Contending for the faith | Making Disciples | Equipping the Saints for Ministry

ARE YOU BIG, AND YOUR GOD SMALL?

By Jeannette Haley

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” – Psalm 8:4

      When the sweet psalmist of Israel asked God the above question in Psalm 8:4, he did so with a humble heart, full of wonder and praise, his soul open to the counsel of God, and his spirit rejoicing in the excellence of the name of God in all the earth. “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above all the heavens” verse 1, and verse 9, “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” Who, or what can be exalted above and beyond the Most Excellent High God, Creator of heaven and earth? The answer is, no one and no thing! Yet, both the ungodly and Satan, through pride and arrogance seek to be “exalted above the heavens.” In Isaiah 14:12-15 we read, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

      Oh! What a glorious day that will be when the Lord and King of all the earth exalts the humble and brings down the proud. Mary, the mother of Jesus, proclaimed, “He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away” Luke 1:51-53. What a powerful and prophetic statement that is! Those who are watching and praying can see what is taking place in this great conflict, yet many who profess to be Christians in these latter days have a very restricted, narrow view, or knowledge, of God. Why is this? Why has the powerful God of the great Old Testament Patriarchs, Prophets, Priests and Kings been “archived” and “compartmentalized” in the dusty, antiquated realms of theological persuasions?

      The failure of the organized church to dig deeper in order to come higher has had a major adverse effect upon the world in which we live. The sustained erosion of the knowledge, awe, reverence, holiness and fear of the great I AM, the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, has given way to a concentrated focus on mankind and the cares of this world. Indeed, the once subtle exaltation of man, rather than God, has now become the acceptable centerpiece of the world’s “church systems” regardless of what they call themselves. A.W. Tozer said, “The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshiping men. This she has not done deliberately, but little by little and without her knowledge; and her very unawareness only makes her situation all the more tragic.”

      There is no lack of flippancy in much of our religious world today, along with downright agonizing ignorance! The other day we were listening to a person who started out right by declaring that God is the Creator of Heaven and Earth, but then he went on about God being the “great energy” and “force,” and so on. Even though he thinks he’s not in the New Age camp, that is exactly what he was confessing to. A. W. Tozer wrote, “In Isaiah 6 we see a clear portrayal of what happens to a person in the mystery of the Presence. Isaiah, overpowered within his own being, can only confess humbly, ‘I am a man of unclean lips!’ I remind you that Isaiah recognized the ‘strangeness’—something of the mystery of the Person of God. In that Presence, Isaiah found no place for joking or for clever cynicism or for human familiarity. He found a strangeness in God, that is, a presence unknown to the sinful and worldly and self-sufficient human. A person who has sensed what Isaiah sensed will never be able to joke about ‘the Man upstairs’ or the ‘Someone up there who likes me.’”

      For our own sakes, we need to get past the shallow and surface “explanations” of God that others try to pass on to us as sufficient. We need to know who God is based on what His Word and the Holy Spirit reveals about Him. We need to know how to approach Him in the right way, how to worship Him properly and how to walk before Him. We must believe what He has revealed about Himself in His Word and by His Spirit, and stop accepting as truth the opinions, platitudes, conclusions and cliches of others, whether they originate from “pop religious culture” or from the Jesuit-altered, adulterated, watered-down, twisted and distorted gnostic “Bible” versions. Personal Bible study, meditation on the Word, and prayer are as essential to a strong, secure and satisfying life in Christ as organic, natural, healthy food is to the body.

      Spurgeon declared, “If you wish to know God you must know his word; if you wish to perceive his power you must see how he worketh by his word; if you wish to know his purpose before it is actually brought to pass you can only discover it by his word.” Oh! The priceless, precious, powerful, living Word of God! If we are to regain the fear, awe, reverence and adoration for God that He and He alone deserves, then we must go back to the Authorized Version of the Bible and learn of Him there. Do we really know God for ourselves, or do we merely assume we know God because of what others have taught us? If we are lacking in our knowledge of who God is, then how can we pray effectively and confidently?

      One way to begin is by learning the Names of God. Psalm 9:10 says, “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” Spurgeon said, “Ignorance is worst when it amounts to ignorance of God, and knowledge is best when it exercises itself upon the Name of God. This most excellent knowledge leads to the most excellent grace of faith. O, to learn more of the attributes and character of God. Unbelief, that hooting night bird, cannot live in the light of divine knowledge, it flies before the sun of God’s great and gracious Name. If we read this verse literally, there is, no doubt, a glorious fulness of assurance in the names of God….By knowing His Name is also meant an experimental acquaintance with the attributes of God, which are every one of them anchors to hold the soul from drifting in seasons of peril. The Lord may hide His face for a season from His people, but He never has utterly, finally, really, or angrily forsaken them that seek Him. Let the poor seekers draw comfort from this fact, and let the finders rejoice yet more exceedingly, for what must be the Lord’s faithfulness to those who find if He is so gracious to those who seek….The names of God inspire trust. JEHOVAH Jireh, Tsidkenu, Rophi, Shammah, Nissi, ELOHIM, SHADDAI, ADONAI, etc….”

      How lovely, how wonderful, how utterly delightful, and how satisfying is Genesis 1:1. Ever since I was a small child, this first verse in God’s Holy book has been a healing balm for my soul, like golden honey, reviving, life-giving, and satisfying; melting away all doubt, fear, and distress for, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” That settles the question as to how everything came about, and by placing faith in what the Bible clearly states, a powerful foundation stone is established that cannot be moved by a multitude of ridiculous theories of over-educated fools.

      The Hebrew word for God in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim which is the plural form of EL, meaning “strong one.” It is used of false gods, but when used of the one true God, it is a plural of majesty and intimates the trinity. It is especially used of God’s sovereignty, creative work, mighty work for Israel and in relation to His sovereignty, (Gen. 1:1, 17:7, Ps 19:1 Jer. 31:33). This is important to remember when we’re tempted to think that somehow, we’re invincible, infallible, or greater than we really are and become so puffed up with pride and “knowledge” that our view of God grows dim in the process. Humanly speaking, what we tend to believe with the carnal mind is an indication of what we secretly wish to pursue, gain and experience. Never forget, Satan is more aware of this weakness in humanity than we are, until it is too late.

      In Genesis 15:2 we read, “And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?” Now, Abram asked this of the LORD after He said to Abram, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” (Genesis 15:1b.) Abram called the name of the Lord “Adonai” which means “master” or “Lord” showing His sovereignty over us. Jesus is Adonai to those who recognize and worship as Him as Lord and Master. In the satanic realm of Freemasonry, Adonai is much hated, and I quote: “The testimony of 33 degree freemason proves that high degree freemasons worship Satan in religion of freemasonry. Adonay is one of the Hebrew names of God. High degree freemasons believe that Lucifer (satan) is God of light and God of good, and he struggles for humanity against the God of the Bible (Adonay). High degree freemason teaches that the God of the Bible is God of darkness and evil.”

      I mention this fact because, as many of you know, the battle between the righteous and the wicked is intense and in a full-blown battle “behind the scenes.” Satan and his Cabal, made up of Satan’s wealthy, world-planner “elites,” are determined to overthrow and destroy all nations, governments, and systems in order to establish their “New World Order” which is totally anti-Christ. If they succeed, real Christianity will be banned, the Bible outlawed, and Christians martyred. You can learn the history of this Babylonian one-world goal by searching on line for “Following The Cabal” and listen to the video series. It shows how we got to where we are, and you will have a new understanding of ancient history, and appreciation for prophecies concerning the end days.

      Another name for God is El Elyon which means, God Most High. In Genesis 14:19, 20 where the king of Salem, Melchizedek, was also the priest of the most high God, and when he blessed Abram he said, “Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.” How can the enemies of God remain standing when God’s people call upon “the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth?” When we pray in faith, and acknowledge that God is El Elyon, who or what can stand against us?

      In Genesis 21:33, Psalm 90:1, and Isaiah 40:28 we find El Olam: “The Everlasting God.” El Olam emphasizes God’s unchangeableness and is connected with His inexhaustibleness. In Isaiah 40:28 God asked, “Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.”

       We find another name for God in Genesis 17:1 we read that “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.” This time God introduced Himself as El Shaddai or Almighty God. This is when God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, and made a covenant with him, gave him many promises, and established circumcision.

      A few other names for God: Israel’s Covenantal God is known as Yahweh, or I AM THAT I AM, Exodus 3:14, The LORD God. Jehovah Jirah, The Lord Provides, Genesis 22:14; Jehovah Rophe, The Lord Heals, Exodus 15:26; Jehovah Nissi, The Lord Is My Banner, Exodus 17:15, 16; Jehovah Mekadesh, The Lord Who Sanctifies You, Leviticus 20:8; Jehovah Shalom, The Lord is Peace, Judges 6:24; Jehovah Tsidkeu, The Lord Is Our Righteousness, Jeremiah 23:6; Jehovah Rohi, The Lord Is my Shepherd or the God Who Sees Me, Psalm 23:1; Jehovah Shammah, The Lord Is There, Ezekiel 48:35

      Did you know that there are over 200 names and titles for Jesus in the Bible? Space doesn’t allow for them to all be listed here, but you can find that fascinating information on the Internet. We serve a mighty God, One who knows us better than we know ourselves. The question is, why do some insist on being greatly exalted in their own eyes, while merely tacking God onto their lives? Perhaps the answer to that is what Rayola said to me recently: “Life is about learning, and life is a teacher.” Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” Matthew 11:28-30. This invitation from Jesus is personal, and it is to you and to me. Let us not shrug it off as something that applies to others, for this is God’s will that we learn of Him. Failure to heed His instruction will result in magnifying self in our own eyes, while diminishing God in all our thoughts, concerns, goals, and ways.

      King David in writing Psalm 25:8 said, “Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.” Even sinners are taught by the LORD in the way that they should go so if they turn their backs on him and walk on the broad path to destruction, they have no one to blame in the day of judgment except themselves. He also wrote in Psalm 71:17, “O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.” The Lord teaches us so that we can go forth and declare His wondrous works. The Lord’s instructions to Israel were to teach their children. The Lord said, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” Deuteronomy 6:4-7. If the church was as diligent to teach and train the children as God commanded Israel, it is this writer’s contention that the great evils we are facing in America in these end days could not have gained so much ground and taken root in the satanic soil of rebellion, unbelief, anger, hatred, lawlessness, drugs, perversion, and anarchy to the extent that it has.

       Jeremiah 32:33 says, “And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.”  This is what the LORD, the God of all flesh, said to Jeremiah. The people were so rebellious that they refused to be taught of the LORD, which resulted in death and destruction. Sound familiar?

      Jesus said in John 6:45, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” One of my favorite prophecies is, “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” Habakkuk 2:14.

      The great challenge for the church today is to keep our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ and our duty towards Him in light of His glory and grace. We must take a firm stand against the overflowing tide of “self-isms” that are sweeping through Christendom with their dangerous undertow of mesmerizing subtle lies and deception, and pray for courage to reprove, correct and instruct in righteousness. It is Jesus Christ, not man, who must be lifted up. Paul declared, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” Philippians 3:10.

      Oswald Chambers said, “A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we will have the realization of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives, and He will bring us back to the same point over and over again until we do. Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus Christ through his good works. Whatever we may be doing— even eating, drinking, or washing disciples’ feet— we have to take the initiative of realizing and recognizing Jesus Christ in it. Every phase of our life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father even in the most menial task. “Jesus, knowing…that He had come from God and was going to God,…took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet…” (John 13:3-5). The aim of a spiritually vigorous saint is ‘that I may know Him…’ Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am not here for self-realization, but to know Jesus Christ. In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.”

      In these latter days of turmoil and world-shaking events, we need to get past ourselves, fix our hearts on how great our God is, His omnipotence, omnipresence, immutability, and omniscience, and on Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, the Lord of lords, and King of kings, and pray to be an overcomer—one that is strong in the strength of the LORD.  Daniel 11:32, “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall be corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Daniel 12:3, And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

      Do you have a better goal than that for your present life?