Father’s Day 2006

The Care of Our Heavenly Father as Seen in His Name

Psalm 9:9-10

text vs 10

 

INTRO: As children of God we can pray, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done, in earth, as it is in heaven....” (Mt 6:10-11).

Truly the name of the Lord God, our Father, is a holy name.  It is a mighty name; it is a name that says He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.  He is all in all.

The Bible says: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” (Prov 18:10).

When you know what the name of the Lord means, you will know Him better, you will understand more about His attributes and His love for us.

As Jesus neared the cross and His death for sinners, He prayed for you and me.  His prayer was one of heartfelt desire, and that desire was: “And this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent” (Jn 17:3).

Knowing the name of the Lord God our Father and relying on Him will change your life:

You will go from defeat to victory.

You will go from conflict to rest.

You will go from emptiness to abundant life.

You will go from captivity to deliverance.

Psalm 44:8 says: “In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.”  To “boast” means “to praise, to lift up.”  When we talk about our boast is in the name of the Lord, we mean that we have confidence in, and trust in His Holy name.

To know the name of God our Father will help trust Him more and have greater confidence in Him.  The Hebrew names for God are precious and so very meaningful:

Elohim the Creator

El Elyon The God Most High

El Roi God Who Sees

El Shaddai The All-Sufficient One

Adonai LORD, Master

Yahweh Lord (Jehovah)

Jehovah-jireh The Lord Will Provide

Jehovah-rapha The Lord That Healeth

Jehovah-nissi The Lord My Banner

Jehovah-mekoddishkem The Lord Who Sanctifies You

Jehovah-shalom The Lord is Peace

Jehovah-Sabaoth The Lord of Hosts

Jehovah-raah The Lord My Shepherd

Jehovah-tsidkenu The Lord Our Righteousness

Jehovah-shammah The Lord is There

El Olam The Everlasting God

We will not deal with all of these names today.  But I do want to note a few of our Father’s names that speak to me concerning His care for us.

 

I.        EL ROI– THE GOD WHO SEES PROV 5:21

“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord and he pondereth

 all his goings.”

A.       Our mighty heavenly Father sees us.  He sees our heartache, pain, trouble, and trials.  His very name means the God who sees.

B .      When you feel used, rejected, dejected, and cast down and out, your Heavenly Father sees and He cares.

1. When Hagar ran into the wilderness because she was shunned and despised by Sarai, the angel of the Lord (I believe this to be God in the form of an angel) said, “Hagar. . . whence camest thou?  And whither wilt thou go?” (Gen 16:8).

a. God knows where you have been, and He knows where you are going.  He cares about you; He sees  you.  He is not asleep; He is ever present with His own.

b. God cares about the hurt that you have suffered, about the names you have been called, about the abuse that has befallen you!

2. In Genesis 16:13, The scripture says: “And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me...”  What a great comfort it is to know that He sees and He cares.  God our Father sees.

C.      Whatever the child of God faces, we know God our Father sees it and He works His purpose through it (Rm 8:28).

 

II.       EL SHADDAI– THE ALMIGHTY ALL SUFFICIENT ONE

A.       God spoke to ninety-nine year old Abram in Genesis 17:1 reminding him of the Almighty power and all sufficiency of the God he served.

1. Andrew Jukes in “The Names of God” writes: The thought expressed in the name “Shaddai”... describes power, but it is the power, not of violence, but of all-bountifulness.  “Shaddai” primarily means “Breasted,” being formed directly from the Hebrew word Shad, that is, “the breast,” or, more exactly, a “woman’s breast.”  Parkhurst thus explains the name– “Shaddai, one the Divine titles, meaning the Power or Shedder forth, that is, of blessings, temporal and spiritual....”

2. Just as a mother’s breast is all sufficient for the restless hungry and crying babe, the Breast of God will supply what we need.

3. God, El Shaddai, is the pourer forth.  He pours Himself into the believer.

a. Just as the mother gives herself to feed her child, to satisfy its longing, God gave His lifeblood to satisfy us.

b. Romans 5:5 says: “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

c. Jesus, God the Son, says: “If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink...” (Jn 7:37).

B.       Go with me to Isaiah 49:15-16.  Friend, God will not forget you; He is sufficient for your needs.  He wants to hold you and help you.

1. God the Father will hold you and help you through your failure, your weakness, your shortcomings.  He will hold you close when you are misunderstood and maligned.

2. God the Son and God the Father can succor you, bring aid to you because God in the flesh has been through trials yet without sin (Heb 2:18).

a. God delights to bring aid to His people.

b. God loves to comfort His own.

c. He holds us in the everlasting arms and protects us.

 

III.          JEHOVAH-JIREH– THE LORD WILL PROVIDE

A.       God will provide.  No greater illustration of this can be found than that of God providing the sacrifice, a ram in the thicket, for a sacrifice on Mount Moriah (Gen 22:7-14).