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Mission Statement
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THE NAME – HASHEM RaJean Vawter When God created the world your Bibles all say that He said, “Let there be light” and there was light (Genesis 1:3), “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6), “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, “Let the dry land appear,” (Genesis 1:9) Let this and let that. But actually, His declaration in the Hebrew was “Light be,” “Waters be” and so on. He didn’t ask or give permission for the creation of matter; He simply declared it all into being. “Light be” and light was and God saw. When God declared light, the sun wasn’t made yet. The sun and moon weren’t made until the fourth day. Yet there was light on the first day. That first day’s light was the GLORY OF GOD HIMSELF! It was the first time that God’s glory became perceptible matter and existed as matter. Then on the 6th day when God made man and woman, He made man out of the matter that He’d created out of His own glory. When He breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, man became a living being with the very breath of God inside him! In other words, man’s spirit was made out of God Himself. Wow! Made out of glory, given the very breath of God! Even science has learned that all molecular structures have light energy at their very center. You can ask me more about this in six months because I’m getting ready to take a class on the connection between faith and quantum physics. But all we need to know right now is that the light and the glory of God were put into us at creation. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, Genesis 1:28 says, “Then God blessed them.” That blessing was, “Fruitful be, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, have dominion. Genesis 1:28 You need to understand here that to the Jewish mind, a blessing is something that you put on someone or something that wasn’t there before. The Hebrew word for blessing is Barak. It’s a declaration. So when God put His barak on man, He crowned man with the same creative energy that it took to create matter in the first place. OK, got the picture? · God declared and the world came into existence. · The first thing that happened was light. But it wasn’t the light of the sun; it was the light of His own glory. · Out of His glory, He made man. · Then He breathed His breath into man. · The modern science of quantum physics confirms that light energy is at the source of our being. · Next, we’re going to see that when we’re born again, all of this is restored to us. Adam and Eve were created out of God’s glory, with God’s light, His breath inside them and given a blessing. But then they gave that blessing over to Satan. However, just because they gave it away, it doesn’t mean that the blessing is gone forever. Satan just got it on lease. Have you ever wondered why God revealed Himself to Abraham, had him leave his homeland and begin a race of people called the Jews? His plan was to have a group of people who would get to know Him intimately, then reveal Him to the rest of the world so that all of mankind would be redeemed back to Himself and have the authority to take back the blessing that Adam gave away. A part of that plan was to have His Son come down to earth as one of those special Chosen People and pay the penalty for the sins of the entire world – Jew and Gentile – thus completing the redemption of all of mankind. When we are redeemed, born again, the Light of God with which we were created is once again infused with the Breath of God so that we can show forth His glory. Remember when Jesus “breathed” on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” after He was raised from the dead and before He went back up into heaven? John 20:22 That’s what He was doing with the disciples – putting into them the indwelling Holy Spirit which we receive when we’re born again. When Christ, which means the Anointed One, is in you, you have the expectation of the original blessing of Adam which is the glory of God! Wow! So how do we tap into that glory? Because the Children of Israel were in Egyptian bondage for so many years, they had to learn all over again who God is. In their slavery, they’d lost their closeness with God. We’re the same way. When we are born again, we begin – or need to begin – the process of learning that God is, who He is, what He does and what He has for our lives. We need to find out how to live in that original blessing of Adam which is the glory of God. I believe that’s why He has so many names, all of which describe a portion of who He is and what He does. As you are all aware, there are many names for God. I have written in the back of a couple of my Bibles 96 names of God that I’ve found in Scripture. And I’m sure there are some than I simply haven’t discovered yet. When Moses asked Him what His name was, He said, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14 You could easily ask, “I AM. . . what? Well, as you study the Bible, you soon discover that you can pretty much fill in the rest of the sentence not only with one of His many names but with one of His character qualities. What is it that you need? Whatever it is, God says He is it. Do you need healing? God says, “I Am – healing.” Do you need strength? God says, “I Am – strength.” Do you need hope? God says, “I Am – hope.” Do you need money? God says, “I Am – Your provider.” God is so big and so great, He can fill any need. He’s the eternal I AM. The most common name for God in the Old Testament is yeh-ho-vaw (Jehovah). It means the self-existent or Eternal One. This is a name that Satan can’t steal since he is a created being. Three times in Daniel 7 (vs. 9,13,22) in talking about the end of time as we know it when thrones are put in place, Jesus returns and judgment is “made in favor of the saints of the Most High,” the Lord is called the Ancient of Days. This is another name that Satan just can’t copy. Obviously, The Name of the Lord is pretty powerful. In fact, it is so powerful, so holy, that Jews commonly won’t even say it. This name, Jehovah, is actually a Gentile invention. The Hebrew word is made up of the letters YHVH – yud hey vav hay. Old Hebrew doesn’t use vowels but when vowel markings were later added to the language the word our English Bibles have as Jehovah became Yahweh which referred to Yud-hey-vav-hay which the Jews call HaShem which means, “The Name.” Why? Because they recognize that The Name of God – whatever it is, is energized with the power of the Glory of God. So they call God HaShem. Consider the following: · The cloud that was over the children of Israel when they left Egypt and as they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years was a manifestation of the protective power of the glory of God. Exodus 16:10; 40:36-38 That glory cloud is what covered the mountain when Moses got the 10 Commandments. Exodus 19:9, 16 It is what would descend on the tabernacle Exodus 40:34-35, Numbers 9:15-16 and the Mercy Seat. Leviticus 16:2 That same glory cloud is what Peter, James and John saw when Jesus was transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration. Matthew 17:5 It’s the same glory cloud that received Jesus when He ascended into heaven. Acts 1:9 And it’s the same glory cloud that Jesus will return in! Acts 1:11 · Moses said, “Please show me Your Glory.” And God said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you and I will proclaim The Name of Yah-hud-vav-hey, the Lord. . . Exodus 33:18,19 This word, goodness means beauty, gladness, joy. · Then God goes on to say, “So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.” Again, we see The Name associated with The Glory and with God’s protection. In this case, the literal Hand of God. · So, let’s back up and summarize again. The first thing that happened was light. But it wasn’t the light of the sun; it was the light of His own glory. · Out of His glory light, He made man. · Then He breathed His breath into man. · Adam gave that glory light away and Jesus bought it back – legally. In fact, when Jesus hung on the cross, right before He died, our Bibles tell us that He said, “It is finished.” In actuality, what He really said was “tetellisti.” That is an accounting term that means, “Paid in full.” · He did this so that we can not only enjoy His glory for ourselves, but so we can show forth His glory to the world. · We can grow in the ability to enjoy and manifest His glory when we continually grow in the understanding of who God is, what He does and what He has for our lives. · One way to do this is to learn about the names of God. · There are two names that Satan can’t duplicate: The eternal, self-existent One and The Ancient of Days. · The Name of God – whatever it is, is energized with the power of the Glory of God. · The Name is also a source of protection. To emphasize the protective aspect of THE NAME, six times David called the Lord his fortress : 1. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. 2 Samuel 22:2 2. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust. Psalm 18:2 3. For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me. Psalm 31:3. 4. …You are my rock and my fortress. Psalm 71:3, 5. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him I will trust. Psalm 91:2 6. Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle – my lovingkindness and my fortress. . . Psalm 144:2. Jeremiah said, “O Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction. Jeremiah 16:19 Notice how personal these passages are. These men don’t just say that the Lord is A fortress. They say He is MY fortress. David also called God his high or mighty tower. Notice again the personal pronoun MY:
That word tower means defense, refuge, a high fort, lofty or inaccessible. By calling the Lord his personal tower, he’s saying that when he’s in the Lord, he’s in a secure place that is inaccessible to any enemy! · In Psalm 61:3 he used a different Hebrew word when he described the Lord as “a strong tower from the enemy.” The word he used (migdol) means a tower from its size or height like a bed of flowers, a castle. In other words, the Lord as a tower isn’t just a plain ole’ boring place to be. He smells good and looks pretty. That same word is used in Proverbs 18:10 where Solomon said, “The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Isn’t this a wonderful – and helpful – word picture to help us visualize where we are? Anyone who is born again is “in Christ.” You’re INSIDE THE NAME, INSIDE THE FORTRESS. When we sin, we leave that fortress, we leave our high tower, our protection and, of course, we get in trouble – and in the process, we lose our sweet-smelling fragrance as Christians. But 1 John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So do like Solomon and run to the fortress, The Name. OK, Let’s tie this all together. 1. God created out of His Glory. 2. God made mankind out of that created matter that had His Glory. Man was made out of God’s Glory Light. 3. God breathed into man His breath, His Light, His energy. 4. Then He gave a blessing. 5. Just because Adam and Eve gave that blessing over to Satan and lost the Light, it doesn’t mean that it is gone forever. Jesus bought it back for us. 6. The ministry of Jesus was the Light in operation, the blessing in operation, the Glory in operation. 7. When we come to Christ, we get it all back again. 8. He did this so that we can not only enjoy His glory for ourselves, but so we can show forth His Glory to the world. 9. We grow in the ability to enjoy and manifest His Glory when we continually grow in the understanding of who God is, what He does and what He has for our lives. 10. One way to do this is to learn about the names of God. 11. The Name of God is energized with the power of the Glory of God. 12. The Name is also a source of protection. 13. Being in The Name is our fortress, a high tower we can run into. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2: 8-11 This passage goes on to say, Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed. . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13 When you die, if you are IN CHRIST, your salvation is secure. The process of walking in obedience is how you work out your salvation in the now. It’s what being a Christian looks like on Monday morning. How pretty a picture that is depends on how well we get to know who the Lord is and what that means to you on a practical basis. What I’ve presented to you tonight is that. . . · We can learn more about who God is by studying His names. · The first place to begin is to look at THE NAME – HASHEM. · The Name is a powerful force. In His Name, is not only Glory and Salvation, The Name is a high tower, a fortress. A place of safety. A good place to be on Sunday morning. And on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 24/7 Put this all together and walk in it. Use the visual image of going into a high tower that is pretty and smells good. When life is tough, go into the fortress that is His Name. According to Ephesians 3:10, this is a part of the “manifold wisdom of God” that is supposed to be “known by the church” and that we use to battle “the principalities and powers in the heavenly places” When we know His name, we are able to call Him FATHER because He’s all wrapped up in Jesus, the Anointed. Ephesians 3:15 tells us that we are named from the Father. Verse 16 lets us know that we receive His might from INSIDE The Name, the fortress, the blessing. It doesn’t come down on you; it comes out of you. . . that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height; to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19 Take this a step further and we see that, since God is love, 1 John 4:16 faith in The Name comes by love because faith works through love. Galatians 5:6 Love is the only way to get into God’s refuge and God’s refuge is THE NAME. So now, let’s finish reading the Ephesians 3 passage that is a prayer and we will make it our prayer declaration. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
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