YHWH Yishi (Yee^ she) God my salvation
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In the 1955 movie, The 7 Year Itch, Tom Ewell sends his wife of 7 years on a vacation while Tom stays home and works. It’s kind of a relief to separate for a while as they have become way to familiar with each other knowing each other’s weaknesses, bad habits and frailties.
-then Marilyn Monroe, moves into the apartment above him. That’s what movie builds off of -familiarity vs something new
Geffrey Chaucer in the 1300s coined the phrase of familiarity with these words familiarity breeds contempt
A modern Proverb says:
Extensive knowledge of or close association with someone leads to a loss of respect for them. If you know someone very well you stop respecting them because you have seen all of their bad qualities and weaknesses and feelings of dislike and contempt can creep in.
Does familiarity really breed contempt?
- present research shows that although people believe that learning more about others leads to greater liking, more information about others leads, on average, leads to less liking. Thus, ambiguity—lacking information about another—leads to liking, whereas familiarity—acquiring more information—can breed contempt.
Contempt comes from a place of superiority and makes the other feel inferior or it can stem from a sense of feeling unappreciated and unacknowledged in the relationship. It can take the form of verbal or non-verbal language, which can include sarcasm, mockery, and facial gestures.
-I want to talk about God today and about unclogging our familiarity with God, where we take God for granted and where our familiarity with God has lessened our thrill, our delight to know God.
-we might say without passion or thrill that God is my Shepherd, we can become almost numb to these familiar traits of God and loose the joy of them.
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My brother-in-law Jim was diagnosed with cancer in the form of tumors, on his brain in his lungs and elsewhere. I shared with him that God is our rock, a place to stand firm and our rock to hide in the cleft.
The familiarity of God is my rock, faded away by experiencing God the Rock in Jim’s life and after 5 treatments last week Jim is upbeat and dancing in the kitchen. God my Rock no longer familiar but fresh and unclogged.
Today, I take a familiar name of God, a name we take for granted and I will try to hit the refresh button, in fact we may need to reboot altogether on this name.
When it comes to God, familiarity can be a scourge, we can have the menace of hearing about God too often, it can be a bane or a curse causing us to take YHWH for granted.
-but here is the difference between familiarity with people and familiarity with God, people have weaknesses, frailties and bad temperaments - GOD DOESN’T -there is nothing in God or about God to lead you to have contempt for God. Absolutely nothing bad, just GOOD
The familiar name of God is this: YHWH YISHI (Yee^ she)
God my Salvation
Salvation means Heaven not hell, heaven where God is -that’s my home
Salvation means all of God’s promises are for His people
The promises are mine -all of them
Salvation means all of God is for all His people -all of God is for me
God is my strength, my refuge, my rock, my redeemer, God cares for me, God guides me, God’s goodness rest upon me all days
-now salvation can come in different forms ie: salvation from the tsunami waters as I was able to get higher ground (this is a physical salvation)
-because the definition of salvation is preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss
I think the main Biblical view of ‘God my salvation’ is spiritual salvation whereby we are delivered from our sins, not ruined or suffering loss but gaining forgiveness, Heaven and eternal safety with our God. YHWH YISHI
God my Salvation has certainly saved people physically from harm and loss
-the case with Moses, the Israelites and the ensuing Egyptian army
Exodus 14:13And Moses said unto the people, Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever.
-the waters parted, they walked through, the waters closed upon the Egyptians and salvation had come.
-I have often prayed for physical salvation, Marilyn and I pray each day that God would keep us safe, that we would have safety on the roads and that God would keep our families from harm and protect us from the evil one. These are all requests to God for physical salvation.
-I dare say if we could see all the times God protected us from harm, hurt, pain and evil we would fall down on our knees with thankfulness to our Salvation God YHWH Yee^ she
God my Salvation
Isaiah prayed for physical salvation when he was experiencing physical distress.
Isaiah 33:2
Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
YHWH Yee^ she God is the Source of your Salvation
Psalm 62 Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.
Psalm 62:7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”
Revelation 7:10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
YHWH Yee^ she Christ is the means of Salvation
Acts 4:12
Salvation is found in no one else (Christ alone and Christ only), for there is no other name (Jesus) under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
1 Thessalonians 5:9
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 6:2
For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
-Christ is the means or the way to salvation and the operative word in 2Cor 6:2 is NOW -now is the day of salvation. Decision time is NOW, not tomorrow, there is no guarantee of tomorrow, no guarantee of another chance
if God is convicting you to make God MY Salvation then now is for you
Confess your sin and ask God, through Christ’s death for you, to save you, to be God my Salvation -and it will be so. YHWH Yishi (if you made that decision, please tell me after the service)
YHWH Yee^ she Renew the thrill of Salvation -unclog the drain
-before the earth was created God planned your salvation, He loved you, and wanted you to be with Him forever. You, yes you a sinner by nature, unworthy as you are, unable to acquire salvation on your own, God was determined to give you salvation, full and free.
-when we know what we are and when we see what God has done for us our response is to sing and rejoice.
1 Chronicles 16:23
Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.
Psalm 13:5
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
Psalm 35:9
Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in his salvation.
David was going through a time of depression and guilt because of his affair with Bathsheba and he writes Psalm 51 asking for forgiveness and in verse 12 he writes of salvation’s joy
‘Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit’
YHWH Yee^ she Salvation has come, is happening today & is coming
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In 1959 I asked for forgiveness of my sins and asked Jesus to save me
Salvation came to me that day.
Luke 19 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” (confession of sin)
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house,
salvation has come
-salvation is happening today, when I’ve done something wrong & asked God for forgiveness, God forgives and the on-going work of salvation continues
-please don’t think you don’t need salvation everyday
-we do and God does -daily
Isaiah 30:15
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance (like Zacchaeus) and rest (trust in Christ) is your salvation,
-Salvation is coming
Hebrews 9:28 …so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
-final salvation is coming YHWH Yee^ she salvation is coming
And when it has come and we’re in heaven we will say with all God’s people what John wrote of:
Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah.
Salvation is a process, I was saved in 1959, -PAST,
I am being saved -PRESENT
and I will be saved -FUTURE -heaven
Nothing in this world or in the future can make God release His grip of Salvation on me. He holds me tight, and He will never let me go
John 10:28-29
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
My Salvation is secure because God won’t let go, God is my salvation
Psalm 27 -The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear?
Fear Nobody, fear nothing God is your salvation
Isaiah 51:6
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die ... But my salvation will last forever,
Revelation 19:1 last reference to salvation in the Bible
After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
YHWH (Ya^ way) The God who is, who exists, who lives and who can be known. And God can be known by you, personally, intimately and deeply. And becoming more familiar with God does not lead to contempt but rather more praise to God, more love of God and more thankfulness of God.
YHWH Yishi this knowable God, this God you can experience is God my Salvation, is God who is always my Salvation.
-if you have never taken/received God as your Salvation -do so now
-if God is your Salvation then may salvation’s joy overwhelm you today as you experience God.
February 5, 2023
