El Shaddai/God Almighty

We all want a place to go when we’re stressed or sad, tired or lonely, fearful or tempted, disappointed or discouraged - a place where we can unload our burdens and get some relief. When we feel insecure and inadequate we need a refuge - a shelter. We need a retreat. Prayer can transport us to such a place!

Consider the words used to describe the place of refuge provided by God in this great 91st Psalm.

The first word is "shelter" in verse one. This literally means "a hiding place - to cover, to hide covertly or secretly". The King James translates the Hebrew words here "secret place".

These same Hebrew words are translated "hiding place" in Psalm 32:7 - "You are my hiding place: you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."

God is also called our "refuge" in verses two and nine. This Hebrew word literally means "hope, place of refuge, shelter, or trust."

The Psalmist also uses the word "dwelling" in verse nine to describe a close relationship with God.

The previous Psalm written by Moses uses the same characterization - "LORD, YOU have been our DWELLING PLACE throughout all generations."

What’s so special about making God your DWELLING?

Just look at the blessings of dwelling in God’s presence in Psalm 91. Each one of them in itself is outstanding but when you put them all together it’s almost overwhelmingly unbelievable!

Indulge the alliteration with this bird’s eye view of what this Psalm says DWELLING in God’s presence offers us:

V. 1 - REST in God’s shadow.

V. 2,4 - REFUGE in God’s fortress.

V. 3 - REDEMPTION from temptation.

V. 5-6 - RELIANCE upon His promises.

V. 7-8 - RETRIBUTION upon the enemy.

V. 9-10 - RESORT from wrath.

V. 11-12 - REINFORCEMENT from angels.

V. 13-14 - RESCUE from danger.

V. 15 - REQUESTS answered.

V. 16 - RESILIENCE promised.

The 15th verse will be the focus of our consideration today - "He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him."

"IF we make the Most High our DWELLING" (V.9) we can claim the promise of God answering our prayers when we’re in trouble. (V. 15) We then have a way to get away from it all.

Prayer in this context is more than just a problem-solving tool. Prayer becomes a WAY OF LIFE.

Our dwelling is where we live - we’re not just an occasional guest. Likewise, our relationship with God should not consist of only an occasional visit. Especially if that visit is solely for the purpose of helping us out of trouble.

Jesus reinforced this insight when he said, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." (John 15:7)

It would be easy for us to zero in on the last part of Christ’s statement and fail to grasp the significance of the first part. We relish the "ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you" part of Christ’s promise. But we’re often unmindful of the condition: if we’re going to ask so that God answers our prayers, we must "remain" in Christ and His words must "remain" in us.

We know the devil is behind a plot to muddle this truth because he quoted verses eleven and twelve of the 91st Psalm when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness.

"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:’He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’" (Matthew 4:6)

Satan had these verses of the Bible memorized but he wasn’t dwelling in God’s presence so he purposely twisted the Word of God. Satan was the first spin-doctor. He’s been involved in that kind of activity since the Garden of Eden.

Jesus on the other hand was always in the presence of the Father. He wasn’t the least bit fooled by Satan’s distorted view of scripture. Jesus knew that prayer was not a lucky rabbit’s foot or four-leaf clover that you carried in your hip pocket. God isn’t a genie in a bottle that you rub and get three wishes from when you want them.

TALKING to God is much more effective when we’ve been WALKING with God.  We need to seek His face, not just His hand.

That’s why we need to constantly nurture our friendship with God. Friendship is a two-way street. God is the initiator but we’re given an opportunity to reciprocate.

If we come to God ONLY when we’re in trouble and not on a daily basis - what kind of friendship is that? That’s a one-way street kind of friendship. We’re just using God.

On the other hand, when we have a lifestyle of continually walking and talking with God, like we do our other friends, we can call on Him and He will answer.

But be forewarned - He may call on us too!

Psalm 50:15 puts it this way, "and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, AND YOU WILL HONOR ME."

God wants us to honor Him when He answers our prayers. When He delivers us He expects some sort of appreciation. Isn’t that just good manners? Don’t we at least say thanks to our other friends when they help us?

Our Father in heaven isn’t asking us to do something He doesn’t do. God certainly honors those who participate in a friendship relationship with Him. The last part of our text verse reinforces this principle.

"He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him AND HONOR HIM." (Psalm 91:15)

Can you imagine that? God honoring us? That’s precisely what He says He will do for those who make Him their dwelling.

The Hebrew word for "honor" literally means "to make heavy."

Here’s what happens. We go to God with a heavy load of  burdens and we leave with a heavy load of blessings! That’s how God honors us. He doesn’t stop at delivering us from our difficulties - He goes on to make us heavy with blessings!

Why wouldn’t we want to honor Him in return? Psalm 91 is not just a song of confidence that God will provide a place for us to get away from it all. It is also a song of thanksgiving and adoration.

~Bits and Pieces of the sermon by Brian Atwood

"O thou who has given us so much, mercifully grant us one thing more - a grateful heart." - George Herbert 

Spiritual Lethargy, God is Ready to Break Through!

I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. 4 For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. 5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, 6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:2-6)

IT’S TIME FOR A BREAKTHROUGH!

There are seasons during our walk with Jesus that we must pause and say, “Jesus have your way, break through my resistance, cleanse me from dead works!

Let me say that God is ready to break through to your spirit, He is ready to break through your spiritual filtering systems, and He is ready to break through and cleanse you from works that do not account for the life of God.

We should pray - “Lord, …...BREAK THROUGH TO MY SPIRIT

To those who have had spiritual dryness, God is ready to break through!

Remember He has always been ready to do this!

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelations 3:20)

He stands at the door – He is always there ready to be invited into our lives and give us a spiritual refreshing.

Remember the call that comes with spiritual refreshing – the call to obedience. Obeying God is the only way to maintain a fresh spiritual life!

To those who have been in spiritual denial – Meaning they know God has more for them, but they didn’t feel worthy, or didn’t feel as though spiritual life was within their reach – Let Jesus in and allow Him to have mastery over your life!

Satan is the one who says you are not worthy!   He is a liar, and the father of lies!   He will do anything to keep you from enjoying the great things of God!

We have been trained by many teachings that have confused us regarding what we are to expect from God!  Poor teaching got us into thinking that we are only able to obtain certain levels of faith to receive the blessings of God.

He still stood at the door and knocked!

Poor teaching got us to believe that only certain people really enjoy the blessings of God – only those who had the anointing could enjoy the blessings!

He still stood at the door and knocked!

Poor teaching got us to think that we could have everything material, health, and wisdom!

He still stood at the door and knocked!

While all of the folly in the kingdom went on, people were seeking things that were not good for them to seek, and passions were raging over things while controversies grew.

He still stood at the door and knocked!

For those who need a spiritual break through – Jesus is still waiting at the door, knocking until we invite Him in!

Listen to the wording – “I will sup with them and they will sup with me!” - Meaning – highest form of fellowship!

We should pray, “Lord,…….BREAK THROUGH AND CLEANSE ME FROM DEAD WORKS

Dead works defined – Deeds done by the power of man, with the intention to help God get His vision carried out.

Supposing to live the witness and not really communicate the witness.  For many witnessing for Christ it is very traumatic because it is where your faith and your actions meet!  It is when you actually witness for Christ that you are held accountable.  It is when you witness for Christ that you question your ability to actually bring a person to the point of a decision for Christ.

Dead works are all around us – and we can latch on to things that are really not who we are - as a result we have people who want to appear acceptable, but are not mature in the faith enough to naturally walk in these things!

Not only that, but we can try to perform according to other people’s ideas of who we are supposed to be!

God breakthrough my dead works so that I can be who I am in Christ, and so I can function out of love for God, out of faith in Christ – and not perform anything from a human perspective!

Then we should pray, “Lord,…..BREAK THROUGH AND HEAL ME

There are many broken people in the kingdom!  Broken because of relationships, broken because of working in the world, broken because of sickness!

We can too easily buy into the notion that we are supposed to be broken!

Satan lies to us that we are supposed to have a mind that is distorted because of brokenness!

The church tells us to “Hang in there”.

We feel guilty because we think the situation we find ourselves in is a result of our sinful behavior – and while that may be true – we must get hold of the Lord who readily forgives!

Lord, break through my brokenness! Get me out of the cycle of spiritual lethargy, get me out of the cycle of dead works, and get me out of the cycle of brokenness!

Lord come into my spirit, change my perspectives, heal my brokenness!

Give me a breakthrough! 

~Bits and Pieces of the Sermon, It's time for a Breakthrough! by Russ Ritkowski

"God, I praise you because you are the LORD, and there is no other; apart from you there is no God. . . ." (Isaiah 45:5).

Elohim/God the Creator

This first name for God is used more than 2,500 times in the Bible, 32 times in the first chapter of Genesis alone.

“In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of Elohim was hovering over the waters. And Elohim said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. Elohim saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. Elohim called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’”

Elohim is Eternal (Genesis 1:1a).  Did you notice that Genesis 1:1 is a simple declaration of Elohim exists, and does not provide an explanation for His existence?  This is a declaration that God has always been; He’s had no beginning and He will have no end. This is stated strongly in Deuteronomy 33:27: “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

Creationism is Correct (Genesis 1:1b). Because God alone is eternal; that which is created is not. Look at the last part of Genesis 1:1: “…created the heavens and the earth.” The Hebrew word for “create” means “to create out of nothing.” Elohim brings design out of disorder; He created the cosmos out of chaos; He birthed beauty out of barrenness, and He continues to do the same in lives today.

It is no accident that the first thing God wanted us to know about Himself is that He is the Creator. The whole revelation of Scripture is rooted in this fact, from Genesis to the Book of Revelation.   

Genesis 1:

“So God made the expanse…” (7)

“…He also made the stars.” (16)

“So God created the great creatures of the sea…” (21)

“God made the wild animals…” (25)

“God saw all that He had made and it was very good…” (31)

Psalm 95:6: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker…”

Psalm 121:2: “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…”

Isaiah 45:9: “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker…”

Acts 17:24: “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.”

Revelation 4:11: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” His fingerprints are everywhere. The earth is marked, if you will, by a sign that declares in bold letters: Made by God.

Romans 1:21 states that the evidence for Elohim’s creative power is clearly evident: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” If you’re willing to look, you will see. And because He is the Creator, He is greater than that which He has created.

That means you can trust Him because there is nothing in your life that is greater than He is. He can solve whatever problem you have, if you will but trust Him by faith. Hebrews 11:6: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

The Trinity is True (Genesis 1:26-27). The third application from the name Elohim is actually an allusion to the Trinity. The “im” ending of Ehohim is a plural suffix. This is similar to cherub becoming cherubim, and the plural of seraph being seraphim.

Here’s the cool part. Although the name Elohim is plural, it is often treated as a singular noun. Look at Genesis 1:26-27: “Then God [Elohim, plural] said [singular], ‘Let us [plural] make man in our [plural] image, in our [plural] likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God [Elohim, plural] created man in his [singular] own image, in the image of God [Elohim, plural] he [singular] created him; male and female he [singular] created them.” 

God, who is eternal in nature, has always existed in three persons.  This concept is found throughout Scripture:

At the baptism of Jesus, we see God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (see Matthew 3:16-17).

When Jesus gave the Great Commission to the church, He called on all three members of the Trinity in Matthew 28:19: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Baptism is to be in the name [singular] of three persons [plural]. One of the clearest passages is found in 2 Corinthians 13:14: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

The name Elohim establishes that God exists, that He is the Creator, and that He is three-in-one.  God the Father sent the Son to save us from our sins and now the Holy Spirit has sealed our salvation. The Trinity makes redemption possible. 

I am so grateful that Elohim continues to recreate today. He loves to forgive. He loves to wipe away guilt and shame. And today, He can give you a fresh start if you will turn to Him in faith. Claim the promise of 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

"Creator God, I praise you because you made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you'. . . . " (Nehemiah 9:6).

~Bits and Pieces of the sermon by Brian Bill