A witness in a criminal case is on the witness stand and the lawyer asks him a crucial question that will prove his client’s innocence or guilt. His answer? “I don’t recall or I simply can’t remember.” What happened? During the discovery phase, the witness told the lawyer the entire account with absolute clarity! The sad reality came to light. The witness lied on the stand and the lawyer could not prove he was lying.
This kind of purposeful lying is frustrating to the justice system, but it has gotten many guilty people out of a lot of trouble. There is coming a time that such a defense will not hold up before the judge. There is coming a time that such a defense will be totally useless – the judgment seat of Christ for the believer and the Great White Throne judgment for the unbeliever.
Our best defense for that future date is to improve our memory right now! We must sharpen our memory of the very person of God!
Take a moment and read Luke 22:19-22; I Cor. 11.
Now, consider the some in the Bible who chose not to remember who the LORD God is. King Ahab forgot God and led a whole nation into deep trouble. Moses forgot who God is for a moment, under pressure, and he didn’t see the blessing of the Promised Land.
Problems begin when our memory of Jesus ends!
We have all had a struggle with our memory at some point in time! We ask our family, “Where are my keys?” or “Has anyone seen my sunglasses?” My favorite helper question is, “Where did you have them last?” Well, if I could remember that I wouldn’t be asking you for your help! I do not want to mislead you. You should know I have an incredible memory…it is just very short!
The truth is, we all forget more than the location of our keys, sunglasses, or appointments. We also tend to forget about God. We tend to forget what He has done for us AND who He is!
What exactly about God do we forget that brings so much trouble? We forget who He is! We all call those closer to us different names (i.e. - honey, babe, sweetheart, bubba, or brute). The other names identify different understandings of their personality and abilities. Let’s take a quick look at some of the different names of God and see how they give us a window into understanding our great God!
1. EL SHADDAI
The children of Israel forgot about El Shaddai (God’s ultimate power over all) when they were between Egypt and Red Sea (Exodus 14:10-11)
2. JEHOVAH JIREH
Elimelech forgot about the Jehovah Jireh (God provides) when he fled Israel and ran to Moab during a famine (Ruth 1)
3. EL ELYON
Saul forgot about El Elyon (the most High…absolute of lordship) and chose rebellion, increasing isolation, arrogance, and attention-seeking in a clear “spiritual blindness” pursuit. Rejecting the “absolute Lordship” of God led Saul to refuse to accept God’s choosing David as the next king. Saul’s spiritual blindness so overcame him that he even sought out the witch of Endor! (I Sam. 15:24-26; 28:3-20).
…but happens when we remember who God is?
4. EL ROI
When Hagar remembered El Roi (the God of Seeing) (Gen. 16:13) things changed! This impacted Hagar’s life journey!
5. YAHWEH ROHI
When David remembered Yahweh Rohi ("The Lord Our Shepherd" (Psalm 23:1) – After David pondered his relationship as a shepherd to his sheep, he realized that was exactly the relationship God had with him, and so he declares, “Yahweh-Rohi is my Shepherd. I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). This greatly impacted David’s relationship with God!
6. EL GIBHOR
Things change when we remember El Gibhor (“Mighty God”) (Isaiah 9:6). This is the name describing the Messiah, Christ Jesus, in this prophetic portion of Isaiah. As a powerful and mighty warrior, the Messiah, the Mighty God, will accomplish the destruction of God’s enemies and rule with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15)…and everything changes! My attitude changes from flippant or carefree to fearing the Lord and overwhelming gratitude!
Who is Jesus? He is God…He is my Shepherd…He is the Lamb for me…He is the Mighty God. Remember who He is. He will change your life for the better … in the most dramatic ways possible!!