Speaking of names let me illustrate…
Illus: Alexander the Great on one particular campaign, Alexander received word that one of his officers was continuously and seriously misbehaving.
The soldier’s character was, in fact, becoming a stain on the reputation of the Grecian army.
Alexander the Great summoned the officer to appear before him. Upon the officer’s arrival, his commander, Alexander, asked him what his name was. “Alexander, Sir,” was the officer’s reply.
Alexander the Great looked him in the eye and with a stern voice said: “Well, then…either change your behavior or change your name”
Some people’s names have been tarnished with sin.
Illus. But someone said, “God’s name is like a diamond with an infinite number of facets. His many names are like windows that reveal His beautiful and amazing character and nature.”
For example, the name of…
• Elohim – Creator of the Universe
• Adonai – King of kings and Lord of Lords
• Yahweh – Eternal and Ever-Changing
• Jehovah Jireh – Our Everlasting Provider
• Jehovah Shammah – The One Who is Always There
• Jehovah Rapha – The One Who Heals or Repairs
• Jehovah Sabaoth – The LORD of Hosts
Today we are going to be learning a new name and get another glimpse into the greatness and beauty and majesty of our God. It’s “El- Shaddai.
What amazes me about this God that we call El-Shaddai is we found out that-
• This earth that we live on is 8,000 miles in diameter and 25,000 miles in circumference,
• YET, it measures less than one grain of sand on all the seashores of the earth in comparison to the universe
• Our sun is so large that it could hold 1,300,000 earths.
Now if the earth which seem so small compared to the sun as a grain of sand, how small we must be in the eyes of God and God loves us so much He sent His only begotten son to die on the cross of Calvary for our sins.
Illus: The only way I can imagine His Greatness how small we must be in God’s vast creation would be how large we must be like to a small ant!!!
But what does the name “El Shaddai” actually mean?
• Well … by now you know the word “El” is the generic name for “God.”
• “El” speaks of God’s power … His ability to create and to sustain what He created.
Theologians have had a difficult time defining the name of El-Shaddai.
What they have done is combined two things together to define the name of El-Shaddai.
They get this part of the definition that the root of “shaddai” is “shad” which is the Hebrew word for a woman’s “breast.”
(1) They speak of El-Shaddai as a huge mountain that stands STRONG!
Now … we’re all adults here so I think you can handle what I’m about to say. If you look at the shape of a woman’s breast and you look at the shape of most mountains. I think that you could agree that it’s a pretty fair comparison or analogy, am I right?
A mountain represents something mighty.
2) But the second part of the definition comes from a woman’s breast, especially the breasts of a mother, represent nurture…they represent safety…they represent love and warmth.
Let me illustrate…
When Abram was 75 years old, God told him to
• Leave his country …
• Leave his people …
• Leave his father’s household …
• Leave all that was dear and familiar to him
• And go to a new land … a foreign land … that God would show him.
• And to reassure them that God would keep His promise to them, God entered into a covenant with Abram and Sarai.
Look at Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Sometime this passage of scripture is taken out of context to whom it is applied.
To put this passage in context it was given to Abraham during this time when they took the big step of faith, and they left EVERYTHING and EVERYONE to follow God’s instructions.
THAT IS A BIG REQUEST THAT GOD ASKED OF ABRAHAM!!!
But God promised them as they obeyed Him, He was El-Shaddai the God of PROVISION and would provide for them!!!
Illus: This reminds me of Missionaries that leave everything and go into a land leaving everything and everyone behind.
Think about it…if God was to ask you to leave EVERYTHING and EVERYONE to move to a foreign land having to give up the luxuries of this life in America!!! Would you, do it?
But El-Shaddai gave Abraham and Sarah their marching orders, but God wanted them to know HE IS THE MIGHTY GOD EL-SHADDAI AND HE WILL PROVIDE FOR THEM.
And the Lord told them as they left EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE no one had better lay a hand on them because El-ShaddaI would…
• Bless them that bless them!
• Curse them that curse them!
What a wonderful Promise El-Shaddai made to Abraham and Sarah.
Now let me give you a wonderful verse of Scripture that apply to us Christians today.
We read in Isaiah 54:17 two things:
(1) First, look at…
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
(2) Secondly, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn; and I will deliver thee not only from the fury of the war, but also from the strife of tongues
What a wonderful Promise El-Shaddai made to BELIEVER’S TODAY.
El-Shaddai is the name given to us to show that as we obey Him God will PROVIDE OUR NEEDS.
• The first time we hear of Elohim is in Genesis 1:1.
• The first time we find this name El-Shaddai in the Bible is Genesis 17:1.
It had been 24 years since El-Shaddai made a covenant with Abraham He would PROVIDE all his needs as He obeyed Him and give him a child.
Abraham was 99 years old, and he and Sarah were well past the age of childbearing- So having a child was impossible.
How awesome is the mighty Creator of the universe.
El-Shaddai was powerful enough to make a 99-year-old man have a child.
Makes me think of how great a heavenly Father that we have.
Let me illustrate…
Illus: Three boys bragging about how strong their dad was!!!
1) One boy had a picture of the TWIN TOWERS in New York, and he said my dad is a BUILDER and my dad can build both of those buildings in two weeks!
2) Another boy had a picture of the GRAND CANYON, and he said my dad operates heavy equipment and he can dig that hole in one week!
3) The third boy was not going to be outdone, and he had a picture of NIAGARA FALLS, and he said my dad is a plumber and he can stop that nasty leak in several hours
When God chose to use the name Elohim to reveal to mankind, He is a GOD OF POWER ANDS STRENGTH!!!
But while we marvel over His power, we also marvel over the way He use the name El-Shaddai uses His power to PROVIDE for us.
Illus: For example, Saddam Hussein was a man of power, but the problem was, he used the power he possessed for himself and hurt anyone who tries to get in his way.
But listen, the power that Saddam Hussein possessed is not a drop in the bucket when it comes to the power of El-Shaddai to help His people.
But suppose God used His power like Saddam Hussein, for His own selfish gain. If he did, He could force everyone to their knees to serve Him.
But instead, He made us all free moral agents and we decide for ourselves if we are going to serve Him or not.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger has a neighbor that has a pet dog. From time to time, he allows him out in the yard to play and get some exercise.
But in fear he might get out in the road and get run over he installed an underground electric fence around his yard.
He also placed around his neck a collar with a device on it and if his pet dog gets close to that underground electric fence the dog gets an electric shock!!!
Now suppose God used His power to zap us every time we are tempted to sin.
He could force all of us to serve Him but instead He created all of as FREE MORAL AGENTS TO GIVE US THE CHOICE TO OBEY OR DISOBEY HIM!
While we marvel over His great power, we also marvel over the way He uses that power TO PROVIDE FOR US.
Let’s look at -
I. THE DEFINITION OF EL-SHADDAI
El Shaddai is one of the many names of God. HE IS A GOD OF MIGHT THAT USE HIS POWER TO PROVIDE FOR US!
• In the Hebrew “El” stands for God
• El-Shaddai means “Almighty God”
When you put them together, you have “God Almighty who use His power to PROVIDE for us.
God wants us to know that El-Shaddai is the name in the scripture to show us He has the power to help us.
We serve a God who never has to say, I WOULD LIKE TO HELP YOU, BUT YOU ARE ASKING FOR SOMETHING I AM INCAPIABLE OF DOING!
We all have our share of HARD TIMES in this life. The only way we can make it through these hard times is to look to God in prayer to help us.
Illus: No wonder the lost world turns to drugs and alcohol to survive in this life. They do not have EL-Shaddai to provide for them.
We believers need to pray to El-Shaddai during the hard times in life, because only ALMIGHTY GOD can help us through some of the things we have to face.
Let me give you an example from the Bible.
Look at Genesis 17:1-5, we read, “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty (El-Shaddai); walk before me and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, as for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.”
This passage of scriptures reveals several things about God.
(1) HE HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR
How do we know that God has a sense of humor?
When God created:
• The Zebra I believe that reveals to us that God has a sense of humor.
• The hippopotamus I believe that reveals to us that God has a sense of humor.
• The Giraffe reveals God has a sense of humor
Illus: But the best example of His sense of humor is in the life of Abraham.
He is telling a ninety-nine-year-old man that he is going to have a baby and be the Father of many nations.
For God to do something like this proves He certainly has a sense of humor.
• If He had told Abraham this when he was 20 or 30 years of age, that would have seemed reasonable.
• No, He waits for this fellow to get to be 99 years old, and then tells him he is going to have a baby.
Now we talk about Abraham a lot concerning the birth of Isaac, but just imagine the stares that his wife got, walking around telling everyone she was pregnant.
Illus: She makes us think of the father who took his five-year-old son to the bank with him to cash a check.
There were a few people in front of them waiting for the bank teller. The lady in front of them was a very large pregnant woman, and she was much larger than the average pregnant woman
• The little boy saw how big this pregnant was and he said, “Dad, look at that huge woman!!!”
• The father was embarrassed. He said, “Be quiet! You must not say things like that, it will hurt her feelings!”
• The young man could not get over how large this pregnant woman was. He said, “She must weigh as much as a baby elephant!”
• The father said, “Stop it, or else I will take you out and put you in the car.”
About this time the woman’s pager went off, Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! The little boy said, “Dad, watch out she is backing up!”
Also, it must have been a sight to see Sarah walking around as old as she was as a pregnant woman telling everyone that she was pregnant.
WHY DID GOD WAIT UNTIL THEY WERE OLD?
1) As I said God has a sense of humor, but also for another reason.
2) He wanted Abraham to know this child they were having was not by accident, it was a planned pregnancy.
He waited until Abraham and his wife had passed the childbearing stage of life so that they would know that “El-Shaddai was PROWERFUL enough to make this old couple who had past childbearing to have a baby.
He is “Elohim,” powerful enough to create the Universe, but also, He is El-Shaddai, who is “Mighty” enough to make old folks like Abraham and Sarah have a baby.
WHAT DOES "ALMIGHTY" MEAN?
Almighty means – It means that El-Shaddi has absolute power.
Abraham laughed when he first heard he was going to have a baby at 99 years of age, but God was telling Abraham that he can laugh if he wants to, but El-Shaddai HAS ABSOLUTE, UNLIMITED, UNCONDITIONAL POWER TO MAKE HIM, 99 YEARS OF AGE TO HAVE A BABY.
Illus: America is the superpower of the world. We have more military power than any nation on the face of the earth.
When America was confronting Iraq, North Korea also created a problem by announcing they now had weapons of mass destruction.
Illus: General Keith Kellogg recently announced that we now have a bomb call the BUNKER BUSTER bomb that can be dropped on the terrorist that hide in tunnels that is strong enough when it is dropped can bust 60 feet of solid concrete.
Now if it is that powerful you can only imagine if it was dropped on the tunnels in Iran.
When the BUNKER BUSTER bomb is dropped it is dropped with a parachute to give the airplane enough time to get away from the blast.
The Bunker Buster bomb is the most powerful bomb that has ever been built.
In this great country we have many different kinds of powerful weapons to defend ourselves.
America is a powerful nation militarily.
But Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield made it clear that if we have to, we can fight two wars at one time.
But what if we had to fight 3 or 4 wars simultaneously, then what would we do?
Even though America is a powerful military force, we would soon reach our limitations.
But when it comes to “El-Shaddai,” He has ABSOLUTE, UNLIMITED, UNCONDITIONAL POWER.
Illus: If you came to me for help, I might be able to help you.
Then if someone else came to me, I might be able to help them also.
But then if the third person came to me for some help, I might have to tell them that I would like to help them but because I am helping these other two people, at the present I can’t extend myself any further.
But listen, every child of God can fall on their knees simultaneously and can call upon El-Shaddai who has unlimited power, and He can help everyone at the same time. He has unlimited power!
El-Shaddai is saying that He is almighty God, and if He so chooses to act, He can do whatever He chooses to do because He has ALL POWER!!!
This is exactly what the Bible teaches.
Look at Matthew 28:18, we read, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
Notice, not just “some power”, but the Lord said, “All Power” in heaven and in earth.
We have looked at the DEFINITION OF EL-SHADDAI, but also let’s look at-
II. THE SCOPE OF EL- SHADDAI
While we rejoice in the power of “Almighty God,” that He is in full control of this universe, theologically this creates some problems for us.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
The problem is, if God is loving, good, kind and almighty (and He is) why do bad things happen to good people?
Knowing God is the kind of God He is, El-Shaddai, raises some questions about Him.
There are some things about God that are beyond anything we mortals can comprehend.
Such as:
• If God is in total control, why is this world in such a mess?
• If God is all powerful, isn’t it possible for God to stop all these bad things that happens to people?
This may shock you, but the answer is found in the fact that there are some limitations on God's power.
Now that may sound like I am contradicting what I have said GOD HAS UN-LIMITED POWER!!!
Let me explain…
WHAT KIND OF LIMITATIONS?
I’m talking about self-imposed limitations.
That is, there are some things that God either cannot or will not do -- by His own choice and decision.
Let me mention two of them.
A. GOD CAN NOT DO ANYTHING INCONSISTENT WITH HIS CHARACTER OR NATURE
For example, God is a holy God. Always have been holy and always will be holy/
The holiness that we the children of God possess, was imputed to us. But God is holy by nature, that is - HIS IS A NATURAL HOLINESS!
This is why it says in James 1:13, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.”
The Lord said in Matthew 7:18: "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit."
God made thousands of promises, and if he broke one of them, He could no longer be a holy God. If He broke one promise, He would have lied.
To do so would be inconsistent with who God is; it would be contrary to His nature, to His perfect holiness.
But ALSO, God has self-imposed on Himself…
B. GOD WILL NOT VIOLATE OUR HUMAN WILL
We pray for our loved ones, and sometimes we cannot help but ask ourselves, “Why doesn’t God make our lost loved ones come to Christ?”
Why?
Because God made humans into what we call free moral agents, they have a choice, and He will not interfere with their choice.
If God interfere, He could not judge us at the judgment for our sins because we would no longer be a FREE MORAL AGENT!!!
That means that God has granted us the right and the power to choose good or evil.
Illus: No one in heaven is going to be a part of the Bride of Christ because God had what we call a “Shot-gun wedding” and forced them to accept His invitation.
He wants us to come to Him because we got a glimpse of His GREATNESS, and we decided, “THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR.”
Illus: Most of us fellows remember how it was when we got a glimpse of our wives for the first time. We made our mind up then and there that we were going to marry her, and we pursued her like a hound dog pursued a rabbit.
However, as we were chasing her, most of us fellows caught on real fast to the fact that she really wasn’t running that fast!
In fact, if we slowed down, she slowed down. And if we backed up, she also put it in reverse!
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger tells the story of a young man that attended his church. He had to go to work before daylight. And one morning when he was getting in his car, he saw a man trying to steal his car radio.
Dr. Belger said, WHAT DID YOU DO?
He said the man jumped out of the car and started running and so I decided I would chase after him.
However, one time I was gaining on him, and I had to slow down!
This is what happens to us fellows when we pursued our wives.
WHAT CAUSED US TO PURSUE HER?
We fell in love with her when we met her.
Many folks today do not know what love is.
Some say, “Love is that warm cozy feeling you get inside.”
Illus: THAT’S NOT LOVE! Let me tell you something, I can drink a glass of hot milk and get a warm cozy feeling!
• Love is not something that simply overcomes us
but rather it is a decision.
• Love is an act of our will; we choose to love or not
to love. This is the very nature of love.
You cannot hold a gun to someone's head and make them love you, there has to be a choice involved or it's not love.
Conclusion:
God choose to use the name El-Shaddai when He wants to reveal Himself as the God who use His power to LOVE US AND PROVIDE FOR US.
• There is no prayer request that is too big, complex or complicated for El Shaddai to handle.
• Neither is there any request that is too small, trivial, mundane or inconsequential for El-Shaddai not to give His attention to.
El-Shaddai is powerful, and we can call out to Him and He has the power to meet all of our needs.
But we have to call on Him for Him to use His power to help us.
Let me explain…
Illus: Paul Harvey talked about a 3-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother. This little boy had been learning in Sunday school that God is a powerful God and can meet all of our needs.
Before they entered the grocery store, she said to him, "Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask."
She put him up in the cart and he sat in the little child’s seat while she wheeled down the aisles. He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section. He saw the chocolate chip cookies and he stood up in the seat and said, "Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?" She said, "I told you not even to ask. You’re not going to get any at all." So, he sat back down.
They continued down the aisles, but in their search for certain items they ended up back in the cookie aisle. "Mom, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?" She said, "I told you that you can’t have any. Now sit down and be quiet."
Finally, they were approaching the checkout lane. The little boy sensed that this may be his last chance. So just before they got to the line, he stood up on the seat of the cart and shouted in his loudest voice, "In the name of Jesus, may I have some chocolate chip cookies?"
And everybody round about just laughed. Some even applauded.
And, according to Paul Harvey, due to the generosity of the other shoppers, the little boy and his mother left with 23 boxes of chocolate chip cookies.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Aren’t glad we have a God name El-Shaddi and He has the power to Create the universe but also the power to meet our needs.
I. THE DEFINITION OF EL-SHADDAI
II. THE SCOPE OF EL-SHADDAI
As I give the invitation:
• If you do not know Him as your Savior, would you please come down and let me pray for you to come to know Him.
• If you are saved but you have not really got to know El-Shaddai ask Him to reveal Himself to you so that you can come to know Him as El-Shaddai.
YouTube:
"El Shaddai & Thy Word" Amy Grant & Michael W. Smith Pt. 1 (Carey's Demo)
YouTube
Carey Goin
2.7M views
Jul 27, 2010
