Sunday February 14, 2016 Phone: 570.829.5216 Pastor David Miklas e-mail pastormiklas@aol.com Message #13 Names of God Text: Psalm 102:1-27; Hebrews 1:8-12; 13:8-9 Jehovah-Hua the Changeless One INTRODUCTION: This morning in our continuing study of the names of God, we come to one name that is tragically over-looked in most Bible studies. Turning to Psalm 102 we find these words possibly written by a person who had been carried into the Babylonian captivity. He feels there is nothing left in life worth living for and so he expresses himself in this way in verses 1-11, Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee. (2) Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily. (3) For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth. (4) My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread. (5) By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin. (6) I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. (7) I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. (8) Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me. (9) For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, (10) Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down. (11) My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. Now I am sure there have been times in your life when you have been as discouraged, depressed and despondent as this writer. Maybe even this morning you have come to the END of yourself, and are thinking I really wonder what there is in life worth living for, since years are quickly slipping by. It seems like all I do is go to work to make ends meet; the bills pile up, and I seem to be going nowhere. Perhaps you are becoming weaker as the days go by and hopelessness and despair have set in. The writer of Psalm 102 feels he has been neglected and forsaken and is now overwhelmed. On some level, I believe we can all identify. Amazingly, the writer senses God will not only see him through this time of testing, but also in God s timing he will be delivered by Him. The writer alludes to this in verses 12-23, But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations. (13) Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. (14) For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. (15) So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. (16) When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. (17) He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. (18) This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD. (19) For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; (20) To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death; (21) To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; (22) When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD. (23) He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days. Now please notice carefully verses 24-27. In verse 24 we read, I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. In this passage the Hebrew word for God is Elohim. Literally the writer is saying O my Elohim, O my powerful, almighty creator God deal with me, don t destroy me. Page 1
In verses 25-26 we read, Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. (26) They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: One day this world which God crated will become old and He will change its appearance like we change clothes. Now to verse 27 where the writer, still speaking about God, says But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. Did you notice the word same in verse 27? This Hebrew word hua means the changeless one. Thus we could read, Thou Elohim art the hua, even though everything around us changes as it decays and finally perishes, thou my creator God remains the same, thou CHANGES NOT. In the hour of this writer s deepest need; in the hour of his personal crisis, he cries unto God who CHANGES NOT. Praise God! Our God is the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow. In James 1:17 we read, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. The words expressed by this writer in Psalm 102, as he is in captivity there in Babylon, are also found in the New Testament. FIRST: In Hebrews 1:10-12 we read, And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: (11) They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; (12) And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. Now these words spoken here were expressed by God the Father to His Son, Jesus Christ. Perhaps they were spoken as our Lord was feeling the rejection of His own creation as He, with a heavy heart, was carrying the burden of the cross with the task of bearing our sins upon Him. Did you notice in verse 11 that the heavens shall perish and in verse 12, as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed Just as you would throw away an old worn-out garment when you are done with it, there is a day coming as we read of in Revelation 6:13-14 when the heaven will depart as a scroll when it is rolled together The things that we can see and feel seem so permanent, as if everything was going to continue as it was from the beginning of creation. But all this is going to perish and the Lord is going to create a new heaven and a new earth. People come and go, nations rise and fall and the creation will be changed, but not the creator. CHRIST IS ETERNAL, THE IMMUTABLE UNCHANGING ONE! In verse 12 is a quote from Psalm 102, but thou art the same SECOND: In Hebrews 13:5-8 we read, Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (6) So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (7) Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. (8) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. The book of Hebrews closes as it began by reminding its readers of their unchanging Lord, who is always the same; His love never changes. Page 2
His compassion never changes. His tenderness never changes. His holiness never changes. His righteousness never changes. His grace and mercy never changes. Jesus Christ the unchanging hua of the Old Testament is also the same in the New Testament; the changeless One. Need I remind you that we are living in a changing world? In our life-time radical changes have taken place. Let me pause for a few moments to say something about one of the changes we have encountered in the last few years. It is the controversy over certain department stores and retailers who ordered their employees to not say "Merry Christmas." Here is a testimony from someone with a different side of this story that nobody else is talking about. I thought it was bold and profound. To be frank with you, I don't know why we expect a secular business to promote Christ when they have turned the celebration of his birth into a celebration of mammon! They don't exist to please the heart of God but the insatiable appetite of man. They aren't in business to bless people, only take their money. So their decision to not say "Merry Christmas" is much ado about nothing. The fact is, WE are the ones who are supposed to say "Merry Christmas" to them!!! Why do we expect the world to do what WE are supposed to be doing? If you know Jesus as your Savior, it is YOU who is supposed to say "Merry Christmas" to those you meet along your journey through life each day. The Bible says that WE are His ambassadors, WE are His witnesses, WE are to be salt and light, not some secular department store! This is one of the best times of the year to be a Christian and remind people that Christmas is NOT about merchandise, but the birth of Jesus. WE are the ones to remind the world that Christmas is not about the presents we give to each other, but the present God gave to this world in the form of His Son Jesus Christ! PROMOTING THE BIRTH OF JESUS IS OUR JOB! God has called us to share our faith in Christ and the hope we have in Him with this lost and dying world. As this Christmas season is upon us, NOW is the time for each one of us who knows Christ as our Savior to be faithful in sharing Him with a world that needs His love so desperately. The fact the departments stores, the town halls, and other public entities are not promoting Christ's birth is a wake-up call to the churches and each believer that WE are the ones God has entrusted with this mission. That first Christmas, God didn't entrust that great message with the men of the world, but men of God who were tending their flocks. May each of us be faithful this Christmas season in being like the shepherds and sharing with the world that 2000 years ago in a manger in Bethlehem, the Savior of the world was born. His name was JESUS. Now God has established some things that never change, they are the bedrock of our faith. In the New Testament, when we see the word truth it alludes to two things. NUMBER 1: The Word of God is called the truth. In Psalm 119:89 we read, For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. In II Timothy 2:15 we read, Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. In I Peter 1:23-25 we read, Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (24) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (25) But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. Page 3
Again notice Hebrews 13:7-9, Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. (8) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. (9) Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. Notice that in verse 7 we have the commendation of faithful leaders and in verse 9 we have the condemnation of false leaders who want to carry us into false doctrine. One of Satan s most subtle approaches is to rise up individuals or groups to promote teachings that move us away from sound doctrine and get us wrapped-up in beliefs that are unfounded, uncertain, and ever-changing. Please, please remember this - we are to judge truth by God s Word, not by the appearance or the personality of the person who delivers it. Examine every message, line by line and precept by precept, with the truth contained in God s Word. Understand Satan s primary target is not the unsaved or the secular society he has blinded to the truth. Rather his primary target is the church. God knows that the greatest battle His church faces is maintaining purity of doctrine and truth. A church that is not sound in doctrine is unstable in both faith and practice. One of the marks of small children is their lack of discernment. They have no way of telling what is good or bad for them. They judge only by feeling or whim. If it looks attractive, they pick it up and put it in their mouth. Some Christians and churches are like that in their non-spiritual discernment. They have been so little exposed to sound doctrine, or so long removed from it, that they judge entirely by appearance and feeling. And what are the results? They move further from the truth. Listen! Just because a church has in its history a certain name, or Just because a college is called a Christian college or university, or Just because a para-church organization has Christian or Bible in its name, or Just because it is a Christian mission agency, or Just because a musician claims to be a Christian who sings maybe 7-11 spiritual songs, Beware! If their doctrine, their words, and their life-style do not square with the Word of God that we hold in our hands, beware! They are not in the camp of those of us who hold without reservation to the absolute authority of the eternal, neverchanging Word of God which has been forever settled in Heaven. That means we need to be married to the Word of God, not to an organization, a college, a missionary, a mission group, or whatever that changes their position. WE MUST STAY TRUE TO THIS ETERNAL, AUTHORITATIVE BOOK, AMEN! NUMBER 2: The Lord Jesus Christ is the truth. In John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Remember Jesus is the truth in both the New Testament as well as in the Old Testament. He is the hua the changeless one. So truth whether it be the written Word of God or the living Word of God Jesus Christ, we have changeless truth. Now, here we are in this service wondering what all this means for us personally. I Page 4
believe the word RELIABILITY will sum it all up. We can rely on the WORD OF GOD. We can rely on the PERSON of JESUS CHRIST. Today in our world, I don t know of too many other things upon which we can rely. We cannot rely upon most of our government agencies. We cannot rely upon many of our educational institution whether secular or Christian. We certainly cannot rely upon the ever-changing economy. We cannot rely upon most people, since there is an epidemic of non-commitment. But we can rely upon the eternal Word of God and we can rely upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ! When people become successful in our world; they usually forget the little people who helped them get to the top. They forget them because they don t need them any longer. That is not that way with our Lord. He is still touched with our needs and troubles and heartaches in a world where it is easy to be down-hearted and in despair and in need. Why is Jesus that way? Because His name is Elohim-Hua! He is the same; the same yesterday as He is today, as He will be forever. He is the CHANGELESS ONE. The most used name of God in the Old Testament is Jehovah, which among other things refers to God s salvation. When we come to the very last book of the Old Testament, we see again the revelation of this great name that provides STABILITY. In Malachi 3:6 we read, For I am the LORD, I change not God is saying to Malachi, I am Jehovah, I change not. Upon reading that, and as we turn a page in our Bibles to the New Testament, we find the name Jesus which means Jehovah is Salvation, the one who changes not. When Jesus died on the cross 2000 years ago, the power of the blood that provided us with eternal redemption then, still provides salvation today. We need no other pleas, we need no other argument, we need no other means of redemption. Today: Jesus still COMFORTS his own, just as he comforted Mary and Martha over the death of their beloved Lazareth. He still COMFORTS those who are on this side of heaven who mourn the death of loved ones. Jesus still walks with his own in the valley of the shadow of death. Jesus still WALKS with his own in the hospital room; or while His own are in clouds of despair; or while His own cry out, O Lord which way do I turn in this decision? Jesus still PRAYS for His own as He did in the garden of Gethsemane for the Bible says, He ever liveth to make intercession for us. Jesus still CARES for His own and provides for His own, as we read in Philippians 4:19, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Jesus still LOVES His own for in Romans 8:35-39 we read, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (36) As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. (37) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (38) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Page 5
Jesus still FORGIVES His own as He did the woman taken in adultery in John 8, where Jesus said to her, go and sin no more. If Jesus does that for us remember what Ephesians 4:32 tells us, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Again in Psalm 102:27 we read, But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. God is the Elohim-Hua. However, never forget as we move closer to the day we call Christmas remember the babe in the manger is the Lord Jesus Christ who according to Hebrew 13:8 is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. Amen and Amen!!! ***************************************************** If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon on the name of God Elohim-Hua The Changeless One, then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you. Do you have the assurance one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as you personal Savior. The Bible tells us in Acts 16:31,...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved... Romans 10:13, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be your personal Savior. I do want to go to Heaven. I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am completely depending on Him for my salvation. If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, would you please let me know? Fill out the information below and e-mail me, pastormiklas@aol.com. I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life. Date: Name:, Address: The Weekly SERMON is sent as a ministry of Bible Baptist Ministry, 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706. Privacy policy, your e-mail address will not be sold, or shared with any third party. Copy write permission: Because the Weekly SERMON will be reproduced into other formats, PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING, the Weekly SERMON in its original form, without any changes, may be copied and re-transmitted by electronic mail, and copies may be printed for individual or ministry purposes, provided that such copying, re-transmission, printing, or other use is not for profit or other commercial purpose. Any copying, re-transmission, distribution, printing, or other use of the Weekly SERMON must set forth in full the heading that is given before each Weekly SERMON. Any other request for use, please contact Bible Baptist Ministries at pastormiklas@aol,.com or by phone at 570.829.5216. Page 6