All God's Children Pastor Laurie DeWitt As we have discussed the names of God, so far they have related mostly to God's chosen people. Today we are going to look at an Old Testament name of God which emphasizes His relationship to the godly non-Jew and the heathen. The first use of this name comes in a portion of scripture that has caused great fascination with many, for one, myself, and led to some discussion in the book or Hebrews. Genesis 14:18-22 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. 21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, (Jehovah) the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,....... The name of God that we are going to look at today is Most High God, or El Elyon, the God over and above all Gods.. In very brief review we have seen that "Elohim" is the one who is the God of the covenant-relationship. "Jehovah," on the other hand, is the One who must be opposed to all that is false and evil, and who is the God of judgment. El Shaddai is the Breasted One, or the God of Nurture. As we look at the passage regarding Melchisedeck, we find presented a new understanding of God preserved in a pagan world in a source besides that of Abram, As a matter of fact it is possible that Melchesideck. knew much more about God in some respects than Abraham did, for, as you remember, Abram was called out of a pagan city to follow a God he was beginning to know. El Elyon shows us that God has many sheep that are not in our church, and there just may be some of them that can show us something, in their life, their sincerity about their religion, or about their devotion to God in other ways that can help us to live a better life. One example that comes to mind is (mother Theresa) who has devoted her life completely to a great struggle to bring health to some in Calcutta India. El Elyon is used nearly 50 times in Scripture, mostly in the OT, but several useages of the name Most High in the New Testament. I believe that we can learn of its importance in : "Isaiah 14:12 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! 3 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God (El): I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. When Lucifer, or Satan as we know him now aspired to be like God, it was his desire to be like the most high. The highest of the high. I believe that one reason that he wanted this position was so that he could rule over mankind. Demand their allegiance. Extract their praise. The word play and the useages of the names of God in these verses help us to understand this more. I am going to repeat the verse using the Hebrew names of God. 2 "Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'Thus says Adonai Jehovah: "Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, 'I am El (god of power), I sit in the seat of Elohim (God of covenannt) , In the midst of the seas,' Yet you are a man, and not El, Though you set your heart as the heart of Elohim... If we look at this in this light, we see what Lucifer is really after. He says he is a god of power, force if you will, who sits in the seat of Elohim, the Godhead. But Jehovah says that Lucifer is not a god of power, nor does he have the heart of the God of the covenant. There are many who seek power but not relationships. But not the Most High. He does not seek power, for He IS power. May ask now why I titled this sermon "All God's Children" In Psalm 82:1 we read "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. Psalm 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? Need to be really careful here. Follow closely. 1. El Elyon is the God over all gods, the Most High God 2. We are all created in the image of God. 3. The Psalm tells us that we are children of the Most High God. 4. Jesus said we were gods (small g) 5. The Most High God judges among the gods Therefore, remembering to be careful not to misuse this text or take it too far, I believe it is scriptural to say that God created mankind in such an elevated position on this earth that he was to be seen as the image of God, or as a god to the beasts of the earth. In his God-likeness, man was given creative abilities, emotions, and the ability to love that reflected the image of God. Yet these creatures made in the image of God are subjected to the Most High God. It was this position over all others that The Enemy wanted to take. It was his desire to be the god of the gods. To exercise the power without the love. Any such attempt by any power is working under the influence of their spiritual father the Devil. We find another phrase that is connected with Most High in the next verse after it is introduced to us in Genesis 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, (El Elyon) possessor of heaven and earth: This gives us another glimpse of what God is trying to tell us by the name El Elyon. The word translated possessor comes from a verb which means primarily to contain or hold. In Acts 17:28 we read "for in Him we live and move and have our being, Col 1:17 says And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. Heb 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. The Most High has legitimate claim to all of this world, of heaven and earth, and this He will not give to another. Not just to the Jew, not just to the Christian, but to Moslem, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, and all. Ezek 18:4 "Behold, all souls are Mine; Psa 100:1 "Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!" 3 "Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture." It is significant that Abraham evidently learned this name for God from Melchesidek, for the only time that he uses it is in this particular context. Most High only appears 3 times in the Books of Moses. Each time it is spoken by a Gentile, or in connection with a Gentile world, and God's relation to it. Balaam said that he heard the words of El, and knew the knowledge of the Most High.(Elyon) Those words were of the coming of the messiah and the judgment of the heathen. In the Psalms we find Most High used several times. But perhaps one of the most telling appearances of the name Most High God appears in the story of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4. You remember the story. Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. A dream of a high tree that provided food, habitat, and shade for many creatures. As he watches this tree is cut down, and a metal band is put around the stump. 4:1 This is the proclamation of Nebuchadnezzar the king, which he sent to people of every language in every nation of the world: Greetings: 2 I want you all to know about the strange thing that the Most High God did to me. 3 It was incredible--a mighty miracle! And now I know for sure that his kingdom is everlasting; he reigns forever and ever. 4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living in peace and prosperity, when one night I had a dream that greatly frightened me. I called in all the wise men of Babylon to tell me the meaning of my dream, but when they came--the magicians, astrologers, fortune-tellers, and wizards--and I told them the dream, they couldn't interpret it. At last Daniel came in--the man I named Belteshazzar after my god--the man in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and I told him the dream. "O Belteshazzar, master magician," I said, "I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery is too great for you to solve. Tell me what my dream means: "I saw a very tall tree out in a field, growing higher and higher into the sky until it could be seen by everyone in all the world. Its leaves were fresh and green, and its branches were weighted down with fruit, enough for everyone to eat. Wild animals rested beneath its shade and birds sheltered in its branches, and all the world was fed from it. 13 Then as I lay there dreaming, I saw one of God's angels coming down from heaven. 14 "He shouted, 'Cut down the tree; lop off its branches; shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit. Get the animals out from under it and the birds from its branches, 15 but leave its stump and roots in the ground, banded with a chain of iron and brass, surrounded by the tender grass. Let the dew of heaven drench him and let him eat grass with the wild animals! 16 For seven years let him have the mind of an animal instead of a man. 17 For this has been decreed by the Watchers, demanded by the Holy Ones. The purpose of this decree is that all the world may understand that the Most High dominates the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he wants to, even the lowliest of men!' 18 "O Belteshazzar, that was my dream; now tell me what it means. For no one else can help me; all the wisest men of my kingdom have failed me. But you can tell me, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you." 19 Then Daniel sat there stunned and silent for an hour, aghast at the meaning of the dream. Finally the king said to him: "Belteshazzar, don't be afraid to tell me what it means." Daniel replied: "Oh, that the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, and not to you! 20 For the tree you saw growing so tall, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see, 21 with its fresh green leaves, loaded with fruit for all to eat, the wild animals living in its shade, with its branches full of birds-- 22 that tree, Your Majesty, is you. For you have grown strong and great; your greatness reaches up to heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth. 23 "Then you saw God's angel coming down from heaven and saying, 'Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump and the roots in the earth surrounded by tender grass, banded with a chain of iron and brass. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. For seven years let him eat grass with the animals of the field.' 24 "Your Majesty, the Most High God has decreed--and it will surely happen-- 25 that your people will chase you from your palace, and you will live in the fields like an animal, eating grass like a cow, your back wet with dew from heaven. For seven years this will be your life, until you learn that the Most High God dominates the kingdoms of men and gives power to anyone he chooses. 26 But the stump and the roots were left in the ground! This means that you will get your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules. 27 "O King Nebuchadnezzar, listen to me--stop sinning; do what you know is right; be merciful to the poor. Perhaps even yet God will spare you." 28 But all these things happened to Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months after this dream, he was strolling on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon, 30 and saying, "I, by my own mighty power, have built this beautiful city as my royal residence and as the capital of my empire." 31 While he was still speaking these words, a voice called down from heaven, "O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you: You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. 32 You will be forced out of the palace to live with the animals in the fields and to eat grass like the cows for seven years, until you finally realize that God parcels out the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he chooses." 33 That very same hour this prophecy was fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar was chased from his palace and ate grass like the cows, and his body was wet with dew; his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws. 34 "At the end of seven years I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High God and honored him who lives forever, whose rule is everlasting, his kingdom evermore. 35 All the people of the earth are nothing when compared to him; he does whatever he thinks best among the angels of heaven, as well as here on earth. No one can stop him or challenge him, saying, 'What do you mean by doing these things?' 36 When my mind returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My counselors and officers came back to me, and I was reestablished as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before. 37 "Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of Heaven, the Judge of all, whose every act is right and good; for he is able to take those who walk proudly and push them into the dust!" Toying with the Most High God is dangerous. He rules not only in the kingdom of the saved, but in the kingdom of the world. There is ample proof of that. God has a way of turning the tables on evil. The French philosopher Voltaire predicted that Christianity would be swept from existence within 100 years. Yet just 50 years after he died in 1779, the German Bible Society had occupied Voltaire's house and was using his printing press to produce stacks of Bibles. During World War II, Adolf Hitler erected a massive stone structure in Monte Carlo. It was to be a radio station from which to broadcast Nazi propaganda into North Africa. Today from that very building, Trans World Radio beams the gospel of Christ's redeeming love all across Europe and into Russia and Africa. The Most High will have the last word....for eternity. And it is in the name Most High that we find the revelation of God's relationship to man as man, and of the unchangableness of that relationship. Of the impossibility of that relationship being usurped by an interloper. In spite of the changes that sin has brought. The Most High -- The God over all Gods. The God over us and over the petty kingdoms that we set up. The God over our idols, and ourselves. The God who will rule for eternity. When we are saved, we will worship Him. But we will only be saved if we worship Him in this world. What God will you choose to serve? If you choose with me to serve this God, fully and completly, as I pray, I want to give you the opportunity to stand right where you are and make a public confession of that choice.