WHO IS THIS MAN (part 3)
“His Name Is El Shaddia”
SERIES TEXT: Hebrews 3:1
INTRODUCTION – If we are going to build a confidence in the principle and process of confession, we must build a confidence in the person of our confession. We must consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. The Greek word for profession is the same as the Greek word for confession, “homologeo.” A profession is what we do for income. As believers, confession is what we do to cause what is in heaven to come into the earth. Our profession is confession. Christ Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. He is the Word of God (John 1:1-3, & 14) and He is the God of the Word (Heb 1:8-12). In order to learn to trust in His word, we must learn to trust Him. To learn to trust Him, we must get to know Him more. We must get to know Him more, that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil 3:10). We should want to know Him more that we may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge (Eph 3:18-19). God wants us to know more about His power and His personality, His authority and His ability, His conduct and His character so He introduces us to different facets of His nature by introducing Himself to different people at different times in different situations by different names. We learned in the previous message that His name is Elohim. The prefix “El” means “strong and mighty one” and the suffix “im” means plural. Elohim is the strong and mighty God of creation and He’s also the three-in-one God. The first book of the bible shows us that God is three dimensional because creation is three dimensional. The last book of the bible shows us that God is three dimensional because the Revelation 4:8 says the angels cry “Holy” (one for the Father), “holy” (one for the Son), “holy” (one for the Holy Ghost). Elohim is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost and these three are one (1 Jn 5:7). He’s the God of creation, re-creation, and restoration. After the devil has done his very worst, Elohim can then do His very best. He’s the God that helps us to start again. Today, we’ll learn another name He introduces himself to us by. His name is El Shaddia.
MESSAGE TEXT: Genesis 17:1-2
1. El Shaddia is the God of the much more – Genesis 17:1. The name “Almighty God” comes from the Hebrew name “El Shaddia.” El Shaddia means the strong and mighty breasted one. To understand why He would introduce Himself as the breasted one, we must understand the physiology and function of the breast or mammary gland. The purpose of the breast is for the mother to supply the milk that her baby needs. Philippians 4:19 tells us that El Shaddia is the God that will supply all your need. Another thing about the mammary gland that helps us to understand El Shaddia is the more milk the baby drinks, the more milk the mother makes. El Shaddia is the God of supply and demand. No matter how great the need, the demand can never deplete His supply. He’s the God of the much more, the God of good and plenty, the God that is able to exceed your need. There is nothing too hard for Him (Jeremiah 32:17) (Luke 1:37).
2. El Shaddia is the God of multiplication – I will multiply thee exceedingly – Genesis 17:2. God told Abram that He would multiply Abram exceedingly. Before God can multiply my stuff, he has to multiply me! I need God to multiply me spiritually before He multiplies me financially or socially. I need the Lord to multiply me spiritually so I don’t enter into idolatry. If I don’t allow El Shaddia to multiply me spiritually, individually before He multiplies me financially or socially then I would worship the finances or the social status. Either that or I would worship myself because I think the financial or social increase is because I’ll think I’m the reason for my multiplication. God wants to multiply me spiritually so I can handle the financial or social multiplication. The reason He wants to multiply me spiritually, financially, and socially individually is because He wants to multiply me numerically. Abram believed God enough to leave the Ur of the Chaldeans to go to a place he had never been to before. God wanted to multiply Abram numerically because He wanted to multiply the believers. Ishmael was not the son of multiplication because he was not a believer in the coming Christ. He was the start of the Arab nation and the Islamic faith. El Shaddia wants to multiply the believers. He wants to multiply you spiritually, financially, socially, intellectually, and emotionally so He can multiply you numerically. He’s the God of multiplication.
3. El Shaddia is the God of ministry – Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Ephesians 3:20. Most believers believe that God is able to do all things. However, most believers struggle with believing that God is able to make them able to do anything. El Shaddia is the God of much more, the God of multiplication, and the God of ministry. Not only does He want to multiply the believers, he wants make the believers into ministers that are able to minister to the multitudes. 2 Corinthians 9:8 gives us a description of the method by which El Shaddia is able to make us able to minister to the multitudes. GOD IS ABLE-This is God’s might for ministry. He is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask or think. ALL-This is God’s measurement for ministry. He’s all-knowing. He’s all-powerful. He’s in all places. His measurement is all! GRACE-This is the God’s means for ministry. An acronym for grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. The abundance of what God has, and knows, and is able to do belongs to you because of your relationship with Jesus Christ. The wonderful thing about God’s grace is that grace is most evident in the face of unpleasant circumstances. Everything in your life does not have to be perfect for God to be able to make you able to minister to someone else (2 Cor 12:7-10). ABOUND-That’s God’s movement for ministry. To abound is leap forward or upward. God wants us to be people that don’t turn back, that don’t give up, and don’t change course but move forward and upward, upward and forward. TOWARD YOU-That’s the God’s motion for ministry. THAT YE ALWAYS HAVING ALL SUFFICIENCY IN ALL THINGS, MAY ABOUND TO EVERY GOOD WORK-That’s the God’s motive for ministry. It’s for you to do the work! Not only is God able to do all things, He wants you to be able to do all things (Phil 4:13). El Shaddia is the God of the much more, the God of good and plenty, the God that is able to exceed your need. He’s the God of multiplication that wants to multiply thee and He’s the God of ministry. He’s able to make you able!
