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The message starts at 17:30.

Have you ever heard the classic idiom, “Might makes right?” A simple dictionary definition says it is, “that the people who have power are able to do what they want because no one can stop them”. Historically there have been many that have subscribed to this idiom in their dealings with others, seeking to use their might to elevate themselves while subjugating others. A, survival of the fittest mentality, if you will. And while it has long been debated whether this phrase should be the credo of humanity, when it comes to God, there is absolutely no question. God is mighty; therefore, He is righty. But is there more to His might than that? Most certainly there is. God’s might is revealed several different ways in Scripture which have a direct impact on our lives beyond Him simply “making the rules”. In the Scriptures today, we will see a few of His mighty ways, and what they mean for us.

3 ways in which our Elohim is mighty. (Gen. 1; Psa. 7:8-11; Jer. 31:31-34)

Thanks to a popular Netflix series the Metallica song Master of Puppets has risen the charts once again. Back in 1986 Metallica frontman James Hetfield did an interview on the song. He spoke about how the song is about drug and how innitially people think they are in control and they won't get addicted. They can continue to do drugs recreationally with no consequences. Isn’t that true though? Most people don’t take drugs thinking they will become an addict. They think they can just play around with it without committing their lives to it. In fact, most people have the same unspoken attitude about God too. They want to play around with Him, experience Him recreationally, but do not have any intention of having Him become their Master. Their Adonai.

Thankfully, unlike drugs, which lead to ruined lives and death, when God becomes our Master, we can look forward to nothing but life and freedom in Him. As we will notice in the account of the prophet Isaiah, when we truly experience God personally, we must respond to Him as our Adonai.

Background: After the first 5 chapters in Isaiah of the prophet calling God’s people to repentance or face destruction for their idolatry, we get a snapshot of Isaiah recording his initial call to prophetic ministry. He receives a vision of God and then a commission from God. It is in this vision/commission that we will see:

2 life changing ways that we must respond to Adonai. (Isaiah 6:1-13)

From Voldemort to the Vatican, it is not uncommon for beings of great power to illicit strong visceral responses at the mention of their name. For the former it is out of fear. For the latter, God, it is out of reverence. In fact, in our culture, people used to react when God’s name was taken in vain, but not so much anymore. Now it is not uncommon in many family films to have the name of God or Jesus be used flippantly and thrown away at least once or twice, if not more. But why is the name of God, and more specifically Yahweh or Jehovah so sacred?

God’s people Israel were slaves in Egypt and God has raised up a guy by the name of Moses to free His people and lead them into a promised land. As Moses was at times seemingly insecure, God went to some extra lengths using visual aids like a burning bush to persuade Moses to take up the task. When Moses asks God what to tell the people, when he is trying to free them to convince them that he is legit, God tells Moses to use His personal name. As we consider todays text, we will see why God personal name is sacred.

3 reasons the name YHWH/YAHWEH/JEHOVAH must be sacred for us. (Exodus 3:13-15)

If you have been a Christian long enough, you have probably realized that God in His sovereignty often works apart from the difficulty of our circumstances. In fact, some of the hardest lives have been lived by some of the godliest people. In fact, I believe that God does not want to make our lives better, as much as He wants to make us better. How does He do that? He does that when we seek His favor.

Much like Psalm 147 two weeks ago, 85 was most likely written right after God’s people returned from exile in Babylon. They found themselves frustrated because while they were grateful for God freeing them, they could not understand why life wasn’t better. They recognized that going home was an act of His mercy, but believed that they were still somehow lacking His favor. While favor cannot be earned, Scripture tells us that it is something that can be sought.

Four things we can do to seek the Lord’s favor [happiness]. (Psalm 85)

While widely considered to be the best known and most loved “confidence” Psalm, as well as one oft used at funerals, this memorial marks the first time I’ve ever preached Psalm 23 at a funeral. I am glad for this. I am glad for this because when I think about those we have lost, I think about the confidence we can have. Not a false confidence or arrogance, but a genuine confidence that could only come from one place – God. This Psalm was written by a man who also had great confidence, the shepherd turned warrior turned king, David. Under the inspiration of God’s Spirit, David penned these words as he reflected on how he pictured God’s presence in his life. We are going to consider these 3 pictures as well.

3 Pictures of the Lord from Psalm 23 in Our Lives (Psalm 23)

NASA Reveals the Webb Telescope’s first images of the unseen universe, and it can be easy to see a picture like the ones released this last week of the universe and be in awe of the greatness of God. It can be just as easy if we are not careful though to become discouraged by such greatness when we think of our own smallness by contrast. Yet even though we are so much smaller than God, He does not forget about us. It is this kind of care that makes Him infinitely worthy of our praise. This Psalm was most likely written right after God’s people returned from exile in Babylon. This was a point in history when they would have felt quite small, and not powerful as a people. Perhaps even like we do sometimes. In the midst of this rebuilding, the Psalmist points the eyes of the people to the greatness of the Lord, and calls them to praise Him.

3 Reasons we praise the Lord for His greatness (Psalm 147:1-20)

What is a covenant and why should our covenant with God matter? The prophets of the Old Testament were often called God’s prosecuting attorneys. They brought before the people the case God had against them. And we see throughout most of the prophets those three messages 1. Repent! 2. No? Then God will judge you! 3. Ultimately there is hope in future restoration. And this is very true of the book of Micah. The people during this time were under the Mosaic Covenant found in Deuteronomy. By the time we get to our story in Micah, it was a time of turmoil, war, injustice, and crisis. Micah cried out to the people to repent of their sins, listing off their idolatry, injustice, lies, deceit, and unfaithfulness. In chapter 6 we have Micah giving an indictment of the Lord against Judah. We have our court room scene; Micah is acting as the prosecuting attorney of the Lord against the people who have broken their covenant. Micah 6:1-8 Shows us what a covenant relationship with God should look like, what God wants that covenant relationship to look like. While we may not be under the mosaic covenant we are under the new covenant if we have a relationship with God through Jesus. Through this passage we will see how what while we are no longer under the law, that what God requires of us under that covenant has not changed. And we will answer the question Why our does covenant relationship with God matter?

Passage: Micah 6:1-8