The Incredible Awe-Inspiring Names of God | Pastor Tim Notz | 6/14/2026

Jun 14, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Immediate Obedience on the Mountain of Testing

Abraham didn’t debate or delay when God called him to sacrifice Isaac. He rose early, gathered wood, and walked toward the unknown. Immediate obedience isn’t about understanding the plan but trusting the Planner. Tests from God often defy human logic, yet they reveal the depth of our surrender. Every step Abraham took echoed a faith refined by decades of waiting and wrestling. True obedience moves before the provision appears. [14:23]

Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split wood for the burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. (Genesis 22:3-4, NIV)

Reflection: Where is God asking you to obey even when the outcome seems uncertain? How might your “ram moment” depend on taking the first step without hesitation?

Day 2: Provision in the Thicket of Surrender

The knife was raised, the altar prepared—but God’s provision waited in the thicket. Jehovah Jireh doesn’t just meet needs; He rewrites endings. Abraham’s willingness to surrender what he loved most unlocked divine intervention. The ram’s horns caught in brambles symbolize how God’s solutions often hide in plain sight, timed to our total surrender. Provision follows obedience, not the other way around. [40:46]

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. To this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” (Genesis 22:13-14, NIV)

Reflection: What “Isaac” are you gripping tightly that God might be asking you to release? How could surrender create space for His unexpected provision?

Day 3: Knowing God Through the Fire of Testing

God’s tests aren’t exams—they’re relational invitations. When He said, “Now I know you fear Me,” He wasn’t gathering data but savoring Abraham’s trust. Tests let God experience our faith in real time, like a parent cherishing a child’s first steps. Every trial is a chance to deepen intimacy, proving His character isn’t just a doctrine but a lived reality. [28:29]

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna… to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, NIV)

Reflection: How has a recent trial revealed God’s nearness in ways theory never could? What might He be longing to “experience” with you right now?

Day 4: Faith That Sees Beyond the Knife

Abraham believed God could resurrect Isaac because he’d already seen Him breathe life into barrenness. Faith isn’t blind optimism—it’s trust forged in God’s track record. When we fixate on the knife, we miss the resurrection power behind it. Every impossibility is a stage for Jehovah Jireh to declare, “I am still your Provider.” [21:50]

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead. (Hebrews 11:17-19, NIV)

Reflection: What “dead” situation in your life needs resurrection faith? How has God’s past faithfulness equipped you to trust Him now?

Day 5: Jehovah Jireh in the Checkbook and Crisis

The same God who provided a ram on Moriah cares about your rent, relationships, and restless nights. Jehovah Jireh isn’t a distant miracle-worker but a present Father. Provision isn’t always dramatic—sometimes it’s daily bread, a timely word, or a deer avoided. Trust grows when we see His hand in the mundane as much as the miraculous. [26:29]

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19, NIV)

Reflection: Where are you tempted to dismiss “small” provisions as coincidence? How might acknowledging daily miracles strengthen your trust in greater ones?

Sermon Summary

Yahweh names himself “I AM” and settles the question of identity with self-existence, power, and presence. John’s garden scene shows that name is not a label but power, as “I am” drops a mob to the ground. The names that flow from “I AM” unwrap his character for finite hearts: Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Shalom, and today, Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides. The church’s fear and hurry often trace back to not knowing that character. God keeps saying, humble the heart and draw close. Nearness breeds trust. Distance breeds panic. God keeps repeating, “Trust me.”

Genesis 22 sets Jehovah Jireh in motion. God commands Abraham to offer Isaac, the promised son. The command collides with “You shall not murder” and with the promise itself. Abraham is no spotless hero; he lied about Sarah and hurried God with Hagar. But grace has trained him. “Early the next morning” marks immediate obedience. Three days later, faith speaks: “We will worship and then we will come back.” Hebrews says he reasoned God could raise the dead. Faith does not erase the knife; faith knows the Promiser keeps promises, even through death.

The test is not information for God. “Now I know” in Hebrew carries the weight of experienced knowing. God knows all facts, but he seeks fellowship in the facts, the shared experience of trust. Prayer, then, becomes more than requests; it becomes the moment God and child walk something out together. That is why the question inside a test is not, “When will this end,” but, “What do you want me to learn with you.”

Then the thicket rustles. A ram stands caught by its horns. Provision did not suddenly blink into existence; provision had been coming up the mountain as obedience walked up the other side. Timing, people, wood, knife, heart, and ram converge. Abraham names the place, “The Lord will provide.” The line becomes a banner for sons and daughters who keep trying to fix life with an Ishmael. Jehovah Jireh is not a sugar daddy; he is a Father who gives the best thing at the best time in the best way. He has not changed. The same God who met Abraham on Moriah meets the church in boardrooms, kitchens, clinics, and checkout lines, saying again, “Trust me.”

Key Takeaways

1. Know the Name, know His heart. Knowing God as “I AM” steadies the soul when circumstances scream scarcity. The name is not abstract; it is character on display, the One who still drops pride and fear with a word. The names of God are windows into his ways so trust can rest on who he is, not on how things look. Confidence grows where God’s character is known. [04:40]
2. Obedience moves before understanding arrives. Abraham rose early and moved in full obedience while the command still made no sense. Truth often unfolds on the road, not in the armchair. God meets faith in motion, not anxiety in neutral. Immediate, exact obedience becomes the runway where provision lands. [14:51]
3. Faith says, we will come back. Abraham’s confession fixed the horizon: both would return, even if resurrection had to happen. Real faith does not deny the knife; it banks on the Promiser’s integrity. Where God has spoken, the believer can locate hope beyond visible means. Words align the heart with the God of the impossible. [16:28]
4. Tests become shared experience with God. “Now I know” signals experienced knowing, not data collection. God invites his people into events where trust is practiced, not just professed, so that fellowship deepens inside the fire. Prayer becomes participation, not performance, as Father and child navigate the moment together. Intimacy grows where truth is walked, not only stated. [31:28]
5. Provision climbs the other side. The ram was already on the way while Abraham climbed in obedience. What looks linear from ground level is a tapestry of timings, people, and places that God weaves for good. Worry shrinks when the heart yields the problem and receives God’s timing as kindness. Jehovah Jireh provides what is best, not merely what is next. [39:24]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:28] - Baptisms available today
[01:09] - Series launch on the names of God
[01:54] - “I AM” from the burning bush
[02:07] - Yahweh and Jehovah explained
[03:19] - The power of “I am” in John 18
[04:03] - What “I AM” means for life
[05:18] - Introducing Jehovah Jireh
[06:03] - Knowing God’s character builds trust
[07:50] - Turning to Genesis 22
[08:45] - The shocking test of Isaac
[11:11] - Ishmael and the danger of hurrying God
[14:23] - Immediate obedience and the three-day walk
[16:07] - “We will come back” faith
[21:27] - Hebrews 11 and resurrection reasoning
[28:29] - Why God tests his people
[31:28] - “Now I know” as experienced knowing
[35:41] - Prayer as shared experience with God
[37:34] - Knife raised and the voice from heaven
[38:31] - The ram appears and provision meets obedience
[40:46] - Naming the place Jehovah Jireh
[42:37] - He does not change
[43:08] - Prayer for faith and application

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Genesis 22:1-14 (ESV)
1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” [...] 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Observation questions

What specific actions did Abraham take “early the next morning” in Genesis 22:3, and what does this reveal about his posture toward God’s command?
How does Abraham respond to Isaac’s question about the missing sacrificial lamb in Genesis 22:7-8? What phrase does he repeat?
In the sermon, what does the phrase “Now I know” (Genesis 22:12) imply about God’s purpose in testing Abraham? [31:28]
What detail about the ram in Genesis 22:13 highlights God’s intentional timing and provision?

Interpretation questions

Why might God have tested Abraham with a command that seemed to contradict His earlier promise (Genesis 12:1-3) and the moral law (“You shall not murder”)?
The sermon says, “Provision had been coming up the mountain as obedience walked up the other side.” How does this imagery connect God’s faithfulness to human obedience? [39:24]
Hebrews 11:19 says Abraham “reasoned that God could raise the dead.” How does this perspective reframe what it means to trust God’s character in impossible situations?
What does it mean that God’s “knowing” (Genesis 22:12) involves shared experience rather than mere information? How does this redefine prayer and trials? [28:29]

Application questions

Where in your life are you currently facing a “test” that feels confusing or contradictory to God’s promises? How might Abraham’s “early the next morning” obedience challenge your response?
The sermon warns against “making an Ishmael” by rushing ahead of God’s timing. What is one area where you’ve been tempted to “fix” a problem yourself instead of waiting for God’s provision? [11:11]
Abraham declared, “We will worship and then we will come back” before seeing the ram. What specific situation do you need to speak faith over today, even when the “knife” is still in your hand?
How could shifting your focus from “When will this end?” to “What do You want me to learn with You?” change your perspective on a current struggle? [36:54]
The ram was already on the mountain while Abraham obeyed. What practical step can you take this week to actively trust God’s unseen provision in a delayed answer or unmet need?

Sermon Clips

35s

#WhenGodTests

“``I don't know about you, but when tests come, especially from God, they don't make a lot of sense. If they made sense, it wouldn't be much of a test, would it? God's tests don't make sense. To sacrifice your own son goes against several things. Number one, God said, thou shall not murder. You're telling me to murder my son. And you've made a promise to me. Why would you go against your own promise, God? Could have been very confusing. Could have been very difficult.”

36s

#TrustGodsTiming

“Listen, twenty five years later, God still kept the promise, but it was twenty five years later. Sometimes you and I get a little bit anxious about the timing. God's timing is always longer than ours, but he's faithful always. He is always faithful. I love it in second Timothy. It says that even when we're not faithful, God is faithful because he cannot deny himself. He can't deny who he is. He can't break his character. He is faithful. He will always be faithful. Always.”

38s

#ObedienceBringsProvision

“I would submit to you that the ram didn't just appear, but that the ram maybe had been already walking and and because because Abraham is in the zone here with his son and they're building things, that ram could have already been sitting over there walking around and somehow he's looking for something in that bush and the way these ram's horns are made, he's now stuck at the exact moment that God calls out to Abraham. The exact moment, the more important thing, that Abraham stepped into full obedience with God. Suddenly, God provides.”

43s

#BelieveForProvision

“And and you think that God's not gonna be able to solve the problem in your life, that God's not gonna be able to fix the problem in your life, that it's never it just can't happen, it's just this, it's just that, and you're finding all the excuses to say it can't happen and God is waiting for you to believe fully in him because the moment you do, there's gonna be a ram. He's going to provide. He's gonna give you exactly can't say exactly. He's gonna give you what he knows best for you and best maybe for the people involved and best for those around you. He's gonna do it the best way, the way that he chooses because it's the best way for you.”

46s

#PrayerIsRelationship

“So God just doesn't want to be the ultimate giver of candy up in heaven. He's just like, Here, you get a car, you get a car, you get a car. And he wants the experience with us. When we come to him in prayer, I needed this. It is so much more than just come to me and pray. You need to ask me and I will give it. There's the experience. Think about it now. Now now every time you pray, wait a minute, this is this is an experience with God. There's there's intimacy about to happen. As you talk with God, now it becomes this experience, a relational experience with God.”

42s

#KnowGodByExperience

“Verse 12 again, it said, now I know that you fear God. This is God saying this. Now I know that you fear God. When you look up the word I know, it does mean I know. It means it just like that, just the way that you and I understand it. But there's there's some other things in there that we have to understand. The Hebrew word would be for I know. Now, you look that up, one of the explanations for it is to know by experience. To know by experience. Now, I know. So, I can learn. I can learn through experience.”

33s

#WaitDontRushGod

“I don't know if anybody know it, but if you've ever heard the word don't or or the phrase don't have an Ishmael, don't make an Ishmael, that's usually making a mistake. That's usually not waiting on God, but it's jumping ahead of him, getting in front of him, and fixing things in your own strength, in your own way. And can I tell you, it always makes a mess? It always makes a mess. We gotta wait for God. We gotta wait. Do you know and they probably made it longer because they pushed ahead.”

34s

#TestsRevealGrowth

“God does not test us because he doesn't know what we're gonna do. Come on. He knows your heart before you even say what's on your mind. The bible actually says that he knows what we're going to pray, what we have need of before we even ask him. He doesn't need to test you because he's not sure what you're going to do. The test is for you, but the test is also for God. Let me show you this. Now, there could be a lot of reasons for the test. I'm only gonna give you two. Number one is this, we learn we learn through experience.”

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The Incredible Awe-Inspiring Names of God | Pastor Tim Notz | 6/14/2026

Devotional

Day 1: Immediate Obedience on the Mountain of Testing

Day 2: Provision in the Thicket of Surrender

Day 3: Knowing God Through the Fire of Testing

Day 4: Faith That Sees Beyond the Knife

Day 5: Jehovah Jireh in the Checkbook and Crisis

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

The Incredible Awe-Inspiring Names of God | Pastor Tim Notz | 6/14/2026

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