Sharing good news of great joy to all people,
Elation Church. Week number two in our series
that we've entitled, Hello, My Name is God. Hello,
My Name is God. Now, we're going to first start
out by talking about what a name is all about.
What's in a name? Look to the person beside you
and say, what's in a name anyway? What's in a
name? What's in a name? First of all, names signify
identity. Everybody say identity. I'll remind
you again that when I started playing junior
high football in the state of South Carolina,
I had to come up with a state birth certificate.
And when that birth certificate came in, my legal
name, I kid you not, in the state of South Carolina,
My legal name is No Name Forrest. That's the
way my birth certificate came in. Because my
parents didn't name me until after we left the
hospital. So my Greenville County birth certificate
actually says Unnamed Forrest. And then the state
took a little leeway to put No Name Forrest on
there. So guess what? I could not play the first
two or three games of my junior high football
career. Okay? Because I had to get my name changed.
And to this day, my South Carolina birth certificate
has an asterisk by my name showing that my name
has been changed from No Name Forrest to Jeffrey
Dean Forrest, which is what they named me after
we left the hospital. So that's my identity.
I have another name that I consider my identity
just as much. As my name, Jeffrey Dean Forrest,
my identity is, I've got this name, and that
name is that I am a Christian. That's not just
something that's added on like some of the other
names that I'm going to show you. That's who
I am. That's who I am. That's my identity. Most
people just call me Dean. It's okay if you call
me anything. I'll answer to about anything. If
you don't believe it, ask Gannon. Names also
signify relationship. Everybody say relationship.
Not only is it identity, it's also relationship.
I have a lot more names than just Jeffrey Dean
Forrest and Christian. My mom always called me
her baby. I was the youngest of four, and mom
always called me baby. Even when I'm 50 -something
stinking years old. If she's introducing me to
someone that she knows I don't know, she would
say, this is my baby, Dean. Even as a grown adult
with kids of my own. My dad didn't call me baby.
My dad called me son. So that's one of my names.
When I got married on August 5th of 1984, I became
a husband. A husband. But my wife doesn't say,
oh husband, would thou taketh me shopping? She
doesn't call me husband. She calls me honey on
good days. I'm not going to tell you what she
calls me when I haven't been acting right. But
on good days, she calls me honey. I became a
father in... January 31st, 1992. Jeffrey doesn't
say, oh, father. I guess if we were in London,
he might say, oh, father. No, he just calls me
dad. We dropped the D -Y as he got older. You
know, he used to call me daddy. Kind of converted
over to dad. So those are my names. I want you
to consider something. When you find out people's
names, You find out more about them by their
names. Now, most of the people in the room already
knew that, but the first -time visitors, they're
like, wow, okay. You know, he's married, he's
got kids. Just have one kid. Names signify identity.
They identify relationship. Everybody say identity.
Everybody say relationship. And they also identify
or signify activity. Everybody say activity.
Now you're going to find out a lot more about
me by knowing my names. Activity, by that I mean
what a person does. I've had a lot of names.
I was a student for a long, long time. I was
actually a cook my junior year of high school.
I was the cook at Quincy's Steakhouse. I started
out dishwasher, but by the time the month was
over, I was the Saturday night cook running two
grills. If you wonder why your steaks might not
have been as cooked that great. I was a salesman.
I worked for Custom Recording and Sound, selling
sound equipment and recording supplies. I worked
for my uncle at a Nissan dealership. I sold car
parts. For a couple of years. I became a salesman
at Mark 5 Records. Mark 5 Sandcastle Recording
Studios. I was selling studio time and things
like that. I've actually been a sound man and
actually got paid for running sound before. Bet
you thought that was just a volunteer job. I
was a custodian at Disney for about a year and
a half when we moved down here. And I could add
a couple more names. I was a trainer and a coordinator.
I was a janitor. My wife and I cleaned offices.
We had a contract cleaning offices three times
a week before Jeffrey was born. I was a screen
printer. I bought screen printing equipment.
I had my press. I had a four -color press and
a dryer and printed T -shirts for a lot of singing
groups that were selling T -shirts. It worked
out pretty good since I was working at the recording
studio. I could talk to a lot of singing groups
who needed some t -shirts, right? I was an A
&R director at Mark 5 Records. We had three record
companies, Mark 5, Heart Look, and Evidence Records.
I still don't know what an A &R director is,
but I was one. One day they handed me a business
card and told me that I was the vice president
of Heart Look Records. Didn't get a raise, but
I got a business card. I was a music director
for state and national organizations, an event
planner. I've rented meeting space not all over
the United States, but in a lot of places to
get events together. I've been a crusade director,
several area -wide crusades. I've been the president
of state and national organizations. Also the
president of a non -profit corporation. Been
a worship leader at events. Some events I didn't
preach. We just led worship. A little tidbit
is I was a worship leader in the Ryman Auditorium
one time for an event that we did there. I was
a conference director. We had a conference for
over 20 years. We've got people here today who
volunteered at that conference. Friends for a
long time, you know. How many years do we preach
Revival at your church, David? And sing and preach.
At least 21 years. Every year we went to their
church. I think we went to your church in western
New York about 14 years in a row, if I remember
right. But they would all come down and volunteer
at our conference in Myrtle Beach. Just because
we're great friends. Let's see. I was conference
director, an evangelist. On the road, quit my
job, sold our house, moved into an RV, went on
the road telling people about Jesus. At least
two -thirds of the United States we've been in
churches. I was a chaplain at Lakewood Camper
Resort in Myrtle Beach for nine years. Some people
call me preacher. How many of you call the pastor
of your church preacher? You just say preacher,
dean, or... Whatever. Some people call me pastor.
That's a lot of names. But in those names, you
find out a lot about me. What I've done. Right?
And that's important. This message isn't about
Dean. I'm just showing you that I am one person
and I just shared with you over 29 names. Because
names signify identity, relationship, and activity.
I'm also an uncle. I'm also a brother. So there's
relationship names, identity names, and activity
names, what a person does. And the reason why
this is important to understand is when we start
talking about the names of God, we're not talking
about a bunch of different gods because there
are people in this world who believe that there
are a lot of different gods. They have a lot
of different names. But there's one. Everybody
say one. There's one. But he's given us a lot
of names so that we'll know who he is. We'll
know what kind of relationship he wants to be
in with you and with me. And what he does. What
he wants to do in your life. See, if it's who
he is, that means that that's who he wants to
be. Just to quickly let you know something, just
because that's who he wants to be and what he
wants to do in your life, it doesn't mean that
that's who he is to you unless you receive him
as that. You want some proof? He wants to be
your Savior. He wants to be your Lord, but you
have to respond to him in faith for that to take
place. Are you with me? You have to respond.
You have to receive him as that. Now, it's easy
for us to understand this when it comes to salvation.
But as we look at the names of God, I want to
remind you, if you want him to be who he wants
to be, you're going to have to receive him by
faith. Hallelujah. Church gave me an amen button
for my birthday. Has some of them saying amen
on it. If I don't get a big enough amen, all
I have to do is hit the button. I like it. Then
I don't have to amen myself. Alright. Psalm 910.
This is our foundational verse for this series.
Those who know your name. Everybody say God.
Those who know your name will put their trust
in you. That word trust can also be confidence.
Everybody say confidence. Everybody say trust.
So when you know who God is according to his
names, then you can put your trust in him. You
can put your confidence in him. If you don't
know who he is, then you can't trust him. You
can't put your confidence in him. For you, Lord,
have not forsaken those who seek you. Look at
me. God will not turn His back on you. He will
not forsake you. When you seek Him, based on
who He is, based on the relationship He wants
to have with you, based on His activity, what
He wants to do in your life, when you seek Him
according to His name, He will not forsake you.
He's never forsaken. Those who seek Him. It's
important. I know we're going at least three
months on this, so I hope this is ingrained in
your heart and in your mind. When you know who
God is, you can put your confidence in Him. You
can trust Him, and He will not forsake you. Hello.
My name is God. Today, we're looking at one of
those compound names. I told you that last week.
Last week was a big introductory. We looked at
God's name. In the beginning, God, that Hebrew
word is Elohim. Great and mighty supreme God.
And then, when Moses asked, who should I tell
him sent me? He gave him his proper name. Like,
my name is Jeffrey Dean Forrest. He said, You
tell them, I am that I am sent you. You tell
them, my name is Yahweh and that is my eternal
name. I want everybody to know who I am because
Elohim can be, anyone can use that word to talk
about any God that they think is the supreme
God for them. But Yahweh is his personal name.
Now in Judges 6, verse 24, I can't read the whole
story of Gideon. We've done like three messages
on Gideon all back to back. But this is what
happens. We find out who God is and what He wants
to do for us in the book of Judges. Gideon built
an altar to the Lord there where he had met with
the angel of the Lord, which is... A theophany.
God actually met with him. It wasn't an angel
angel. Most scholars believe it's a Christophany.
Before Jesus came to this earth, he visited some
people and talked to them. And he met with Gideon.
The reason why we know that is because angels
do not receive worship. And then when this angel
of the Lord showed up, he received worship and
offerings. Angels do not receive worship. That's
how we know the difference. Gideon built an altar
to the Lord there and named it Yahweh Shalom.
Yahweh Shalom. Everybody say Yahweh Shalom. Which
means the Lord is peace. Everybody say the Lord
is peace. Why would Gideon say that? Because
Gideon was a chicken. He was overcome with fear.
He didn't see himself the way that God saw him.
God saw him as a mighty man of war. And Gideon
replied, even my big sister can beat me up. Basically,
he said, my whole family is the weakest out of
all of God's people, and I'm the weakest in my
family. Even my big sister, even my little sister
can beat me up. He didn't see himself as God
saw him, but as God talked to him. I mean, how
could you lead an army of 300 men to go against
hundreds of thousands? Unless you had a confidence.
Come on, somebody. You've got to have a confidence.
You've got to have total trust and confidence
in your God to take 300 people out. I forget
how many hundreds of thousands of people it was.
You've got to have some confidence. And he said,
God, you're my peace. And let me tell you something.
Even though Gideon named that altar that, God
made sure it was written in the Word of God to
let us know who He is. He is the Lord, our peace.
And guess what? The first message of this year,
as I was studying, I have to be honest with you,
I've been preaching a long time, but I never
looked up the word shalom to find the definition.
Of the Hebrew word shalom. I should be ashamed
of myself. But I never looked it up. Guess what
shalom means? Everybody say peace. Because that's
what everybody's always told me that it meant.
So I didn't think about looking it up. But here's
what it means. Well, let's go to Yahweh. Yahweh.
He's Yahweh Shalom. So Yahweh, He is the I Am
that I Am. He is the self -existent One. He is
the eternal One. He never needs or depends on
anybody or anything. He didn't need or depend
on anybody to begin because He has no beginning.
He's eternal. And He doesn't depend on anybody
or anything to maintain His existence. He doesn't...
Depend on anything or anybody to keep his promises.
Because he's God. Yahweh Shalom. Yahweh is who
he is. Shalom is what he does. So think about
those names. Think about the names that I shared
with you. The things that I've done. And Yahweh,
I mean, shalom is his activity. Yahweh is his
identity. Shalom is his activity. Somebody smile
or something. I'm about to hit the amen button
again. Shalom is who he is, but it's what he
does. Here's what the word means. A lot of preachers
would get upset for just me reading the definition
of shalom today. Shalom means safe. Do you know
God is concerned with your safety? It's well.
Do you know that God is concerned with your well
-being? It's happy. Oh, I hear a lot of preachers
say God don't care if you're happy or not. God's
not concerned with you whether you're happy or
not. He's just concerned with you being holy.
Look at the person beside you and say, he's concerned
about both. Friendly. Welfare. Has anybody ever
heard of the Strong's Concordance? This is the
definition straight out of the Strong's Concordance,
of the word shalom. Safe, well, happy, friendly,
welfare, health, prosperity. Oh, a lot of people
just hurt themselves when I said that. And peace.
That's what the word means. That's what God wants
to do for you. That's who He is. Can we receive
this? Or are we too religious to receive it?
I'm just telling you, that's what the word means.
Look it up yourself. You do know that the Old
Testament was written in Hebrew, not in English
first, right? Everybody with me on that? And
that's what the word means. So that's... what
God wants to do. This is what He wants to do
in your life. A lot of these things, this welfare
and all that, you know, that's even part of the
definition of agape. God is love. He's concerned
about your welfare, your well -being. Who would
have thunk it if you just look up the words?
You can kick over some sacred cows when you just
look up the words. Yahweh Shalom. I am the Lord
who gives you peace and empowers you to succeed.
That's who He is. I think the problem is most
of the time when people use that word prosperity,
they just think about stuff. They think about...
Money, possessions, wealth, physical wealth.
And that's all they think about when they hear
that word prosperity. It's more than that. Look
to the person beside you and say, it's more than
that. It's more than that. Because there are
people in this world who have multiplied millions,
even billions of dollars that don't have peace.
They commit suicide. Right? So it's more than
stuff. It's greater than stuff. But God doesn't
want you to be broke, busted, and disgusted the
rest of your life either. If you disagree, just
read a little bit in your Bible about Solomon
and Abraham. All right. God is Yahweh. Shalom.
Hello. My name is Yahweh Shalom. Everybody say
this. His name is Yahweh Shalom. Now we're going
to look at the Greek, the New Testament word
peace. Is that okay? Are we still okay? It's
a rene. That's the Koine Greek word for peace.
And guess what it means? Look it up. Peace. Prosperity.
One. To sit at one. When you read the word peace
in the New Testament, that's what it means too.
Pretty much means the same thing. Look it up.
Don't take my word for it. Look it up yourself.
And you say, well, Dean, if God's name is Yahweh
Shalom, and that's Hebrew words, why would you
talk about Greek New Testament words? I mean,
if that... Well, I'm glad you asked. Here we
go. John 14, 6. Jesus said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father
except through me. If you had really known me,
he's talking to his disciples, if you had really
known me, you would know who my father is. From
now on, you do know him and have seen him. Philip
said, wait a minute, Jesus. He's basically saying,
I'm not tracking with you right there. Philip
said, Lord, Show us the Father and we will be
satisfied. You said we've seen... Show him to
us and then we'll understand what you're talking
about. And Jesus replied. Listen to what Jesus
said. Have I been with you all this time, Philip?
And yet you still don't know who I am? Listen
to what Jesus says. Anyone who has seen me has
seen the Father. That's why I brought up that.
Greek word peace. Because Jesus talked about
peace a lot too. Anyone who has seen me has seen
the Father. So why are you asking me to show
him to you? Don't you believe that I am in the
Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak
are not my own, but my Father who lives in me
does his work through me. Here's what you've
got to know. Jesus and the Father are one. When
you've seen Jesus, you've seen the Father. When
you know Jesus, you know the Father. When you
hear Jesus, you hear the Father. Jesus does what
the Father does. And you might be saying, oh,
this is just so simple. Why don't he give me
some good meat to chew on today? Hallelujah.
I don't know if all of us have actually took
hold of this in its fullest way that we can yet.
Even if you're farther along than I am, you still
haven't arrived. Let's go to a familiar store
that has to do with peace. Mark 4, starting with
verse 35. As evening came, Jesus said to his
disciples, Let's cross to the other side of the
lake. So they took Jesus in the boat and started
out, leaving the crowds behind, although other
boats followed. But soon a fierce storm came
up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and
it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping
at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion.
the disciples woke him up shouting, Teacher,
don't you care that we're going to drown? No
peace here. Is there? Teacher, don't you care
that we're going to drown? We're about to die.
Jesus, how can you sleep when we're about to
die? We're going under. When Jesus woke up, He
rebuked the wind. He spoke to the wind and said
to the water, silence. Some translations have
the word peace there. Be still. Suddenly, the
wind stopped and there was a great calm. Then
he asked them, why are you afraid? Do you still
have no faith? Somebody say amen or oh me or
something right there. Jesus said, why are you
so afraid? Do you still have no faith? I mean,
he doesn't even say little faith. He says no
faith. They've been walking with Jesus for a
while, right? Shouldn't they have taken hold
of just a little bit about what Jesus was saying?
Shouldn't they have applied a little bit about
what Jesus has said? Shouldn't they? Why did
Jesus ask? Do you still have no faith? Why did
he ask that? Here's why. Everybody roll in your
toes just a little bit. Faith is seen in words
and reactions. Faith is seen. By what you say
and how you respond. That's why Jesus said, do
you still have no faith? I mean, listen to what
you're saying. Listen to how you're acting. That's
evidence that you have no faith. Y 'all still
love me, right? See, their hearts and their minds
were overwhelmed with fear. And by their response,
they're questioning Jesus' concern and His care
for them. Hey, Jesus, don't you care that we're
about to die? Overwhelmed. They spoke death.
Does anybody remember the series that we just
did on the words that we say? Power of life and
death in your tongue, in your words. And you
know what? We're going to reap what we say, is
what the Bible says. So if you speak death, guess
what you're going to reap? If you speak life,
guess what you're going to reap? I mean, the
Bible's clear. You can go back and listen to
those other messages on podcasts or YouTube.
Listen, they question Jesus' concern. Don't you
care? Here's the deal. We live in a fallen, broken,
messed up world. And we're going to stare trouble
in the eye. In our lives. Jesus told us that.
It was very encouraging when he said. You know.
In this world. You're going to face trouble and
pressure. Thank you Jesus. That's what I really
wanted to hear. But he didn't stop there. He
said in this world. You're going to face tribulation.
You're going to face pressure. You're going to
face trouble. But be of good cheer. Everybody
say, cheer up, buttercup. Be of good cheer. Because
I have overcome the world. And we're in Him.
Hallelujah. How do we respond? The Bible encourages
us in 2 Corinthians 5 -7. The Holy Spirit encourages
us to live by... Faith and not by sight. Live
by believing and not by seeing. Hello? Were the
disciples in the boat, were they living by what
they saw? Or were they living by faith at that
moment? When they're screaming at Jesus, Jesus,
wake up. Don't you care? We're about to die here.
Jesus had given them a word that they were going
to get in the boat and go to the other side.
So they had word to stand on. Faith comes by
hearing and hearing by the word. They had it
to stand on. They're going to the other side.
I mean, they believe that Jesus, I mean, they
saw these miracles. Do they think that Jesus
is going to die in the boat with them? Listen.
Obviously, that's what they thought. Storms are
going to come. Storms are going to come. We don't
like storms. How many of you like storms? Nobody
likes storms, but storms will come. Here's the
question. Are you going to respond in fear or
in faith when storms come? God wants you to respond
in faith. But I want you to be real, not with
your Sunday school halo over your head. Your
church halo over your head. I'm in church. Bless
God, Pastor Dean. I always, I always respond
in faith. Every time, I just want to tell you,
every time a storm comes my way, Pastor Dean,
I always respond in faith. Well, faith speaks
peace to the storm. I'm going to take it another
level. Faith speaks peace to your heart in the
middle of the storm. Faith says, I see a storm.
But you know what? This storm is not going to
take me out. This storm is not going to take
my peace. This storm is not going to take my
joy. You know why? Because I've got a promise.
My God is Yahweh Shalom. He cares about me. Now
what I see with my eyes right now, you know,
I'm not seeing His goodness yet, but I have trust
and I have confidence in who He is and I know
that I will see the goodness of God. If they
would have said that, Jesus would have said,
wow. He would have woke up and took his head
off that pillow and just went, wow. You're the
first faith I've seen from the people of Israel.
Because he said it to another guy. He said, wow,
I have never seen faith like this, not even among
the people of Israel. Because he just said, I'm
a man under authority. I tell my guys to go somewhere
and they go. Jesus, just speak the word and I
know my servant will be healed. Just speak the
word. You don't have to come to my house. You
don't even have to see him. All you've got to
do is speak the word, because I understand the
authority of your word, and I know it will happen.
And Jesus went, whap! And if those disciples
in the boat said, Storm, you're not going to
frighten me. I'm not going to be overcome with
fear. No, not me, because my God is Yahweh Shalom.
Hey, they already knew that name. They just didn't
have trust or confidence in that name. Faith
speaks peace to the storm. Faith speaks life.
Fear questions God. Fear speaks death. Are we
going to respond in faith? Are we going to respond
in fear? Let me tell you something. Peace is
a good measure. And I will go ahead and throw
this in. Joy is a good measure that you are responding
in faith. I'm just letting it sit there a minute.
Fear is responding with words and actions of
panic, worry, That's why Jesus said to worry
is a sin. Because when you do that, you don't
have trust or confidence in God. This is hard
preaching. But this is who God is. And the good
news is, this is who He wants to be for you.
Today. Tomorrow. The rest of your life. For all
of eternity. This is who He is. This is what
He wants to do. Will you receive that He is,
I am peace? Will you receive that by faith and
take hold of it and claim it and stand on it
in faith? I can't do that for you. You have to
do it for yourself. Here's what Jesus said, John
14, 27. I'm leaving you with a gift. Remember,
if we've seen the Father, we've seen Jesus. And
if we've seen Jesus, we've seen the Father. And
Jesus said, I'm leaving you with a gift. Peace
of mind and heart. This is the New Testament.
Peace, prosperity, to set it one or one. Has
anybody ever got in a loop? Has anybody ever
got locked up in a panic loop or a worry loop
or a fear loop? Do you know what I'm talking
about? Just over and over. You're just like,
oh my, what am I going to do? What am I going
to do now? Is this going to work out? I don't
know if it's going to work out or not. That's
the opposite of one. When your mind is just scattered
and running in a hundred different directions
in panic and fear and worry, that's the opposite
of one. Jesus said, He's leaving you the peace
of God, peace for your mind, peace for your heart,
and listen to what He says, and the peace I give
is a gift the world cannot give. And then what
does he say? So try real hard not to be... Does
it say try real hard? Try real hard. You know,
I just hope that every once in a while, you know,
you're not troubled or afraid. Is that what he
says? Just try real hard. You know, try. Just
try. I know you can't really do it, but just
try real hard. That's not what he says. He says
don't. Is that what he says? I mean, I'm just
reading a Bible verse here. I'm throwing in a
little commentary, but I'm just reading a Bible
verse. He's saying, look, if you've got a hold
by faith of Yahweh's shalom and the peace that
I give you, See, the world, see, we just grew
up thinking that the only peace we can have is
the peace that the world offers, which depends
on no problems, no pressure, no struggles, no
storms. When everything's smooth sailing, I have
so much peace right now. I have so much peace.
A pipsquack bird can have peace if that's going
on. I call those sand grains pipsquacks. Never
mind. Was that on Tom and Jerry, the pipsquack
bird? Look it up. Google it. Look at it on YouTube.
Anyway, not right now. After church. You know,
Jesus said we're going to face pressure and trouble.
And he's saying, look, I'm giving you the peace
of God that surpasses understanding to guard
your heart and guard your mind so there's never
ever any reason for you to be troubled or afraid
if you will take hold of my peace. That's what
he says. And how many of us? Oh God, give me
peace. Please, please, please. Please give me
peace. God, I need peace. I just don't have peace
and I need peace. God, please. Here's what God
wants to tell you today. That's who I am. And
that's what I've given you. I can't give you
any more than I've already given you. I've given
you more than you will ever need. I've made it
available to you. The problem is not that I'm
holding peace back from you. The problem is you're
not receiving the peace that I am for you. Hallelujah.
So let's take hold. Who's wanting to take hold?
Nobody. Who's willing to take hold? Who believes
you can take hold? I'm going to keep going until
everybody raises their hand. I want you to believe
that you can take hold of the peace of God. Who
He is. This is what He wants to do for you. He
is Yahweh Shalom. Never again. Everybody say
this. Never again will I be troubled or afraid.
Because I have the peace of God. Jesus gave it
to me. I'm holding on to it. It's who God is.
It's who He wants to be for me. And I take hold
of it. And it's easy for us to cheer at church.
But you might be alone tomorrow when a problem
comes your way. You've got to hold on yourself.
You've got to hold on. Because if you know God's
name, you should put your trust and confidence
in Him. If you know who He is. And you should
be confident that He's not going to forsake you.
He's not going to turn His back on you when you
seek Him. Look to the person beside you and say,
you can have it. If you put your total trust
and complete confidence in Yahweh Shalom, He
will be your peace. He will be your peace. Because
that's who He is. And that's what He wants to
do for you. Don't leave out of here and forget
this. Don't leave out of here and forget it.
When that storm comes your way, don't forget
it. When that pressure comes your way, don't
forget it. Hold on. Hold on. Let's pray together.
God, thank you for your truth. Thank you for
your word. Thank you for who you are. You are
my peace. I can stand in your peace. Be confident
in your peace. Because you care about me. You
care about my well -being. You care about what
I'm going through. So I rest in you. I put my
confidence in you. Because now I know who you
are. In Jesus' name, amen.