Known | Jehovah Shammah | 9:00 | Pastor Chris Lowe, Executive Pastor

Jehovah Shammah—“The Lord is there”—names the God who meets exiles in their loss and believers in their ordinary rooms with the same promise: He is for His people, with His people, and, by the Spirit, in His people. Drawn from Ezekiel 48:35, the name arrives after the glory has departed the temple (Ezekiel 11), Jerusalem lies in ruins, and a generation has grown up in Babylon. Yet at the end of Ezekiel’s vision, a new city is measured and named for the returning Presence. That future hope breaks into the present in Jesus Christ. The Word becomes flesh; Emmanuel—God with us—steps into history, gathering in His own body the “infinite highness” of God and His “astonishing condescension.” The Lion is not left in Narnia; the Lord arrives in Bethlehem.

To honor this name, two truths must be held together. God is transcendent—infinitely above and beyond creation, the Most High who is over all—and God is immanent—truly present to creation, through all and in all. Rejecting both pantheism (God is the universe) and deism (God is distant), Scripture confesses the Lord who is “in heaven above and on the earth beneath” and “over all and through all and in all.” This is not abstraction; it is rescue. The God who seemed far from exiles is already planning their restoration. The God who seemed unreachable draws near in Christ to save sinners. And the God who seemed only beside us goes further—He indwells us.

In Christ, believers receive more than a new year; they receive a new life. Scripture piles up the graces of union with Christ: chosen before the foundation of the world, loved inseparably, redeemed and forgiven, justified with His righteousness, made new creation, adopted as sons and daughters. The Spirit’s indwelling makes Jehovah Shammah a present-tense reality that outlasts health scares, strained tables, and hard meetings. It also reframes resolutions: growth is not self-powered but Spirit-empowered. Looking ahead, Revelation 21 amplifies Ezekiel’s vision—God’s dwelling with humanity, every tear wiped, death no more. Until that day, the question rings out: not only “Is He for you?” and “Is He with you?” but “Is He in you?” The gospel calls for repentance and faith, because the Lord who came to be with us came to save us and to live in us. Over every uncertain step into 2026, the new name stands: Jehovah Shammah. The Lord is there.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Hold transcendence and nearness together. God is infinitely above creation and truly present to it. Lose either truth and you distort His holiness or His compassion. Scripture insists He is Most High and very near, the One who is over all, through all, and in all. This tension humbles the mind and steadies the heart. [26:28]
• 2. God moves toward the unfaithful first. Israel wept by foreign rivers, convinced they were finished—yet God was already planning restoration. In Christ, He engraved names on His hands and came while we were still sinners. Assurance is not built on our movement toward Him but on His unchanging movement toward us. [33:05]
• 3. Emmanuel embodies “The Lord is There.” Ezekiel’s promised Presence returns in a Person. The glory that once filled a room now fills a womb; the Infinite takes on swaddling cloths. The incarnation is God’s decisive answer to distance: He came not to impress but to save. [37:57]
• 4. Union with Christ reshapes identity. Believers are not merely forgiven; they are joined to Jesus. What is true of Him becomes determinative for them—crucified with Him, raised with Him, secured in Him. This union reframes daily life from self-effort to Spirit-empowered participation. [42:10]
• 5. Walk into 2026 with indwelling courage. Unknown rooms are not empty; they are inhabited by the God who is with you and in you. His presence stabilizes the anxious, emboldens the weary, and dignifies the ordinary. Resolve less to prove yourself and more to respond to His nearness. [40:15]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [18:51] - Narnia and “know me by another name”
• [22:02] - Big idea: For us, with us, in us
• [24:04] - God’s transcendence and our limits
• [26:28] - Most High and truly near
• [28:57] - Guardrails: Not pantheism or deism
• [30:51] - Exiles in Babylon and God’s pursuit
• [33:05] - Passionately for us in Christ
• [35:50] - Glory departs, promise of return
• [37:57] - Emmanuel: The Lord is there
• [40:15] - With us in every room
• [42:10] - Permanently in us: union with Christ
• [44:41] - Future hope: God dwelling with man
• [47:33] - Invitation to be born again
• [50:31] - Public confession and prayer

1. In Ezekiel’s vision, what is being measured and then named at the end, and what does that name declare about the future of God’s people? “He begins to measure a brand new temple in a new city … and then comes that final sentence … It shall be called The Lord is there.” [35:50]
2. Earlier in the story, which direction did the glory of the Lord move when it departed the temple, and what did that signal for Judah? (See Ezekiel 11:23 referenced: “stood on the mountain east of it.”) [35:50]
3. What two truths about God’s nature were held together throughout: His “farness” and His “nearness”? Name the terms used and how they were described. “God is both far and near.” [26:28]
4. What “guardrails” were given to avoid distorting God’s presence—what wrong views were named and why are they wrong? “Not pantheism or deism.” [28:57]

1. Why would God reveal the name “The Lord is there” to a people in exile, right after the devastating departure of His glory? What does this timing teach about His heart toward the unfaithful? “While they’re in the mess of their own sin, God is passionately planning their future.” [30:51]
2. If God is both “Most High” and “very near,” how should that shape the way a believer prays and worships—both humbled and confident at the same time? “He is over all … and in all.” [26:28]
3. The incarnation brings transcendence and nearness together. What does Emmanuel—God with us—reveal about God’s character and intentions toward sinners? “Infinite highness and astonishing condescension.” [37:57]
4. Union with Christ means believers are in Him and He is in them. If what is true of Jesus becomes determinative for believers, how should that reframe identity beyond merely “forgiven” to “new creation” and “adopted”? “What is true of Jesus is also true of believers.” [42:10]

1. Think about one “room” you may walk into soon (a medical appointment, a tense family table, a hard meeting). How will you enter that room differently if you take seriously that “He’s personally with you in every single one of those”? What prayer or action will mark that trust? [40:15]
2. Where do you most feel the accusation, “God is against you”? How will you answer with truth this week—perhaps by memorizing Isaiah 49:15–16 or Romans 5:8—so you can say, “He engraved my name … while I was still a sinner”? Share a concrete plan to fight that lie. [33:05]
3. Consider one resolution or growth area for the new year. How can you rewrite it from self-powered to Spirit-empowered? For example, turn “I will prove myself at work” into “Lord, empower me to serve with Your strength and love.” “He is in you … empowering your resolutions.” [44:41]
4. In daily life, where do you drift toward pantheism (treating God as a vague ‘everything’) or deism (acting like He’s far and uninvolved)? Name a situation and a Scripture you will use (Deut. 4:39; Eph. 4:6) to correct that drift. [28:57]
5. Pick one “union with Christ” truth to carry this week (forgiven, justified, adopted, new creation). How will that specific truth change the way you face a temptation or fear on a particular day and time? “We are in Him and He is in us.” [42:10]
6. The key question is not only “Is He for you?” or “with you?” but “Is He in you?” If you are unsure, what step do you need to take—repentance, faith, a conversation, or prayer with a trusted friend—so this becomes settled? [47:33]