Thankful For The Name Of The Lord Series

“THANKFUL FOR THE NAME OF THE LORD” Prov. 18:10

FBCF – 11/22/20

Jon Daniels

INTRO – I’ve been in the ministry since 1982 – closing in on 40 years. Over those years, I’ve interacted w/ & ministered to literally hundreds – even thousands – of people while serving as a student minister & then as a senior pastor. There’s no way I could possibly remember all of their names. But there’s always that person who, when I run into them in a store or restaurant, having not seen them for 25-30 years, will say, “You don’t remember me, do you?” As badly as I want to remember their name, many times I just have to say, “Nope!”

Names are important. One of the challenges for me as your Pastor during these first months of ministry has been working on learning & remembering your names. I want to so badly & know that’s an important thing for me to do. I even pray about it a lot. COVID has made that especially difficult. But I’m still working on them. Thanks for your patience & understanding.

Some names are immediately recognizable – Elvis, Santa, Snoopy, Tarzan, Barak

Other names will bring to mind different people to each of us. Let’s have a little fun here. For instance, when I say the name:

- George – Washington? Clooney? Bush – the father or W? Curious George, the monkey?

- Barney – Barney Fife? Or the purple dinosaur?

- James – Bond? Dean? Brown? Madison?

- Steve – Harvey? Martin? Jobs? McQueen?

- Tom – Hanks? Cruise? Selleck? Brady?

This morning, we continue our series “Thankful For…”. Today, on this Sunday before Thanksgiving, we are thankful for the name of the Lord.

EXPLANATION – Proverbs 18:10

Let’s ask some questions about this verse.

WHY IS THIS VERSE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS CHAPTER? – Remember that Proverbs is a wisdom book. When you look at some of the other subjects covered in this chapter, we see some reasons that we need to run to the Lord for His protection & provision.

- The danger of being an unfriendly person

- The danger of dealing w/ a fool

- The danger of wickedness

- The danger of careless & hurtful words

- The danger of laziness

- The danger of a prideful, haughty heart

- The danger of greed

- The danger of unreliable friends

We may not think that, in & of themselves, these things are dangerous. But it’s those little compromises in our lives that lead to major catastrophic failures.

- It’s a tiny area of plaque in an artery that can cause a fatal heart attack

- It’s a cancerous cell that leads to a life-ending disease

- It’s a small crack in a dam that is the beginning of a devastating flood

And it’s these small decisions that will start us down a dangerous path if we don’t run to the Lord. Solomon, in his wisdom & under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, wrote these words here b/c the Lord knew that we would be surrounded by a myriad of struggles & troubles that could damage & destroy our lives if we don’t run to Him!

WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE LORD? – The Hebrew name for the Lord here is Yahweh or Jehovah. The Jews would not even say this name b/c it was so holy. They wrote the name w/ no vowels – only used 4 consonants – b/c He is indescribable. We would write it YHWH in English.

Think of some the names of the Lord:

- Elohim – Most common Hebrew name for God. Means strength & power

- Adonai – Lord, Master, Owner

- El Elyon – Sovereign God most high

- El Shaddai – God Almighty who is all-sufficient

- El Roi – the God who see – omniscient

- Immanuel – God with us

- Jehovah Jireh – God who provides

- Jehovah Rapha – God who heals

- Jehovah Nissi – God our Banner – power over our enemies

- Jehovah Shalom – God our Peace

- Jehovah Ezer – God our help

- Jehovah Shammah – God who is there

- Abba – Father – “Daddy”

Psalm 9:10 – “Those who know your name trust in you…”

Most of the time as Christ-followers, when we think of the name of the Lord, we immediately think of the name JESUS – say that name w/ me – JESUS. And we should! His name means “Yahweh is salvation” or “Yahweh saves.” And although the name, Jesus, was a common name in biblical times, there’s never been anyone who has truly fulfilled the meaning of that name except this One – Jesus Christ – who is the Way, the Truth, & the Life, & whose name is above every other name.