GOD’S WORD FOR AUGUST 25 ~ ~Acts 17:28~ ~ “for in Him we live and move and have our being, ….”
From Dr. Tony Evans’s book, “The Power of God’s Names”
In Genesis 15:18 we read about the intimacy with God that comes from submission to Him:
“ON THAT DAY the Lord made a covenant with Abram.” Keep in mind that a covenant is a relational act tied to intimate (covenantal) love.
Abram’s submission to God as master, ruler, and owner throughout the entire conversation recorded in Genesis 15 opened the path for him to hear more, for God to give more, and for the covenant to be reestablished on that day.
The best way I know to illustrate this in our contemporary language is with the phrase, “Yes, Sir” or “Yes, Ma’am” Of course, these words don’t always carry much weight, particularly if they are merely a cultural gesture tied to upbringing. Yet when they are spoken with the fullest amount of respect and meaning that can be attached to them, they can open up the door to greater communication, greater revelation, quicker timing, and deeper intimacy in any situation.
What these words denote, quite simply, is the surrender of submission. Submission is a powerful tool in our relationships with the all-powerful ADONAI God. Unfortunately, too any Christians today have settled for JEHOVAH without experiencing the full power of ADONAI.
To experience all that God can do for you as ruler, master, owner over your life, you have to knowingly and willingly surrender to Him. That means He gets to call the shots. He gets to have the final say in your decisions. You consider His perspective as you make your choices and decide how to use your time.
Many people want God to do what His word says He can do, but they don’t give Him the right to own them. God isn’t going to disclose more of Himself as JEHOVAH (revealing Himself and His ways to you) if you’re unwilling to confess Him as ADONAI. If you’re unwilling to surrender ownership over your time, thoughts, talents, and treasures to Him, the information flow stops. It becomes more like a drip rather than a full force of Him fulfilling His Word in your life.
One of our problems in the body of Christ is that we have too many Christians who want God to get them to heaven but who don’t want God to own them on earth. Yet unless you confess God as ADONAI, your experience of His self-revelation as JEHOVAH will be limited. You may hear His Word and even say, “God’s promises are true and amen.” yet the fulfillment of those promises in your life are often tied to your surrender to Him as ADONAI.
God must have the right to own you if He is going to take the responsibility to do something with you. No owner on earth would invest in something that he can’t legitimately access or claim ownership to, and God usually won’t either.
When Abram surrendered to God as ADONAI, he received the promise of a child, further revelation, and an intimate covenant. In fact, he eventually received a new name—Abraham, the “father of nations.”