February 23, 2014
Stetson Memorial United Methodist
Church
Sermon
Series on “The Names of God”
Sermon
7 of series-
“The
Sacred Names of God: El Elyon”
Daniel
4:24-35 The Names of God Bible
1
Kings 19 The Names of God Bible
Psalm
91:1-2 NIV
“Praying
the Names of God: A Daily Guide”
By,
Ann Spangler
Let
us pray…Eternal God, the Great I Am, we pray this day…this moment…that your
Spirit within us would stir and we would hear the word you have for us this
day. We thank you for that Spirit…the piece of the Divine…that you have put
within everything that You have created. Help us to quiet the noise within us
so that we would be receptive and attentive to Your still, small voice. Speak
Lord, we are anxious to follow your will for our lives…
During our bible study, our “Spirit
Study”, we are studying Elijah. We are trying to better understand how to live
our life of faith in the world in which we live. Now I like the prophet Elijah.
He had no issues prophesying for God to the people of Israel. He had a great
trust in God and was very zealous in how he lived out his calling. I think one
of my most favorite stories in Kings is when Elijah went up to the mountain top
to talk with God.
(Paraphrase
1 Kings 19 about God not being found in the fierce wind, the earthquake or the
fire)
Elijah knew that God was the most
powerful…he knew that God was the One true God…Elijah knew just how awesome the
God he…and you and I…serve. At times we
too can be like Elijah, tired, running scared, feeling as if our life is over.
But…we need to remember that our God…is the “Most High God.”
We are continuing on our journey of
learning the Sacred Names of God and
praying in that same name. The study guide I have also been reading “Praying the Names of God: A Daily Guide” by,
Ann Spangler has been an awesome tool to help decipher the names of God. We
have prayed to Elohim…the one true
God…we have called out to El Chay,
the Living God. And we have learned that Adonay
…our Lord is a loving person who we love to serve. We have even talked about a
perfect husband…our Ish. We truly
have an all seeing and all knowing God. The Hebrew nation knew how awesome and
powerful our God is. One of the names that they would call Him is El Elyon…God Most High.
Ann Spangler states “When applied to God, the term Elyon, meaning “Highest” or “Exalted
One,” we emphasize that God is the highest in every realm of life. In God is
the highest in every realm of life. Now in the New Testament, Jesus is known as
the Son of the Most High while the Holy Spirit is the power of the Most High.
All who belong to Christ are revealed as sons and daughters of the Most High by
imitating the Father in heaven. When you praise the Most High, you are
worshiping the One whose power, mercy, and sovereignty cannot be matched.”
Our God…our Father…Abba Father…is most high. Nothing in heaven or below heaven
is greater or higher than He. This is a truth that gives hope…that gives
peace…that gives us a sense of awe and adoration. Nothing…no situation we may find ourselves in…no child that may have
gone astray…no addiction we may have…nothing is above Him or too hard for Him
to handle or heal…
In the Daniel I read from this morning,
Nebuchadnezzar forgot who God was and so he needed to be reminded. He had
forgotten that he was only where he was because of God. Now this is the same Nebuchadnezzar who knew first hand who the God was
that Daniel served. You see before this happened to him, he had another
encounter with the God of Daniel. A time when he decided that he was the most
powerful…a time when he took three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and put
them into a fiery furnace.
It took him 7 years to remember that God
is the Most High God who rules over all. All the kingdoms…all of creation has
its being because our Most High God is also the Creator of everything we
survey. May be…just maybe…we too need to
remind ourselves just who it is we serve. Perhaps if we remember there would be
a great revival and we, as a nation…as Christians…would truly be that “one
nation under God…” What do you think our lives would be like if we could etch
that promise…that vision of who God is onto our souls?
Do we need more proof of this fact? In
the New Testament, Jesus is called “Son of the Most High God” on several
occasions. Even the demons who possessed people knew who Jesus was.
In Mark 5 verses 6-8, we hear one story
of how the demon responded to seeing Jesus. You see, this man was possessed by
a demon and hear what it had to say…
6
The man saw Yeshua at a distance. So he ran to Yeshua, bowed down in front of
him, 7 and shouted, “Why are you bothering me now, Yeshua, Son of the Most High
God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me.” 8 He shouted this because Yeshua
said, “You evil spirit, come out of the man.”
Even the demons knew about our Most High God…they knew that Jesus was the
manifestation of that same God. Satan and
his minions…the demons know just how awesome our God is…they know of His power.
But Satan also knows how to distort the truth. And that is what he does…what
Satan does…he distorts the believer’s mind and makes them think that God is not
powerful enough to help them with their problem…makes them believe that God
doesn’t care about them enough to help or is too busy for someone like them…or
even worse, God has abandoned them because they are too unworthy of His love
and compassion. He is the father of all liars and he does it so well… But we
see, through the life of Jesus…the life of God incarnate…that He is there for
those who are lost, He has compassion for those who are imprisoned by
oppression, He wants to make us whole…
Church, perhaps we need to rethink what
we are making “most high” in our lives. What is it that drives us? Is it El
Elyon or is it something else that is our driving force? What is it we desire
most in our lives? Is it things or a relationship with God? Have we forgotten
the ways God has “brought us through” in the past? Think about how different our
lives would be if we etched the vision of the Most High God and His greatness
on our souls…integrated it into our faith? How could we even think about taking
our eyes off of God? It would dominate our thoughts and our actions. It would
change who or what we would give our devotion to and how we responded in and to
life itself. What threatens you…financial insecurity, ill health, a difficult
job, a troubled marriage? No matter how high your problems mount, God is higher
still. No difficulty is beyond his reach. Take refuge in the Most High God. He
is there waiting to show you His power over all. Trust and believe in our God
who is higher than anything that can manifest itself in our lives and in the
lives of all who believe. “He who dwells
in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will
say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Let
us pray…
El
Elyon, you are God above all gods, the One who rules over the rulers of the
earth. May every knee bow to you and every tongue confess that You are Lord
forever. Help us to remember Your greatness and power. How awesome You are.
Help us to remember that there is nothing above You…nothing that is too high
for You to handle. You created heaven and earth by Your outstretched arm. You
are our El Elyon, the Most High God!
Amen!
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