Open your Bibles to Hosea chapter 4, verse 6, Hosea chapter 4, verse 6. The prophet Hosea says, my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for me. In the New Living Translation, it says, My people are being destroyed because they don't know me. Now, it's interesting when you hear that phrase, my people are being destroyed because they don't know me. That word destroyed means to be cut off or separated from.
And so my people are separated from me because they lack a true understanding of who I am. And so my people are being destroyed. My people are separated because they don't understand who I am. And the rest of that verse says they've actually rejected the knowledge. They've rejected the knowledge of who God is. And so they're destroyed because you don't know who God is. We started a series talking about the names of God, and we've gone through Elohim,
the creator. We talked about Abba, the father. Last week, we talked about Jehovah Jireh. And today I want to talk about one of the names of God that I believe is one of my favorite is El Shaddai. And one of the reasons or three reasons, I should say, for this series is to reveal his nature and his character, to deepen our relationship with him and to guide our prayer life and worship experience. My people are separated from me because they lack a true understanding of who I am.
And so I have a lot of names, right, that I go by. Or let me say it this way. A lot of people call me different names. Obviously, my name is Devon, right? Some people call me Pastor. Some call me Pastor Devon. I get called Bishop. I get called Pastor Alexander. I get called Pastor D. Only a handful of people call me Daddy, Dad. Some of my good friends that I've known a long time, they call me Devo. And if you knew me when I was in seventh or eighth grade, I was called Smiley.
I was playing football, Pop Warner football, and the coach said I was smiling all the time. And so he started calling me Smiley. And then that took off where everybody in the middle school, Mitchell Middle School is what I went to. And everybody in the middle school started calling me Smiley during those years. When I got to high school, it wore off. I didn't want to be called Smiley in high school. But nevertheless, depending on when you met me, it depends on what name I am called.
And I believe God is the same way. When you meet him, when you know him, when you get a chance to have an understanding of him, I believe you should want to go deeper in all of the names that he has called throughout scripture. In Genesis 17, one through two in the New Living Translation. Genesis 17, one through two, when Abram was 99 years old, watch this, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am El Shaddai, God Almighty. So he's 99 years old when he discovers El Shaddai, God Almighty.
He says, serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. Verse two, and I will make a covenant with you by which I will guarantee to you to give you countless descendants. We understand that Abram at this time, 99 years old, no children, and he's just learning the name El Shaddai. God reveals himself to Abram as the almighty God who can fulfill his promises. Anytime you see in scripture, almighty God, that is in reference to the name El Shaddai, almighty God.
And almighty God, El Shaddai says that I'm going to create a covenant with you. And that covenant is a binding agreement between two parties that carries a perpetual promise. Once again, a covenant is a binding agreement between two parties that carries a perpetual promise. El Shaddai is partnering with you to carry this promise that he will look after you and fulfill his promises in your life. El means God or power, and Shaddai means almighty.
All-sufficient one, the many-breasted one, God of the mountain, and the overpower word. And so El Shaddai is God almighty who can look after you better than anyone else can. Come on, somebody say amen. Now, Almighty means he's going to show superior power and strength. He's of great size, huge and great in amount, and he's unconquerable. He's more than capable of being all that his people need, and there is nothing too hard for El Shaddai. He is the Almighty.
He's also known as the All-Sufficient One. He is the God who is more than enough to meet your needs for each and every situation. He's more than willing, more than capable of superseding, watch this, all natural laws and turning them into supernatural miracles. I want to say it again. He will supersede natural laws and turn them into supernatural miracles. we're talking about El Shaddai. We're not talking about Devon.
We're talking about El Shaddai will supersede all natural laws and turn them into supernatural miracles. I don't care what the doctor says. I don't care what the banker says. I don't care what Pookie and Ray Ray says. El Shaddai will supersede all natural laws. Come on, somebody say amen. He's the mini-breasted one. I like this one. The many-breasted one. It refers to him completely nourishing and satisfying and supplying his people with all of their needs as a mother would a child.
Glory to God, the many-breasted one. He is the God of the mountain. The God of the mountain. In scripture, mountains were often where people encountered God. Mount Sinai, Mount Carmel, and the Mount of Transfiguration revealed that the mountain is where God speaks, reveals, and empowers. Mountains are symbols of God's strength. Unchanging nature. He's the God of the mountain, and he lifts us up when we are low. Somebody say amen. I said say amen.
He's the overpowerer. Glory to God. He will overpower any opposition. He will run over the opposition because the opposition is not strong enough to stand in In the way of El Shaddai. Any sickness and disease. Any pain. Any lack. Any family disunity. Any dysfunction. El Shaddai will overpower all of it. He will do what he proposes to do. By overpowering any and all opposition. He is strength. He is power. He is provision. And he is answerable to no one. Come on somebody shout amen.
I'm talking about El Shaddai this morning. I wish I could describe him to you. But he is almighty and all powerful. You're not serving a weakling. You're not serving someone that has no ability and no power and no opportunities and can't do what he desires to do. No, you're serving a big God who is your father who possesses unlimited power and he's answerable to no one. Somebody say El Shaddai. Say it like you mean it, El Shaddai.
I'll tell you what, Genesis 28.3 says it this way, Genesis 28.3, may God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you that you may be an assembly of peoples. Notice Almighty always relates to blessings and multiplication. Let me say it again. The word almighty always relates to blessings and multiplication. El Shaddai will get anything to you from anyone, anywhere, at any time. He takes your inadequate resources and in his sufficiency, uses them for his great and powerful purposes.
This is what he's known for, taking your inadequacy and turning it for something great and powerful. I was reading Gideon earlier this week, and do you remember in Gideon, I believe 30,000 people or 30, yeah, 32,000 people, I believe, said they wanted to come and they wanted to come help fight.
And the Lord said, that's too many for me. And so he said ask the people who scared And 22,000 people were scared And so he said let them be And there was 10,000 remaining And the Lord said that's still too many for me Because you know God ain't never used a whole lot of people To get anything done in the earth. He don't need a whole lot of people to get anything done. He's El Shaddai. He said, that's too many for me. And so then he says, okay, have them lap.
And those that lap like a dog will put their face in the water. We're going to eliminate some of them. And it says there that only 300 remained. And God said, that's enough. And 300 were enough to take care of the Midianites. Come on, somebody say amen. God is El Shaddai and he will use your inadequacy and add his sufficiency to it and produce great and powerful purposes in your
life. Somebody shout amen. El Shaddai is the God who freely gives blessings, freely gives blessings because he is El Shaddai. Genesis 35, 11, Genesis 35, 11, and God said to him, I am almighty God, be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you and kings shall come from your body. El Shaddai will perform great and awesome wonders and miracles because he has unlimited power. Unlimited power. El Shaddai is not limited in his power.
But what I want to get across to you today, he's also not limited in his willingness to use his power for you. He's not only just able, but he's willing. Do you remember the leper in Mark chapter one that showed up to Jesus and says, I know you're able to heal me, but I just want to know if you are willing to. And Jesus said, I am willing. I would rather serve a God who was willing to heal me, yet unable, than to serve a God who was able to heal me, yet unwilling.
Somebody say amen to that. Don't you agree with that? But not only is he not just able, but he's also willing. He says, I will. And then he healed the leper. I believe the Lord is willing to utilize his love and his unlimited power for you because he can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or even think. Somebody say El Shaddai. El Shaddai has no other God like him. Everybody else is lowercase g and should not even be mentioned in the same breath as El Shaddai.
There's no other God like El Shaddai. He's more than capable of being all that his people need. All you need is El Shaddai. I love, I believe it was, what was the evangelist's name? I'm going to say it. If y'all know it, shout the name out. He said it all this time. You don't have any problems. All you need, R.W. Schambach, that's what it is. You don't have any problems. All you need is faith in God. Think about that. Faith in El Shaddai. You don't have any problems.
All you need is faith in El Shaddai. And so he's more than capable of being all that his people need. You don't have to look to anyone else to meet your needs. Stop looking around. I wonder if they're going to meet my need. I wonder if the government's going to do something. I wonder if my boss is going to do something. I wonder if my husband's going to do something. I wonder if my wife's going to do something. I don't have to look to all these other people. I can look to El Shaddai to
meet every need according to his riches and glory. Somebody shout amen. Y'all are a little too quiet. Now, when I say shout, that means you got to get a little louder. Somebody shout amen. There you go. Now, if I say say amen, then you can do your amen. You can do that. But if I say shout, you got to shout amen. All right? Somebody say amen. Somebody shout amen. There we go. Now I'm in. I don't feel like I'm alone up in here. Praise the Lord. You don't even have to try to meet your own needs.
You hear that? El Shaddai will meet your need. Glory to God. It doesn't matter how tough your situation is. El Shaddai will bring you through. You can put all of your trust in El Shaddai. Every bit of anxiety, just put it in El Shaddai. Every bit of caring concern, put it in El Shaddai's hand. Every bit of worry, put it in El Shaddai's hand. Every bit of lack of finances, put it in El Shaddai's hand. Don't try to meet your own need. Give God, El Shaddai, the opportunity to meet the need for you.
Say amen to that Give him the opportunity to meet that need for you Because he is El Shaddai And you can put all of your trust. John chapter 10, verse 10, I like it in the Amplified Classic. John 10, 10, this verse is how this church was started. The deed comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance to the full till it overflows. This is El Shaddai right here saying, I want you to have life and not just have
it. I want you to have it till it's full, and not just till it's full, but till it overflows. We're supposed to be enjoying life until it overflows. I didn't say you wouldn't know bad things would happen. I didn't say that somebody ain't going to get on your nerves. I didn't say you didn't, you can't, you're not going to have to release your faith and believe God for something. I didn't say that. I said, the will of God is for us to have life and have it to the full until it overflows.
That's El Shaddai. Now, listen to this in Exodus. Exodus chapter 3, I believe. And we're going to read through verses 7 and 8. Are y'all getting something today? Verse 7 and 8. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. For I know their sorrows. So I've come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring
them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey. Watch this. So to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and Amorites and the Pizzarites and the Hepatites and the Jebusites. Did I go too fast? Yep, that was right. Praise God. I got distracted there. I was thinking about something, but glory to God. God wants to take you from the land of not enough to. To a land that's good and large that flows with milk and honey.
Now, there are three stages that we live in. Stage one is we live in a place of not enough. We just don't have enough. Then you have the place of we have just enough. Just enough. And then there's this place of more than enough. And God's plan for the Israelites, the Hebrews, was to always take them from the place of not enough to the place of more than enough. That was his entire plan. In Egypt, they didn't have enough. Do you remember they were slaves?
And anytime you're a slave of something, you're in a place of not enough. All right. If you're a slave of anything, whether it be massive debt, you're in a place of not enough. And so they were in this place of not enough. And you remember, they were not given enough material to even meet their quota. They were they didn't have enough. And God says, I want to take you from a place of not enough to a place of more than enough.
But consequently when God began to take them from a place of not enough to a place of more than enough they got comfortable Wayne in the place of just enough so God snatched them out of a place of not enough and his goal was to catapult them to a place of more than enough but they had to spend 40 years in this place of just enough because they still had bad philosophy. They always mentioned they wanted to go back to Egypt. They said that way too often.
They better be glad I wasn't El Shaddai because I would have sent them right on back. You want to go back? Go. I'll get me a whole new group of people, right? And God even threatened that. Thank God for people like Moses that said, wait a minute now. And the Lord said, you know what? I repent. Did he not? He says, hey, no, this group of people I'm going to stick with. But they wanted to go back.
Too often, we always have this mindset of just kind of going back because it's easier to go back than it is to press forward. And it's much easier to remain comfortable with where you are than it is to press into what God has called for you. One of the reasons I believe the Holy Spirit is called the comforter because he's going to comfort you while God asks you to do some things that are very uncomfortable. Go witness to that person over there and tell them about Jesus.
That's uncomfortable, but you have the comforter because God's going to ask you to do something uncomfortable. Step out and give $10,000 to this thing. Oh, man, that's uncomfortable, but the comforter is with you because he's going to command you to do some things that's uncomfortable. See, we thought the comforter was with us to make us comfortable. No, the comforter is not with us to make comfortable. The couple is with us to be an aid to us as we're doing things that are uncomfortable.
Do not renew the lease on this facility and believe me for a new facility. It's real easy to stay comfortable right here. But the Lord says it's time to get out from being comfortable. Pursue me, El Shaddai, and I'm going to take you to the land of more than enough. If you remember when they were in the wilderness, they only had just enough for that day. Well, they had just enough manna, just enough quail. They couldn't save it because it would rot.
They were in the land of just enough and they were comfortable in the land of just enough. But remember El Shaddai's plan, Danica, was always to take them from not enough to more than enough. He didn't want them to stay in just enough. But they liked just enough. And unfortunately, you and I like just enough too. Well, I have just enough for me. Us four and no more. I don't want to have more because then that's greed.
Or I may be wasteful when you should be believing for more so that you can be a blessing and not even think about it. You should be believing for more so you can help someone in need and not even think about it. The other day, Stacey was at the grocery store and she said someone looked like they were struggling to get some groceries or whatever. And so she she bought the groceries. She came home and she said, are you OK with this? But this lady needed some help and I felt led to buy.
Are you are you OK? I said, this is why we're supposed to have more than enough to take care of someone else's bill. Amen. I said, yeah, praise God. Glory to God. Amen. I didn't say, well, we're not going to eat for the next week because you did that. I mean, because you did that, we can't eat. Now, why you do that? No, no, no, no, no. The purpose of having more than enough is to be a blessing. But we got to press for more than enough because it's easy to stay in just enough.
See, when you begin to press for more than enough, can I be transparent with you? When you begin to press for more than enough, now get ready to be talked about. Get ready to say, oh, that's the rich. Yeah, you know my uncle, he rich. He ain't got nothing to do with us. Mm-hmm, Jeannie, she over there rich. Yeah, I don't even want to talk to her. I mean, look, she got way more stuff than I got. Be ready for people to start asking you to borrow money.
Somebody say, yeah. Somebody know what I'm talking about. Be ready for that. Ain't nothing wrong with loaning money. Ain't nothing wrong with you. If you need money, you know, ask somebody. Ain't nothing wrong with it. But when you get to the place of more than that, be ready for that. Be ready for people to make up stories about you. Be ready for that. So what he how did how did he get that? He he must have stole it.
He brought now. How did he how did he do it? He must have one particular time I had a really, really nice watch. It was a knockoff Rolex. It wasn't a Rolex. No, no. Brightling, Brightling. It was a bright. It was a knockoff. Right. But it was it was bling, bling. OK, someone gave it to me. Praise God. It was nice. And I used to wear it. I'd be like, hallelujah, wear it until people in the church start saying, how did Pastor get that watch? He must have stole the money.
He must have took it. I'm going to let you all know the money that hits the offering plate of true life. As soon as it hits, it's going to work for something else. It ain't got time to be stolen. it. I don't even know how some preachers be stealing. I really don't because as soon as it hit, I mean, if you ain't using it for the good of the ministry, what are you doing? That money hit, I tell Jocelyn to take it to the bank, praise God, because it's got to be in circulation and used.
And so I had this nice watch and I was praising the Lord and I heard people murmured, why Pastor got that nice watch? I was, at the time, I wasn't as mature I am now. I had a couple things I wanted to say. I ended up giving that watch away because I don't want nobody talking about me. Nobody wondering where I got that watch. I won't do it no more.
The Lord do that now, I'm going to wear it. Amen. Because I'm telling you, when you get to the place of more than enough, get ready to be talked about. Get ready for people to make up stuff on you. Let me tell you this. Get ready not to tell everybody the good things the Lord's done for you. You're going to have to keep some of that to yourself because everybody don't like you and everybody not excited about what God's doing in your life.
So you get to the place of more enough you're gonna have to kind of keep your mouth shut a little bit because God wants to take you there but are you even ready to go there you say you are but there's a to whom much is given. Much is required. And if you do have nice things, I think this needs to be said, if you've got nice things, here's the indicator of how do you know that you have nice things or nice things have you, is can you give it away when the Lord says give it away?
Someone gave me, I'm talking about these watches. Remember, someone gave me a watch, and I like the watch. And a friend of mine, he saw it, he goes, bro, I really like that watch. And the Lord said, give it to him. And I was like, well, Lord, somebody just gave it to me. And he's like, give it to him. So I said, man, the Lord wants me to, told me to give you this watch. And I handed it to him. I had just gotten it. And I really believe that the Lord wanted him to have it. But it came through me.
See, when you get to the place of more than enough, you're going to have to be a conduit. Everything that comes to you is not for you. It's supposed to go through you to somebody else. This is where you have to get to where you're like, hey, it's flowing through me. Not it came to me, but it's flowing through me. When you get to this place of more than enough, you're going to begin to ask the question, Lord, what do you want me to do with this extra?
I went and spoke at a church, and it was unexpected. Like, they called me that night and asked me to come. I went, and they gave me a nice offering. I mean, just, you know, I don't go preach anywhere for an offering, but if somebody wants to be led of the spirit, you know, I understand because we give when guest ministers are here and stuff. And so I received it and I, and Stacy and I, we shouted because there were some things we wanted to do, you know, glory to God. Woo.
We can do this. We can do that. We do this. We do that. And I said, let's ask the Lord, Lord, what should we do with this? And I thought, and most of the time the Lord, you know, says, do, do some, you know, do what you desire. But this time he said, this money ain't for you. He said, I want you to take half of it and do this and half of it and do that. And I told Stacy, I said, I sensed the Lord saying, she said, let's do it. And it came to us, but it went through us. Amen.
When you get to this place of more than enough, this is how you're going to have to think. This may not be mine. And the truth of the matter is, many of you are at a place of more than enough. You know why? Because you live in this great country. Say amen to that. And you're already at this place. Now, I know bills and stuff got you got you tied up, tangled up, wrapped up. But once you believe God to get out of that, now you're going to really feel like, you know what?
God has given taken me to a place of not enough. To just enough to more than enough. But he always wanted to get you from not enough to more than enough. He didn't want you to go through the stage of just enough. They were only supposed to be in the wilderness, what, 15 days? I believe that's the travel. That's how long they were supposed to be in the wilderness, to travel from where they were to get to the promised land.
But because they got comfortable, Adrian, right there, they stayed for 40 years. They got comfortable in just enough. When you are... Communicating with El Shaddai and calling on El Shaddai, you're calling on the God of more than enough, all sufficient. The one that wants to take you from where you are and catapult you to where he wants you to be at a place of more than enough and not just money. How many need some more than enough energy?
I mean, come on, more than enough energy, more than enough wisdom. How many want more than enough wisdom? You know what I'm saying? I mean, how many need more than enough rest? Come on, somebody. We're not just talking money. There's a lot of ways that El Shaddai can be more than enough, more than enough patience with your children. Come on, say amen to that. More than, stop talking. Glory to God. All right, that's another thing.
Hallelujah. I had Zage with me the other day, and she kept talking. I'm like, Zage, can we get a break? Just a break. I said, no, Lord, let her talk. I need more than enough patience. Amen. because one day she's going to move out. Amen. And I'm going to miss her talking to me. And so I said, okay, just give me some patience. Give me some patience, Lord. More than enough. Somebody say more than enough.
This is El Shaddai. More than enough. And he doesn't want you to get comfortable with just enough. And I think many of us are at this place, well, I've got enough to take care of my bills. I've got enough to feed my family. I've got enough to do what I'm supposed to do at my work. I got enough to do what I'm supposed to do with my children or do what I'm supposed to do with my spouse. I've got enough, but press for more than enough. More than enough.
More than enough. Somebody say more than enough. More than enough. What is that? Maybe, you know, I have more than enough for whatever I need and maybe what someone else may need as well. Just more than enough. That's what El Shaddai does best. El Shaddai takes you to more than enough. And when you're at this place of more than enough.
You will remember the Lord your God make sure you remember him because the tendency is to forget him the tendency is I think this is why a lot of people, never arrive at what I'm talking about because their heart's not right, and they forget the Lord El Shaddai and they say things like, I did this. I, I, I. And I believe a lot of people, the Lord can't even trust you with more than enough because your heart's not right with where you are currently in your life. His plan is to take you.
Further. So be faithful where you are. And as long as you're faithful with where you are, scripture says that you can be trusted with more. See, here's the thing. I got to say this. I didn't mean to say this, but I need to say this. We took the verse, if you're faithful in the little things, you can be trusted with more. And we took that verse like, keep being faithful in the little things, and God's going to give you more. I don't disagree with that, but we took it that way.
I don't disagree that I believe if you're faithful little things, God will give you more. But here's, I think, the emphasis that the Lord wanted you to see in that, that if you're faithful in the little, you don't have to wonder if you will be faithful with more. You would be faithful with more because you've been faithful with the little. Now, I believe you can be a candidate to receive more, But that doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to have more.
I mean, listen, there are certain capacities and talents that each one of us has. You remember God, in the parable that Jesus gave, he said one man had five talents, one had two and one had one. But the one that had one and the one that had two were faithful. And at the end of their life, they received more, right? The same reward, double. I'm sorry, the one that had two, the one that had five did. If the one had one, did nothing, right? And he was unfaithful with what he had.
I believe that you, I never questioned if the Lord were to multiply our church by 20 times the amount of people coming now, I believe I can be faithful with that. Why? Because I'm faithful with you. Oh, I think I am. Am I? Amen. Amen. And so I believe I could be right. So when you know who you are and you know what the Lord's asked you to do and you understand his will is to take you from a not enough to more than enough, you'll begin to call on El Shaddai.
If you're ever at a place that you don't have enough, call on El Shaddai. Call on his name. Say El Shaddai. Say it like you mean El Shaddai. Call on El Shaddai. How much time do you spend in a day thinking about, working toward, and figuring out how much you're going to get or how to get your bills paid?
Or how are you going to answer this question or how are you going to turn this around or how are you going to make that happen or how are you going to hire the right person or how are you going to fire this person? How many hours a day do you think about that? A lot. When we call on El Shaddai, he's going to do it for us. He's going to give us what we need when we need it. And I believe it's a name that we should be calling on, El Shaddai.
Somebody say El Shaddai. El Shaddai. The God of more than enough, the God that is almighty. All-sufficient, the many-breasted one, the God of the mountain, and the overpowerer. Amen? This is how you experience true life.