THE FIRST STEP
It is an exciting event to see a child take its first step. This signifies that the infant is no longer a crawling thing, but is able to rise off of the floor and stand erect. The next great event goes unnoticed because it is a mental one, and not a physical one. This is when an individual is no longer a mentally crawling thing, but is able to rise from childishness to adulthood. Sadly, most 2 legged creatures, called mankind, do the physical event but never the mental one. They drag along without any thought as to who they are, what is life, is there an afterlife, is there a God, and if so who is he?
Man seems to have an innate belief in the existence of God, and this is demonstrated by the multitude of world religions, and they all have had a named God from Ashtoreth to Zeus. However, this is not true for today’s Christianity which supposedly has its roots in the Bible, but this is far from the truth. For, if the Bible was its foundation, then today’s Christians would or should know what it says. Go into any Christian church, and ask the people a simple question, “Who is your God?”, and after giving you a strange look they will respond “God”. Now ask them “What is the name of your God?”, and they will again say “God” as if you did not understand the first time. These people, ignorant of the Bible, worship a generic no-name god.
So what is the name of the God of the Bible? It is first
given in Genesis 2:4. “These are the generations of the heavens and of the
earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and
the heavens.” But where is the name in this verse? Remember that the
scripture quoted is in English, and is a translation from another language.
Looking at the original Hebrew reveals the true name of God, and it is not a
generic term “the LORD God”, but is 
YAHWAH (the LORD) 
ELOHEEM (God). Hundreds and hundreds of times “YAHWAH ELOHEEM” is mistranslated in the King
James Version “the LORD God”.
What kind of results would you have if you sent a letter addressed “man”, or if you wanted the operator to give you the phone number of “man”? Generic will NEVER work! The name YAHWAH ELOHEEM is very specific, just like any person’s name. For example, the name Dewey Tucker not only reveals the family, Tucker, but also the individual in that family, Dewey. So we know that ELOHEEM is the family, and that YAHWAH is the individual in that family. Yes, the God in the Bible is YAHWAH and He is a member of the ELOHEEM family.
People who do not know who their God is do not know who they are, and have no origin or identity. A map is no good unless you know the point of origin. No course can be plotted, and no destination can be achieved. Such is Christianity today.
Throughout the New Testament the name of God is referenced. Jesus told the people “I am come in My Father's name” (John 5:43), “the works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me” (John 10:25), and “Father, glorify Thy name.” (John 12:28) In Jesus’ prayer in John 17, He says in verse 6, “I have manifested Thy name”, verse 11 says “Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me”, verse 12 says “I kept them in Thy name”, and verse 26 concludes “And I have declared unto them Thy name”. The people in Jesus’ day knew the name of their God from what we call the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures, which is recorded in the New Testament in Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:10, Luke 19:38, and John 12:13.
Like them, we too are to know and to use the NAME of our God. Notice what Jesus says in Matthew 6:9. “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.” The very first thing we pray for is that our Father’s name, YAHWAH, be HALLOWED. The awesome power of the name YAHWAH is demonstrated when the shepherd David went out to meet the giant Goliath in battle. “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD (YAHWAH) of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD (YAHWAH) deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD (YAHWAH) saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S (YAHWAH’S), and He will give you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:45-47) It is no wonder King David said in Psalms 20:5 “We will rejoice in Thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD (YAHWAH) fulfil all thy petitions.” David’s key is given us in Psalms 124:8. “Our help is in the name of the LORD (YAHWAH), who made heaven and earth.” It is only through the proclamation of the name of our God YAHWAH that we have power, and knowing the name of our Father YAHWAH is THE FIRST STEP.