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WEEKLY
Volume 3 Number 33
11 January 2009
The Almighty God
(Message delivered by Rev Hien
Nguyen at the Worship Service, 2:00 pm, Jan 11, 09)
Text:
Gen 17:1
Last week we learnt God’s
compound name, Jehovah Elohim, which means The LORD God,
and we are reminded to acknowledge that the LORD is our/my living and
true God personally with our proper reverence, worship, trust, and
submission. Today, we are learning God’s name, El Shaddai, or the
Almighty God (Gen 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; et al). Then what does this name
mean to you and me and what are our proper attitudes?
The Meaning and Background
of the Name El Shaddai
El Shaddai
is a short form of Elohim Shaddai. We have learnt Elohim,
which means God, who alone is the living and true God, the
Creator, the Most High God, eternal, almighty, supreme, and sovereign,
and the Fount and Source of all life and being. Elohim is a
plural noun, but the verbs used are singular, and this reveals to us the
truth of God’s Trinity. There is only one living and true God but with
three equal Divine Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14; 1 John 5:7-8).
Shaddai
means most powerful,
Almighty. It has 48 occurrences in the Old Testament and KJV
translates as “Almighty” 48 times. The Almighty (Ruth 1:20; Job
13:3) or the Almighty God (Gen 17:1; Eze 10:5) or God Almighty (Gen
28:3; Exod 6:3) refers to the living and true God who is almighty,
omnipotent or all-powerful, sovereign and supreme.
In the New Testament, the
equivalent Greek term is pantokrator, which is a compound from
pás/pantos (all) and krátos (power, strength, dominion). It
has 10 occurrences and KJV translates as “Almighty” 9 times (2 Cor 6:18;
Rev 1:8; Rev 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 16:14; 19:15; 21:22) and
“omnipotent” once (Rev 19:6), all spoken only of God, who is the Ruler
over all, omnipotent, almighty. It is so encouraging to notice the
compound name of our God, “Lord God Almighty” (Rev 4:8; 11:17;
15:3; 16:7; 21:22).
God revealed His name El
Shaddai first to Abram (later Abraham) when he was 99 years old to
encourage him to trust in God Himself, who has all power and authority
to fulfil His Word, His promises, and His covenant, “I am the
Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my
covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly”
(Gen 17:1-2). Abram had been waiting for God’s fulfilment of His promise
for 25 years since God first appeared to him, called him and promised to
bless him when he was 75 years old, “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…and Abram was seventy and
five years old when he departed out of Haran” (Gen 12:1-4). And
praise the Lord God Almighty, who has faithfully kept His Word, His
promises and His covenants to Abraham and to His people. We have
witnessed the fulfilment of God’s Word and promises in the Lord Jesus
Christ, to the people Israel, to the Church, and to our lives even
today. Then what are our proper attitudes toward our Lord God Almighty?
Our Proper Attitudes
Reverently Worship Our
Almighty God: When
Abram heard God’s Word speaking to him, he “fell on his face” in
reverent worship (Gen 17:3). In heaven, our Lord God Almighty is
worshipped day and night, “they rest not day and night, saying, Holy,
holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come”
(Rev 4:8). How about you and me? Sadly, many so-called “Christians”
nowadays fail to worship God worthily of His holy Name, the Lord God
Almighty, nor to hear His Word with trembling. They even “turn away
their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Tim
4:4). They like to hear nice human words and interesting stories which
may entertain their ears and minds. They are compromising and tolerant
of sins, unbiblical doctrines, worldly mindsets, values and
entertainments. The speakers even arrogantly dare to criticise, twist
and misinterpret God’s Word! Can the Lord God Almighty be in the midst
of such worship? Absolutely not! God requires you and me to separate
ourselves from sins, wrong doctrines, unbelief, and worldliness, “And
what agreement hath the
temple of God with idols? for
ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in
them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith
the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And
will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith
the Lord Almighty”
(2 Cor 6:16-18). May the Lord our God graciously help us worship Him
reverently and hear His Word with trembling, “but to this man will I
look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth
at my word.” (Isa 66:2).
Wholeheartedly Trust in Our
Almighty God and His Word:
What do you and I think of God
when He says that He is sovereign and almighty? Is there anything too
hard for our Lord God Almighty? Then, why are we still worried or
doubtful whether God is able to fulfil His Word and promises, to protect
us or to bless us when we encounter difficulties, troubles, trials, or
dangers? Let us shut all other voices from the flesh, from men or from
Satan, and hear God’s Word only, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of
all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” (Jer 32:27), and
“For with God nothing shall be impossible… The things which are
impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 1:37; 18:27), and
“With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible”
(Matt 19:26; cf. Mark 10:27). Many just blindly listen to their leaders
who argue that as no man is perfect, so it is impossible to have a
perfect Bible today through human transmission! They fail to see the
Lord God Almighty, who is sovereign and mighty to perfectly preserve His
inspired Word as He promised. Do you and I believe that nothing is
impossible with the Almighty God? If God had not been able to keep His
Word, then how could we wholeheartedly trust in Him, in His Word and His
promises? Moreover, “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom
14:23) as doubting God’s Word means doubting God Himself!
Praise the Lord God Almighty,
who mightily created the heavens and the earth and everything in it,
including you and me, and surely He is able to perfectly preserve His
Word as He promised (Ps 12:6-7; Matt 5:18; 24:35; 2 Tim 3:16). He “is
able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him,
seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb 7:25). He
“is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph 3:20). He “is
able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them
which are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). He is “is able to make all
grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all
things, may abound to every good work” (2 Cor 9:8). He “is able
to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2
Tim 1:12). He “is able to keep you from falling, and to present you
faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude
1:24). Shall not you and I wisely and wholeheartedly trust in our Lord
God Almighty and His Word?
Patiently Wait for Our
Almighty God’s Promises:
Abram (means exalted father) believed in God and was not ashamed
to bear the new name that God gave to him, Abraham (father of a
multitude) before the unbelieving eyes of the people around even
when he and Sarah were too old and it was impossible for them to have
any child after the manner of human beings. Therefore, “after he had
patiently endured, he obtained the promise” (Heb 6:15). Let us learn
from the faith of Abraham, “Who against hope believed in hope, that
he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was
spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered
not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old,
neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the
promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory
to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was
able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for
righteousness” (Rom 4:18-22). May the Lord God Almighty help you and
me to look unto Him, trust in Him, patiently wait upon Him and never
give up even when everything appears hopeless.
Fear Our Almighty God:
Knowing that our Lord God is the Almighty in justice, we shall fear Him
and depart from sins, evil and vanity, “Yea, surely God will not do
wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment… Surely God will
not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it” (Job 34:12;
35:13).
Submit to Our Almighty God:
Although wholeheartedly trusting that our Lord God Almighty is able to
do everything and nothing is impossible with Him, we should still trust
in His sovereign, best, and perfect will and submit to Him and His will.
Job said, “Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to
reason with God… Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job
13:3, 15). We should learn from our Lord Jesus Christ, our perfect
Example, who trusted in His Almighty Father and submitted to His
Father’s Will, “And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible
unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but
what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). Shall we do that?
Conclusion
Dear friends, do we trust in
our Lord God Almighty? God commanded Abram, saying, “I am the
Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect (blameless)”
(Gen 17:1). God still requires you and me, “O man, what is good; and
what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8), and “Can two walk
together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). How can we walk before
God and with God if we do not wholeheartedly trust in and submit to Him
and His Word? Shall we walk before the Lord and say, “For all people
will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name
of the LORD our God for ever and ever” (Micah 4:5)? May God keep you
and me blameless before Him when we humbly walk with Him each day with
our reverence, trust, dependence and submission. Amen.
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