Welcome to the Further Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Kosti Hint, and this is episode four in our series on the names of God. And the name we're talking about today is El Gabor. It means Almighty God. And this name of God is especially helpful to remember when you're facing something bigger than you. And I hope by now you see the thread running through this entire series. Even though every name of God is unique and it's really fun to dig into the Hebrew and the meaning and where we find it in the Word of God. Are you noticing the theme that every one of these names takes your eyes and puts them off of your circumstances and onto God and His greatness? Whatever you're facing. You know, we all go through tough seasons in life, health challenges, uh, marriage challenges. We're in a marriage series right now at our church, and I'm just reminded of how much we need to focus on marriage, not to neglect the single people. It actually helps the single people because they're either preparing for marriage, or maybe it's somebody who's been divorced and they've been through a lot of challenges in their marriage. But either way, we need God in marriage. A child, maybe a prodigal child, the parenting of children, temptation to sin, greed, lust, all of it. What about suffering? Things that come upon you that you didn't do, attacks from people that you can't control. And then something I was thinking about recently when it comes to death and how death is the great equalizer. And I don't mean to be morbid to start off the episode, but I want you to remember the Bible says, naked we come, naked we go. You cannot stop death. It's coming for every one of us at some point. And when you think about all of this, our circumstances, the challenges, the brevity of life, it should remind you that human strength is not really that impressive. The strongest man on earth can't stop natural disasters, freight trains, cancer, or death. And yet, for us as Christians, our finite strength is way less cause for insecurity and more cause for dependency. And that's why understanding the names of God is such a powerful study. We don't ever need to pretend to be strong. The Bible never ever tells us to do that. Instead, the Bible repeatedly points weak people to their infinitely strong God. And so we come to the name El Gabor, the mighty God, with zeal and excitement, and then also great comfort because he's our strong God. He's got it. The name first appears in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6. That's where I've got my Bible turned to. If you're watching this on YouTube, if you're listening, maybe you're in the gym, you're doing some dishes, you're washing some clothes, or folding laundry, or you're just on your daily commute. I'll read it to you. Check this out from Isaiah 9, 6. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called wonderful counselor. And then here it is, El Gabor, Mighty God. Some of you remember that when we read Isaiah 9 at Christmas. And maybe you've never stopped to think, Wonderful Counselor, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace, all these really nice and comforting titles. And then you have mighty God, El Gabor. Elgabor carries with it the idea of strength and valor and might. It's the picture of God as a warrior. And so for all of his wonderful counsel and all of the peace that he brings, God is a valiant warrior. He's full of strength. And he's the God who fights, he's the God who conquers, he's the God who delivers his people, and he's the God who cannot be stopped, thwarted, or defeated. All of the names of God are amazing. All of them deserve equal attention, and we relish in each one, but some just kind of fire you up. This is one of those for me, El Gabor, the Almighty. Now, the contrast in Isaiah 9, verse 6 is something to note here, and I think it's really neat how it's a child will be born, a son will be given. You think of the baby in the manger, talking about Jesus being born in Bethlehem, and yet the child, this little baby, is El Gabor. And so we see Christ highlighted or emphasized in both his humanity, but also his deity. He's not just truly man, humble, lowly, he took on human flesh, he's truly God. And it's a great comfort to us because on one hand, El Gabor relates to us as a man. He came as a man, Christ, born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, yet without sin, he did not sin at all. He lived a human life and at the same time, truly God, perfect, divine, and mighty, a warrior. He's not a weak human like us. He lived as a human like us, but did not sin like us. He lived like a human as we do, but that's not all that he was. He is a strong and victorious warrior God, which leads to another important truth to understand that El Gabor is the divine warrior. You know, our modern image of God can sometimes become strangely sentimental. God gets reduced to someone who comforts us when life hurts, he just encourages us when we're discouraged, he helps us achieve all of our dreams, and certainly God does comfort his people, and he's the reason we accomplish anything in life, and he's always there to encourage the discouraged. But the God of Scripture is also repeatedly revealed as a warrior. After God destroyed Pharaoh's army and the Israelites have come across the Red Sea, Exodus 15, 3, Moses says, The Lord is a warrior. The Lord is his name. You think about Psalm 24, verse 8. The psalmist says, Who is the king of glory, the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle? If you're reading from uh the translation, like the LSB, it'll say, Yahweh is mighty in battle. Deuteronomy 10, 17 says, For the Lord your God is the God of gods, he's the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God. Jeremiah 32, 18 similarly calls him the great, the mighty God, the Lord of hosts is his name. Again and again and again, scripture reveals a God whose strength cannot be challenged, whom armies can't overwhelm, whom kings cannot intimidate, whom nations can't overthrow, and whom demons cannot overpower, and then Satan, their leader, cannot outmaneuver. You think about Psalm chapter 2. Have you ever thought about this in light of this? This question that gets asked. I want to turn there, and again, if you're on the fly, I'm gonna read this to you. But the book of Psalm verse 2, the book of Psalms. The second one. Why are the nations in uproar? Verse 1 and the peoples devising a vain thing. The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us. You know what Elgabor does? Listen to this. He who sits in the heavens laughs. He laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. And then he will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his fury, saying, But as for me, I've installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain. Think about for a second. How the combined rebellion of the nations doesn't make God nervous. He doesn't start pacing the halls of heaven wondering, how will I preserve my throne? El Gabor has no equal. He is Almighty. And all of this truth about his name should inform how we understand the battles of life and even how we fight the battles of life. What does El Gabor mean for Christians? Let me give you some points here. Number one, El Gabor means you don't have to be strong enough. If God is the Almighty, you don't have to be, and nor do I. One of the most exhausting lies we believe is that everything depends on us. But Scripture puts God's people in situations that are beyond their strength. That's what we see across the whole of the Bible. Think about the Red Sea. I brought it up just a moment ago, but think about it in chapter 14 of Exodus. The Lord will fight for you, Moses says. And then think about Jehoshaphat, one of my favorite characters and storylines in the Bible. You ought to read the story in 2 Chronicles 20. Jehoshaphat, he's facing this monumental challenge. It's an overwhelming army. He can't win. There's no way. And Jehoshaphat says in 2 Chronicles 20, verse 12, We are powerless. It's like the best confession that you and I could ever offer to God sometimes. I'm powerless, God. And then he goes on to say, nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on you. How about that? I mean, shouldn't your prayer life and mine have more of that prayer, the prayer of Jehosaphat? I'm powerless, God. I don't know what to do, but my eyes are on you. You know, that's what faith is all about. It's not confidence in yourself. It's not confidence in what you can do, it's not confidence in what you see, it is confidence in God and who he is. The second truth I want to put before you is Elgabor means your greatest enemies have already been defeated. If God is the Almighty, the Almighty of all. You know, even though we might think so, our greatest enemies aren't difficult people, financial pressures, or circumstances. They are sin, Satan, and death. That's what the Bible calls the last enemy, death. And you can't defeat any of them by yourself, nor can I, but Jesus did. That's what Hebrews 2.14 says. Through death, Christ rendered powerless him who had the power of death. That's the devil. Colossians 2.15 says Christ disarmed the rulers and the authorities. He triumphed over them. And so on the surface, the cross of Christ looked like defeat. The devil was excited. He was cheering. They thought they maybe have won, but it was actually a victory. And God made that clear when Christ walked out of the grave. And so in the gospel and in the finished work of Christ through the cross and his resurrection, you are a victorious person. You're not a loser. You're not going to lose. Your God doesn't lose. Sin can't condemn you if you're in Christ. Satan can't claim you if you're in Christ. Death is not the end of you if you are in Christ. Because El Gabor, the Almighty, He is one. That's who Christ is. Number three, El Gabor means you don't have to live in fear. I had a mentor who once said, Fear grows when our problems become bigger in our minds than our God. That's why we need to read Psalms, like Psalm 46, verses 1 and 2. It says, God is our refuge and strength. He's our very present help in time of trouble. Some of your translations will say, time of need. Therefore, the psalmist declares, we will not fear. Think about how the Bible never promises the absence of troubling circumstances or things that would make us be scared. The Bible's full of instances where people should be or would be scared, but because God is our present help in the trouble, in the time of need, God's people always say, We will not fear, we will not fear, fear not, fear not, fear not. Why? Because the circumstances are just no big deal. No, they're a very big deal. But our confidence isn't that, you know, nothing bad will happen or there won't be challenges. Our confidence is that nothing can happen outside the sovereign scope and rule of El Gabor. He is the Almighty and He's in control. And if He's the Almighty, I don't have to fear. And finally, number four, El Gabor means Christ will win the final battle. Jesus came the first time in humility. He will come in the second coming in victory. Very important theological reality. He comes the first time in humility, he'll come the second time in victory. Revelation 19 describes the heavens opening up, and you have Christ returning, one of my favorite scenes in the book of Revelation. And he's back as the conquering king. And El Gabor, his name coming to pass. I mean, he's the Almighty now, but when he shows up and his name is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, he has a name on his thigh, his robe is dipped in blood, that is the visual fulfillment of the warrior God returning. The king has come. The child of Isaiah 9 is El Gabor of Revelation 19, the warrior king. And even though it doesn't use his name like that in the Hebrew, that is the picture of it in the second coming. Now, why is all of this such an encouragement to us today? Think about it. Because history is moving towards a certain and decisive victory. Satan loses, sin loses, death loses, and Christ wins. And I know the world looks chaotic right now. I understand. I'm in it with you. But we walk in confidence, not anxiety, not fear, not panic. And when those three things come in, and they certainly do for all of us, you remember the names of your God. We preach the gospel in light of the Almighty. We contend for the truth, knowing that the Almighty is with us. We endure suffering because we know that the Almighty has conquered the grave. We remain faithful because we already know how the story ends. El Gabor wins. And so what do you do with all this? How does it look on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and beyond? Maybe you're facing something right now that's exposing just how weak you are or something in your life that is unfixable. We all go through those things. Maybe it's your marriage, maybe it's a friendship, maybe it's something emotionally for you, maybe it's something physical, maybe it's something financial. Maybe you feel like Israel standing in front of the Red Sea while illustratively, Pharaoh's army closes in. And maybe you've even complained like the Israelites did. You know, it'd be better to have died in Egypt than to be dealing with this. I would have rather just never gotten married, or, you know, it'd be better to just this, and you know, maybe I shouldn't have that. And we go back like an armchair quarterback, just constantly, never in the game, never on the field, forgetting all that God not only has done, but all that he's still going to do. Do not say, like Israel, it would have been better to die in Egypt. You know, God, you just led me to a dead end. What was the point of all this? For what? How can this be your will, God? You know, you you don't know how to fix it, and you don't know what happens next. Pray Jehosaphat's prayer when he cried out, We are powerless, nor do we know what to do. But our eyes are on you. Have faith, my brother, my sister. Believe. And remember, faith doesn't mean that you know what God is going to do. Faith just means you know who God is. Remember, your God is El Gabor. He's the mighty one, and he fights for his people. Thanks as always for listening. Thanks for watching. Thank you for those of you who give to for the gospel. This year has been tremendous for the ministry. You've been so generous and so faithful, and it has enabled us to do more, enabled us to do more than we ever have, and we have more coming in this new year. Excellent projects, new initiatives, and it's all because of your faithfulness. We count it a privilege to be stewards. And just remember, we're 100% donor supported, and all that the ministry offers is 100% free. All of our content, there's no paywalls, there's no, you know, app or subscription-based service or anything like that. Everything's available, and the ministry, by God's grace and your faithfulness, is reaching millions of people around the world every month, including in Spanish. And so thank you for your support. Above all else, thank you for praying. We believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that prayer is the power source behind all faithful and by the way, lasting gospel ministry. We want to last. And so please pray that God would use for the gospel for his glory, that we would do a good job just being faithful vessels. And as one great voice of history said, preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten. Just pray that we do our job during our little tiny time in human history for the glory of the king. If you're a new listener and you want more free resources, you want to check out the ministry, or you want to partner with us, you can go to forthegospel.org. All the information is there. And of course, we're on all the social media platforms if we want to connect and share resources through those avenues. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. Keep on living for the gospel.