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Date of message: 22 September 2002
Subject: The Names of God - YHVH Shamma
Shalom, Boker-tov ( good morning ),
Peace and grace be multiplied to you. Good health and material prosperity
be granted to you according to your faith.
This week I would like to continue with the series and make mention of
another beautiful name that the LORD gave to remind us of yet another
facet of His character. Today I would like to introduce to you YHVH SHAMMA
(pronounced as "Sharm-Ma") and in English this is translated
as "The LORD is there" (Ezekiel 48: 35)
In the Book of Exodus, while the Israelites were wandering for forty years
in the desert, the LORD gave instructions to Moses to construct a tabernacle
wherein He will come and dwell and meet up with the people where they
were. In Exodus 40: 34 - 38, we read that, no sooner than after the tabernacle
was erected that the LORD descended on the tent of meeting in a cloud
and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
" Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the
Lord filled the tabernacle.
" Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud
had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
" Throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from
over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out;
" but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until
the day when it was taken up.
" For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the LORD was on
the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight
of all the house of Israel.
How awesome to know that the LORD was physically in the midst of the camp
(all the tribes were assigned their places of rest around the tabernacle).
He chose to be in the midst; He did not have to but He chose them for
His own. Everywhere the LORD led, the children of Israel followed closely
and it was this same pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night
that separated them from the rest of the nations around them. Forty years
of wandering in the desert and soon the news of Elohim being with the
children of Israel caused the inhabitants of the land to tremble. The
residents of Jericho heard so much about the exploits of the LORD that
they feared for their lives long before the Israelites arrived at their
gates (Joshua 2: 8 - 14).
The LORD appeared and rested on the men of God and they were able to perform
great exploits for Him. Throughout the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit
recorded for us various accounts of great leaders of the people, how the
Spirit of the LORD descended upon them and they gathered their strength,
went forth and conquered the enemies. However, once the victory had been
sealed, we do not read of any more exploits from these leaders. The Holy
Spirit seemed to come and go as directed by God and He did not stay for
long.
The people of Israel did not worship the LORD after the death of King
Solomon. For 490 years, they worshipped Baal and the Asteroth and the
LORD was greatly grieved. Just before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians,
the prophet Ezekiel, in a vision, saw how the Holy Spirit departed from
Israel. In Ezekiel 10: 4, the Spirit of God went up from the Ark of the
Covenant to the threshold of the temple. He lingered there in anticipation
that the people would repent and turn back to the Lord. When the people
refused to repent, the Holy Spirit departed from the threshold of the
temple and stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD's
house (Ezek 11: 18 - 19).
Again the Holy Spirit lingered at the gate and when He found none repentant,
He departed to the Mount of Olives which in on the east of the city of
Jerusalem. There He waited again (Ezek 11: 22 - 24) to no avail. Finally,
after some time, the Holy Spirit ascended into heaven. Throughout the
vision, the prophet saw that the Spirit of the LORD was very reluctant
to leave; that He wanted to linger on, if possible, for a little while
more and during those waiting moments there was an expectation of repentance
by the LORD from the people of Jerusalem.
The Father sent the Lord Jesus into the world to save us from our sins.
On the cross, Jesus hung for six hours between 09:00 AM and 03:00 PM bearing
on His body all the sins of the world. And when He dismissed His Spirit
when the evening sacrifice was being offered at the Temple, the heavy
veil that separated the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place was torn in
two from the top down (Matthew 27: 51). According to the Temple records
kept by the rabbis, the veil was a good six inches in thickness and the
fact that it was torn from top to bottom and not the other way around
was evidence that it was a supernatural phenomenon. God the Father tore
the veil because there is now no more restrictions separating Him from
us; Jesus His Son paid the price with His life and now we can have full
access to the Father.
The curtain was torn the moment Jesus gave up His Spirit and breathed
His last. The Father could not wait to declare His deep feelings for His
children. When He left the presence of the Israelites just before the
fall of Jerusalem, it was a very reluctant departure but when the way
was made clear for His return, He would not even wait a moment longer.
His love for us became His zeal. Fifty days after Jesus rose from the
dead, the disciples were gathered together in the Upper Room on Mt Zion
to worship the LORD and while they were worshipping, the Holy Spirit was
poured out on each of the disciples. In Acts 2: 2- 4, we read that there
was a noise like a violent rushing wind and it filled the whole house
where they were sitting. The Holy Spirit descended on each of the disciples
and they all spoke in tongues, worshipping the LORD.
Today, the same Holy Spirit comes to live in the heart of each believer
the moment He is invited into his /her life. We have a better deal today
compared to the great men of God in the Old Testament. Then they had to
be content to have the Power of the LORD descend upon them to enable them
for a specific task and once that task had been completed, the Spirit
would leave him /her. On the other hand we have the Holy Spirit resident
in our hearts forever. The apostle Paul wrote by the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit in Ephesians 1: 13 - 14 -
" In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the
gospel of your salvation - having also believed, you were sealed in Him
with the Holy Spirit of promise,
" who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the
redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.
The Holy Spirit is given as a "down-payment" for our eternal
possession. A down payment would mean that the Person who places the down
payment would certainly return to redeem in full what rightfully belongs
to Him, even our spirits to be with Him for all eternity.
Have you secured your place with the Heavenly King for eternity? He is
watching and waiting like an anxious Father for your return. Come home
to Him. Why not join me and pray this prayer of commitment to Him and
invite Him to make His home in your heart?
Heavenly Father, Abba Father, thank you that You love all of us so much
that You did not leave us alone but gave us Your beloved Son, our Lord
Jesus Christ to come and to die for all our sins. Thank you that He obeyed
You right to the very end and gave Himself up on the cross bearing all
our sins.
Thank you Lord Jesus that You were obedient to the Father and took all
our curses so that we can receive Your blessings in our lives. Thank you
that we are now children of the LORD and joint heirs with You in Your
kingdom. I invite You to come into my heart and take up precedence over
my life.
Thank You Father that because of Your Son's death, I am now a child of
Yours and I am greatly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved. Thank
you and I pray all these in the most precious name of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, our Yeshua Ha'Mashiarch (Jesus the anointed One). Amen.
If you have prayed that prayer for the first time, let me
welcome you to the Family of the Father (a very big universal family).
It is important that you are not alone facing your personal trials but
you can obtain good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find
your own local Christian family (local church) and worship the Father
together? You will be greatly encouraged when you meet together for fellowship
(and encouragement) and for study of the Word of Christ together.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all
your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24 - 26
Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee
This and other archived messages can also be found on the following URL
http://www.oocities.org/fibredrive/index.htm
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