Elohim Part 2

Let’s continue with God’s name, Elohim. We know that God created the universe and all that is in it. The most intricate, beautiful, and loved creation of God is you.  We were not only created by God, we were created in the image of God ( Genesis 1:26-27). We have the characteristics of God such as: intellect, reasoning, ability to hear, see, and speak and a personality. God created man to have dominion (rule) over the earth, to be His representative on earth, and to bring God glory ( acknowledge His greatness, give Him honor, and worship Him ).  Psalm 19:1 states “the heavens declare the glory of God.” If the rest of creation is glorifying (honoring, acknowledging, and worshiping) God, how much more should we, who are made in His image, glorify Him!

We are not here by accident. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own].”  The psalmist, David, spoke of this in Psalm 139: 13,15. “For You formed my innermost parts; You knit me ( together) in my mother’s womb, 15 my frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret, and intricately and skillfully formed.”  

We are created by God.

God, Elohim, the Creator of the universe not only created you, He desires to have a relationship with you. Scripture after scripture in God’s Word that expresses His love for us.

Jeremiah 31:3 “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.”

Isaiah 30:18 “Therefore the Lord waits [expectantly] and longs to be gracious to you, and He waits on high to have compassion on you. The New Living Translation says “So the Lord must wait for you to come to him  so he can show you his love and compassion.”

Stop and think about that statement for a moment.

God, the Creator of the universe, desires and longs to have a relationship with you. He loves us before we are born and He loves us when we are at our worst.

Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much,5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.”

The fact that the Creator of the universe loves and desires a relationship with each of us is overwhelming to me.  I am in awe of the magnitude of God’s love for us.

I encourage you to pray Ephesians 3:19 over yourself.  By that I mean substitute your name (or “I”) in the blanks “ [that ____ may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that ____ may be filled up [throughout my being] to all the fullness of God [so that ____ may have the richest experience of God’s presence in my life, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].”

 

ELOHIM

Today we’re going to proceed with another name of God, Elohim.  This is the first name of God in the bible. The first part of the name, El, describes God’s greatness, glory, power, might and sovereignty. Elohim brings us a new dimension to the power of God. He becomes the God Who creates. Total power and complete creativity make up the name Elohim.   Genesis 1:1-3 states, “in the beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and created) the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.”

What a picture this scripture paints for us! God took nothing and created everything by speaking a word. I cannot fathom the power that came forth from God. Not only are we in awe of the greatness of His power, but His creativity is really beyond our comprehension. Every living creature and every plant has been uniquely created. Each one is distinct in appearance, function, and purpose. All are intricately entwined together in perfect balance.

It’s impossible to look at nature and not see the beauty of God’s creation.Try closing your eyes for a moment and think of the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. Maybe it’s a sunrise or a sunset, a beautiful ocean, a flower or a mountain. Whatever you have thought of, we, as man, can only attempt to duplicate the beauty of this scene, but God actually created it from nothing.  I’ve asked myself,  “How can this be?” The only answer is because God is our mighty, all powerful Creator.  Hebrews 11:3 tells us, “By faith—by believing God—we know that the world and the stars—in fact, all things—were made at God’s command; and that they were all made from things that can’t be seen.”

Another distinction about the name Elohim is that it is plural. Elohim describes the divine Trinity of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three were involved in the creation process. I read this analogy once: God is the Architect, Jesus is the Builder, and Holy Spirit is He Who breathes the life of God into the structure.  Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 1:2-3, John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16.

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish”. The Living bible says “where there is ignorance of God...” Learning God’s name and His character will bring us to a place of life and intimacy with God.

I pray that we will have revelation and be in awe of Elohim, the mighty Creator.

Revelation 4:11  “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and dominion, for You created all things; by Your will they were [brought into being] and were created.”

EL ELYON PART 3

Today we’re going to continue with God’s name, El Elyon. During Wednesday night’s message at church, Apostle Byrd said, “we should have an appetite for the impossible.” I began thinking about things that seem impossible to me, but are NOT impossible to God the Most High. In Luke 18:27 Jesus said,” the things that are impossible with men are possible with God.” Two people in the bible recognized this aspect of God’s character.  One is Mary, mother of Jesus.

This is a familiar account for many. An angel approached Mary and told her she would become pregnant and that child would be the Son of God. Not only was this a physical impossibility since she was a virgin, but because she was not married, pregnancy would lead to disgrace and being stoned to death. Her response in Luke 1:34 was similar to what many of us have said in regards to God and His Word, “how can this be?” The angel told her “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” He also told her in Luke 1:37  “with God nothing will be impossible.”

I believe at this point a revelation of Who God is came upon Mary because her response was, “ Let it be to me according to your word.” She saw the impossible become possible. She saw El Elyon, God Most High, as Who He is...Most High over the physical, Most High over the supernatural, Most High over every situation and circumstance.

Now let’s look at Daniel.  This historical account is found in Daniel 6. Daniel was taken to Babylon as a slave when he was a teenager. Although he was a slave, his intelligence, wisdom, and appearance secured him a high position in the king’s court. This caused men within the court to become jealous and they devised a plan to have Daniel killed. They tricked the king into signing a law stating whoever worships any god or man other than the king will be thrown into the lion's den.

Even though Daniel knew this law had been signed, he refused to dishonor God. Instead, he knelt down, prayed and thanked God. As a result Daniel was thrown into the lion's den which should have resulted in his death. Daniel knew the consequences of not following the law, but he chose to worship God.

I don’t know if Daniel was afraid, but I do know that he recognized God as Most High and would not worship another.

One thing I like about this story is in verse 16 when the king said, “your God Whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” Even the king recognized the power of God. In the natural there was no way Daniel could have lived through this torture, but God miraculously shut the lions’ mouths.

This took place thousands of years ago, yet today we are still facing the challenge of worshipping other gods. There are many things that can become a god  (anything more important than the God Most High) in our lives: money, lust, power, acceptance, fear, and the list goes on and on.

God desires to be Most High in each of our lives. When we recognize God for Who He is, the impossible becomes possible.

El Elyon Part 2

El Elyon, the God Most High, was the name that satan desired for himself. In Isaiah 14:14  satan declared he would make himself like the God Most High. He understood completely the meaning of God Most High.

Only God is El Elyon and He desires to be Most High in the lives of each of us.

I would like to point  some people in the bible that recognized this position of God Most High. First, David, who later became King David. This familiar  narrative in the bible is one of my favorites. The story starts in: 1 Samuel 17:4. There was a giant named Goliath who was terrorizing King Saul and his army. Not only was he huge, so were his weapons. He continually mocked Saul’s army day and night for 40 days challenging them to fight, but they were all afraid of him. Finally David spoke up and volunteered to fight Goliath. David was not big, in fact he was quite small. He was not strong. He was very young, probably between the ages of 12-15 years. He did have one huge advantage over the other men. He knew El Elyon. He knew the God Most High. In verse 37 David declares, “The Lord Who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine (Goliath).

I can’t help but think how much joy that statement brought to the heart of God. God longs for us to know Him this intimately..the God Most High. The God Who is above ALL our circumstances and situations. Ephesians 3:20 tells us that “God (the God Most High) is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think”.

Sunday night in church (Faith Center International: Rockford, Il.), Apostle Lyon said, “God’s promises are our greatest encouragement because God never fails.”  He never fails because He is God Most High.

I hope you’ll join me in wanting that certainty that David had...that intimacy of Knowing God is Most High in my life. Not just over the problems but Most High over my relationships, my marriage, my prayer life, my thinking. I want to be one with the heart of God.

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Names of God

Have you ever asked yourself or has someone asked you Who is God? This is not an easy question to answer. When I think of God I think of a multi faceted diamond or a prism that shows a multitude of colors when you look through it. God, like the diamond or prism, is also not one dimensional. To describe Him is almost beyond human words or vocabulary. In this blog I am attempting  to describe the magnificence of God.

In the original old testament, which was written in Hebrew and the original new testament, which was written in Greek, God had many different names besides God. Because each name describes a facet of God or a part of His Character.Let's begin with the different names of God.

The names of God are holy. Jesus tells us this in the book of Matthew, chapter 6, verse 9. When His disciples asked Him how to pray. Jesus answered by saying, “Pray this way: Our Father Who is in heaven, Hallowed (holy) be Your name”. Jesus was telling us we need to honor and revere God’s names. Why? Because His name is a reflection of Who He is. In Hebrew the word "name" means a mark of individuality with implications of honor, authority, and character. A person’s name was a link to his or her character. For example Jesus renamed Simon to Peter which was a prophetic word for his future. God renamed Abram to Abraham and Jacob to Israel. Throughout scripture God used names as revelation to the character of men and women. If human names were that important to God, how much more important is His name. Psalm 8:1 declares  ”Lord, our Lord,  how majestic is Your Name in all the earth!”

To me when God reveals Himself to us through His name, it’s as if He’s saying: I want to reveal something about Myself to you so you can know Me better, more intimately. How exciting is that?

The first name I am going discuss is, El Elyon.

In Hebrew the word "el" comes from a root word that means might, strength, and power.

"Elyon" comes from the root word "alah" which means to go up, ascend, climb, and exalt. El Elyon means the God Most High or The Mighty One Most High. Let’s think about this for a moment. It is exciting to think about God being so mighty and powerful that He is above all other gods!! He has power and authority above ALL things. There is nothing higher than God. Isaiah 46:9 says: ” Remember the former things, those of long ago;    I am God, and there is no other;  I am God, and there is none like Me.”

None like God. I can’t stop thinking about that verse and what it means. When we are struggling with circumstances that seem impossible we must remember El Elyon is above that circumstance. If you are facing what seems impossible, remember El Elyon is above all.