He Has a Name 4
Pause
RECAP
What Jesus calls us defines our purpose, what we call God defines our worship!
Romans 12:1-2
Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.
Call on the name of the lord = worship
Definition: “actual release of power so that the accomplishment is assured.”
He is the only God that has the ability to BE and it IS.
He is jealous of our worship because He wants relationship with us!
El Elyon
He is greater than any force of darkness in this world,
He is bigger than any problem we might come up against in this life.
El Roi
He is one who chases after us, who follows us with goodness.
He is the one who sees us when we feel lonely, all on our own, or when we just need the reminder that God is close.
He is watching over all, that He sees the affairs of people, and knows when we feel lost and unloved.
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We can’t worship a God we don’t know!
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Psalms 46:10 (NIV and TPT)
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; (NIV)
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Surrender your anxiety![a]
Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God.
I am the God above all the nations,
and I will be exalted throughout the whole earth. ___________________________________________
Being still is dependent on KNOWING god.
Knowing God is dependent on being still
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Peace – John 17:3
Eternal life means to know and experience you
as the only true God,[a]
and to know and experience Jesus Christ,
as the Son whom you have sent.
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The need for peace:
Sometimes it’s hard to know who we can trust, we may feel unsafe or uncertain in circumstances surrounding us. We want to know that our loved ones are protected and covered in His care, especially when they’re away from us.
Want to know God – Be Still
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Do you genuinely want to be still?
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Take Time To Press Pause
It’s called the fear of missing out. And many of us suffer from it. We don’t want to miss the next viral video, meme or online trend.
We are afraid of getting behind on what our friends are all talking about. If we don’t constantly interact with what is happening online, we think we could cease to exist!
So we constantly move at a non-stop pace for fear of missing out on even one thing.
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There’s a barrage of endless sounds and images that are constantly flashing before our eyes. There has never been a time in the history of the world when people have had more information shoved in their faces each day than right now.
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Even when we decide to be lazy and “do nothing,” we still end up binge watching, downloading music, playing computer games and instant messaging our friends—all at the same time.
No wonder God often feels so far away in the midst of our busy nonstop lives.
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Want to know God? Be still… This means we need to stop, wait, and pay attention. We need to drown out the noise around us and stop scrolling for a minute.
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This verse in Psalms also says that God will be exalted among the nations. The word exalted means lifted above all else. If God is to be lifted up in our life then we need to turn down our other notifications so that we can start to notice God.
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What if one of the reasons we find it so difficult to start a conversation with God is that we don’t stay still long enough to see how much He is already present in our lives?
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What if by constantly trying not to miss out on things that don’t really matter, we are actually missing out on some important things that really do?
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El Shaddai (Shelter)
“God Almighty” – God’s name, El Shaddai, reminds us that He is all-powerful, He is the Mighty One, He is the 9-1-1 to run to.
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Psalm 91:1
When you sit enthroned[a] under the shadow of Shaddai,[b]
you are hidden[c] in the strength of God Most High.
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And we can find refuge and rest in His shadow. This is comforting in a world where we face many battles day by day. Sometimes it’s hard to know who we can trust, we may feel unsafe or uncertain in circumstances surrounding us.
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He is the God who sees all, knows all, and has the power to go before us, walk with us daily, and cover us from behind. Dwelling in God’s presence gives us shelter and rest.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1
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Yahweh Yireh
“So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” Genesis 22:14
“The Lord Will Provide” – God will provide for our needs. Every one of them, He is faithful, He is able, nothing is too difficult for Him. Sometimes His timing is different than ours, maybe we feel that He’s forgotten and hasn’t heard our prayers.
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Sometimes we get our “needs” and “wants” mixed up, and other times He knows what is better for us than we even know ourselves.
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We can trust Him, that His timing is perfect, and that all things are possible for Him even when we can’t see a way out.
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Abraham found this to be true. Alone with his son Isaac in the wilderness, He knew and trusted that God would provide for a sacrifice in place of his only child. He believed in God’s character, and knew Him to be faithful, loving, and the God who will provide.
Often it seems, that God tests our hearts like He did Abraham’s that day. He wants to know what we’re willing to lay down before Him, before He opens the doors of provision and blessing. May we be found faithful.
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A great way to start a conversation with God today is to press pause and be still. After all, what is the point of moving so fast if you don’t actually know which direction you are supposed to be headed?
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