An Introduction to God (The Names of God) Part 14: Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts

An Introduction to God the Names of God, part 14, presents Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts: the commander of every army in heaven and on earth, from angels to stars to ravens. The pastor teaches that knowing God by this name moves believers off the defensive and into faith, because the One who leads them commands everything that exists. This message follows An Introduction to God (The Names of God) #13: Jehovah Shammah, The Lord Is There.

Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps you can take this week.

Sermon at a Glance

This message was posted at NTC Ministries on February 27, 2024, as part 14 of the series An Introduction to God. It runs about 69 minutes and ends with communion and a blessing. The pastor opens by saying that every time he teaches the names of God, the Word becomes more alive to him, because nobody in the body of Christ ever knows it all.

The name in focus is Jehovah Sabaoth, translated in many Bibles as the Lord of hosts. The pastor shows from Scripture that God’s hosts include stars, angels, animals and believers, and that this General never leaves His people on their own.

An Introduction to God the Names of God: More Than a Label

The pastor starts with a warning against what he calls phariseeism: criticizing and ridiculing any teaching that goes beyond what a person already knows. He points instead to the Bereans, who heard new things from the apostles and searched the Scriptures to see whether they were so (Acts 17:11). If he only taught what people already knew, he says, nobody would grow.

That is why he calls the series an introduction to God rather than simply the names of God. A list of names can feel clinical. A good introduction is different. Instead of “this is Jim,” you hear that Jim has been a mechanic for forty years and lives down the street. Now you can actually get to know him. Every name in the Bible carries that kind of depth.

He adds a word to parents: name your children for what you believe them to be, and tell them what their name means. At child dedications, he notes, the church uses a child’s name to prophesy over his or her future.

When Adam sinned he died, which the pastor defines as separation from God, and the Lord had to begin introducing Himself to mankind again. The redemptive names of God each reveal part of our deliverance from a corrupted world. Knowing them brings freedom and faith, because where sin abounds, grace abounds much more (Romans 5:20), and though darkness covers the earth, God’s people arise and shine (Isaiah 60:1–2).

Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts

In the ancient world, each false god belonged to a region. Ra was the god of Egypt, Baal the god of the Phoenicians, Marduk the god of Babylon. Jehovah Sabaoth is different. He is not the god of one territory; He is over everything. There may be many so-called gods and lords, the pastor says, but there is only one living God, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

To picture what this means for believers, he describes the Green Berets of the Vietnam War, an elite force trained in hand-to-hand combat. Their beret told everyone who they were. Believers, he says, wear a crown too, and it is righteousness. That crown should cause us to see who Jehovah Sabaoth is and let the elite team we belong to be unleashed in the world.

Born-again believers are released from living by their five physical senses. In Christ we receive His righteousness and the ability to see through His eyes into the spiritual realm. Christians who stay bound to their senses, he warns, are easily wounded, fearful and quick to hide. We need to see General Jesus, whom he calls a seven-star general above all authority.

The first passage he reads is Isaiah 1:24: “Therefore the Lord says, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, ‘Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, and take vengeance on My enemies.'” Knowing the Lord of hosts, he says, gives us a real desire to see people born again, because He will deal with every enemy, and those who are not with Jesus are against Him (Matthew 12:30).

God does not send anyone to hell; it is each person’s choice. That is why the Bible asks how people can believe unless someone is sent to tell them (Romans 10:14–15), and why he who wins souls is wise (Proverbs 11:30).

The pastor then explains the Hebrew word behind Sabaoth, and his teaching reshapes how believers think about spiritual warfare. The table below follows his explanation.

He says he is not a fan of Christians who live on the defensive, always talking about who is against them. Jesus said to occupy until He comes (Luke 19:13), which means to do business, make things grow and multiply. Real spiritual warfare is overcoming evil with good (Romans 12:21): blessing, helping, encouraging and increasing.

Lord of the Stars: Deborah, Hezekiah and Joshua

Most people think only of angels when they hear “Lord of hosts,” but the pastor says there are many kinds of hosts, ranks and divisions. Genesis 2:1 says, “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.” If God created all the hosts of heaven and earth, He is Lord over all of them.

He counts the number of the stars and calls them all by name (Psalm 147:4–5). The pastor describes how new space telescopes keep revealing galaxies no one had seen before, and says Jesus is the General of all of it. Nothing out there is idle. God set the sun, moon and stars for signs, seasons, days and years (Genesis 1:14), like the cogs of a great clock working on our behalf.

His first example is Deborah in Judges 4. Israel was oppressed by Sisera, whose 900 iron chariots were the most feared army of the day. Deborah, a judge in Israel, told Barak that the Lord would give him victory. Barak would only go if she went with him, so she agreed, and told him the honor would go to a woman.

Israel gathered on Mount Tabor with no chariots and little weaponry, facing Sisera across the dry Kishon riverbed. Then the Lord of hosts moved. Deborah’s song says the heavens poured and the mountains gushed (Judges 5:4–5), and “the stars from their courses fought against Sisera. The torrent of Kishon swept them away” (Judges 5:20–21). The chariots bogged down and the army was destroyed.

The pastor loves the end of verse 21: “O my soul, march on in strength!” Whatever the Lord of hosts has to command to give His people victory, He will do it, no matter how insane things get in the world.

He used the heavens for one man too. In 2 Kings 20:1–11, Isaiah told the sick King Hezekiah to set his house in order, for he would die. Hezekiah turned to the wall, wept and prayed, reminding the Lord that he had walked before Him in truth with a loyal heart. Before Isaiah had left the courtyard, God sent him back to promise fifteen more years.

When Hezekiah asked for a sign, he chose for the shadow on the sundial to go backward ten degrees. The pastor believes Hezekiah remembered Joshua, who in the middle of a battle asked the Lord to make the sun stand still over Gibeon and the moon over the Valley of Aijalon until Israel had won (Joshua 10:12–13). Don’t limit Him, the pastor says. If He has to move the sun, moon and stars for you, He will.

Commander of the Armies of Angels

Jehovah Sabaoth also commands the angels. Psalm 103:20–21 describes angels who do His word and hosts who serve Him and do His pleasure. Because angels respond to God’s word, the pastor says, believers need to know the Word and declare it, rather than repeating sayings that merely sound spiritual.

One such saying is that God is in control. The pastor says God is in command, not in control. If He controlled everything, everyone would be saved, because He desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). He compares it to his own home: he is in charge, yet his children still make their own decisions.

So when tragedy strikes, it is not because God wanted it. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy; Jesus came to give abundant life (John 10:10). General Jesus needs us to stand in faith, because without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). Otherwise, he jokes, many Christians’ angels are playing cribbage instead of advancing the kingdom.

When Peter cut off the servant’s ear in Gethsemane, Jesus said He could pray to His Father and receive more than twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:52–53). By the pastor’s count that is at least 96,000 angels, and as He is, so are we in this world. These are not chubby babies from paintings but massive, mighty warriors. In one night a single angel struck 185,000 enemy soldiers (2 Kings 19:35).

He then tells how the king of Syria tried to capture Elisha, who kept warning Israel’s king about every ambush. Syria’s army surrounded the town, and Elisha’s servant panicked. Elisha prayed for his eyes to be opened, and the servant saw the mountains full of horses and chariots of fire (2 Kings 6:15–17).

The lesson: if you must see an angel physically before you believe it is there, you are living by your five senses. Just as no Christian needs to pray “Lord, be with me today,” since He has promised never to leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), angels are always present. Hebrews 1:14 calls all of them ministering spirits sent to serve the heirs of salvation.

The pastor compares believers to a messenger carrying a directive from a president. The messenger holds the same authority as the one who sent him, and doors open for him. That is us with General Jesus: we carry His message, so it is not His will that we fail. “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7), and to fear Him means to reverence and deeply love Him.

Lions, Ravens and Every Creature

Daniel proved this when he was thrown into the lions’ den. The pastor notes that nothing negative is recorded about Daniel; his enemies had to use his devotion to God against him. When the king’s decree banned prayer, Daniel opened his windows and prayed as he always had, and was thrown to the lions.

At dawn the king hurried to the den, and Daniel answered that his God had sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths (Daniel 6:19–23). No wound was found on him because he trusted his God. The accusers were then thrown into the den themselves (Daniel 6:24), and the king decreed that everyone must reverence the God of Daniel, the living God who rescues, saves and works wonders (Daniel 6:26–27).

The Lord of hosts commands animals too. The pastor laughs about the June bugs that once attacked him in Michigan after he swatted at them with a newspaper; he prayed, and the next night they were gone. More seriously, it was God, not Noah whistling, who brought the animals to the ark, the clean ones by sevens (Genesis 7:2–3).

During the drought under Ahab and Jezebel, God sent Elijah to the one brook that still had a little water and commanded ravens to bring him meat and bread every day (1 Kings 17:4–6). In a famine, the birds did not eat it themselves; they carried it to the prophet.

Jehovah Sabaoth does not command a bedraggled, forlorn group, the pastor says. His hosts display His power, and He empowers each one, the ravens, the angels, the stars and you. He does not hand you an assignment and walk away; He promises to do whatever it takes for you to fulfill it.

He closes the teaching with three passages. Psalm 118:15–17: the right hand of the Lord does valiantly; I shall not die, but live. 2 Corinthians 2:14: thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ. And Psalm 46:7: “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

At communion, he reminds the church that healing and provision are found in the body and blood of the Lord. Through the knowledge of Jesus, God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, and through His great and precious promises we partake of His nature (2 Peter 1:2–4). God changes us from the inside out as we say, “Come on in, Jesus, and change me.”

Living Under the Lord of Hosts

Here are practical steps drawn from this message on Jehovah Sabaoth:

• Get off the defensive. Instead of rehearsing who is against you, look for ways to bless, help, encourage and grow something for God this week.
• Speak the Word, not sayings. Angels respond to God’s word, so declare His promises rather than phrases like “God must have wanted that.”
• Thank God for His angels. When you drive or go about your day, acknowledge that ministering spirits are sent to serve you.
• Carry your directive boldly. Treat what God has asked of you like a message from the King; expect doors to open.
• Stop praying for God to show up. He has promised never to leave you, so thank Him that He is already there.
• Keep studying. Like the Bereans, search the Scriptures and stay open to growing in revelation.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:00 Never a know-it-all: the Bereans grew in revelation
• 2:18 Why this series is called an introduction to God
• 5:21 Redemptive names after the fall
• 7:35 Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts
• 8:52 The Green Berets and the crown of righteousness
• 12:28 General Jesus and Isaiah 1:24
• 14:43 To wage war and render service
• 15:53 Occupy till I come: living on the offensive
• 18:24 Genesis 2:1: all the host of them
• 21:59 Deborah, Barak and Sisera’s iron chariots
• 28:11 The stars fought against Sisera: Judges 5
• 29:19 Hezekiah’s fifteen more years
• 31:33 Joshua’s long day and the sundial of Ahaz
• 34:56 Commander of the armies of angels
• 36:12 God is in command, not in control
• 39:54 Twelve legions of angels
• 42:21 Elisha’s servant sees the fiery chariots
• 45:50 Hebrews 1:14: all angels sent to serve
• 47:13 Messengers who carry the King’s authority
• 51:56 Daniel in the lions’ den
• 56:57 Noah’s animals and Elijah’s ravens
• 1:00:46 The Lord of hosts is with us: Psalm 46
• 1:03:17 Communion and the promises of 2 Peter 1

An Introduction to God Series

This message is part of a teaching series on the names of God at NTC Ministries. Start from the beginning or continue where this one leaves off:

• First message: An Introduction to God: The Names of God, Part 1 — Elohim, the Creator Who Makes Covenant
• Previous: An Introduction to God (The Names of God) #13: Jehovah Shammah, The Lord Is There
• You are here: An Introduction to God (The Names of God) Part 14: Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts
• Next: An Introduction to God (The Names of God) Part 15: Jehovah Gamola, the Lord of Recompense

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Lord of hosts only about angels?

No. The pastor says most people think only of angel armies, but Scripture shows many kinds of hosts under God’s command. Genesis 2:1 speaks of all the host of heaven and earth, so the name covers stars, planets and every created thing. In this message he gives examples of God commanding the stars against Sisera, lions in Daniel’s den, ravens for Elijah and the animals that came to Noah’s ark.

How should I name my children, according to this message?

The pastor encourages parents to pray and ask the Lord what they believe their child will become, then choose a name that carries that meaning. He says children should hear often what their name means, because Bible names were never chosen just for popularity or novelty. At NTC Ministries, he notes, child dedications include prophesying over the child’s future, using the child’s name to speak into his or her life.

Why does the pastor connect this name with communion?

He calls it an incredible series in which to share communion, because Jesus said to do it in remembrance of Him, and remembering who He is builds faith. He teaches that healing and provision are found in His body and blood, and that God, who did not withhold His own Son, will freely give us all good things. Communion becomes a moment to receive what the Lord of hosts has provided.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• Isaiah 1:24 — the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel
• Genesis 2:1 — all the host of them were finished
• Psalm 147:4–5 — He calls the stars by name
• Judges 5:20–21 — the stars fought against Sisera
• 2 Kings 20:1–11 — Hezekiah and the sundial
• Matthew 26:52–53 — twelve legions of angels
• 2 Kings 6:15–17 — horses and chariots of fire
• Hebrews 1:14 — ministering spirits sent to serve
• Daniel 6:19–23 — God shut the lions’ mouths
• Psalm 46:7 — the Lord of hosts is with us

How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.

Watch More Messages

If this message built your faith in the Lord of hosts, there are hundreds more teachings from NTC Ministries waiting for you. Browse the full sermon archive and keep getting to know God by His names.