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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/scott-macleod/our-god/
Turn in our Bibles, please, to Genesis chapter 13, very first book in our Bibles. Genesis chapter 13, and we're going to start at verse number 14, please. Something that affects my heart in worship is just seeing how the Word of God presents God to us, and we're just going to take time to look at a Hebrew name that brings before us a characteristic of our God.
Genesis 13, verse number 14, just going to read these verses, and then we're going to go into chapter 14 and 15 just to sort of get the background a little bit. Genesis 13, verse 14, and the Lord God said unto Abram, After that lot was separated from him, lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward.
For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
Now, don't read that too lightly. I want you to try to stand beside Abram. He is not looking at an empty field. You're going to discover from reading chapter 14 that there's five kings, five nations that are dwelling where he's looking.
He's only a small number with him. You're going to find out in chapter 14 that when he does go to war, he takes only 318 servants. So just try to get beside him and just try to know. God is telling him, see all of this?
And in his mind, he's going, well, yeah, I can see it, but it's all occupied. Five kings, five nations. God says, I'm going to give it all to you. See all those sand, the sand? I'm pretty small. God says, look, no man will be able to number your offspring.
I mean, I just sort of keep this in the back of your mind. Let's look at verse 17. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee. Now, Genesis 14 is taken up with a war.
I'm going to touch on that in a minute, but let's just go quickly down to verse 18. After a battle has happened and Abram has gone out to recover his brother Lot. Here's what happens. He's on the way back.
Verse 18 of chapter 14. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine. Now, here comes the word I want. And he was the priest of the Most High God. Is that little expression, the Most High God?
Verse 19. And he blessed him and 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. And he gave him tithes of all.
Then we have the king of Sodom comes, verse 21. He was one of those five kings that dwelt in the land. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand unto the Lord, the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth.
Now he proceeds to mention a few more things there, but look at chapter 15, verse 1. After these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.
Just an introductory comment for those that have a mind to look into these things. I highly recommend a Thomas Newberry study Bible and really any version, any King James Bible will give you this certain coded system that is in our Bibles.
We might not know about this, but there are many different Hebrew names for God. He is presented in different ways by the use of these names. Now, if you have taken time to notice in your King James Bible or a Newberry Bible, sometimes you'll run into a capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D.
Sometimes you'll run into capital G, capital O, capital D. Behind that English word is really the Hebrew word Jehovah, and that is bringing before you the covenant-keeping God. And if you did a little study on that little word Jehovah, it's made up of three Hebrew verbs, and it's interesting in contrast to how you and I think of time.
We always talk about the past, the present, and the future. But the Spirit of God has taken that lovely word Jehovah, and what comes first is the future. Then comes the present, and then comes the past.
That's how those three verbs are arranged. So that is why Jehovah can come, the Lord, a capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, and he can come to Abraham and he can say, listen, I'm going to give you all of this.
Why? Because my very name Jehovah means I will be. In the future. I guarantee it. Therefore, I will give you what I tell you. That's in that little word. Now you can take note of that, and as you're going through the Old Testament, it's interesting just to find out when and where that is used, and also in the New Testament.
Now you're going to notice also in the Old Testament and the New Testament, you're going to notice a capital L, small o, small r, small d. Lord. That's Adonai. That's master, Lord. And it's interesting to find out just the context of where those things are brought before you.
The final one I'll leave you with is God, capital G, small o, small d. That's your generic term for God, L. It means strength, and it's nice to see where the Spirit of God changes them. And then, of course, those that know a little bit more about these things, it's wonderful how the Spirit of God does compounds, and he'll combine certain words with certain words, and that is a study in itself.
Now the one I want to bring before you this afternoon with the help of God is this one here, the Most High God. First time it appears is Genesis 14. The setting is very interesting. What the word means is, we're going to learn some Hebrew this afternoon.
Some says, well, don't you realize that this is Sunday afternoon? And kind of everybody's a little tired. Well, you already know quite a bit of Hebrew. How many people said amen today? That's a Hebrew word.
Taken straight out of the Old Testament, transliterate it right into the new, amen. There you go. We're all scholars now. How many people have quoted the famous words of the Lord from the cross? Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani.
That's Hebrew. You didn't even realize you knew Hebrew. There you go. You know Hebrew. Well, here's another little word. The Most High. The Most High. El Elyon. It's a wonderful word. It means the strongest of the strong.
You remember as kids, we always bragged about our father. My father's stronger than yours. Now, I don't want to take that looseness into the scriptures. I don't mean that. But what that little Hebrew word means, El Elyon, is the strongest of the strong.
And then it's introduced to Abram here, and it's the possessor of heaven and earth. It's very interesting back, if you do a little study on just what happened back in the Old Testament, you'll remember all of these pagan nations that dwelt in the land.
And all of those pagan nations, they would, of course, picked an idol. We heard our brother mention Astaroth and Balaam and all these different things. And they would have maybe picked up, for instance, the Philistines.
They picked up the body of a fish, and they put a head on it, a man. And they said, Baal, this is our god, Dagon. And they would, when they went out to war, they would take this so-called image, and it would be at the forefront, with all their military might behind them.
And those nations that were going to war, they would come to meet in a valley, and at the head of this nation would be their idol, and at the head of this nation would be their idol. And then they would go to battle, into war.
And the nation that won, what would they do? They would take the idol that was defeated, and they would carry it back into their nation, back into their temple, where they had their idol, and they would set their idol up, and they would take the defeated nation with their idol, and they would put that idol on its knees, or bend it, before their idol.
There you go. They would stand back, and they would say, our god, our idol, defeated this one. Remember the time when the Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant? God didn't give them an idol, no. But God gave them something that he said, my presence will be above it.
And they used to take the Ark of the Covenant into battle, the children of Israel. Do you remember the time when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant? That's just what they did. They took the Ark of the Covenant into their temple, the Philistines.
It's a wonderful story to read. And they put that Ark of the Covenant right before, at a lower angle, than Dagon, their god. And the Philistines all went to bed. And they woke up in the morning, and Dagon was flat on the ground.
Fell down overnight. What a lovely picture. Oh, they picked up Dagon. Oh, poor Dagon fell down. And they put him back up again. And they went to bed. The second day they came into the temple, and this time Dagon was flat on the face, and he had his head cut off, and his hands cut off.
Just a little picture, dear child of God, of the power and the might of our God. That's what I want you to get occupied with. Here's this man, Abram. And it's not a wonder God came to him and said, Fear not.
Here before him were these five nations and these five kings. And they had their idols. And they were possessing the land. And God says, I'm going to give it all to you, Abram. You ever sometimes wonder at the promises of God?
You ever sometimes have a little tiny doubt that goes through your mind, Can God do this? You ever sometimes feel apprehensive just about presenting the gospel to somebody? That's where I'm going to bring it.
Maybe they're too bad. Maybe they're too irreligious. You ever think like that sometimes? Oh, so-and-so has been in their sins for so many years. Oh, we've asked them night. We've asked them series after series to come out to meetings.
And they're just not coming out to meetings. They're just too far gone. No, they're not. No, they're not. I'm going to prove that to you in a minute. And here's this man, Abram. And he's been giving these promises of God.
And all of a sudden, what happens before his eyes, one day he looked at that field that was full of five kings. Thirteen years ago, the king of Persia swept down out of the north. And he subdued all of that land.
And now you read for the first time in the Bible, the word 13, the number 13 is linked with rebellion. And those five kings that were all in that valley that Abram looked at and God said, I'll give it to you.
They rebelled against the king of Persia. You know what the king of Persia did? Amazing how God can move nations. God takes the king of Persia with three other kings. And they sweep down out of the north.
And they just flood into that valley. And they wipe them out. Days earlier, Abram was looking at a valley that was full of people and nations. Now he's looking at the results of a battle. And it's empty.
Tremendous. But in the process, Lot is taken captive, his brother. And we all know the story. Abraham is concerned. Abram. And he gathers 318. And he goes 120 miles after these kings of the north. And all the booty, and he finds them.
You think about that now. He's only got 318 people. He's going after four kings, four nations, coming from the north. It's not a wonder God said, don't fear. That's quite a thing. And he comes upon them.
And he surprises them. And he recovers all the stuff. And he recovers Lot. And he comes back now into the land. And as he's coming back into the land, he meets this man, Melchizedek. Representing El Elyon.
The strongest of the strong. Yes, Abraham, he just went up against four kings and all their little idols. See, they were very territorial, those idols. And that's where this word comes in. As Abraham is listening to this man, Melchizedek, unfold his God, the possessor of heaven and earth.
Our God is not territorial. He's not restricted to some little area. You can't take the God of the Bible and you can't box him in and say he's only able to work in this area. Maybe there's some full-time preachers here.
And maybe we can use this word to encourage you. Maybe there's someone thinking of missionary lands. And there's nations that are under the grip of Islam. And you almost back up and go, oh, we'll go elsewhere.
Not if El Elyon says go. Because he owns it all. There's nothing beyond his grip. Nothing that he can't move. El Elyon. The strongest of the strong. You want to know as you go through the word of God, it's interesting in the Old Testament where that word is used.
Do you know who thought that he could topple El Elyon? Isaiah, Satan. That's the word that he uses. I will ascend up and I will be like the most high God. Down he came. You can't go against God. Do you know who else thought he could go against God?
Nebuchadnezzar. The word is used all through Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar sees that image. The gold and the silver and the brass and the iron. And the legs and the toes of clay and iron. And God is the most high God.
It's just unveiling to him. Here is your little kingdom. It's going to be replaced by this little kingdom. By this little kingdom. By this little kingdom. By this little kingdom. And eventually by the revived Roman Empire.
Nebuchadnezzar doesn't believe it. Twenty some years later in his life, he says, I want to build an image. Do you know what he does? He builds the entire thing of gold. I'm not going to listen to the decree of the most high God.
My little kingdom of gold. The head. Daniel tried to tell me that I was the head of gold. No, sir. I'm going to build the whole thing of gold. Because my kingdom will last forever. What was the last thing Nebuchadnezzar heard before he went out to eat grass for seven years?
Do you know what Daniel said to him? Until you know that the most high ruleth in the kingdom of men. And there's that man, Nebuchadnezzar, on his knees. Eating grass for seven years. And one day he lifts up his eyes to who?
The most high God. Yes, he reigns in the kingdom of men. Isn't that wonderful? Wonderful to go into the life of David. King David. And find out where David acknowledged the most high God. Not a wonder he called him my refuge.
My rock. My fortress. My tower. See, dear child of God, if you want to get worship in your heart. You got to hold your God. Get a hold of his greatness. Take time to look into these words and to meditate upon it.
That's one thing as we were in our Bible study this morning. We didn't have a chance to bring it out. But that's one thing that God made sure the children of Israel understood in the Old Testament. He said, when I came down and was on the mountain, I gave the law.
You saw no similitude. You didn't see an image. God said, you let all those pagan nations make an image. But don't you make an image of me. You know why? Because God always reserved his image, his son.
That's who was going to be his representation. Do you know what you and I do sometimes? You know what I do sometimes? I might not make a physical image out of my God, but I make a mental one. God, you can't do this.
That's just as wrong as a physical image. Get this vision before you. Here's this man, Abram. I'm sure his heart is full of fear. He's just gone against four kings. He took them by surprise. And now he's come back, and I'm sure he's thinking, those men are going to rally.
They're going to realize what I did. And they're going to come after me. And they're going to wipe me out. And God brings along this man. Listen, Abram. Don't you worry. That's why in chapter 15 I tried to, I didn't emphasize the time.
Look at chapter 15. Here's where, remember I told you about the capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D? Jehovah, the one that will be in the future. Look at it, verse 15. He combines it with the most high.
After these things, the word of the Lord, Jehovah. And there's Abram with all his fear. And God's taken him back to, remember the promises I gave you? Remember what Melchizedek said? I own it all. I own every piece of it.
The possessor of heaven and earth. Nothing can go against me. And Jehovah said, fear not. My, I tell you, when my God tells me not to fear, I can take that to the bank. Now, you're wondering, you're probably sitting there wondering, how does this apply to the gospel?
Well, let's turn in our New Testament. We're near the end. Mark, chapter 5. It's interesting, the words, titles that are used in the New Testament. We all know, we need to be reminded that nothing is just by accident in the Bible.
So, with that image in our minds of this term, El Elyon, the strongest, strong one. Let's look at what happens in Mark, chapter 5. And verse number, I should just introduce it to you, verse number 1. Now, the Lord Jesus is moving across the Sea of Galilee.
And this is going to be in the Gospel of Mark. I want you to get this. This is going to be the first time the Lord Jesus steps out of Jewish territory. And he steps into Gentile land, Gadara. All right?
Chapter 5, verse 1. And they came over onto the other side of the sea into the country of the Gadarenes. And we all remember the story of the man that was possessed with the demons. And they were keeping pigs and so on and so forth.
Look at verse number 7. Verse number 6, the demoniac. And when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him and cried with a loud voice and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God?
Could those Gentile demons, if I word it that way, are they going to be able to stop God's Son advancing into Gentile territory? Well, what do we learn from the Old Testament? We know what happened. The man is healed.
And as a result of that one man being healed, the Lord tells him to go into Decapolis, the ten cities. And he starts to evangelize the ten cities. And then when the Lord comes back, when he was there the first time, they said, leave.
Then when he comes back, a great multitude came out to see him. Isn't that wonderful? So there's El Elyon. Let's go to Acts 16 for the last one. Acts 16. This now is not the Lord Jesus. It's the disciples, Paul and Silas.
And once again, on this second missionary trip, he's now stepping into Macedonia. He's stepping into Gentile territory. And once again, we've got this woman that is possessed with a devil, and she starts to cry after them.
And look what she says in verse 17. Acts 16, verse 17. Acts 16, verse 17. The same followed Paul and us and cried, saying, listen to it, these men are the servants of the most high God. What happened here?
Once again, El Elyon defeated. And he won. Isn't that beautiful? You know what encourages me as I attempt to preach the gospel? Do you know what encourages me when I look into the word of God and I can read words?
Mark 16, verse 20. And they went forth and preached everywhere the Lord working with them. Isn't it wonderful to have El Elyon working with you? Does that encourage anybody? I get a great thrill out of working with Murray.
You might not think that's possible, but I do. It's great when he asks me to come with him. Someone so invited us. Let's go. Wonderful. I don't mind admitting to you freely here this afternoon that I do have preachers that are idols.
He's not one of them, so don't get carried away. And I would think it would be a tremendous thrill if, like, David Gilliland called me from Ireland and said, Scott, I want you to work with me today. Man, I do somersaults with the phone.
That's tremendous. But God, dear child of God, the strongest strong one, nobody greater than him, the possessor of everything, he says, I want to spread the gospel with you. Are you afraid? Yeah, we're all afraid.
I like what Peter Orsak told me once. No, it was this man. He leaned over to me once and he said, are you nervous? I said, yes, good. He said, we wouldn't want you up here if you weren't. Yes, we're nervous when we present the gospel.
But don't let fear cripple you. Because remember, behind your weak presentation of the gospel is the living word of God, the possessor of heaven and earth. So may you be encouraged. Who is on your mind to speak to about the gospel?
You just give it over to the Lord. You just present it. Because God has all kinds of area he wants to conquer with his gospel.