A Name You Can Trust

Chapter 1:
Your First Impression of God...Elohim
Genesis 1:1 - “In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth.”
Psalm 9:10 - “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that see thee.”
Why is it important that we study the names of God? Because it is vital, as a Christian, that we have a full and complete understanding that God’s name reflects every facet of God’s nature and character. One of the reasons why so many Christians have trouble trusting God, not just for the big issues in life, but for even the minute details of life is because we have so very little knowledge of Who God is to each of us personally.
Yes - we know the Lord Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, but do we really have a full understanding of who and what God is to His children? His name reveals the many hundreds of different ways that we may know Him and the way He will work in our lives. That’s why the Psalmist makes a very clear statement of instruction for the believer...emphasizing that confidence in the name of God will result in complete trust in Him for every detail as it relates to the life of the child of God. Could it be that one of the reasons why so many people have trouble trusting God is because they really just don’t know in Whom they trust?
When facing situations in life...many of which greatly shake us to the core...how do we respond as it relates to believing that God really is in control of our lives? We hear someone say, “Well, just trust in the Lord!” Of course, that is easy for them to say, right? It is a whole new ballgame when we are the one having to do the trusting!
As I have traveled throughout the nation, meeting literally thousands of people, I have found that people will approach me and share various needs with me. One may come and share a financial need...another a family need...and still another a physical need. I find myself saying to the one with the financial need, “No problem! God owns it all. He can meet your financial need!” Or one may have a physical need and I reply, “No sweat! God is the Great Physician. He is still in the healing business!”
The truth is - I find it real easy to trust God - in someone else’s life! My problem is when I have to trust God for needs in my own life. My dilemma begins when I have to - if you please - “practice what I preach!” Then it is a completely different issue or so it seems.
However, we all must get a grip on what it really means to trust God for every situation and circumstance in life. So go back to the first question - Why study the names of God?
Well, here are three tremendous facts that you will glean from a deeper understanding of knowing God’s name. You will discover:
A Saving Faith
A Singular Focus
A Secure Fellowship
God autographs His Book with His name. He wants you to understand that all throughout the Word of God - Who He is and What He desires to do for and with each of His children. God has a very definite and distinct plan for the believer and He doesn’t want you to miss it!
The fact that He loves you motivates Him to reveal Himself to you, through His name, in ways that you will never forget. A desire to trust Him more ought to cause you to want to know Him in a more intimate and personal way.
Someone once said, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression!” First impressions are often the more lasting impressions. This is true of a church. If a person comes to a local church for the first time - they are going to form an opinion - whether it’s positive or negative - and they will leave with an impression. But that impression will make the difference in whether they return or not.
It is important to understand that a first impression will then become a reputation. It it is an impression of love and friendliness...then a reputation will be established on that basis. If it is cold and indifferent... then that will be the reputation based on that first impression.
Who God is in your life will transmit an impression in the lives of people you meet.
If people see that you honor the Lord Jesus in your life - then the first impression will have a powerful impact in that person’s life. However, if there is a question as to the commitment you have to the living God - that, too, will make a mark for the cause of Christ.
We must have an optimistic attitude when it comes to God. In fact - someone asked me - “Why are you always so optimistic?” My answer was very simple. “You can’t really know God and be pessimistic!” I believe I am optimistic because very early in my life I met God as Elohim. I have never gotten over that meeting.
I don’t know what you are facing in your personal life. It may be problems in your home, problems with your health, problems on the job, problems with your finances, or problems with your future. But I will tell you this. If you will meet God as Elohim - it will radically, revolutionize your whole attitude toward those issues you face.
Genesis 1:1 - “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
This is the first impression of God. Now He could have used any one of over 700 names, but He chooses this name for your first impression.
So what are the lasting impressions He wants to leave upon our hearts by introducing Himself as Elohim?
Here are the lasting impressions that He wants to engrave on your heart as you look at every problem... every person...every purpose in your life.
I want to make a statement that I trust will become a conscious reality in your life on a daily basis. It is an important principle that on the surface, you might readily agree with; however, when you really contemplate the truth of it - you might become a little hesitant to fully comprehend its true reality in your life. But given time - you will see that it is a tremendous statement of the deep love that God has for every one of His children as He is doing all He can to reveal His everlasting compassion and commitment to each of us.
So take a deep breath - pause for just a moment - and then bathe in this realization of God’s revelation to you as Elohim. He goes! Say it out loud if it might help you.
• He is all you need.
• He has all you need.
• He is doing all you need done...Now!
HE IS ALL YOU NEED
God wants you to never forget that He is all you need! The name Elohim is in the plural. It is used over 3,000 times in the Bible and over 2,300 times it is used in the plural. Now notice God is in the plural, but He uses a singular verb. Why is this?
God wants you to know that in terms of His personality - He is - He has - and He is doing everything you need. He is totally sufficient for every need that you have in your life. God uses the plural of Elohim because the plural of Elohim embodies all the bodies to meet every physical need.
The heathen who have never met Elohim - those who have never placed their faith in the living God - have devised a very complicated system of deity. It was inconceivable to a heathen, an unbeliever, that one being could embody all the traits necessary to meet every physical need so they had all these deities created to meet every need.
The goddess of love
The sun god
The moon god
The god of the earth
The god of the sea
God is saying, by the name Elohim, I Am the one and only God of the universe. In fact, I once saw a sign that expresses it this way. “There is only one God and you are not Him!” Now I have met some who thought they were God and tried to act like God, but there is only One and none of us are Him.
He also embraces the Trinity which is necessary to meet all your spiritual needs. Elohim reflects a Triune God. He is the three in One.
God the Father - God the Son - and God the Holy Spirit
He meets every spiritual need. Think of it like this:
We need rules - so God the Father is the Judge and Justifier. We’ve broken those rules - so we need a Redeemer. He died on the Cross for our sin; was buried; and three days later rose from the grave a victor over sin - death - hell - Satan - and the grave. Therefore, we need a Resident - the Holy Spirit of God who comes to live in the heart of the believer.
He is all I need! If you will practice this principle concerning any trouble that you may suffer from regarding a person, a problem, a conflict, a circum-stance, then you can experience a spiritual freedom that you may have long been searching for in your life.
God - Elohim - is all you need! Here is what you will do. You will take whatever troubles you have to Him - Elohim - first, and stay there until He instructs you otherwise.
You’ll take it to Him! I know that may seem very difficult at first, because our human nature says, “I’ll take care of it! I’ll work it out! I’ll do whatever I have to do to solve my problems!” However, that is not meeting God as Elohim.
Elohim embodies all the traits necessary to meet every physical, spiritual, and emotional need that you may have. Elohim is all you need! Whatever you do with whatever troubles you - you will find the answer faster if you will go to Him and stay there until He instructs you otherwise - than you will in any other fashion.
HE HAS ALL YOU NEED
Look again at:
Genesis 1:1 - “In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth.”
God is Master over everything He creates. God has created everything that exists. There is not anything that exists that God has not created. You can’t think of anything that was not created by Him. Therefore, understanding this truth, there are some facts that you need to come to understand relating to God’s provision for your life.
It is His by virtue of His Creation
He has all you need because everything that exists is something that He created. Creation is not just a matter of God taking some pre-existing matter and rearranging it. Creation is a matter of God calling in to existence - by His Word - those things which never existed before. He made something out of nothing. There was not anything created until God spoke it into existence. That’s why there is unbelievable power in His Word.
It is His by virtue of His Control
God not only spoke this world into existence - but this world is also sustained by Him.
Hebrews 1:3-4 - “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name then they.”
It is His by virtue of Culmination
This means that the God who took nothing and made something is going to take something and make nothing out of it.
Revelation 21:1 - “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
Can you think of anything that you need that God doesn’t already have? How much of what you need does God have? To whom should you turn for the answer to your need?
Psalm 24:1 - “The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”
It is all His! The truth is...you don’t have a need for which He does not have a supply. You will never exhaust His supply. You should go to God first! Do you see how our focus keeps coming back to God? In fact - there’s not a person who would disagree that God is all you need and that God has all you need. But here is the real challenge of complete trust in the life of the believer.
HE IS DOING ALL YOU NEED DONE...NOW
Many people don’t believe that. Many ask - “If He is doing all I need done...Now - then why do I still have needs?” Because you don’t need them done - now - you have a bigger need. He’s doing all you need done...now - but will address the other needs in your life when He sees appropriate. How can you say that? It’s found in the name - Elohim.
You see, Elohim has two root words. El - making something strong (He’s the strong One). Ohim - making a covenant or pledge. In other words, He will make something strong or secure by a pledge.
If you have come to God through Christ Jesus, God has made a pledge to you which He is not breaking. He has never broken a covenant or pledge and He will never break a pledge in the future.
What is a pledge?
Philippians 4:19 - “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
How much do you need? ALL! There are things that you will see that you have never seen before.
Perhaps you say, “My needs are not being met.” God has never made a pledge to supply:
• All we want
• All we could use
He has made a covenant to give us all we need.
“But I have a financial need,” you say. God is more precise than that. Your financial need may not be the precise need. The precise need may be the need to get our attention off of men and on to God so that by trusting Him we can properly steward what He gives us when He does give it to us.
Subject of the pledge? “...all you need.”
Security of the pledge? “My God...”
God is Elohim. When He makes a statement...you can rest assured that it is true! Now if you were to go to a bank for a loan, and if you didn’t have enough collateral to back the loan, they would ask you for a co-signature. This indicates that should you not be able to repay the loan - the bank can go to someone much richer than you to protect their investment.
Where is God going to find someone to co-sign a note with Him? He doesn’t need it. When you get Him - you’re as big as you are ever going to get.
Hebrews 6:13 - “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swear by himself.”
The Trinity had a meeting and said this is it! We’ll make covenant and He has never broken that covenant.
How do I get to the point where I enjoy what He is doing? You just line up with Him and cooperate. The key is recognizing that:
• He is all you need
• He has all you need
• He is doing all you need done - Now!
You must be willing to follow Him and obey regardless and when you do that - you will discover God as Elohim.

Personal Thoughts

1. Why is it important that we know the name of our God?
2. Why is it so difficult to trust God with the issues we face in life?
3. Do you consider yourself optimistic or pessimistic? Why?
4. What important truths did you discover about God as Elohim? Be specific!
5. What is happening in your life or circumstances right now that is easier to deal with now that you know your God as Elohim?

Chapter 2:
When You Know God As Elohim
Knowing the names of God enables you to trust that He is aware of every area of your life; the difficulties that you encounter; and the problems that you face on an everyday basis.
The continuing statement: He is all you need - He has all you need - He is doing all you need done...Now! is an ongoing awareness that God is truly Elohim. The Strong One who is keeping covenant with His people.
If you know God as Elohim, then there will come a time when you will be tested on those truths. Whenever you learn a new Scriptural principle - you will shortly be put to the test. You will discover whether you have learned intellectual fact or whether, in reality, you have put your life under the authority of those principles and whether you are going to live by that principle from that moment on.
It is a test and God will reach out and touch some-thing very close to you. It may be your reputation... your well-being...or your future. Why would that happen? Because a test isn’t a test unless it becomes a personal issue to validate the lesson you claim to have learned from God’s Word.
You see this truth found in the life of Abraham. You know the story of how God told Sarah and Abraham that they were going to have a child though they were both well in years. Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 years old.
However, as many try to do, Abraham took things into his own hands finding God’s plan hard to believe. Sarah, as well, not believing it was possible for her to have a child at her age, made other arrangements for a baby to be born by getting her handmaiden, Hagar, to conceive a child by Abraham. A child was born and his name was Ismael.
Even though God’s plan was interrupted by the lack of faith of Abraham and Sarah and their attempt to find another way to bring it to pass by their own self-efforts...the plan of God was eventually fulfilled according to God’s Word. A child was born to them and his name was Issac.
Now we come to Genesis 22 and we find Abraham is facing the test of believing if God is really Elohim to him. God is saying to Abraham, “Am I really your Elohim?” If He is really your Elohim, then you are going to be tested in three areas. Let me give them to you.
SATISFACTION
God is going to find out if you are really satisfied and can genuinely say, “He is all I need.”
Genesis 22:2-5 - “And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Issac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.”
How can you tell if you are passing the test of satisfaction?
There will be three things in your life if you are passing the test.
You will be Attentive to God
If He is really all you need - you will be listening to God.
Genesis 22:1 - “...and said unto him. Abraham: and he said, behold, here I am.”
How much does God have to do in your life to get you to pay attention to Him? You say you love God and yet there are some people that, for God to get your attention, He would have to shut your life down.