The Person of Praise, Part 3

A few months before our Lord would be crucified, he was in

the northern part of Galilee. He was about 25 miles northeast

of the Sea of Galilee, in a region called Caesarea Philippi.

It was named such by Philip the Tetrarch because he wanted to

name a city after Caesar, and of course his name as well, so that

he would be well known. But it also separated it from

Caesarea Meritima, which is on the sea.

And our Lord and his disciples were in this region, and there

were all kinds of false gods around them.

And there had been, according to Greek mythology, a a Greek God

by the name of Pan or Panas. It was called Panas before it

was called Caesarea Philippi. He was said to have been born in

a cave there. If you go there today, you can

still enter that cave. And it was here where our Lord

would give his men an exam. It was like their final exam,

but the exam would only have one question.

And if you understand the question and you get the

question right, that's good news.

If you get the question or the answer to the question wrong,

well, that's bad news. And so he would ask them just

one question, because it's the question that no man can ever

escape or avoid. In fact, everybody in the room

today is asked the same question because everyone will have to

face the answer. And the question was simply

this, who do men say that I am? The question focused on the

identity of the Lord Jesus. And so the disciples would

answer by saying, well, some say you're Jeremiah, others Elijah,

some say you're John the Baptist.

Some say you're you're just one of the prophets.

In other words, everybody is saying that you're great, but

nobody is saying that you are God.

Now Christ didn't ask the question for information

purposes. He knew what the religious

leaders thought of him. They thought he was of Satan.

And so he wasn't asking about what the religious leaders

thought about his identity. He wanted to know what the

Jewish people thought of his identity, and the Jewish people

for all practical purposes, loved Jesus.

It was the religious establishment that hated Jesus.

So he asked the question, what is the popular opinion?

Not that whatever the popular opinion was would change the

ministry of our Lord. He just wanted to know what the

popular opinion of his ministry was.

After all, in a few short months, he would be crucified.

And then he asked the question towards men.

But who do you say that I am? It doesn't make any difference

what the multitudes say. What do you say?

Not the popular opinion. What is your personal opinion?

Who do you say that I am? And Peter would speak for the 12

He would say, Thou art the Christ, the Messiah, the Son,

equal in nature to the living God.

And the response that Christ gives is truly remarkable

because the Lord says, blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for

flesh and blood did not reveal that to you, but my Father who

is in heaven revealed that to you.

In other words, if you are to pass the ultimate exam, you

cannot do it on your own. You have to have a divine

enlightenment because flesh and blood cannot reveal that to you.

I cannot convince you that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the

living God. I can't convince you of that.

I can preach to you. I can show you in Scripture

where that's the case, but unless the Lord illuminates your

heart and your mind, you will never believe that Jesus is the

Christ, the Son of the living God.

Why is that? Because you have been blinded.

You've been blinded by Satan. You've been blinded from birth.

You have a supernatural blindness.

Therefore you need a supernatural enlightenment.

The Bible says that this way in 2nd Corinthians 4 verse #3 And

even if our gospel is veiled, that is veiled to those who are

perishing. In this case, the God of this

world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they

might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,

who is the image of God. Satan has blinded the mind of

those people who do not know him, so they will not believe

that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.

And so in order for you to pass the ultimate exam, you cannot do

it because you have a proper intellect.

You cannot do it because you're a smart person or you've read a

lot. The only way you can pass the

ultimate exam is if the Father in heaven enlightens your soul

to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living

God. That's just remarkable.

Now here's the good news for those of us who have been

enlightened, for those of us who know the identity of Christ, we

want to praise His name. We want to thank Him that He has

revealed Himself to us. Well, we want to praise Him

because we know the identity of the Christ child.

We don't wonder as to who He is. We know who He is, which makes

our praise of him brilliant, beautiful, because we glory in

the fact that we have been enlightened to the truth of the

gospel. And so it accentuates our

praise. We want to honor the Lord.

So as we journey this pathway of praise that we've been on now

for for several weeks, the person of praise causes our

journey to be filled with joy because of who Christ is.

And so we have tried to unveil to you through the Scriptures

the identity of the Messiah, the identity of the Christ child,

the identity of of the Lord God of Israel.

That is just so important. See Israel had a problem and

that is this Hosea 4 verse #6 My people are destroyed for lack of

knowledge. They do not know me.

It's not that they didn't know the Scriptures that they knew

the scriptures. We we saying come thou long

expected Jesus. The expected one was a was a a

title for the Messiah. Psalm 1/18/26 Psalm 40 verse #7

He is called the Erica my, the expected one, the coming one.

And even at the triumphal entry, Psalm 1/18/26 was quoted by the

people of Israel. Blessed is he who comes in the

name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming one.

They hailed him as the expected one.

It's the question that John the Baptist asked in in Luke's

Gospel the the 7th chapter when he sent his men to go ask Jesus.

Are you the expected one or should we expect someone else?

Should we look for someone else? Are you the Messiah?

Because the Messiah is the expected one.

All of our expectations are in the coming Messiah.

Are you him? But Israel did not know Him.

They did not understand him. But we who do know him, we

praise Him continually, we exalt His name, we magnify the Lord

Jesus Christ. So as we journey along the

pathway of praise, we're looking at the person of praise.

And we began with the phrase Yahweh Hassinu, which means the

Lord is my Maker. He's the one who forms me.

He's the one who fashions me. And then we moved from there to

Yave Sebayath, which is the Lord of armies.

The one who forms me is the one who fights for me.

And the last week we talked about Yave Rafi, which is the

Lord is my shepherd, the one who who forms me and fights for me

is the one who feeds me. And today I I want to take you

to an Old Testament passage which is very familiar to us,

but is one of the two chapters in the Old Testament that are

absolutely pivotal to understanding the identity and

the ministry of the coming Messiah.

It's found in Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

So if you got your Bible, turn back with me there, if you would

please. Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

And in Genesis 22, you have a couple of firsts.

That is the first mention of certain words in the Bible.

So again, as I said last week and the week before, whenever

something is mentioned first in the Bible, you need to take

note, You need to understand why this is the first time.

So the Bible reads as follows. Genesis 22 verse #1 Now it came

about after these things that God tested Abraham and said to

him, Abraham, He said, here I am.

He said take now your son, your only son whom you love.

Isaac, stop right there. This is the first time the word

love is mentioned in the Bible. That's very, very important

because God is going to test Abraham as to his true love for

him, the son of God, the living God.

So he says, I want you to take now your son, your only son.

But that wasn't his only son, because Ishmael was older.

Ishmael was born first. But Ishmael was not the only

begotten son. Isaac was the only begotten Son,

the Son of choice, the Son who had the right to the

inheritance. That was Isaac.

And so when the Lord says take now your son, your, your only

begotten Son, the Son of your love, OK, which is symbolic of

Christ, who is the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and

truth. And he was the only begotten

son, the monogamies of of the Father, the the son of choice,

the son of preeminence. He says, take the son that you

love. And then he says this and go to

the land of Moriah. That's the very important phrase

because Moriah means foreseen, very important to the narrative.

If you don't understand what Mariah means, you're going to

miss the point of the entire narrative.

It means foreseen. So God is telling Abraham, I

want you to take your son, your only son, to a place that I have

foreseen. That's the place called Mariah,

the Book of Chronicles. It would be where Solomon would

build the Temple on Mount Moriah.

So he says, go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a

burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I will tell

you. So Abraham rose early in the

morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men

with him and Isaac's son. They split wood for the burnt

offering and the Rose and went to the place of which God had

told him. On the third day.

Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.

Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the donkey and I,

and the lad will go over there, and we will worship and return

to you again. The very first time the word

worship is used in the Bible because worship always involves

sacrifice. If you come to church and you

don't sacrifice, you haven't worshiped.

Worship us all about sacrifice, giving yourself away.

And so the very first mention of the word worship, by the way,

before Exodus chapter 20, before the 10 commandments were given,

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

when God said you shall have no other gods before me, you

should, you should only worship me.

No other gods before that was ever given.

The word worship is mentioned because it's all about

sacrifice. And so God says, or Abraham

says, I am, the lad will go up and worship and we will return

to you. So it says verse 6, Abraham took

the wood of the burnt offering and then laid it on Isaac his

son, and took in his hand the fire and the knife.

So the two of them walked on together.

Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, my father.

He said, here I am my son. He said, behold the fire in the

wood. But where is the lamb for the

burnt offering? Abraham said God will provide

for himself the lamb for the burnt offering my son.

So the two of them walked on together.

Very important phrase. So the Lord God will provide for

himself the land. The word provide is year a very

important to the narrative. Again, why?

Because God, we'll see. Because the word Yuri is the

word of vision. It's used 1300 times in the Old

Testament. All but 4 is it translated to

see or be seen. The other four times it's

translated to provide, but the 1296 other times it's used, it's

used to see or be seen. So Abraham is telling his son

Isaac the Lord will see for himself a lamb.

Now remember they went to Moriah, which means foreseen.

So on the place foreseen by God, God will see for himself the

land that will be provided. So you read on.

Then they came to the place of which God had told him.

And Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and

bound to son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knight to slay his

son. But the Angel of the Lord, now

that's the pre and card of Christ.

The Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said,

Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am.

He said, do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do

nothing to him. For now I know that you fear

God, since you have not withheld your son, your only Son, from

me. You mean to tell me there's

something that God doesn't know? For God says, now I know that

you fear me. God doesn't say that for his

purposes, He says it for Abraham's purposes.

He says that Abraham, now I know.

Meaning the knowledge of You fearing Me has been seen,

because in Your worship You are willing to sacrifice that which

is dearest to You on behalf of Me, and only those who fear My

name are those who sacrifice that which is dearest to them on

My behalf. Very, very important.

And so you read on. It says that Abraham raised his

eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the

thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the

ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of

his son. Abraham called the name of that

place Yahweh Yuray. The Lord will provide or better

translation, The Lord will be seen, as it is said to this day.

In the mount of the Lord it will be seen.

In Moriah, the mount of the Lord, in the place foreseen by

God, what will be seen a substitute in the place of

Isaac. So when you go to John's gospel

and read John 856, it says Abraham rejoiced to see my day.

When did Abraham rejoice to see Christ's day?

Genesis chapter 22. That's when Abraham rejoiced,

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

because there he called the place the Lord will be seen.

How did Abraham know that the Lord would be seen on the place

foreseen by God unless it was revealed to him in a

supernatural kind of way from God himself that there would be

a substitutionary sacrifice on behalf of man which Christ the

Messiah would provide so that we would not have to play pay the

penalty for our sin? And so Abraham says, on this

place the Lord will be seen. Yahweh Yuray, the Lord that

forms me, Yahweh Hasinu, is the Lord who fights for me.

Yabe Savayov, the Lord who fights for me, is the Lord who

feeds me, Yabe Rafi. And the Lord who feeds me is the

Lord who foresees all that will happen to me.

Yabe Yuray, God sees everything. That's how He can feed you

properly. That's how he can fight for you

aggressively. That's how we can form you

perfectly. Because he foresees everything.

He foreknows it, but he also foresees it.

He sees it well enough in advance because he is the the

God of eternity, the eternal nature of God.

He sees the past, the present, and the future all at once

because He exists in the past, the present, and the future all

at once. He sees it all.

And therefore we can rest and praise His glorious name as we

journey down the pathway of praise because of who He is.

I can rest at ease this Christmas season.

I can rest at ease all throughout the year because it's

my God who foresees everything in advance.

He is the one who was mapped out all my days before there was

even yet one of them. He knows every event that will

take place in the future. He knows what's going to happen

to my family, in my marriage, in my work, in my school, in my

play. He knows it all.

He's foreseen it all, and He is my provider.

That's how He can provide for us because He knows in advance all

that will happen to me. Let me give you another

description of our Lord. Turn me to Exodus chapter 15,

Exodus 15 · chapter mention

Exodus chapter 15. And when you come to Exodus

Exodus 15 · chapter mention Exodus 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15, you have the second experience of Israel having been

LED out of Egyptian bondage. The first experience is when

they come to the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army is bearing down

upon them and they are afraid that they're going to die.

And Moses says, stand still and watch the salvation of the Lord.

Watch the delivering power of God.

Watch the rescuing nature of God.

Watch the saving nature of God at work.

Of course, you know the story. You've seen the movie and the

waters part. Israel goes through on dry land,

right? Supernatural waters depart.

There should be mud, but there was no mud.

It was dry land. They walked through on dry land,

and Pharaoh and his army, they went after them, and of course

they all drowned in the sea. And then you have the song of

Moses and Exodus chapter 15 concluded in verse #21 when

Exodus 15 · chapter mention

Miriam said, sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted.

The horse and rider he has hurled into the sea.

Can you imagine the excitement, the joy of Israel knowing that

their God had performed a supernatural act right before

their eyes, part of the Red Sea? I mean, how many gods can do

that? None except the one true and

living God who creates the sea. And they, they walk through on

dry land and they were able to see the salvation of the Lord.

They were able to experience it supernaturally.

You. You would think that that would

take them through at least another month.

But three days later comes another test.

Just three days to show you how quickly we forget what God has

done. Look what it says.

Verse #22 Then Moses LED Israel from the Red Sea, and they went

out into the wilderness of sure, and they went in three days in

the wilderness, and found no water.

This is test #2. When they came to the to Marah,

they could not drink the waters for of Marah, for they were

bitter. Therefore it was named Marah.

So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

Then he cried out to the Lord, what?

What happened to Israel? How do they go from celebrating

God to complaining about where they're at?

How do they go from sheer delight to disgruntlement in

three days? How do they go from magnifying

the name of God to murmuring against God's chosen leader?

How does that happen? You can ask yourself the same

question. How can you come to church on

Sunday morning, get in your car, and three minutes later start

yelling at your kids and yelling at your wife and your wife

yelling at you? How does that happen?

How can that it possibly be? Excuse me, but it happens all

the time. So here's Israel three days

after watching a supernatural act of God begin to murmur.

There was no water. They began to complain, and

Moses cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree very

important to the narrative, and he threw it to the waters.

The waters became sweet there. He made for them a statue and

regulation, and there he tested them.

And he said, If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the

Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give ear

to His commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put

none of the diseases on you which I put on the Egyptians.

For I, the Lord and your healer, Yavay Rafa, I am your healer.

The Lord who forms us is the Lord who fights for us.

The Lord who fights for us is the Lord who feeds us.

The Lord who feeds us is the Lord who foresees all that will

happen to us, and the Lord who foresees all that will happen to

us is the Lord who will fulfill us as only He can.

I am your healer. When we read that, we, we

naturally go to physical healing as if God is going to heal me

physically. But it's so much deeper than

that. It's so much more important than

understanding that which is in the temporal to that which is

eternal, that which is physical as to that which is spiritual.

Because sin has ravaged our souls, it's destroyed our souls

and we are in need of a physician who heals the

condition of our souls. Notice that it was a tree that

was thrown into the waters because it would be the great I

am who hung on a tree who would bring the ultimate healing to

people's lives. Listen to what the Bible says in

Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah chapter 1 is as as God

Isaiah 1 · chapter mention Isaiah 1 · chapter mention

describes Israel verse 2. Listen O heavens and hero earth,

for the Lord speaks. God is speaking.

Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted

against me. Israel has revolted against me.

And Ox knows its owner and a donkey its masters manager.

But Israel does not know. My people do not understand.

My people do not understand my identity.

They don't know who I am. That's why the question, who do

men say that I am? Who do you say that I am is so

important. You got to get it right.

It's not about accumulation of all kinds of knowledge about who

God is. It's about knowing him in a

personal sense, knowing him for who he really is.

Because if Jesus is truly the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of

the living God, He is all He claims to be, then He is yave

Rafa in my life and yave Yire in my life, and yave Hassinu in my

life, and yave Sabayov in my life and yave Rafi in my life.

That's who he is, and I live in accordance to that.

But Israel haven't experienced all that God did.

Through all the wilderness wanderings and all the

supernatural dealings that God did with Israel, they still did

not know Him. That's why Christ asked the

question who the men say that I am?

Because you see, when Christ came, what did He do?

He healed everybody. He practically banished all

disease from the land of Israel. Every person blind, healed,

paralyzed, healed, can't walk, healed.

You got an issue, you're dead. Raise them up.

God did everything, and yet they still did not know Him well.

Some say you're Jeremiah, some say you're Elijah, John the

Baptist, one of the prophets. Everybody's saying you're great,

but nobody's saying you're God. In spite of all the miracles, in

spite of all the supernatural acts that he performed.

Feeding the 5000, feeding the 4000, walking on water.

They still did not know the identity of the Christ child.

How sad is that? But that was always Israel's

problem. They did not understand their

God. And yet he revealed himself over

and over and over again. And so he says, alas, verse 4A,

sinful nation, people weighed down with iniquity, offspring of

evildoers, sons who act corruptly.

They have abandoned the Lord, they have despised the Holy One

of Israel, they have turned away from Him.

This is why they were going into bondage, yet it would be 100

years away. And so the Lord God would say to

Israel those very familiar words in verse 18, Come now and let us

reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are a scarlet,

they will be as white as snow. Though they be red like Crimson,

they will be like wool. If you could send and obey, you

will eat the best of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you

will be devoured by the sword. Truly, the mouth of the Lord has

spoken. God says, I want to heal you.

Listen to what He says in Jeremiah 30 verse #17 for I will

restore you to health, and I will heal you of your wounds.

Those are not physical wounds. Those are spiritual wounds.

Jeremiah 3 verse #22 return you backsliding children and I will

heal you're backsliding. Isaiah 30 verse #26 I will heal

the stroke of your wounds. Why?

Because he's Jaffe Rafa the Lord, your healer.

Remember on that day in Nazareth in Luke chapter 4 when Christ

Luke 4 · chapter mention

would read from Isaiah chapter 61, because that was the reading

Isaiah 61 · chapter mention

of the day, and every prophet or every rabbi who came would say

one day this will be fulfilled. But on this day Jesus says this

has been fulfilled in your hearing.

He says the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.

So He's saying that He is the Messiah.

Isaiah 11 verse #2 Isaiah chapter 42 verse #1 Isaiah 61

Isaiah 42 · chapter mention

verse #1 It's all about the Spirit of the Lord being upon

the Messiah. So he says the Spirit of the

Lord is upon me because He anointed me to preach the gospel

to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim

release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the

favorable year of the Lord. And they closed the book, gave

it to the attendant, sat down, and the eyes of all in the

synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them,

Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

I am the one who has come to preach the gospel to the poor.

I am the one who has come to proclaim release to the

captives. I am the one who has come to

provide sight for the blind. I am the one who has come to

produce freedom to those who are oppressed.

I am your healer. I am here.

And when Christ came, remember everything that the Lord does in

the physical realm is symbolic of what He does in the spiritual

realm. Christ came to heal people that

were that. That's what His credentials were

all throughout the Old Testament.

The Lord would come and do supernatural acts and He would

heal those who were physically infirmed.

Why? Because they would prove His

messianic credentials, but He didn't come to heal them

physically. He came to heal them

spiritually, but they didn't want that.

Remember in Matthew chapter 4, and we'll talk about this in the

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

new year when we go to through Matthews 5-6 and seven, he, he

heals everybody. All who are paralyzed, all who

are diseased. He heals everybody.

Throngs of people would follow him.

Why? Because he's healing everybody.

And so he sets him down on this mount called this sensational

sermon by our Savior on the mount there on the northern

slopes of the Sea of Galilee. He says, I want to give you true

blessing. I know you think you're blessed

because you're blind, but now you see.

I know you think you're blessed because you were paralyzed, but

now you're not. I know you think you're blessed

because you were sick, but now you're well.

But that's not true blessing, and it gives those great

beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for there's the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who who mourn over their sins, for they and

they only, they'll be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they

will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and

thirst for righteousness, for they will truly be satisfied.

You see, you think you're satisfied because yesterday you

were sick, but today you're better.

Yesterday you were in bed, but now you're up.

But I got news for you. You're still going to die.

You might feel better today, but you're going to die tomorrow.

Everybody's going to die. So you got to be spiritually

made. Well, you have to be spiritually

healed. And if not?

Then you will die and live a Christ less eternity.

How sad is that? And that's why in Luke's gospel,

when John the Baptist said are you the expected 1, he said his

disciples to ask him what did Christ do?

He immediately healed everybody in the crowd.

One fell swoop, boom, they're all healed.

Now you go tell John what you just saw, because nobody but the

Messiah can do that. You see Christ is Yahweh, Rafa

the Lord your healer. So many times we we

misunderstand the soul healing nature of our King.

He's the only one who can free the captives.

Every person born is born enslaved to Satan.

Everybody. You're dead in your trespasses

and sin. And so God grants man repentance

that he might be freed from the the captivity of Satan sets the

prisoner free, doesn't mean he goes to the jails and locks the

doors. It means he goes and sets you

free from Satan's oppression in your life and the captivity that

Satan has on your soul. This tree, according to first

1 Peter 2:24

Peter chapter 2 verse 24, Peter says this, He himself bore our

sins in his body on the cross, literally on the tree.

So we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

For by his wounds you were healed.

You healed spiritually. Yes, there will come a day where

we are physically healed, we have glorified bodies, and we

are perfectly healthy in eternity.

That one day is going to come. That's the result of ultimate

salvation. But in the meantime, we have

been set free and healed in our souls so that we experience a

true blessing of Yahweh Rafa, the God who heals.

He gives us living water, waters that are fresh and clean and

pure. In fact, listen to this the Book

of Revelation chapter 22 verse #1 John says.

Revelation 22 · chapter mention

Then he showed me a river of the water of life.

Now my friends, you need to know there is no water in heaven.

There is no more sea, there's no hydrological cycle, there's no

rain. So what is the water of life?

He says that he showed me a river of the water of life.

What is that if there's no sea, if there's no rain, if there's

no water in heaven, because there's no need to drink

anything in a glorified state, what is the water of life?

Chapter 22 verse #17 At the last invitation of our Lord, he says,

the Spirit and the Bride say, Come, and let the one who hears

come, and let the one who was thirsty come.

Let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

The water of life is the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Look at this, he says. They showed me a river of the

water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God

and of the Lamb. So whatever the water of life

is, it's not the H2O like we know it.

It's this salvation experience that comes and flows from the

throne. It flows from God and the Lamb.

And that's where salvation originates from.

The God who is a God who delivers and rescues and saves.

And it says in the middle of a street on either side of the

river was the tree of life, the tree of life bearing twelve

kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.

And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

What is that? There's no injury in heaven.

There's no illness in heaven. There's no sickness in heaven.

Why do the nation's need to be healed?

Think about it, The tree of life, there's all kinds of fruit

every month. There is no time in heaven.

There's no clock in heaven. There's no calendar in heaven.

What do you mean it bears fruit every month?

It talks about the unending succession of the variety of

enrichment that God gives to His people who have drank from the

water of life because it provides healing therapia.

Get our English word therapeutic.

It's like taking vitamins. Vitamins don't heal you, but

they keep you fresh and lively. You don't eat because you need

to eat. You eat because of the enjoyment

of the enrichment that God gives.

It provides healing nourishment, life giving tree that provides

health giving life forever. So the psalmist says these

words, Psalm 124, verse #8 Our help is in the name of the Lord

who made heaven and earth. Where does my help come from?

From the name, the character, the attribute of the Lord.

So the psalmist says in Psalm 147 verse #3 he heals the broken

hearted and binds all their wounds.

That's Yahweh. Rafa, listen to this Isaiah 12.

God says, you will say on that day I will give thanks to you, O

Lord, for all. Though you were angry with me,

your anger is turned away and you comfort me.

Build. God is my salvation.

I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord.

God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.

Therefore you will joylessly draw water from the springs of

salvation, and in that day you will say, give thanks to the

Lord and call on His name. Make known as deeds among the

peoples. Make them remember that His name

is exalted. What name?

Yave Rafa. Yave Rohi, Yave Sabayath, Yave

Yuray, all those titles, all those descriptions make the name

of the Lord. We haven't even covered Yave

Mekadiskam, which is the Lord your sanctifier, or Yave

Sidkanu, which is the Lord your righteousness, or Yahweh Shema,

which speaks of the Lord who is there because he never leaves.

The unending study of the person of praise goes on and on and on.

We can never exhaust it. And my prayer for you is that

you will be able to journey with joy the pathway of praise

because you understand the person of praise.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today

and the opportunity you give us to spend time in Your Word.

So much to cover and so little time to do it, yet we are

blessed because of who You are. I pray that everyone in the room

would know Christ as Lord and Savior.

They would know you as their Deliverer.

They would be able to answer effectively.

Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, and live

accordingly. So Lord, as we depart this day,

go before us and may we journey with joy the pathway you've

called us to live, the pathway of praise in Jesus name, Amen.