’t mean that these idols really are gods to be compared to Elohim, but rather that these gods are perceived as ruling, sovereign, powerful beings.

So sometimes when Elohim is used in the Old Testament, it is referring to something other than the One we know and recognize as being the GOD that we know and worship as our infinite, all-powerful, sovereign God who is the Creator, Sustainer, Ruler, and Supreme Judge over His creation.
 
Now aren’t some of these descriptions of Elohim the way that most people describe God? Yes, we see Him as all-powerful. In other words, He can do anything, and all things are possible to Him. And yes, we also see Him as the Creator of all things like He was in Genesis, being responsible for the creation of all things seen, including us. We also see Him as that supreme judge as well – as the One who rules over all and will be the judge that we must all give an account to in the end. Yes, we see God as that sovereign, top of the food chain, all-powerful, all-knowing God who rules over all.
 
This is the basic way that God is viewed, not only by unbelievers out there, but sadly, it’s the only way a lot of churched people see Him as well. 
 
For example, when Jesus cried out from the cross, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (Mark 15:33), He addressed the Father with a form of Elohim, Eloi. Mark translates Jesus’ statement for us: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
 
Now I understanding that Jesus knew His Father and knew exactly what He was saying here, but I think this reveals to us a lot of what only knowing Him as Elohim will do to us – When I see Him as “My God, my God” I see myself as forsaken, with Him being up there and me being down here.
 
Church, we need to come to the place of seeing our God as more than just the sovereign, all-powerful, ruler and judge of the whole earth. Why? Because He is much more personal than that. He is not as mysterious as religion has made Him out to be. No, we are not forsaken. We are not distant from Him. Elohim has come to tabernacle with us. And now, He takes up residence inside of us where we can sup with Him. Amen!
 
But the fact is, most don’t see “God” this way. They see Him as that distant Being who rules over this earth with an iron fist ready to judge His creation.
 
You see, the Scriptures teach us that even the ungodly “know” God to a certain degree. And in my opinion, this is how they know Him – as GOD.
 
Let’s look at some verses that teach us about this inward intuition of God …
 
Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”
 
What this verse “reveals” to us is that those who are living ungodly and unrighteous lives in their unbelief already have God’s wrath revealed to them. As we will see in the next verse, they already have it in them. Therefore, they are already wearing that condemnation and guilt upon their souls. So they already know.
 
How many of you have ever noticed that there is just an intuition in the ungodly that God is against sin? They didn’t even have to go to church to learn that! They already have God’s wrath revealed to them. Therefore, preaching sin and judgment is not as effective as preaching the love and goodness of God. Why? It is because they already know they are doing wrong. What they don’t know, however, is that God is not angry with them and has made available His very own righteousness to be received by faith. Saints, it is the goodness, love and righteousness of God that leads people to repentance (see Romans 2:4) because it is the good news for salvation. Amen!
 
Now it might seem like they don’t know it, but as we see next, what they are doing is they are “suppressing the truth.”
 
The word “suppress” means to “hold down.” This is literally what is happening in the hearts of all those who practice unrighteousness… They are “holding down” the truth- meaning, they are keeping the truth of God from coming up in their hearts and minds! Now an unbeliever will certainly deny that they are doing this, but God’s Word is true, nonetheless. No, every person on the planet knows there is a God and those who choose not to embrace the knowledge of Him are simply “holding down the truth.”
 
Now it does need to be understood that they don’t necessarily know that they are holding down the truth, but in their unrighteousness, they are keeping the truth from penetrating their conscience. Even we do this from time to time… When God is trying to tell us something is wrong, sometimes we don’t want to hear that because we want that thing so much. We will even play dumb and pretend that we are not hearing God, in an attempt to avoid having to recognize that the thing that our flesh desires is not for us. We’ve all done this. This is suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.
 
Then notice Romans 1:19 … It says, “because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.”
 
Here, Paul goes on to further explain the truth he just laid out in verse 18 – that people already have a revelation of God’s wrath and are simply holding down the truth of His reality and existence in their hearts.
 
Notice the phrase “what may be known of God is manifest in them” … In other words, the knowledge of God—His existence and ability—is already “evident” in them. Yes, they already know of God. Now they don’t “know God” (yet), but every person does have a general knowledge of Him on the inside of them. This is that pure conscience that we are all born with. Some just become more seared as we progress through life.
 
Why? “for God has shown it to them” … The word “shown” here is the same Greek word that was used to describe Jesus’ “appearing” when He returns again (see Colossians 3:4). So it describes having something appear or made visible to the naked eye. Now this obviously does not mean that God has revealed Himself or His Son to every person in a supernatural way, but he goes on to describe in the next verse how God has shown Himself to them …
 
Verse 20 goes on to say, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”
 
You see, this is how God has revealed Himself to the world – through His creation!
 
So what Paul is teaching us in this verse is that all of God’s creation clearly shows mankind the invisible attributes of God. In other words, although we cannot physically see God’s attributes, He has shown them to us through nature. Yes, the working order and beauty of God’s creation can help one to understand His very attributes.
 
I cannot tell you how many people I hear say how much closer they feel to God when they are in places like the woods, the mountains, or the beach. It is funny, but I never hear people say that they feel closer to God in the big city. Why? It is because the city is full of man’s creation; nature is full of God’s creation. Here we see that nature revealing more of God to us is Scriptural. It is not that God is more present in nature, but that our knowledge of Him is more present in these places. And the awareness of God is what produces more of an awareness of His presence. Glory to God!
 
Another good example is how so many Christians visit Israel and come back saying, “Oh, you can just sense God’s presence there!” Well, it is not that God’s presence is any more manifested in Israel than He is with us here today. It is simply there that people’s awareness of God is heightened mainly due to the fact that they are seeing with their physical eyes where the stories of the Bible transpired. That creates more of a sensitivity to His presence - through our perspective and thoughts. Have you ever wondered how in church meetings some people can just be overwhelmed by God’s presence and others are oblivious to it? Well again, this awareness of His presence is tied to how we think. Now granted there are other times that God’s presence is so manifested that almost everyone becomes aware of Him, but as a general rule, our “feeling God” is tied to our setting our mind upon Him.   
 
And by saying, “even His eternal power and Godhead,” Paul is saying that it is not just a general understanding of His attributes, but creation reveals to us even His eternal power and Godhead. In other words, the specifics of God’s person are even revealed in creation. For example, tradition tells us how Saint Patrick used this very principle to preach the Trinity to the people of Ireland. He would teach that God is three in one through the three-leaf clover. So, yes, creation around us reveals everything from God’s eternal power to His Godhead. If we will just look around us and above us, we will see all of God’s glorious and eternal attributes revealed through His creation—for even the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork (Psalm 19:1). 
 
Then notice how Paul goes on to say that they are “without excuse” … Wow! This squelches the idea that some people have that the groups of people around the world who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ will have an excuse in the Day of Judgment. No, saints, in that Day, no one will have an excuse based on this Scripture! But someone will say, “But they never heard the truth! How could they be found guilty?” Well, as we will see in verses 21-25, what happens is that mankind has this tendency to form their own gods even when they have this general knowledge of God. In other words, even though they had the knowledge of God’s existence, they chose not to seek for a deeper knowledge of Him and glorify Him as the One True and Living God. Let me give you a real-life example of what these people should have done …
 
Here's a cool story along these lines: There was this woman who was attending a Bible College and, while seeking the Lord as to His plan for her, He gave her a name, a name of a place that she was unaware of. Well, as she did some research, she found out that this place was a remote island where no one had been before. Therefore, she concluded that the Lord was sending her there. So as her plane arrived on this island, she was met by a local tribe and their chief greeted her. He began praising God that his prayer was heard! You see, this tribe was praying to an unknown God to tell them His name. In other words, they knew that there had to be a god through that inward intuition these verses speak of, therefore, they just humbly prayed to the God they didn’t know yet and asked Him to reveal himself to them. So God got hold of this woman and sent her across the world to preach “Jesus” to them! Glory to God! But most people have not been this wise throughout history. The majority of people have made up their own gods like the children of Israel did in the wilderness when they created a golden calf as an image to worship. This is the epitome of pride and foolishness.
 
For example, verse 23 goes on to say “… and (they) changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.”
 
What were they doing here? They were bringing God down to their level – meaning, they made Him to be like His creation by erecting idols of men, birds, animals, etc.
 
And did you know that this is exactly what mankind tends to do with the Creator, Elohim? No, it’s not always something as extreme as making a graven image, but we do tend to carve out and sculpt God’s image in our hearts & understanding – that is, we like to “imagine” God is like His imperfect, flawed creation, doing things like we do them.
 
For example, a lot of people think God is like their parents were – harsh, hard and condemning. Yes, their graven image of God is Him being just as hard to please as their father was. Their “imagined image” of Elohim is Him being just as judgmental as their mom was. That, my friends, is a variation of setting up a graven image, which is strictly forbidden.
 
The truth is, Elohim is awesome! Yes, Elohim is good & gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy! He’s so much more loving than your parents were, and He is certainly not deserving of being brought down to the level of how His creation conducts themselves.
 
In fact, the Lord spoke to our church the following statement a couple of years ago – “You will get the fruit of the god you believe in and serve.” You see this in other nations around the world: the ones that practice paganism and idolatry are considered some of the most cursed and impoverished nations. In fact, one that actually takes those pagan practices to a whole other level - the nation of Haiti - is one of the most poverty-stricken countries. Why? Because you get the fruit of the god you believe in and serve – and serving the devil in overt ways, will always yield curses. You see this in Egypt when God was delivering His people, there are those who tell us that all of those plagues that came upon them represented the various gods that they worshipped in Egypt. So, it was like God was saying, “You like all those gods, huh? Well, here they are then!” and He shoved them down their throats.
 
Well, it works this way with even a Christians view of God: if we believe that God is a harsh, judgmental God who sends plagues to teach us something etc. then guess what? Those groups experience more of those things! Saints, we need to be careful how we view God and what our belief systems are—because if we want to experience more grace, love and blessings, we need to see God as being the One who desires to give us those things. Amen?
 
HOW TO REALLY KNOW GOD
 
So how does one go from simply knowing God in this general, base understanding as “Elohim” to knowing Him in this personal & intimate way? I’m glad you asked …
 
Notice what Paul says next in Romans 1:21 – “because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
 
So by using the word “because” at the beginning of this verse, we have the reason why the world rejects the One True and Living God. In other words, this verse is about to show us the reasons why most people never move past knowing God as “Elohim” – general, intuitive knowledge of Him – and come to know Him as a good, gracious, & personal God.  
 
You see, when Paul began by saying, “although they knew God”, the Greek word for “knew” (Greek ginosko) literally describes a broad, general knowledge. So this is, first of all, a reference to that initial, intuitive knowledge of God that every person on the planet possesses.
 
So this can be the way we always “knew” God, but there is a deeper understanding of Him which causes one to draw near to Him, follow Him, and serve Him that we all need.
 
So how do you get to know Him better? Well, notice what he says these that knew God failed to do …
 

1. “they did not glorify Him as God”

 
The word “glorify” here means to “give praise, to honor or to magnify.” So for the believer, this describes one’s failure to praise, honor and magnify Him through the fruit of our lips and also through the perspective of our hearts.
 
So what does this have to do with seeing God fully & accurately? Well, it shows us how we can know Him more – by praising, honoring, and magnifying who He is. In other words, the first way to grow in our knowledge of Him is to glorify Him.
 
So what does this look like? It means to intentionally praise & glorify the way He describes Himself throughout His Word.
 
So for example, if I am the one who only sees God as an “Elohim” and has a harder time seeing Him as a Healer, a Provider, and a loving & faithful God, then I need to deliberately “glorify” Him in the way I need to see Him. So if that’s as a Healer, then I take verses that describe His nature as Healer and praise Him for being this way.
 
Now this might seem unnatural at first because, after all, we might not see Him this way yet. But that’s how we get to that place of seeing Him this way – by glorifying Him that way by faith. Amen?

1. “nor were thankful”

 
Thanksgiving is the key to multiplicity. Do you remember the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 in John chapter 6? Well, in verse 11 it says that Jesus took the loaves and when He had given thanks, He then distributed them to His disciples. Now most people never make the connection here, but what was the key to this miracle? Well, if you move on into the chapter, you will find a verse that tells you the answer. Verse 23 says that there were people who were searching for Jesus, and they came near to the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks. Now tell me: why would John have worded it as “they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks”, unless the Lord’s giving of thanks was not the significant part to the miracle that happened afterwards?
 
You see, thankfulness for all that God has done for you is the key to receiving more grace. And this certainly applies to this subject of knowing God better. For if we want our knowledge of Him to multiply, then we must be thankful for all that we do know about Him.
 
Now you might be thinking – “I don’t know that much about Him, Pastor!” So you’re telling me that you haven’t ever seen any of God’s goodness in your life, that you’ve never experienced any of His grace, that He’s never healed you of anything, etc.? I’m sure we’ve all tasted and seen certain elements of God’s true nature.
 
So then the key to seeing that awareness multiplied is to thank God for who He is and what He’s done in our lives.  

1. “but became futile in their thoughts”

 
Now by using the word “but” here we see the result or by-product of not glorifying God and being thankful … A void of praise and thanksgiving in our heart and mind will produce a void in our heart and mind. The word “futile” here literally describes being vain, empty and useless. So evidently the Lord looks at the mind that is not filled with praise, worship and thanksgiving as an empty and useless mind. And what else could there be of more importance to fill our minds with? Amen?
 
The word “thoughts” comes from the Greek word dialogismos and describes more of the inward reasoning and opinions of man. So literally what it is that becomes empty, vain, and futile within people when they fail to glorify and thank God is their ability to reason and make sound decisions regarding things. So, for lack of better words, one can become stupid and lose any good judgment they might have had by not allowing God’s thoughts to flow through their mind.
 
So what does this have to do with knowing God’s true nature? Well, some of the greatest misconceptions about God’s nature come directly by these “reasonings & opinions” of man. In other words, these futile arguments over doctrine and theology are some of the most notorious for perverting our view of God. Yes, some of the world’s most intelligent people lack common sense the most. Their ability to reason and portray sound judgment is impeded. Of course, this is a generality, but those who choose to reject the knowledge of God and embrace only the knowledge of this world, have their senses impaired. This is what it means to become “futile in our thoughts.”
 
So can this happen to a believer too? Absolutely! By not letting God-thoughts dominate our thinking, we too can become void of wisdom and prudence and make some pretty dumb decisions. This is why the Scriptures constantly exhort you and I to meditate on His Word day and night and to esteem His Word even more than our necessary food (Job 23:12). By doing so, the entrance of His Words brings light and understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130) (the simple would be those who are futile in their thoughts). But the lack of the entrance of His Words brings darkness and a lack of understanding to the simple.
 
So the key here is letting God’s Word form our theology. In other words, letting the truth of the Scriptures determine how we see God, not religion or our traditions. And we do all of this by studying the Scriptures. By not letting our own understanding or logic determine how we view God, but rather letting His Word determine any and all beliefs.
 
We see this in the last phrase of verse 21…

1. “and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

 
So those who have their better judgment impaired have what is called a foolish heart. You know, the Bible says that it is the fool who has said in his heart that there is no god (Psalm 14:1). Only a fool would say that! When you look around you and see the beauty and glory of man, nature, etc., only a fool would say that all of this “just happened.” No, the evidence of God is all around us. But, again, when one fails to glorify Him as God and be thankful to Him for even their next breath, they have become, by reason of choice, a fool.
 
The phrase “were darkened” shows us that when one willfully rejects the knowledge of God and decides not to glorify and show gratitude towards Him, their hearts will be filled with more darkness. In other words, their ability to see the light is impaired. They are lost, groping around trying to find peace, purpose etc., and will find none - because they are filled with darkness, and oh, how great is that darkness!?!
 
As it is with just about everything, it all comes down to the heart. Yes, what we allow our heart to be filled with and sensitive to is vital. So as it pertains to knowing God’s true nature and person, we need a wise heart that is receptive & embracing of these things.
 
You see, if my heart is closed off to say God’s grace and just how good He is, then I will certainly live in the darkness of those truths. Yes, if my heart is only open to that harsh & judgmental side of God, then I am cutting myself off from receiving light on these other things. On the flipside, if my heart is only embracive of the loving nature of God, I could also be in the dark of, say, the fear of God – that is, that reverential, respectful side of the Lord.
 
So the key is possessing a heart that is open and teachable and not allowing it to be hardened to the truths God might desire to show us.
 
Let’s not live in the dark, saints! Let’s take the knowledge of God that we have to the next level! We do this by magnifying God in our heart, mind and mouth! As we live a life of praise, worship and thanksgiving, we are giving God the glory due His name, and the benefits of this are boundless! Amen! We will keep ourselves from empty and useless thinking, and stay sharp and “on it” mentally. The devil will have a hard time making our mind his workshop! Why? Because it is not idle! No, our minds will be all about our Father’s business and filled with purpose and praise! And the end result will be us having a heart that is not darkened or hardened. No, our heart will be soft, sensitive and pliable in the hands of our Maker! Our heart will be full of light, and we will understand the reverential fear of God! No more stumbling. No more falling. No more “I don’t know God!” No, you will certainly “know” Him and your awareness of Him will be heightened. Don’t forget: The acknowledgement of God produces more of an awareness of God. Amen!