204. Leaving for Israel and Nathan Cravatt on "Who is the King of Glory? - Yahweh Sabaoth"

Brett, welcome back to the podcast. We are T-minus 24 hours from hopping in a car, driving to Atlanta, boarding a plane, and heading to Israel. Brett, we're a day away from being around each other again. I cannot wait. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll see you tomorrow. I don't wait. You're only a day away. I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep tonight. I'm just like a giddy schoolboy. We're waking up early in the morning, and usually when we go on vacations and Dad says, all right, waking up, 5 a.m., they're like, oh, come on. But this time, Emma's like, yeah, man, I'm ready to go because she's ready to go. We've got our luggage. We're already packed. We've got everything together. Your car's loaded. We're ready to go, baby. I mean, we are ready to go. I've got some guys from my county that are coming with us, and we're going to all caravan. And we're going to meet up at my house at 6 a.m. And then we'll drive through Forest and pick up another member of our group, and then we're going to Atlanta. And, man, we're going to be in the Holy Land. And it's here. Who would have thought? Who would imagine three years ago when we went on this trip originally? This trip's been moved like three times? It's been so long coming. Three or four times it's been moved. At one point, I really thought we're not going to do this trip. And now it's here. Like, we're getting on a plane, 32 other people, and we're going to go, and we're going to see Israel again. Brett, you were just telling me about places that have been uncovered since we were there back in 23. The Pool of Shalom is, like, almost 100% uncovered. Tell me about the new tomb, or the new prison. Oh, there have they. All right, so we were at Caesarea Maritime. We were in the Palace of Herod outside the Hippodrome where they filmed Ben-Hur, all that stuff. And we talked about, you know, we know that Paul was imprisoned here. And they pointed to the ground, to a little square in the ground, and they were, maybe this is where the cell was. And I was like, eh. Well, now, they, underneath the palace, they have found the jail. They have dug, they have excavated it. It's a big room, bigger than my office here. And I had a couple preacher friends who were in Israel a few weeks ago. They stood in it, took pictures. This has been discovered since me and you have been there last. And now we're going to get to see it and go in it and to get to actually not guess, but go in the confirmed cell. We know this is the jail. So this is where they put Paul. Yeah. This, Brett, three weeks ago, I preached on Paul being in prison there at Caesarea Maritime. There were Festus and before Agrippa and all that. I can't wait to be there and to see that. Man, it's going to be awesome. And we are just so close to jumping on that plane and being there. I don't know if I'm more excited about Israel or if I'm more excited about spending a week with you. I mean, they're really close up in the air about which one I'm most excited about. But, man, we're going to be together. I can't wait to take our stroll on the pier there at the Sea of Galilee like we did. Okay. Are you going? Now, listen, the second, not the first morning, but the second morning, me and Emily are going to get up and we're going to go out there before the sun comes up. I want to set them up for Sea of Galilee. Are you coming out there with us? As long as you don't make out in front of me, we'll do it. Yeah, we'll do that. But we'll go out there and experience the sunrise on the Sea of Galilee. I can't wait. I can remember the last time we went, we were walking back from the pier together. And that's when we're like, Brett, do you want to do the podcast with me? I think John's stepping down. And then you're like, let's bring a trip back. Like, this is a reunion of me and you and the For Freedom podcast coming together. And, man, this is... Jerusalem is where we, you know, kind of, Israel is where we kind of got together in the first place and decided to do this thing. And so now it's coming full circle. And, you know, I don't think you have to worry about me and Emily making out. I think Emily has to worry, but no, I'm just kidding. Come on now. Come on now. But listen, it's going to be great. I mean, in less than 24 hours, we're going to be in the airport in Atlanta, getting ready to take our flight to Germany. And, dude, we're going to be leaving on a jet plane. I don't know. There's a little Armageddon humor there. But, yeah, man, I can't wait. It's going to be awesome. It's going to be great. We're going to be going to places that we didn't go to the last time. I'm going to get inked up. And you're coming to get inked up with me. That's right. That's right. So we are looking forward to that. And, dude, we just can't wait. We're going to be recording some episodes. We're going to be a couple of different episodes from the Holy Land. Yeah, we're going to be putting out some talks that we do while we're at different sites. We're going to record all those talks so you can sort of feel like what we were there. And then we're going to be recording a couple of episodes with Marcus and recording some stuff about Luther Rice and some things they've got going on while we're there on location. So, yeah, we're thoroughly excited about what we've got coming up. We're going to be taking pictures and uploading them to the group we went with in 2023 to make them being jealous. 100%. Yeah, they're going to be envious and wish they were there with us. And then we're going to – this is the plan for the podcast today. We've got a special episode that we'll talk about in just a minute. The month of February, we're going to be dropping our Israel stuff in February, March. And then at the end of – middle of March, we're going to jump into a manipulation boundaries episodes, talking through Jim Jones and the People's Temple and what manipulation looks like and how to have good, healthy boundaries. And working on a podcast – working on an episode of a new book that's been coming out that just came out, a little mini book called Boundaries by Jim Neuheiser, working on trying to get him lined up to come on and talk about it. So that's going to lead up until end of March, April, by the end of the season. So be looking forward to those things coming out. I know I am. I'm excited about being there in Israel. But, Brett, why don't you introduce today's episode, and then we'll jump off here for today. So we didn't have time to record much this week because we're getting ready to go to Israel, so we thought we'd have a special treat for you. This past year for our Homecoming Sunday, I had the one, the only, the great Nathan Cravat at my church. And let me tell you something. I was so happy to have him here with us, to be with our church, to preach to us, to spend time. He spent time with us, with my family, at our house, just talking about his story, talking about his testimony. Amazing, amazing things. Nathan has got some amazing things lined up for the future. It was such a blessing, such a blessing to have him here. And so I want to share a little bit of that with our audience. And so Nathan has agreed to let us post the message that he preached at my church last year for our Homecoming Sunday. We're going to preach that. We're going to post that today. And the title of his sermon is, Who is this King of Glory, Yahweh Sabiah? And so that is the sermon. And we're going to upload that for you today. And I hope you enjoy this special treat. Yeah, it's going to be great. I know some people are going to say sermons are not podcasts. But today, you're going to hear a great message by Brother Nathan. And I hope you enjoy it today. For freedom, he set me free. Not for change, not for guilt, not for Pharisee. Grace lit the flame, now I'm puffing peace. Cigars and victory justified, released. Welcome to the For Freedom Podcast. This podcast exists to bring the freedom of the gospel for everyday Christians with everyday issues. I ain't saved by dress codes, not by what I eat. I'm covered in the righteousness, washed from head to feet. No tally of tradition, no man-made code. Blood bought my freedom, now I ride that road. They clutch pearls when they see smoke rings rise. But my praise still ascends past the legalist cries. Christ plus nothing, that's the real math. So miss me with your fence laws and your extra path. He sat with sinners, I'm sitting with saints. Sipping grace from the bottle, no room for fakes. I light one for liberty, toast to the king. Every ash a sermon, death has lost its sting. For freedom, he set me free. Not for change, not for guilt, not for Pharisee. Grace lit the flame, now I'm puffing peace. Cigars and victory justified, released. For freedom, he set me free. Not for change, not for guilt, not for Pharisee. Grace lit the flame, now I'm puffing peace. Cigars and victory justified, released. Let grace begin. For freedom, he set me free. Not for change, not for guilt, not for Pharisee. Grace lit the flame, now I'm puffing peace. Now here are your hosts, James Saifert and Brett Martin. All right, let's open our Bibles together this morning. We're going to be in the book of Psalms, chapter 24. And I just want to say it is a privilege to be here at Rocky Point Baptist Church this morning with my dear friends, Brett and Emily. Thank you guys so much for your friendship and your love and your prayers over the years. I got to spend some time yesterday with them just running around in Jackson and just encouraged by being around them. I hope this church knows how blessed you are by having this family. They love you. They talked a lot about you yesterday. They love this church and they're just they're just a privilege and a pleasure to be around. Excited about preaching this morning and speaking to you on what God has been doing in my life over the past year. This past year, my family and I have been through the fire. I've said that before, but I didn't really know what I was saying and what I was talking about in a lot of situations. But this year we truly been through the fire and I'm going to share a little bit of my story. But I want to start out in our text this morning. The greatest thing I can give you today are God's words, not my words. And my goal is to use my words to help you understand God's words. And in this chapter, which many of you are familiar with in Psalm chapter 24, David asks one of the most important questions in all of scripture. So let's read chapter 24, starting in verse one together. A Psalm of David, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof the world and those who dwell therein. For he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such as the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Say, lift up your heads, oh, gates and be lifted up. Oh, ancient doors that the king of glory may come in. Here's our question. Who is this king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, oh, gates and lift them up. Oh, ancient doors that the king of glory may come in. Who is this king of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the king of glory. Selah. This is the word of the Lord for his people this morning. Today, I want us to see who the king of glory, the Lord of hosts truly is and why it matters for your life and for my life. The Lord of hosts is the Hebrew title Yahweh Sabaoth. Many of you have probably heard that before in the names of God. The English translations of the Bible handle this in many different ways. The NIV translates it the Lord Almighty. The New Living Translation translates it the Lord of Heaven's Armies. The NASB has the broader Lord of Armies and the NET has the even broader the Lord who rules over all. So we're going somewhere this morning. But before we do, I want you to know why it matters for your life and for my life. Many of us are going through difficult times. I look around this room and it looks like everybody's happy. Looks like everybody's healthy, but I can't see your heart. I don't know what you're walking through this morning. But many of us are going through difficult times. And as I said, this past year, my family experienced the most difficult trial of our lives. One year ago yesterday, Hurricane Helene hit Asheville, North Carolina, as your pastor was saying. My family and I were there planting a church and a large oak tree fell into our house. And it was just a miracle of God that our lives were spared. My wife and three daughters and myself were all in the line of the tree at the back of the house. And somehow, miraculously, the corner of our house held that tree up. The day after the storm, we drove in every direction trying to get out of Asheville. It wasn't safe. We didn't have any drinking water. No stores were open. There was no gas. So we tried to escape, couldn't get out. And we, in the middle of this situation, in the middle of the mountains with no cell signal, prayed and asked God for help. And somehow, miraculously, we got far enough away from Asheville that our phones got a little bit of a signal. And on my wife's phone, she got a text from some of our dear friends that said, Go back to the airport in Asheville and we're going to get you home. When we got back to the airport, they allowed us to stay in the private pilot's lounge. And we spent the night there. My wife and three girls had these amazing recliners they slept in. And I got to sleep on a concrete floor. I didn't sleep very much that night, to say the least. The next day, some of our friends arranged for a private jet to come and pick us up in Asheville, North Carolina. And a short 24-minute flight got us back to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Now, I do want to tell you this. I've prayed many times for God to help me. And that is the one and only time in my life he has sent a private jet to help me. So you don't need to ask me to pray for God to help you because I'm not sure that's going to happen. I got my family safely settled in Chattanooga, Tennessee. And some friends let them stay in a cabin. And I went straight back to Asheville, North Carolina with a 26-foot box truck that was loaded down with supplies. I spent the next two weeks doing disaster relief, sharing the gospel with hundreds, probably thousands of people that were coming through our church property. That's another prayer that God answered. We had prayed, God, allow us to reach this community. Allow us to impact this community. And that's one of the only times I've ever seen a community go from literally rejecting everything that we had to offer to the entire community and more coming to our door, coming to our property, asking us for help. And we helped them. We were able to give them water, food, supplies, batteries, flashlights, all sorts of things. And we were able to share the gospel with thousands of people over those two weeks. On October 13th, we talked about canceling the trip, but we had raised so much money and there were things set in place that me and another pastor from Hope Church Danville actually got on a plane in Charlotte, North Carolina to fly to the country of Nepal. If you don't know where Nepal is, it's between China and India. So there's a little sliver of a country. It's where Mount Everest is at. And we flew over there. I've been going there for three years. The first trip was in 2020. And we serve with a group of local pastors and church planners. And this group has grown since 2020 to over 40 church planners. I think they're nearing 50 now. And these church planners go out into the jungles and the village villages to share the gospel with people that have never heard the name of Jesus, people that have never seen a Bible before. So while I was there, God blessed. This trip was absolutely the best missions trip I've ever been on. I've had the privilege of being in 24 different countries, sharing the gospel on three different continents. And God has been so good to always provide a way for his word to be spread. But this trip was like nothing I'd ever seen. There were open doors at every single turn. God blessed everything we did. I was able to speak at a youth conference where over 100 students were able to invite their friends to come and hear the gospel. And this is in a communist country. I did a pastor's training, training many of the pastors going into the mountain villages that haven't had any theological training. We were able to raise the money and replace and build some roofs on churches over there that had been damaged in the mudslides. And everything on that trip was just blessed by the hand of God. And on the way home, we laid over in Greece for two and a half days just to kind of recover before we came back to the States. And I began to feel sick while I was there. I did not know it at the time, but I had dengue fever that was actually spiking in the country of Nepal at the time when we were there. And I had appendicitis. So I was home for a full week, working, driving back and forth to Nashville, North Carolina, to Virginia, South Carolina, and ended up coming back on Halloween of last year. Got home and I was planning on going to an outreach party with my family. And I was so sick that I just crawled in the bed. And from Thursday afternoon till Sunday afternoon, I was in the bed and we didn't have insurance. So I decided, you know what? I'm tough. I can sweat this out. And I just about sweated it all the way out to glory. But on November 3rd, my wife took me to the hospital and I thought I was just dehydrated walking into the hospital. But when I got there, I was in full septic shock. My blood pressure was 70 over 40. Multiple organ systems were in complete failure. My liver was shutting down. My kidneys were completely shut down. I lost my spleen. My entire body swelled twice its size. And I was put on CRRT dialysis, which is around the clock, constantly filtering your blood. I was on life support, on a breathing tube, on a feeding tube. I began to throw so many blood clots that the dialysis machine was clogging. And it was a constant fight to keep from losing all of my blood, which would have resulted in multiple transfusions. In this process, my fingers and my toes, due to the treatment I was receiving, my fingers and my toes turned black. And I lost multiple fingers on my left hand and multiple toes on both of my feet. And every single day, as Pastor Brett said, it just went from bad to worse. I have people in my family that are in the medical profession. And they just basically told me there was there was literally no hope for you. The doctors did not know what I had. Couldn't figure out what the problem was. They tested me for everything, found no answers. So they ended up just treating my symptoms. And my family was beside me the entire time. I want to show you a picture of my family because this is the absolute greatest part of me. If you don't remember anything else, I want you to remember that God has blessed me with an amazing family. My son and his wife are all the way to your left. My wife, Carrie, we've been married almost 30 years, is beside my son. My daughter, Elena, is 26. And then my daughter, Mia, who's my baby, who is 16 now. She's a junior in high school. And then Elise is a freshman at Lee University. And this this family of mine that God has blessed me with was beside me the entire time. And they watched their dad just about die. And every day it just went from bad to worse. On Wednesday, they told my family that there was nothing else they could do for me. Thursday, they told them they needed to tell me goodbye. They said that there was nothing else that they could do. I would not make it to the weekend. And I remember seeing I couldn't reply. I couldn't talk. But my eyes were open and I could see my family as they met with the doctors and they were weeping. And they turned and each one of my family members told me goodbye and walked out of the hospital room because they weren't allowed to stay there overnight. And I was just laying there weeping. Couldn't do anything. I couldn't respond. But I knew I was dying. And from the moment they sedated me and put me on life support, I was mostly unconscious over the next five or six days. And I had what many people call a near death experience. And I'm not going to go in a whole lot of detail this morning, but my body was in that hospital bed and they had to call in rapid response multiple times because they were losing me. And they they kept getting me back. But I want to tell you this morning, my body might have been in that hospital bed, but my spirit had left my body. I was somewhere else and I was having a spirit and experience in the presence of God and I was surrounded by God's glory. And I've always heard the verse that our God is a consuming fire. I never knew what that verse meant, but I can tell you what it means now. When you're in the presence of God, it is a terrifying thing. Everywhere you see in scripture where God reveals some part of himself to people, they fall down to worship because they're unworthy. Isaiah said, woe is me. I'm a man of unclean lips, basically saying I have I have leprosy. Get away from me. I don't deserve to be in your presence. And I experienced a little bit of what that felt like being in God's presence. And the only thing that brought any peace to my heart in that moment was the gospel, knowing that I had placed my faith in my trust in Christ alone. There was nothing I could do to earn God's favor. But because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, my sins were forgiven. I was loved and I was accepted by God. And I want to tell you something in that moment. Nothing else matters. Nothing else. The size of your house. What kind of car you drive, how much money you make, what your profession is, how many followers you had on social media. None of that matters. How much fun you had in life. None of that matters. All that matters is that Jesus Christ is your Lord and your Savior and his sacrifice. His blood is applied to your life. Well, in that moment, I was weeping and I asked God, I said, would you please allow me to go back to my family? And would you allow me to serve you for the rest of my life? And I don't understand. Some people, you might call it a vision. You might call it a near death experience. You might call it a dream. Whatever you want to call it. I believe I was in the presence of God. And I asked him to allow me to come back and Friday morning against all odds at four o'clock in the morning. In an instant, I went from being in God's presence to being back in that hospital bed. And my eyes opened and I was wide awake. And my nurse came in and I scared her to death. She walked in and they told me that every time she came in the room, she would try to get a response out of me. How are you doing, Mr. Nathan? And that particular time, after six days, I turned my head at four o'clock in the morning. And I said, I'm good. How are you doing? And she just jumped back. She had the most terrified look on her face. And then this terrified look turned into the biggest smile I've ever seen in my life. And she said, do you know where you're at? And I said, yeah, I'm in the hospital. She said, which hospital? I said, Erlanger Hospital. And she started asking me all these questions. And I knew the answers to all the questions. I was back. God had touched my body and healed me. I knew it. I felt it. And as I began to answer her questions, the only thing I couldn't answer was questions about what day it was, what month it was, because I got sick at the end of October, went in on the 3rd of November. And as you know, in that time process, the six days that I was unconscious, the United States of America got a new president. So I almost died and woke up to an entirely new world, basically. Then I had gone to sleep in. And it was it was crazy. It was like I was watching a movie. But I want to tell you something. I had no idea how many people were praying for me around the country, including you. This church, your pastor and his wife and their family. And so many people have told me details about prayer meetings that they had where they came together spontaneously at the church and lifted my name and my family's name up. And God heard those prayers and God answered those prayers. The first miracle is that I lived, that I survived it. The second miracle is that even though I live, they told me that my kidneys would never work again and I would be on dialysis for the rest of my life. And about three weeks later, my kidneys started coming back to life. And the doctor said, I've just never seen anything like this. God spared my right hand, which also began to die. And now is perfectly healthy. My feet are healing way more than any of the doctors ever expected. And I just want to tell you my story this morning to let you know. That God. Yahweh savvy off the Lord of armies, the Lord of hosts is with us in the darkest hours of our life. Many of you are facing bigger trials than you ever thought you would have to endure and maybe trials that you feel like you can never survive. Our world is broken. We live in a broken, sin-cursed world. Nations are at war. Natural disasters, injustice, oppression, famine, genocide threaten our world every single day. A Christian man was executed publicly for speaking the truth this month in the United States of America. And it doesn't matter what your politics are. When a man was killed for speaking the truth, something is wrong in our world. And as believers, we long for the words of Psalm 46 to be true and to become a reality. If you don't remember, Psalm 46 says this in verse eight. Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts, Yahweh Sabaoth, is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. We know that this is going to happen one day where he will cause all wars to cease, where he will bring peace on a new heaven and a new earth. But this hasn't happened yet. But we're stuck in a place where our souls are longing for that. And this sermon matters. This passage of scripture, this chapter in Psalms matters for our world and it matters for you. And I pray that God will transform your thinking and my thinking and ignite our faith in the Lord of hosts this morning. Before I go any further in the sermon, I just want to pray. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, I just ask that you would in this moment speak to the hearts of your people. May your word cause us to respond in worship to the Lord of hosts. God, you are worthy. My desire is to lift you up this morning. And I ask that you would draw all of us to yourself. The powerful name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. So let's look at this text just briefly. First of all, I want us to see what it means. The Bible is a self-revelation of God. We know that as Christians. It was given to us, to mankind, to introduce us to our creator. And the primary reason we read the Bible is to learn about God. It's true that as we read scripture, we learn about ourselves and we learn about the world around us. But the primary reason we read the Bible is to learn about God and to worship him and to love him in a deeper way. And one of the primary ways that God introduces himself to us in the Bible is through his names. You've heard many of these names. El Shaddai. El Elyon. The most mighty God. El Olam. The everlasting God. Adonai. Lord or master. Yahweh. Another pronunciation for Yahweh that we use in English is Jehovah. I am the name that God gave to Moses. This name was so sacred. Yahweh was so sacred that many people wouldn't even pronounce it or write it down. Because they revered this name so much and they were terrified of taking God's name in vain. So in scripture, many times the word Lord is substituted for Yahweh. You also see other names in scripture where the name Yahweh is combined with another word like the word Hallelujah is praise Yahweh. We see it in names. Isaiah is salvation of Yah. Yahweh. Jeremiah. God will raise or elevate the name Joshua, which is actually Jesus name. Yeshua. The Lord saves. And then we see many places where there's a compound name of God in scripture. And one of those that we're studying this morning is Yahweh. Yahweh. But there are many others. Yahweh. Nisi. The Lord. My banner. Yahweh. Ra. The Lord. My shepherd. Yahweh. Rafa. The Lord that heals. Yahweh. Shama. The Lord is there. Yahweh. Sig. Canu. The Lord. Our righteousness. Yahweh. Jira. The Lord will provide. Yahweh. Shalom. The Lord is our peace. But I want us to look at this name. Yahweh. Sabaoth. Because David asked the question. Who is this king of glory? And he answers it. Yahweh. Sabaoth. The Lord of hosts. He is this king of glory. So we see what the name means. But I want us to understand it greater. So let's look at where we see this name in scripture. Where do we see it? He's called the Lord of hosts. But what hosts is he talking about? What hosts is he the Lord of? Well I'm glad you asked. He's the Lord of the hosts of heaven. The planets and the stars and the galaxy. The first place that we see this word used in scripture is in Genesis 2. 1. And then again in Deuteronomy 4. 19. And he's talking about all the hosts of heaven. The sun. The moon. The stars. All the galaxies. And the planets. Then we see that in Exodus 12. It refers to the hosts of Israel. Yahweh is the God of all the hosts of his people. The people of Israel. It also refers to it in Numbers 31. As the hosts of the armies of Israel. When God's people gathered together to fight against evil. And stand for truth in their world. They were called the hosts of the Lord. And he is the God of the armies of Israel. But we don't see the name Yahweh Sabaoth. The Lord of hosts. As a name of God. Until it is mentioned in 1 Samuel. And it's in chapter 1 verse 3. It says now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship. And to sacrifice to Yahweh Sabaoth. To the Lord of hosts. And then in verse 11. Where we see Hannah praying and pouring out her heart to God. Begging for a baby. She says. It says that she vowed a vow to say. Oh Lord of hosts. Yahweh Sabaoth. If you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant. And remember me and not forget your servant. But will give to your servant a son. Then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life. We see that God resided in the tabernacle. In the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts. Yahweh Sabaoth. Then later he resided in the temple in Jerusalem. In the ark of the covenant. We also see this in one of the most famous verses in all of scripture. Or passages in all of scripture. Where David is facing Goliath. And what is the name that David calls on. As he faces this giant. David asked in verse 26. How this Philistine could defy the hosts. Or the armies of the living God. And he goes on in verse 45. And says to Goliath. You come at me with a sword. And with a spear. And with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of Yahweh Sabaoth. The Lord of hosts. The God of armies of Israel. Whom you have defied. Later in the life of David. We see that God. The Lord of hosts. Is the one that makes the covenant. With David. The everlasting covenant. To bless all the nations of the earth. Through the offspring. Of David. The same way that he had promised. To Abraham. And David calls on the name. Of the Lord of hosts. We also see that Elijah. On the mount. Of Mount Carmel. Where your pastor and I have stood before. And I know he just preached a sermon. On this but. When Elijah stood against 450 prophets of Baal. He boldly announced his intention. To come before King Ahab. By calling on the name. Of the Lord of hosts. In this impossible situation. Where he was certainly going to be killed. By the king. And he alone as the single prophet of God. Stood against 450 prophets of Baal. And he called on Yahweh Sabaoth. Elijah. Elisha. The prophet that followed Elijah. We also see in a. Very important passage of scripture. In 2nd Kings 6. That the king of Syria. Had sent his armies. After the man of God. Elijah. And they surrounded the city of Dothan. And I just want to read. Verse 15 to 17. It says. And when the servant of the man of God. Rose up early in the morning. And went out. Behold an army. Or a host. With horses and chariots. Was all around the city. These are the enemies of God. The host of the enemies of God. And the servant said. Alas my master. What shall we do? And Elisha said. Do not be afraid. For those who are with us. Or more than those. Who are with them. Then Elisha prayed and said. Oh Lord. Please open. Open his eyes. That he may see. So the Lord. Yahweh Sabaoth. Opened the eyes of the young man. And he saw. And behold. The mountain. Was full of horses. And chariots. Of fire. All around Elisha. We also see. And I don't have time. To read all the texts this morning. But we also see in Psalms. Thirteen times. Two of which I've read this morning. Yahweh Sabaoth. The Lord of hosts. This name is used. Isaiah. Sixty times. Jeremiah. Eighty one times. Then all through. Hosea. Amos. Micah. Nahum. Abacah. Zephaniah. Haggai. In the small book of Haggai. In two chapters. Twelve times. The name of the Lord of hosts. Is used. Zechariah. Forty six times. And then. In Malachi. Twenty four times. What's my point? This name of God. Is used. Two hundred and eighty five times. At the best count. That we can get. In the Old Testament. Over and over and over again. In impossible situations. People called on the name. Of Yahweh Sabaoth. The Lord. Of hosts. And I just wonder. As a believer this morning. Have you ever called on this name? Have you called on the name. Of the Lord of hosts. When you had no other option. I challenge you to do that. Because I know for a fact. That he answers. Prayers. He answers the prayers. Of the people. That call. On his name. Not always. In the way. That we think he should. He doesn't always give healing. When we ask for it. But he's still good. Even when he doesn't. Because he still has a plan. And a purpose. The apostle Paul. One of the most. Amazing men. In all of scripture. Called on the name of God. The Lord of hosts. And God saved him. And rescued him. Many times. But eventually. His life was taken. He was a martyr. For the gospel. Of Jesus Christ. And God was still good. If I had died. In that hospital bed. My family would have stood there. And said. God is good. Blessed be the name. Of the Lord of hosts. But there are only. Two specific times. That this title. Lord of hosts. Is used in the New Testament. And I point this out. Because. While it's only used. Two specific times. There's a lot of language. In the New Testament. About hosts. Or armies. Where do we see. The language of armies. In the New Testament. What about. Second Timothy 2. 3. Where it says. That believers. Like you and me. Should share. In the sufferings. As a good soldier. In the army. Of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 6. 13. Therefore take up. The whole armor. Of God. That you may be able. To stand against the devil. And having done all. To stand firm. The church. Is the host. Of the people. Of God. This isn't a name. We refer to ourselves. Very often. But I think. We really should. Because we. Serve the God. Of hosts. And we are the host. Of God. Jesus said. He would build his church. And the gates of hell. Would not prevail against it. This church. Started. In acts. It's just a few. A small group of people. And then it grew quickly. To thousands. And Paul. Clearly taught. That Jesus. Was the head of his church. Jesus himself. Declared. That he was. The head of the church. Today. The church. Has grown to a. Host of. Billions. This includes. Those who are living. And those who have died. In Christ. As believers in God. Followers of Jesus. And in Revelation. We see an amazing. Amazing description. Of the host. Of the church. It says in Revelation. Seven. Verse nine. After this. I looked. And behold. A great multitude. That no one could number. From every nation. From all tribes. And peoples. And languages. Standing before the throne. And before the lamb. Clothed. In white robes. With palm branches. In their hands. And crying out. With a loud voice. Salvation. Belongs to our God. Who sits on the throne. And to the lamb. And the angels. Were standing around the throne. And around the elders. And the four living. Creatures. And they fell on their faces. Before the throne. And worshipped God. We are there. In this scene. The host. Of the people. Who have been saved. By the blood of Jesus Christ. And we're singing. Amen. Blessing. And glory. And wisdom. And thanksgiving. And honor. And power. And might. Be to our God. Forever. And ever. So the name. The Lord of hosts. Yahweh Sabaoth. Emphasizes God's sovereign. Control over every. Dominion. Every power. Every force. Over every realm. God is the universal. Every time we use this name. We're declaring. God is the universal ruler. Over all nature. Every man. Every woman. Every ruler. Every king. Every president. Every kingdom. Every empire. Every force. Every power. Every angel. And every demon. Whether in heaven. Or on earth. That is the God. That we serve. That's right. And that's what this name. Means. And that's where we see it in scripture. But specifically. I want to close this morning. By asking. Who. Is this king of glory. Specifically. Who is. Yahweh Sabaoth. We see in Joshua 5.13. That he's called the commander. Of the army of the Lord. And in this passage of scripture. He appears to Joshua. And tells him to take off of his. Take off his shoes. Because he's standing on holy ground. Who else declared that to somebody in scripture. God declared that to Moses. At the burning bush. Where Yahweh appeared to him. And Yahweh appears as the commander. Of the army of the Lord. The Lord of hosts. To Joshua. And it's clear that God. Himself. This. Some of you may think. I don't need to say this. That this goes without saying. But church. I believe in our day and age. We need to say it clearly. God is the commander. Of his own army. God is the Lord. Of all the hosts. Including. The Lord of his church. And we see in Malachi 3. In a messianic psalm. That Yahweh Sabaoth speaks. And he says. Behold. I send my messenger. And he will prepare. The way. Before who? Before me. Yahweh Sabaoth. And the Lord whom you seek. Yahweh will suddenly come to his temple. And the messengers of the covenant. In whom you delight. Behold. He is coming. Says. The Lord of hosts. There's our title. So he declares. That God himself. Yahweh Sabaoth. Yahweh Sabaoth. Is going to come. And that the spirit of Elijah. Would go before him. Declaring the way. And if you look back at Isaiah. Chapter 8. This is another way. Another place. Where Yahweh Sabaoth. The Lord of hosts. Is listed. And he says. The Lord of hosts. Him you shall honor. As holy. Let him be your fear. Let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary. Listen. And a stone of offense. And a rock. Of stumbling. Now who is this talking about. In Isaiah chapter. 8. Verse 14. Well both Paul and Peter. In the New Testament. Tell us. That this rock of stumbling. Is Jesus. Christ. Who is. Rejected as the Messiah. By the very people. That he came to save. So both Paul. And Peter. Called Jesus. Yahweh. Sabaoth. And I don't want you. To lose the impact. Of that. Because that's either. The greatest blasphemy. Or. It is the most powerful. Truth. In all of the universe. That Jesus. Christ. Himself. Is. Yahweh. He is. The Lord. Of hosts. And he even. Paul even makes it more clear. In Philippians chapter 2. Verse 5. Through 11. Where he. Says that we need to have. The mind of Christ. The one who. Humbled himself. Became a servant. Even to the point of death. On a cross. He says. God has highly exalted him. Bestowed on him. The name that's above every name. That at the name of Jesus. Every knee shall bow. In heaven. And on earth. And under. The earth. And that every tongue. Should confess. That Jesus. Christ. Is Lord. To the glory. Of God. The father. Most of us. Realize. That this is one of the most clear. Declarations. Of Jesus. Christ. Definity. Divinity. In scripture. He is divine. He is. God. But did you know. That Paul. In this passage. Of scripture. Is quoting. Isaiah 45. Which is talking. Specifically. About. The Lord. Of hosts. And the Lord. Of hosts. Declares. There is no God. Beside me. A righteous God. And a savior. There is none. Beside me. I am God. And there is no. Other. And if that's not enough. For you. That's not enough. That. Paul is quoting. That the one. That every knee. Would bow to. Is a direct quote. From Isaiah. 45. Where it says. Every knee will bow. To Yahweh. Sabaoth. Paul tells us. That's Jesus. He came. He lived. He died. He raised from the grave. And if that doesn't. Convince you. Then look at. Revelation 19. And this is. Clearly talking. About Jesus. In the book. Called the revelation. Of Jesus Christ. It says. Then I saw. The heavens open. Verse 11. And behold. A white horse. The one sitting on it. Is called. Faithful. And true. And in righteousness. Jesus judges. And makes war. His eyes. Are like a flame. Of fire. And on his head. Are many diadems. Or crowns. And he has a name. Written. That no one knows. But himself. He's clothed. In a robe. Dipped in blood. And the name. By which he is called. Is the word of God. And the armies. Of heaven. The host. Of heaven. Arrayed in fine linen. White and pure. Were following him. On white horses. From his mouth. Comes out. A sharp sword. With which to strike down. The nations. And he will rule them. With a rod of iron. He will tread. The winepress. Of the fury. Of the wrath of God. The almighty. And on his robe. And on his thigh. He has a name written. King of kings. And lord of lords. Who is this king of glory? Yahweh Sabaoth. Jesus. Is the lord of hosts. The almighty. God. Of armies. The name above. Every other name. The name at which. Every knee will bow. And every tongue will confess. That Jesus Christ is lord. To the glory of God the father. Amen. I was recently reading a. Messianic. Jewish. Rabbi. Who was a follower of Jesus. And this is what he said. About this title. The combination of ideas. Throughout scripture. Revealing Yahweh Sabaoth. The lord of hosts. In our modern scientific age. Of understanding. Clearly means. That all of the atoms. The host of all the atoms. The host of all the molecules. The vast array of them. Are working together. All assembled. And acting toward a purpose. Like an army. And at the head of that army. This vast host. Is one person. Jesus. Christ. So Jesus is the lord of hosts. The lord of heaven. The lord of nature. The host of humans. The host of angels. The host of demons. The host of his church. And even the host of cells. And molecules. And atoms. In your body. This is why Hannah could call on the lord of hosts. Because. He's the lord of the human body. The very atoms and molecules are commanded. By his. Word. He's the god who opens. Wombs. This is why my family. Called on. Yahweh. Sabaoth. Jesus. Christ. As the name above other. Every other name. To heal my dying body. In the hospital bed. This is why. David called on the lord of hosts. To defeat. An undefeatable giant. And his superior. Army. This is why Elijah. And Elisha. And Isaiah. And Jeremiah. All of their names. Contain the name Yahweh. And all the prophets. Called on. Yahweh. Sabaoth. This is just not. Ancient history church. This is not just a title. In the old testament. Jesus Christ. Is alive. Today. He's the king of glory. He commands the stars. The angels. The nations. And the church. And every atom. In your body. This means he's greater than sickness. Greater than your trial. That you're walking through. Greater than your fears. Greater than every enemy. You will ever face. And Rocky Point Baptist Church. You are a part. Of the innumerable hosts. Of the army. Of God. And we serve. The God. Of armies. You're not just another church. In the south. You're not just another American church. You are soldiers. Of the living God. Of armies. You're a division. That's dedicated. To this specific community. And this region. For such a time. As this. To spread. His kingdom. And his name. And his gospel. Here. That's who we are. And our lifetime. May just be a blip. On the timeline. Of history. But this blip. Is connected. To the eternal story. That's been being told. Throughout all history. And we may only be alive. For a blip. But in our blip. Church. We need to declare. That we are not going to be silent. That we're going to declare. The name of Jesus Christ. As king of kings. And lord of lords. He is Yahweh. Sabaoth. Everyone who believes in him. And calls on his name. Will be saved. And there's salvation. In no other name. Under heaven. He's the only way. Of salvation. And one day. We. Will gather. With all the hosts. All the armies. Of those who have been saved. And believers. And all the host of the angels. Who eternally sing. Holy. Holy. Holy. Is the lord. God. Almighty. Who was. And is. And is to come. And while today. May seem dark. This month. Or this year. May find. And it does find. The church. Of Jesus Christ. Under attack. But we will rise. From the ashes. And we will see his kingdom come. And his will. Done. On earth. As it is in heaven. We have. That confident. Faith. That the armies. Of the living God. Cannot be stopped. Because greater. Is he that's in us. Than he that's in the world. And everyone. Who opposes. The God. Of hosts. And his armies. Will be defeated. And destroyed. There is no. Other option. For those who rebel. Against the rightful. Rule. Of king Jesus. So his truth. Is marching on. We're not going to slow down. We're not going to sit down. We're not going to lay down. We're not going to shut up church. We need to stand up. And we need to speak out. In this generation. And proclaim. His name. Yeah. Many of you may not realize. But this very topic. That the fact that Jesus is the head of his church. Is the very thing. That sparked. The reformation. In the 1600. 15 and 1600s. The church. And the reformers were fighting for the truth. That Jesus is the head of his church. Martin Luther. Wrote one of the greatest hymns. I believe of all time. In the year 1529. And in this hymn. It shows the depth of his knowledge. Of the scriptures. Because in his. In this hymn. He calls. On the name. Of Yahweh. Sabaoth. There aren't. Aren't many songs. Being written today. That are using. That title. And you may know this song. If you do. I'm going to ask you to sing it with me. I'm going to ask you to stand together. I asked these guys. If they would come forward. And help me sing this song. Brother. Would you give me a B. On the piano. The church has been singing this song. There we go. That is not the B. I was looking for. The church has been singing this song. Since the 1500s. And as the host. Of the Lord of armies. I want us to lift up our voices. And sing this together here today. A mighty fortress. Is our God. A mighty fortress. Is our God. A bulwark. Never failing. Our helper. He amid the flood. Of mortal ills. Prevailing. For still. Our ancient foe. Doth seek to work us woe. His wrath and power are great. And armed with cruel hate. On earth is not. Is he equal. Did we in our own strength confide? Our striving would be losing. Were not the right man on our side. The man of God. Don't you lose me. You ask who that may be. Christ Jesus. It is he. Lord. Salve. Let's go to the Lord's Prayer. Father I thank you so much for your truth. For your word. You are king of kings. You are lord of lords. You are the lord of the host. You are the lord of the host. Of this world. The host of the angels. The host of the demons. The host of the heavens. And the host of your church. And God you are sovereignly ruling and reigning as king of kings. And lord of lords. Over all. And I pray that this morning we would submit our hearts to you. And trust in you. No matter what we go through. No matter what storm. No matter how dark the trial is. We declare that you are lord. And we trust in you. And you are good. And whatever each one of us is walking through this morning. God I know that you love us. That you care for us. And that you are with us in the fight. God we give all these things to you. We trust you. I pray that the people of God. And those who need the Lord. Will respond to this word this morning. To your scripture. In obedience. In repentance. In trust. And in faith. I ask all these things in Jesus name. Amen. I found my new name. I found that good grace. I found that healing. And the tears fell down my face. When I found my beginning. That has no ending. I found that second chance. I found my best friend. I found my forgiveness. I found my happiness. I've been singing ever since. I found my freedom in you. Thanks for listening to the 4 Freedom Podcast. If you enjoyed our content. Do us a favor. By liking. Subscribing. Or sharing our podcast. On whichever podcast platform you use. Be sure to join us next time. For the 4 Freedom Podcast.komkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkomkom

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