The Names Of God
Discovering God As He Reveals Himself
El Shaddai
September 30, 2020 • Pastor Chad Thompson
El Shaddai is translated in our English bibles as "Almighty God." God is all powerful, and He uses His power to bless and bring bountifulness into our lives. We see this name introduced to Abraham in Genesis 17. God needed no help in fulfilling His promise to Abraham that he would be a father of a son and more than that, a father of many nations. At 100 years of age, Abraham saw El Shaddai bless him and Sarah by giving a son to two people who were as "good as dead."
El Elyon
September 23, 2020 • Pastor Chad Thompson
In life we can look before us and see problems and obstacles and difficulties and feel hopeless or hopeful. Know God as El Elyon, the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth, will lead us to be hopeful. Because God is El Elyon, He has the final say. He can rule and overrule anything. In Genesis 14, we find Abram responding to what appears to be a great difficulty with great hope. God (El Elyon) delivers his enemy into his hand, and Abram gives all the glory and credit to El Elyon.
El Roi
September 16, 2020 • Pastor Chad Thompson
El Roi is "the God who sees me." The LORD revealed that He is the God who sees us in our crises when He revealed Himself to Hagar in the wilderness. When she was at the end of rope and didn't know what to do or had any belief that anyone even cared about her, she found out that God cared. He wanted to direct her path and give her promises about her future and the future of her child. God sees us, our condition, and our future as it could be. He not only sees us, but He hears us. He hears our cries for help. He hears us in our affliction. God is faithful.
Jehovah Tsaba
September 9, 2020 • Pastor Chad Thompson
When David came against Goliath, he didn't come at him with a human weapon (i.e. sword, spear, shield, etc.), he came at him in the name of God, i.e. Jehovah Tsaba (The LORD of Hosts). David recognized that there was a spiritual element to the battle. Goliath was uncircumcised and not in covenant relationship with God. David couldn't win in the strength of his flesh. He needed God. It was God's battle to win. David did his part, but God got the victory and the glory.
Jehovah Rohi
September 2, 2020 • Pastor Chad Thompson
Jehovah Rohi - The LORD is my Shepherd This name (title) reveals so much about the character of God. God is to us like a shepherd is to a sheep. He provides care, guidance, direction, feeding, leading, etc. In order for us to truly see God as our Shepherd, we must first see ourselves like a sheep. A sheep is not too smart, pretty much defenseless, and dependent on the shepherd for protection and cleanliness. That describes us pretty well too. We need God, and He wants to shepherd us too.
Jehovah-Tsidkenu
August 19, 2020 • Pastor Chad Thompson
The further you (or a nation) depart from the person of God and His righteousness, the more chaos, strife, unrest, etc. will be brought into your life (or nation). This is what we learn from Judah in the time period in which we are introduced to God as Jehovah-Tsidkenu. We don't get to set our own standard of righteousness. God is the standard of righteousness. We are to reflect His righteousness. We can only do this through Jesus, who ultimately is Jehovah-Tsidkenu.
Jehovah-Shalom
March 4, 2020 • Pastor Chad Thompson
The word "shalom" means peace. Peace is an inward calmness that can exist within us regardless of our outer turmoils. Our obedience to God brings peace, and our disobedience to God disrupts peace. Jehovah is peace. He is the source of peace. And His presence means peace for us.
Jehovah-Rophe
February 19, 2020 • Pastor Chad Thompson
As sinful, fallen creatures, we need to be healed. We need physical healing. We need emotional healing. We need spiritual healing. The name, Jehovah-Rophe, reveals the nature of God as our healer. The name means "The LORD who heals you." We learn from Israel's experience at Marah, that when we yield to God and trust Him, we position ourselves under His authority in such a way that He can turn the bitter waters of life sweet.
Jehovah-Nissi - The LORD Our Banner
February 12, 2020 • Pastor Chad Thompson
When we fight from the mountain and in the valley under the banner of Jesus, our victory is sure. He is our banner of redemption. He is our banner of spiritual warfare. However, we must understand that some battles rage on. As they do, we can become weary. We need others in our lives who can help us stay focused and connected with heaven's power so that we see victory on earth (i.e. in our lives). This lesson shows us how the name Jehovah-Nissi applies in our lives both eternally and practically.
Jehovah-Jireh - The LORD Who Provides
February 5, 2020 • Pastor Chad Thompson
God provides for our greatest need (salvation) through the finished work of Jesus (the Lamb of God) on the cross. The fact that God provides for our greatest need means that He can provide for our every need. Jehovah-Jireh foresees our needs and can make provision for our needs. But, He must not only foresee the need, He must see our obedience. When Abraham obeyed God's call, God provided for his need. This is true for us also.
Adonai - Lord and Master
January 29, 2020 • Pastor Chad Thompson
Adonai speaks to God as being Lord and Master. He does own all of creation and by virtue of that, He does own us. When we refer to God as Lord (Adonai), we are acknowledging His authority over us. The joy of God's Lordship in our lives is found in the fact that when we yield to His Lordship, He works in us and through to accomplish what we could never do on our own.