The Tower of His Name

I'm going to read a verse of Scripture. So if

you have your Bible, if you have your app, we're

going to just go there real quickly to Proverbs

18 .10. So this would have been a good Sunday

to have your Bible. Or have it on your app because

there's no screens today. Normally we're in the

other building. But today, if you don't have

one, you can share with your neighbor. Proverbs

18 .10. Proverbs 18 .10. One verse of scripture

there should be hard to find. Say amen when you

get it, somebody. Amen. All right. Proverbs 18

.10. It reads this way. The name of the Lord.

Someone say the name of the Lord. The name of

the Lord. The name of the Lord is a strong tower.

The righteous run into it and are saved. I'm

going to preach today. on the tower of His name.

Why don't we pray right now? Let's thank God

for His presence. His Word that we're about to

hear. Father, we love You. We thank You, God,

for what You're doing in our midst today, Lord.

We thank You, God, that we're able to come in

a humble place like this and feel Your presence

and lift up Your name. You are surely in the

midst of Your people here today. You dwell in

the praises of Your people. We pray right now,

God, that as we open up our hearts to Your Word,

that You would speak to us the Word of life.

Surely there's someone in today, God, who's on

the verge. of getting closer to you, on the verge

of making a decision, Lord, to serve you the

rest of their life. God, on the verge of recommitting

their heart. Lord, you know where we all are

today in our faith and our spirit. And I pray,

God, that you would touch us, anoint our hearing,

and anoint my lips of clay. In Jesus' name we

pray. Everybody say amen. If you can find a place

to sit, go ahead and make yourself comfortable.

That AC is blowing. Praise be to God. It's blowing

in this place. There's another wind blowing.

It's the Holy Ghost blowing. We're so glad. It's

also good to see Sister Marlena back. When I

think of towers, I think of some famous landmarks.

I think of the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower

in Paris. I think of Big Ben in London. Or I

think of the Space Beetle in Seattle. These are

all towers that, when we think of these towers,

they're majestic, right? They're awesome. We

admire how they look. I also think of that, you

know that Leaning Tower? The Leaning Tower? I

don't think that tower's pre -shaped, right?

The Tower of Pisa. I wouldn't go in there, but

we admire it for its beauty. We admire it for

the architecture. These are all beautiful towers.

But the towers that we read about in Scripture

in ancient Israel served a far more urgent purpose

than just beautifying the landscape. These towers

served an urgent purpose. They were used for

military purposes. Towers that were built to

the size of the walls of the city, like a fortress.

They would build these towers so that a watchman

could go up, view the land, and if any invading

armies would come, they would be able to sound

the alarm that were being attacked. And so they

served a military purpose. Different purposes.

If you had a tower in your city, that tower was

a beacon of hope. If the enemy were to come in

and you were ambushed or attacked, all the townspeople,

all the citizens of the city, what they would

do is run into the tower. That was the shelter

in place. That was the place of refuge, a safe

zone, so that you were protected against the

invading armies. So to have a tower was a very

important thing. Even out in the rural areas,

out in the fields, in the vineyards, they would

build towers there. the farmers and the ranchers

so that they could look at their harvest and

see if there was any foxes or any predators or

even thieves that would want to come and rob

them of their harvest, destroy the harvest. And

so these towers could very much mean the difference

between life and death. These towers could make

all the difference between losing or preserving

their most precious thing. When you visualize

in your mind today, I've got to borrow your imagination

to look at these old stone -built towers, almost

like a castle. They meant the difference between

life and death. They were not just for architecture,

not just for beauty, not just to say, wow, you've

got a tower city. But these towers represented

hope. And no matter the city. you know that if

you had a tower there, you could run to that

tower for safety. And sometimes that tower was

the last hope, the last place you could go. It

represented your last chance of survival, your

last chance of possibly avoiding enemy capture.

This was the image behind the words that Solomon

wrote when he said, the name of the Lord. is

a strong tower. Somebody give God some praise

for that. The Lord is a strong tower. Solomon

wanted us to understand that the way that a town

or a city or the outskirts of the city looked

at a tower, what that represented to them is

what the name of the Lord represents to His people.

It is a place where you and I can run to to find

safety from this world. What kind of safety?

I'm talking about spiritual safety today. I'm

talking about making sure that your soul is found

in a safe place. Found safety from the attacks

of the enemy. From sin and from destruction and

from calamity that is running rampant in this

world. We all. No matter who you are today, no

matter where you come from, everyone in this

little room today needs a tower that they can

run to. They can tell you that that tower is

not found in a building. That tower is not found

at an address somewhere. That tower is not found

somewhere constructed in the middle of the city

center. That tower is not on a mountain somewhere.

That tower is not behind some great fortress,

some great palace, or some great cathedral. That

tower is the name of Jesus. That tower is the

name of the Lord. And his name is Jesus. Somebody

say Jesus. The name Jesus literally means the

Lord saves. That's the literal meaning of Jesus.

God is salvation or the Lord saves. So, the name

of the Lord saves. He is a strong tower. But

what happens when you find yourself on the run?

What happens when you say to yourself, even though

I know the name of the Lord is a strong tower,

I can feel the heat of the enemy on my back.

And I feel like the enemy is coming up right

up against the tower. Because even though we've

got a tower, that doesn't stop the enemy from

wanting to attack us. That doesn't stop the enemy

from wanting to come against us. How many of

you know I'm talking the truth today? It doesn't

mean that weapons are still not going to be formed

against us. They're going to come. And there

are some examples in Scripture that I want to

point you today to. that show us in a very powerful

way what the tower of his name represents. There's

a tower in Scripture. It's called the Tower of

Thebes. And the Tower of Thebes, we find this

story in Judges 9. If you want to go there, you

can. Judges 9, verse 51. There we find a story

Judges 9:51

about a ruthless king. His name was Abimelech.

And this king was wicked in the sight of God.

He was ruthless. He was cruel. And he sought

to destroy the people of God. The Bible says

that he came against the city of Phoebus. And

he came against it with everything he had. His

whole army. His swordsmen and his archers. They

came against them. And it reads this way in Judges

Judges 9:51

9 verse 51. But there was... a strong tower in

the city and all the men and the women and all

the people of the city everybody must have been

a pretty big tower everybody fled there and shut

themselves in and they went up to the top of

the tower i wonder how many of you want to go

to the top of the tower imagine the fear though

that the people must have felt seeing this wicked

king come against them knowing that he wants

to destroy everything that they know and love.

Imagine the fear and the terror they must have

felt seeing this king come against them, who's

obviously got a greater army. They're outnumbered.

They're outmanned. They're outgunned. So this

king is coming against them. They're not... equipped

to fight back again and go toe -to -toe with

them. This is not going to be like a battle,

you know, where two armies come against and clash

with a battle. They know there's really nothing

they can do to defend themselves. So what they

do is they go to that one place they built for

times of safety, for times of destruction. And

they all began to pile in and they all rushed

into that place hoping to find safety. I don't

know if there was a mad panic that broke out

among them. It was probably pandemonium and chaos

as everybody was running to there. But the Bible

says that all the people, and this is what I

love about this tower, is that everybody was

welcome. It didn't stop them at the tower and

say, whoa, whoa, what's your name? No, if you're

in this city, you're welcome to come in. They

didn't stop everybody and say, well, I need you

to quote at least three verses before you can

come in. No. Everybody got to go in. Man, woman,

and child. Young and old. Everybody. No matter

their background. If they were a resident of

that city, they got to go in. That's a picture

of the name of the Lord. Because our God is indiscriminate.

Our God is saying, if you run to me and you know

what my name is, you're welcome to come on in.

Well, guess what happened? The king said, you

know what? These people are playing hard to get.

So he wrapped up all of his efforts, and the

Bible says they came against the door of the

temple, and they sought to burn the whole thing

down. They said, okay, you guys are going to

hide in there? Well, we're going to burn this

thing down. And we're going to, you know, we're

going to bake you guys inside of that tower.

But this is what the Bible says. In that same

story, we just go to verse, so from verse 51,

now to verse 53. This is what it says. It says,

but a certain woman... Alright, where are the

ladies at in here? Man, sisters, I'm about to

encourage you right now. It says, but a certain

woman dropped an upper millstone on a beveled

head and crushed his skull. I preached this at

a women's service one time and they went crazy.

What would happen if the women got a hold of

the... word of God and they crushed the head

of the enemy. Literally. This thing came from

above and it hit him right on the head and crushed

him. And this is the power that we all have in

the name of the Lord. When I go before the Holy

Spirit and I begin to pray in the name of the

Lord, guess what happens? I've got a big stone

in my hand and that power that's in his name

allows the enemy, I'm saved, I'm the Lord. This

has to bow in the name of God's blessing over

your children. over your babies and over your

sons and your daughters. You do it with authority.

You do it with power of Jesus. You've got to

speak the name of Jesus. And I speak the name

of Jesus over my children before they leave school.

Because I don't know what attacks are going to

come against them when they walk out of the doors

of my house. I don't know what kind of garbage

or lies... perception, or even physical violence

could come against us. So I've got to speak the

name of Jesus. And the devil may not respect

my name, but he's going to respect his name.

So this little story gives us a picture of Jesus

being our deliverer. He delivers us. There's

another example. I want to point you to the book

of Song of Solomon. Song of Solomon, chapter

Song of Solomon 4 · chapter mention

4 and verse 4. Or the Song of Psalms. Here we

get another picture. Not of the Tower of Thebes,

but of the Tower of David. He paints a picture,

Solomon, of the Tower of David. It's on the Song

of Solomon 4 .4. It reads, Your neck is like

the Tower of David, built for an armory. Thereon

hang a thousand butlers, all shields. of mighty

men solomon was remembering the tower that was

built during his father's era who was the king

of israel and he recalled how this this this

unique tower that was built in jerusalem was

not just like any other tower but on the walls

of the tower on the outside walls of the tower

were adorned and decorated with different shields

that were used in battle imagine that for a moment

these shields that were affixed to this this

tower and so what is so symbolic about this tower

with all of these shields that were built there

is that it was a war chest because when time

of war would happen when enemies would invade

guess what they could do the mighty men can go

and grab a shield that was hanging on that So

it wasn't just like a trophy case. This was an

active fortress. So they could grab those shields

and those spears that were up there on the tower

and use them in battle. But it was also a sign.

Because when enemies would come against God's

people in Jerusalem, imagine you're an opposing

enemy. And you're getting ready to ambush. You're

getting ready to attack this city. And you're

starting to plan, and as you're approaching,

getting closer and closer to the city of Jerusalem,

and you start to notice there's this tower over

there. You get a little closer, and you start

to see all of these shields. I imagine some of

these shields have blood on them. I imagine some

of them have dents in them. I mean, these shields

look like they've been used in battle. and they're

up there and imagine somebody a scout even looks

and says hey i gotta let the captain know that

they've got all these shields these people are

people who are that they are uh they they are

trained in battle man you know they are they

are they are rugged people they know how to fight

and so what that that tower did is send a message

to those enemies that were coming letting them

know you're not just messing with anybody It

stood as a testimony. It stood as a trophy of

victory so that the incoming enemy would know

that this city belongs to a victorious king.

Jesus, you're not running to a rookie king. You're

running to a novice. You're not running to somebody

who's just met. When you run to Jesus, you're

running to serve a victorious king. In Christ,

when we go to Christ in prayer, and we've got

to look at the tower, And remember, I want you

to think right now in your mind the tower of

God in your life. I want you to think of the

tower. Every one of you has got a tower. You

know what you've got? You've got a tower of testimonies.

Take a look at my tower. Your tower's got shields

all over it. It's got testimonies of what God...

You know, we've got testimonies in our life.

We shouldn't even be here today. But God... Remind

the devil of Calvary. Remind the devil of the

cross. You know what he hates? He hates when

you talk about the blood of Jesus. He hates the

blood of Jesus because the blood of Jesus reminds

him that he's defeated. And that you're covered.

And your sins have been washed away. And there's

nothing he can do about it. Thank you, Jesus.

I saw that and I was so excited I could hardly

contain myself. I thought about the thousands

of bucklers. These are little shields. The thousands

of testimonies. The thousands of victories. The

thousands of miracles. The thousands of things.

The big things that God has done for us. And

that ought to instill in us a confidence in His

name. No wonder David said in Psalm 20 in verse

7. in chariots, and some in horses, but we will

remember the name of the Lord. In man -made solutions,

my faith today is in the name of the Lord, and

that's why I'm going to work His name. I remember

His name. If you know His name, can you say it

right now? Let me tell you, there's one other

picture in your soul that I want to paint. There's

another type of tower that exists. A tower. This

is the vineyard watchtower. And I want you to

look at Isaiah. If you want to go there, you

can in your Bible. Isaiah 5 and verse 2. It says

that there's a story there about a man. A man

who did something interesting. He was not a tower

builder per se. He was not a general contractor.

This is not his trade. he was a vine dresser

a planter a harvester but on one occasion in

one moment he realized that he needed to build

a tower isaiah chapter 5 and verse 2 says he

Isaiah 5 · chapter mention

dug it up and cleared out his stones and planted

it with the choices vine he built a tower in

the midst in its midst and also made a wine press

in it. I won't even get into that. But in the

tower, he made the tower also. It doubled as

a wine press. That's another message I got. But

it's a wine press. But he builds this tower.

He's a farmer. He's a harvester. But he built

the tower. He learned how to build it. Maybe

he watched a YouTube video. He built the tower.

And he did it. Why? Not because of invading armies.

armies we're not going to attack them necessarily

but predators that want to come in and devour

his harvest predators and not real big predators

like you might think like you know a big gorilla

a stampede of halifax no the little foxes the

bible says spoil the mind the towering in the

vineyard is not built to protect against the

army against those little things that come in

to sabotage the blessings and the promises of

god in our lives the little things someone say

the little things you need a tower not only to

fight the big things you need a tower not only

some of you need a tower by getting baptized

in the name of Jesus. You need a tower of salvation

today. Somebody needs a tower of healing today.

It's all in His name. There's also some that

need a tower for God to show you the foxes that

are starting to eat away. You say, what is that

little fox? It's the little worry that keeps

you awake at night. The little fox is that little

offense that's starting to... grow a root of

bitterness that you haven't dealt with. That

little fox, he said, well, it's not that big

of a deal. Today it's not, but give it some time

and it's going to eat your harvest. It's the

little compromises that you convince yourself,

I can stop anytime I want to. I can turn it off

or turn it on whenever I want to. And those are

the lies you tell yourself. But these little

foxes, they're nipping away. at your spirituality.

They're nibbling away at your relationship with

God. Oh, it's just a little time here and there.

Sometimes the little foxes are just distractions

that steal our time away from God. And this is

what Jesus said about the thief and the robber.

The thief does not come, but yet to steal, to

kill, and to destroy. He wants to destroy our

harvest. He wants to destroy the things that

God has done in our life or is doing in our life.

But Jesus said, I have come, but I that you may

have life and have it more abundantly. It's the

name that saves us. It's the name that delivers

us. And it's also the name that sanctifies us.

It's the name that purifies us. And so if you

need to get right with God today, you need God

to clean out the carnality that is at war with

your spirit. You need your carnal man to die.

The flesh to die. You need to climb higher into

the tower so that God can expose to you the things

that you're like that you need to deal with.

And His name is Jesus. I invite you to stand

here. There is a tower. His name is Jesus. I've

come today to preach about the tower of His name.

Somebody today needs to climb that tower. This

is what I love. What the Bible says is endanger

me, admire me. tower and say wow what a tower

that is someone today is in danger of just agreeing

with the preacher and saying yes his name is

powerful yes his name is great and his life taking

their sweet time like you know i'll get there

when i get there no what does it say he runs

there is got to be a sense of urgency in somebody's

heart. Listen, for what God is trying to do in

your life, dear friend, with all due respect,

you cannot afford to crawl or walk your way there.

Walk and take my sweet time. You know why? Because

you've already ran out of time. Jesus is coming

soon. You don't have the luxury of time anymore.

of waiting back. You know, I'm going to wait

for next seat. I'm going to really wait for my

moment. No, your moment has arrived. The hour

is urgent. It's getting fiercer. The attacks

are getting... The enemy's not going to...