March 4th, 2018 THE POWER OF GOD S NAMES The Majesty of God s Names Pastor Terry Baldwin 1 [ TITLE SLIDE ] NAMES ARE IMPORTANT - Names give us CLUES about People, Places, Things - We Associate Names with something POSITIVE or NEGATIVE - Bill Gates - You ll think Money - Schwartzenager - Muscles - Einstein - Genius - Reason parents don t name their kids... Hitler / Benedict Arnold WHY?...Names MATTER - I like to go into Burger King ( Mr. Wonderful ) (Magnificent) (Sir Stud) - Some Parents should never be allowed to name their kids... [ Only advance when I call for it ] Bud Light / Brad Slaughter / Les McBurney /... Jed I. Knight / Kim Yoo Suk / Whet Faartz WHY?...Names MATTER - First thing a guy wan s to know about a Girl... NAME When a woman agrees to Marry an man... She Changes her Name - She has witnessed over time the character of the man she loves... Taking his name signifies her hope for a better future...names MATTER
We re Concerned that names don t MISREPRESENT us...nicknames fit in this Category - Slim / Chubby / Tumbleweed - Names can be very descriptive 2 - A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1 (NIV)...Names MATTER If names are Important to people... who come and go... How much MORE is GOD s Name [ Psalm 8.1 AMP ] O Lord, our Lord, How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth! [ Psalm 29.2 NKJV ] Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name [ Psalm 86.11 AMP ] Direct my heart to fear Your name [with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder]. [ Psalm 111.9 NKJV ] Holy and awesome is His name. [ Proverbs 18.10 NLT ] The name of the Lord is a strong fortress OVER & OVER & OVER... we hear about the Glory of God s Name Over 80 NAMES for God in Bible... WHY? When it comes to God, One NAME doesn t contain who He is! - God s NAMES are designed to give us CLUES into His NATURE - Through God s Names we can know Who He Is and What He is Like...
[ BLANK SLIDE ] God s Names are SO Special / SO Unique... It is to be HALLOWED! 3 - Jesus taught us to Pray that way (Matt. 6.9) - HALLOWED means: Set apart / Unique / Sacred ( Example of Dishes Profane / Common / Sacred Handled in special way ) God wants His name to be held in Unique position in our lives and our world Genesis 11.1-9 TOWER OF BABLE Men wanted to build own Civilization & own Religious order Independent of God The reason they came together was to build a NAME for themselves [ Genesis 11.4 NKJV ]...let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves - They wanted a NAME... Not God s NAME - Man wants... In God we Trust / But don t Trust God - Man wants... God bless America / But they don t want to Bless God - We want a name for ourselves BUT don t want the Person of that Name - People are FORGING God s name When we come to Understand and appreciate God s NAMES... we ll learn - God s name is Powerful / Tremendous because His names are Transforming
The FIRST Name we ll look at is God s INTRODUCTORY Name 4 First Verse of the Bible we Learn about God through His Name [ Genesis 1.1 AMP ] In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth....hebrew word for God is Elohim ELOHIM From this Name we learn GOD IS TRANSCENDENT - MEANING: existing apart from and not subject to the limitations of the material universe - Elohim exist outside of TIME (In Beginning) - Elohim exist outside of SPACE & MATTER (Heavens & Earth) ( Matter is not eternal; it began when God spoke everything into existence ) This Creator God ELOHIM - ACTS OUTSIDE of Time & Space... - He also INTERACTS WITH TIME & SPACE [ Jeremiah 23.24 NIV ] Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? declares the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. - Elohim not only MADE it He OCCUPIES it - Same way that air occupies - No where to run or hide... Elohim sits OUTSIDE and OCCUPIES creation...that s how awesome our God is
We also learn from His name ELOHIM GOD IS A PERSON 5 - He s TALKING Let there be light... - He s THINKING in order to talk (thoughts precedes words) - He s ACTING OUT HIS THOUGHTS - God is also FEELING It is good / It is REAL good Evolution believes that: - NOBODY / with NOTHING / created EVERYTHING - You can t buy that lie... It will make a monkey out of you!!! - Our great God Elohim created TIME / SPACE / MATTER God s Name ELOHIM is a Plural Majestic Plural - God exist in plurality God the Father / Son / Holy Spirit - Yet they operate as Single God [ Genesis 1.26 NKJV ] Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness From God s name ELOHIM we discover...
GOD IS A CREATIVE GENIUS 6 - ELOHIM can restore things that are messed up [ Genesis 1.2-3 NIV ] Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of (Elohim) God was hovering over the waters. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light - Like a Potter ELOHIM can take formless lump of clay and turn it into Beautiful and Functional masterpiece - If God can do this to the universe... - ELOHIM can bring order to your chaos... and Wants to!! - We have to know ELOHIM When ELOHIM created man... Created him in His image... means: We ve been designed to MIRROR GOD - We are to be REFLECTIONS of God - Rest of creation has not been given that privilege Trouble today... People want to USE Elohim w/o ACKNOWLEDGING Him - King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4.30) - Walked around thinking himself as Creator... I did this by my own strength & power...
- People do that today... piggy backing off what God has done in their lives - self made man!!! - Then have nerve to be an atheist 7 Nature Reveals and Expresses ELOHIM - Sun rise and set... seeing Handiwork of our Great God! [ Romans 1.20 NLT ] For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. - Causes us to Worship our Creator - Don t want to be Independent of Him CLOSE I know it looks like in our world... people can do good without ELOHIM... I understand it LOOKS like that! - They can Deny / Reject / Curse God... and still look like life is Great - Even in Bible Christians were Jealous of the God Haters... - It s like a true event in 1997 URBANA, Ohio - Paul Sirks Watched helplessly as his single-engine vintage plane took off by itself, flew for two hours and crashed into a bean field 90 miles
You can climb the Prosperity Ladder, Recognition Ladder, Power Ladder You can think you re doing it ON YOUR OWN... 8 - But 90 miles down the road... - Life crashes in on you - Sickness / Problem / Predicament - God s SPIRITUAL LAWS will not be Escaped... - God s word Will stay true AFTER ELOHIM has done all His Creation and Creativity... Genesis 2.3 [ Genesis 2.3 NIV ] Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. - God rested because He was Finished / not Tired - He is wanting to enjoy what He has done Elohim is the infinite, all-powerful God who shows by His works that He is the creator and the sustainer. - ELOHIM wants us to DO what He calls us to do... Then He wants us to Rest in His Sustaining Power The power of God ELOHIM is big enough for Whatever is taking place in your life
9 As we close... let s say what the Psalm says [ Psalm 34.3 NKJV ] Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. FOOTBALL EXAMPLE: - Defensive Player sacks QB - Player Pumps his hands up!!!! - Since I feel good... I don t want to feel good by myself!! - God is calling us to MAGNIFY His joy for what He has done Magnify the Lord... because His name is ELOHIM