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Sermons from the Book of Genesis |
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At the first battle of Bull Run in 1861, a fierce Union charge caused confusion in the Confederate ranks. Confederate General Barnard Bee rode up to General Thomas Jackson and reported, "General, they are beating us back." Jackson shouted, "Give them the bayonet.” General Bee galloped back to his men and yelled, "There is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!" The Confederates rallied and that day a new name was born for General Thomas Jackson. He would henceforth be known as General "Stonewall" Jackson.
In the Bible it is not unusual to find pivotal moments marked by the giving of a brand new name. These name changes were significant and were for the purpose of communicating a great truth about the individual or God Himself as He related to that individual. In Genesis 17, we have 3 brand new names being given, and in each there is a message being proclaimed and a great truth being declared. The message that is being declared by these 3 brand new names proclaims the amazing, astounding, and the Almighty power of God. You could write in the margin of your Bible, "Genesis 17 - God Is a God of Power!”
The great Chinese evangelist, Leland Wong, had three sentences, each with a verse of scripture on his letterhead:
In Genesis 17 we are reminded that God is a God of power. Do you believe that God is a God of power? Let's notice these 3 brand new names and see how they remind us of the power of God.
First, we see:
1. THE REVELATION OF GOD'S POWER
The first new name that we see in the chapter is a new name for God. We read in Genesis 17:1, "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect." God first revealed Himself as "God" (Gen.1:1). Later He revealed Himself as "Lord God" (Gen.2:4). Even later He revealed Himself as "Lord" (Gen.4:1). God had revealed Himself to Abram as "Thy Shield" and "Thy Reward" in Genesis 15:1. God progressively revealed Himself. Each new name by which He revealed Himself was a new revelation of Who He was and the kind of God that He was. Now He reveals Himself as the "Almighty God." It is a name that is a revelation of God's power.
In this name we see:
A) An Ability That Is Declared
When God called Himself the "Almighty God" he was declaring His great and glorious power. The Hebrew name for "Almighty God" is "El-Shaddai." Herbert Lockyer calls this name "one of the most potent and precious among divine names." The name "El-Shaddai" occurs 8 times in the Old Testament. The name "El" means "the Strong One," and sets forth God's almightiness. "Shaddai" means "to be strong" and sets forth exhaustless bounty of His strength. Together they speak of One that is all-powerful and is able to do anything.
Theologians have a term for God's power and it is omnipotent, meaning that there is nothing God can't do. He is the Almighty God. I think of the little song:
Got any rivers you think are uncrossable, Got any mountains you cannot tunnel through; God specializes in things thought impossible, And He can do what no other power can do.
Because He is the Almighty God there is no person He can't save, no problem He can't solve, and no prayer He can't answer. He is a God with undeniable, unlimited and unmatched power.
I once was reading about the Brown's Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama. It is one of the world's largest nuclear plants. Its fuel is uranium. I read that there can be created from just one gram of Uranium energy equivalent to 20 tons of TNT. I also read that one gram is about what a small day candle weighs. That candle, if burned, could hardly warm a cup of coffee, yet if that one-gram is converted into 100% energy, it can produce 20,000 tons of TNT or 26.6 million-kilowatt hours of electricity. I want to say that if the Brown's Ferry Nuclear Plant had started running the day God created the Universe and had run 24 hours a day until the present, they could not have produced a fraction of the power God has. He has almighty power for He is the Almighty God!
Secondly, we see:
B) An Attitude That Is Demanded
In verse one, God revealed Himself as the "Almighty God," and then demanded Abraham, "walk before Me, and be thou perfect." God was saying, "Since I am the Almighty God, then you should walk before Me and live a life worthy of Me." Someone has said, "God, being all He is, and me, being what I am, tells me that no sacrifice I make for God is too great."
If God is an infinite God, and He is, then the least that we can do as finite beings is to serve Him and live for Him. Why would someone not want to serve someone who has all power?
Thirdly, we see:
C) An Adoration That Is Deserved
We read in verse 3, that "Abram fell on his face." When he came face to face with the God that is able to do anything, he fell before Him in adoration and worship. When I think of God as being the Almighty God, a God that has unlimited, unconceivable, unending, and undeniable power, I am overwhelmed with His greatness, and find myself wanting to get on my face at His feet, and cry out, "Oh, Lord my God, how great Thou art!"
The first new name we see is a new name God gave Himself. We also see that there was a new name given to Abraham. Secondly, think with me of not only the revelation of God's power, but also:
2. THE RECEIVING OF GOD'S POWER
We read in Genesis 17:5, "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee." God had revealed Himself as a God of power, now we see a man receiving and experiencing that power in his life. Notice the story and the changing of Abram's name.
First, we see:
A) A Human Problem
The name "Abram" means, "father of many." Now think with me for a moment. If anybody had a more ridiculous name by human standards it was Abram. The father of many? Why, he only had one son. You talk about a name that didn’t fit, Abram was it. Can you imagine someone asking him, "What's your name?" "The father of many." "Oh, how many children do you have?" "One." I can imagine the facial expressions and the snickering that went on behind his back, "Oh there goes the father of many whom has only one child."
You might say, "He sure needed a name change." I think about a fellow that wanted to change his name. He appeared before a judge and the judge said, "Mr. Bill Stinks I see here you want to change your name. I believe I understand why. What do you want to change your name to?" The man said, "Joe Stinks, Sir.”
Well, he got a name change and considering the name change from a human perspective, it was about as ridiculous as changing one's name from Bill Stinks to Joe Stinks. God changed his name to Abraham, which means, "father of multitudes." You talk about going from the ridiculous to the extreme, from a human perspective, changing his name from "father of many" to "father of multitudes" was extreme.
The name didn't seem to fit, and what was worse, from a human perspective, it didn't look like it would ever fit. Notice again Genesis 17:1, "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect." Abraham was 99 years old. Someone said that at this time Abraham was president of the H.A.R.P. (Hebrew Association of Retired People). Add on top of that Sarai was no spring chicken either. She was 90 years old. You could say that both Abraham and Sarai, their get-up-and-go and already got-up-and-went.
The possibility of them having children was slim to none. I heard about a 450-pound lady who got up in church and sang "He Lifted Me." The choir director came right behind her and said, "Let's all stand and sing "It Took a Miracle." For them to have children would be nothing short of a miracle.
There was a human problem, but you also see:
B) A Heavenly Power
From a human perspective, it was impossible or highly improbable that Abraham or Sarah could have children. But God had just revealed Himself as the God that could do anything. That gives us a different perspective.
Dr. L. R. Scarborough, at one time president of Southwestern Seminary in Texas, was preaching on the story of Jonah and the whale. When he got home, his son said to him, "Daddy, did you really mean what you preached? Do you really believe that? Daddy, do you believe that a fish could swallow a man and keep him alive for three days and three nights?" This great man sat his son down and said, "Well now son, let me ask you a question. If God could make a man to begin with out of absolutely nothing and if God could make a fish to begin with out of absolutely nothing, son, don't you believe that God could make a fish that could keep a man alive for three days and three nights?" The little fellow said, "Well, if you're going to bring God into it that's different."
When you bring the Almighty God into this situation what at first seemed impossible now become possible. Notice the changing of his name from “Abram” to “Abraham.” Maze Jackson said that Abram starting tithing and God added the "ham." There is more to it than that. When you look at the change you see that there is only a change of 2 letters in the English language, the letters "ha." But in the Hebrew alphabet there was only a one-letter change. What was added was the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. There is only a one-letter change but that one letter marks a significant change. When God changed his name He was adding the sound of a breath. Now you say, but what is so significant about that? The significance of that is that in the ancient languages the words "breath" and "spirit' are the same. When God changed Abram's name to Abraham, He was adding the sound of a breath to his name, or more correctly, He was adding His mighty breath or spirit to his name.
Let me illustrate what I am talking about by taking you back to your schooling days. You may remember studying Einstein's equation E equals MC2 (to the second power). The E represents energy in ergs (mass grams) and the C2 is the velocity of the light squared. If you leave out the C2 you get one erg that is equal to one gram. One erg is less than the energy required for a mosquito to become airborne. But if you add the C2 you get one gram that equals 900 quintillion ergs of energy. What I am saying is that the C2 was added to Abram's name. Abram did not have the power in himself to become the father of multitudes much less the father of many. For him that was humanly impossible. But for the Almighty God, nothing was impossible, thus Abram became Abraham, a man who received and experienced that power in his life.
Here is the difference between fruitfulness and fruitlessness. It is not human ability but divine power that makes the difference. Abraham had already learned the folly of doing things in the flesh. Now he is learning how to do things by God's Spirit. We are a generation that relies largely on what the flesh can do. We pump, prime, push, and pull to get things done and we are fruitless. The secret of fruitfulness is doing things by God's spirit and with God's power upon us. Ishmael’s are the result of the flesh. Isaac's are the result of God's power. Here is something we need to learn: God’s power in us, on us, by us, and through us, is the secret to doing the impossible and seeing the impossible.
You may be an Abram, but if God ever adds His power, you will be an Abraham. The prayer of our heart ought to be that of the old song:
Oh, Lord send the power just now, Oh, Lord send the power just now. Oh, Lord send the power just now, And baptize everyone.
We also see that not only did God give Himself a new name and change the name of Abram, but He also changed Sarai's name. Thirdly, notice:
3. THE REALIZATION OF GOD'S POWER
The third new name we see in Genesis 17, is that of Sarai's. We read in Genesis 17:5, "And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be." In the changing of Sarai's name we see:
A) A Person Experiencing Of God's Power
We are not absolutely sure what the name “Sarai" means. It is commonly believed that it means, "mock" or "to be contentious." But we do know what "Sarah" means. It means "princess." The changing of her name was an indication that she would become he mother of kings, thus it was only right that she be called princess. It was Sarah that would be the one in which the Almighty power of God would be experienced. Her dead body would live by the power of God. She would personally experience the power of God.
I believe each believer can experience God’s in his or her life. I believe God wants to make Himself known in each of us. Many believers are spiritual paupers when they could be spiritual princesses.
We also see:
B) A Personal Example Of God's Power
She would not only experience God's power but would serve throughout history as an example of what God could do. The Jewish people as well as every Christian point back to her say, "That's what God can do."
What is there in your life and about your life that is a testimony to the power of God? What is there in our Churches that is a demonstration of the Almighty God? If there is nothing, let's pray for a new name. |