Names of God (Jehovah)

My Introduction:

My name is Zach Wells

College Resident & Production Director here at FBC Bryan

I graduated from Texas A&M here in the Spring with a degree in communication

I have had a strong call into ministry for years now and I have a deep love and passion for youth ministry and seeing young people fall in love with Jesus and give their lives and eternities to Him

You guys have a special group with 1BY

You guys started a new series for the semester last week - talking about the names of God (what do they mean, where do we see them in Scripture, how do I then apply this understanding to my life)

In the first week, Ethan brought the Word and explained the name Elohim: which is this big word simply meaning “God” or lowercase g gods

Elohim literally is just the generic Hebrew word for God

Ethan walked through what it meant for God to be a Creator as we read Genesis 1:1

This week we will be jumping into “Jehovah” and we are going to break down what it means and how might that understanding change us and convict us

Pray Here

Background of Jehovah

To understand what Jehovah means and where we get this word from we have to go down a bit of a history lesson so stick with me:

So you actually won’t find Jehovah in the original language, but you will find YHWH (personal name of the God of Israel - the One who we believe as Christians created the whole universe and who saved humanity through His Son) but why are we looking at YHWH??

Yahweh is based on the consonants YHWH, which is one of the names for God used in the Old Testament. In ancient Hebrew, the vowels were not normally written. This would not have been a problem for native speakers and readers. Jehovah is the same name based on the Latin equivalents of the Hebrew letters: JHVH. Jehovah became the English translation of the Latin form of the Hebrew name. For all practical purposes, Jehovah and Yahweh are the simply English and Hebrew pronunciations for God’s name.

Hebrew text, also however, represents scribe’s efforts to prevent people from pronouncing the divine name by combining consonants of Yahweh and vowels of Hebrew word ʾadonai (“Lord”) so readers would pronounce ʾadonai rather than risk blasphemy by improperly pronouncing the divine name

They saw God as absolutely and 100% holy and didn’t want to risk breaking one of the 10 commandments by taking his Name in vain accidentally

This isn’t the point of the sermon, but this is a free be - God isn’t someone to be coddled with

He is ferociously holy and serious about the offense of sin (Look at the cross that Jesus died on)

With this in mind, we are going to be diving into Exodus 3 where we see God answer the question of “WHO IS GOD?”

To set the scene:

Up until Exodus we see God give a promise to Abraham, that He would multiply his descendants as the stars in the sky. He would be their God and give them a specific piece of land forever. Yet even before that, God said He would bless Abraham and his descendants so that all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12)

We see at the end of Chapter 2 in Exodus that God sees the suffering and slavery that HIs people are experiencing in Egypt and the last verse in that chapter says Exodus 2:25 “God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.”

But as God always does for His people, He has a plan for deliverance and redemption.

God then speaks to Moses through a burning yet not consumed bush

Which brings us to Exodus 3:9-15

Exodus 3:9–15 ESV

And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

A couple things really stand out to me in this passage:

One is the call of Moses and his lack of confidence in his own ability to do so

Secondly, God’s response to Moses’ question of “What is God’s Name? in v.13

And lastly That God was the same God in Genesis, the same God of Moses’ fore fathers in the faith, and that hIs name is forever and will be remembered throughout all generations

V.15 by the way has remained true even to this day

We will only have time to zoom in on one of these today, but we are going to look at God’s seemingly strange response to Moses when he asks: What is your name God? And what should I say to my friends who you are?

God’s response to this is, I AM WHO I AM

WHAT?!?!

That doesn’t seem to answer Moses’ question but the Hebrew word we see here is YHWH

YHWH, is based on the Hebrew word for “being.” It could be translated “I am who I am” or “I will be what I will be” or perhaps even “I am the One who is.” Regardless of the specific translation, the name speaks of the self-existence and self-sufficiency of God. All others are dependent upon Him for life and breath and existence. He is dependent upon no one. It is for this reason that the Jewish leadership in Jesus’ day thought it was scandalous, blasphemous, and worthy of death for Jesus to utter the words “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58–59).

If you want one big title or theme of this sermon here it is:

God is Immutable: He is self-existent. He just is.

We have an unchanging gospel, which is not today green grass and tomorrow dry hay; but always the abiding truth of the immutable Jehovah.

Charles Spurgeon

He never had a beginning -> We are created

God will never end -> We will one day pass away from this world

He is absolute/ultimate reality

My fear is that a lot of people in this room and in this generation are living in realities created by social media, spoken to you by your friends, or created by your own sinfulness

He is utterly independent

All that is not God depends on God (universe/creation is secondary)

Isaiah 40:17 “All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.”

God is constant (He can’t be improved or diminished in any which way)

My passions changing, desires changing God Doesn’t (illustration)

I once wanted to be a baseball player in the MLB, but this was a very long time ago

However, once I the game got faster when I jumped into middle school and I had terrible eye sight my passions and desires and hopes and dreams began to shift and change.

As I mentioned earlier I know have a deep desire and passion for the Gospel Message and for this next generation knowing God in a personal way, but this was never even a thought that crossed my mind when I was younger

But here’s the crazy point, God’s desires and passions have been from eternity past and eternity to come. He is the same always (Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” )

He’s constant - He can’t be improved or diminished in any way unlike us

He is the absolute standard of truth, love, goodness, and beauty

We don’t get to define that, culture doesn’t define this, our classmates don’t define this, celebrities don’t define this

He does whatever He pleases and it is always right, beautiful, and in accordance with truth

He’s the greatest, most beautiful, valuable, and most important person in the entire world

One theologian described this passage in this way, listen closely:

Thirty-five hundred years ago, Moses asked God who He was and got a peculiar answer. God said, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ . . . This is My name forever” (Exodus 3:14-15).

I have long wondered why God would call Himself by such a name, but slowly I am learning its significance. A sentence needs only two things to be complete: a subject and a verb. So when God says His name is “I AM,” it conveys the concept that He is complete in Himself. He is subject and verb. He is everything we could possibly need.

Jesus put flesh on God’s bare-boned answer to Moses’ question, “Who are You?” Jesus left heaven to show us what it means to bear His Father’s name. He told His disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He also said, “I am the bread of life” (6:48), “the light of the world” (8:12), “the good shepherd” (10:11), and “the resurrection and the life” (11:25). In Revelation, Jesus declared, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (22:13). And He said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58).

If you’re questioning who God is, take some time to get to know Jesus in the pages of His Word.

To Moses at the burning bush

God spoke His name—it was "I AM";

And Jesus also took that name—

"I AM," the sacrificial Lamb. —Hess

Jesus is the image of the invisible God. —Colossians 1:15

I want you to never settle on the image or thoughts you have about how “big, mighty, holy, spectacular” God is

Continue to grow and expand your view of God because…

Even though through all of this we see that I AM, or YHWH, is a big, spectacular, and independent of us God, YHWH is also the covenant name for the God of Israel.

So even though God is self sufficient, He decided to created us, He allowed us to walk in freedom which we abused and sinned against Him, yet still desired a relationship with His people.

God’s love is something we SHOULD never get sick of or scoff at, He doesn’t need us, we don’t deserve to have fellowship with Him because of our brokenness, BUT GOD chose to leave His throne to become a a servant to become a sacrificial lamb for our sins and pay the price of death, yet came back to life 3 days later because He is more powerful than death and the enemy so we might be seen as righteous.

Even though God is immutable, there’s this great mystery that He desires a relationship with people who can offer Him nothing He doesn’t already have, and so our only proper response is worship, faithfulness, and humility

Live in a faithful relationship with God where He has full reign in your current life and eternity… (He created this whole universe so why not look to the Creator for guidance and direction in our lives)

Accept His grace and mercy that is FREELY given to you… it is not earned…

God is not a dictator: He doesn’t want your begrudging obedience

Faith brings obedience

Be reading God’s Word to hear from Him

One-Sided Relationship

He wants to speak to you too, give Him space to through His Word and Prayer

Make your requests known to Him

He is not a genie in a Bottle: He’s not a divine butler but wants a relationship with you

Offer your loudest praise and worship to Him

Let your whole life become worship towards God (how do you honor God in school, how do you honor God in sports, how do you honor God with your parents)

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

He just is who He is… and if you give your life to the only One who is worthy of it He becomes…

Your provider (Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” )

Your Banner (Exodus 17:15–16 “And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”” )

A banner is something that identifies and unifies a particular group of people. For example, a military flag or standard is sometimes called a banner. The Israelites’ saying, “The Lord is my Banner,” was a way of identifying themselves as the unified followers of the Lord God.

Your Peace (Ephesians 2:14 “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility”

Your Shepherd (Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” )

He is guiding His sheep, He takes care of HIs sheep)

Your hope (Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” )

Your Creator (Genesis 2:7 “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” )

Your Rest (In Hebrews 4 we see that Jesus is our rest)

And in Romans 10 we see the that those who are saved, the great I AM is their…

Our Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” )

My hope and my prayer is that you would be living in line with the truths that our Creator has outlined, you would accept and live out of the Love that God has already showed He has for you because of the cross, and that your understanding of HIs love for you would continue to grow and expand as you get to know Him more.

How you answer the question of who is Jesus to you will change the outcome of your eternity…

If Jesus is your Savior, you have a place registered for you in Heaven and you get to enjoy fellowship with Him here and now even in this broken world.

If jesus is not your Savior, please find somebody and talk with them about this (it can even be me)… What is holding you back from saying yes to Jesus? Or maybe you are a believer in Jesus, but what is holding you back as Paul puts in Phil 3:8

Philippians 3:8 ESV

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Prayer Prompt: What aspects or areas of your life do you feel far from God? & then pray for nearness to God over each other in said areas of your life… I will close you guys in prayer and we will sing more praises and worship to God

Response Songs

Closing Announcements:

Media Team Sign Ups // Worship band sign ups

New Service Times (8:40, 10:10, 11:30)

Grouplife at 10:10 and 11:30