Who is God// Part 2

Exodus 3:13–15 ESV

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.

Introduction

Series Recap

Last week we started a new series on worship, called release the sound

and through this series we are talking about how their is a sound within each of us that is ment to give praise to God.

But we have the choice to release that sound or not..

And were using this series to look at the

who, why, when, and how we worship

Last week

Last week we began by looking at Who god is.

and we saw how the God we serve is creator

he created the world and everything in it..

He is sustainer

Not only did he create the world but he holds it together

And he is savior..

When humanity broke covenant with God in the graden..

God made a way to save us from our sin and restore our relationship with Himself.

Today

Today, were going to continue to look at Who god is.

Because knowing WHO god is help us to worship Him..

And today I want to continue to look at who God is by looking at the different names we find for God throughout scripture..

Names

Through out scripture and the culture of Israel Names have great significance.

Names reveal not just the identity of someone but also the nature.

Jacob was born grabbing his brothers heal

His name means heal grabber

but it also means thief..

and through his life we see how he steals a birthright, he manipulates his uncles flocks to take his share and more..

all until God changes his name to Israel.

So names through scripture have great meaning..

they tell us who the one with the name is and their nature as well..

God

this is not different with God..

The names of God reveal the nature of who God is..

and as we learn the names of God we can begin to understand WHO God is and his character

And through scripture we find the many names that either God gave to himself, or Israel gave to God..

Yahweh (Personal)

One of the earliest and most significant names we find for God is the name Yahweh

this is Gods self revealed name to the people of Israel.

Its the name God gave himself to Moses at the burning bush.

Exodus 3:13–15 ESV

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.

You might say, pastor you never mentioned Yahweh there..

And your right..

But The name Yahweh is based on the Hebrew verb to be..

So Yahweh can be translated, “I am who I am”

This was the name of God, that God gave to moses, that will become one of the holiest names the jewish people have.

Holy

The name was so incredibly sacred that the jews do not udder it..

Instead they call god, adoni or hashem.

When the the name is written the vowls are removed..

IN theology this is call the Tetrogramaton..

Its a holy, intimate and personal name…

Sacred and revered..

But what does it mean?

I AM

well I already told you that it is synonymous with “I am who I am”

in giving this name god was telling the poeple who we he is..

I AM points to the self existence and self sufficiency of God

He is dependent on no one and nothing..

Rather all others are dependent upon him for life and breath and existence

This makes him the ultimate authority in the universe and beyond.

One jewish rabbi is quoted as pointing out that the even breath of humanity regularly declares this..

as our in and out breath recognizes our dependant upong him..

YAH.. WEH

YAH.. WEH

As the great I am, anything he wills will come to pass..

And thing he speak will happen..

Just like creation, when we spoke light and it came into existence.

Ending

but he is not just the origin of all things..

he is also the destination

For he is all encompassing

Revelation 1:8 ESV

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

We find Jesus in John 1 before creation..

and in revelation he is after it all..

In this he is our ultimate salvation..

He is our destination… eternity

Covenant

In addition

Yahweh is the covenant name for God and Israel..

and even for us.. but I will bring that up later..

Here, Yahweh reminds us that he is the god of abraham Isaac and Jacob..

and now moses and the people in egypt..

as covenant god he is the god of promise..

God established the covanant, or binding agreement, with Israel He would be there god and they would be his people..

as covanant God..

he The one who keeps his word

he protects, sustains, disciplines and directs his people

The one who saves and makes a way for his people

And through the old testament we see the fulfillment of this covenant promise between Yahweh

and in the new testament we see a further fulfillment and expansion of the covenant to the nations..

THIS IS YAHWEH…

GODS SELF PROCLAIMED NAME

other names

But through the scriptures we find other names for god..

names that further reveal the character and nature of God.

Jehovah (Given)

these names are names that were given to god to decribe him for certain qualities..

El shaddai

Genesis 17:1 ESV

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,

The name here is El Shaddai

As el shaddai he is god almighty..

As God almight he is powerfull

he is a high, unshakable, ruler of the heavens and earth..

Jehovah Jirah

Genesis 22:14 ESV

So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

The name here is Yahweh Yirah, or Jehovah Jirah..

Jehovah being the latinized form of Yahweh and synonomous with one another.

He we see God as the “the lord who will provide”

but this is not simply need based provision..

It carries the Idea that he is the God who provides before the need even arises..

In hi divine providence he places a ram in the thick for abraham before abraham was even on the mountain..

And in the same way he does for us..

Jehovah Rapha

Exodus 15:26 ESV

saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”

here the name we find is Jehovah, or Yaheweh Rapha..

The lord who heals

we serve a God who is a healer..

We find times through scripture where God heals in supernatural ways..

Even today, God heals in many ways..

miraculous, medicine based, time bound and not..

God is our healer..

Home

Ultimately..

when we go home..

the bible says we receive a glorified body..

in a place with not more sorrow or sickness..

A place where we are completely healed and whole..

THIS IS THE WORK OF YAHWEH RAPHA

jehovah shalom

Judges 6:24 ESV

Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

here we find Yahweh Shalom..

The lord is Peace

God is the one who provides the peace that surpasses all understanding..

a peace that is present even in the toughest or circumstances..

he is our peace..

Jehovah Sabaoth

1 Samuel 1:3 ESV

Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord.

here we find Yahweh sabaoth

The lord of heavens armies

we actually find this name for god over 300 times throughs scripture

As the lord of heavnes armies we have a god who fights for us..

Moses knew his as this, as he was facing Pharaoh and the red sea..

and the lord told him, stand and be still and see that I fight for you..

This was the work of Jehovah sabaoth

Jehovah M Kaddesh

Leviticus 20:7–8 ESV

Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

here we find the name Yahweh M Kaddesh

this is The lord who sanctifies me

Arnt you glad for the god who santifies you?

In the old testament this was done through the tabernacle and the blood of sacrifices..

but in the new testament we know that its JESUS who does this for us..

The writer of hebrews says in

Hebrews 9:13 ESV

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,

he is the god who santifies us..

and makes us fit for the kingdom..

fit for heaven..

and fit for use..

Jehovah Rohi

Psalm 23:1–3 ESV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

here we find hidden in davids psalm the name Jehovah rohi

The lord our shepherd

Again, Jesus will tell us in John 10

John 10:11 ESV

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

As the shepherds he leads us..

both in the vally of the shadow of death

and by still waters..

He guides us and gives us direction..

Jehovah Shammah

Ezekiel 48:35 ESV

The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.”

here we find the name Yahweh shammah

or The lord is there

As Yahweh Shammah, we are not alone

God is with us..

ever present..

Worship

These names reveal the nature and charactor of God..

and we can use them to worship with..

We can praise his a yahweh jireh.. our provider..

or intimately worship him as Yahweh Shammah the one who is present..

These names can drive our worship and understanding of God..

**Music team to come**

Jesus/ Yeshua (Revealed)

Of course in the new testament we find one more name for God..

Matthew 1:21–23 “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”

Jesus is god revealed in the flesh..

Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

And look what Jesus said of himself in John 8..

John 8:58 ESV

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

I AM..

Jesus connects the burning bush revelation of moses..

where God tells moses.. this is my name and nature..

with himself..

and in doing so tells us he is God in the flesh..

THE SAME IAM.. from the burning bush..

And as we read about him..

and learn about him..

and understand his nature

IT SHOULD DRIVE US TO WORSHIP HIM..

HE IS THE ULTIMATE NAME IN ALL THE UNIVERSE

Philippians 2:9–11 ESV

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Death

Jesus-meaning Yahweh saves..

We dont need to look much further than the cross event to see this..

Jesus.. took the scourge..

born the nails..

took the cross..

why for us..

and THEN ..

in the ultimate acts of show he was god..

resurrected on the third day leaving the tomb empty..

WHY? SO WE COULD BE SAVED!

WHAT GREATER REASON TO WORSHIP..

TO GLORIFY HIM..

FOR WHO HE IS..

AND WHAT HE HAS DONE..

Through him we literally are able to see the nature, character, and person of god..

Altar

I told you last week that worship is our choice. .

but it shouldn't be a difficult one..

we should choose to worship god for WHO HE IS..

AND HIS NAME..

AND THE NAMES HE IS GIVEN..

REVEAL TO US JUST THAT.. WHO HE IS..

HE IS WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE..