Names of God - Adonia

It seems like forever since I posted on the Names of God series.
Let's see... so far we have done a little study on the names Elohim, El Elyon, El Roi, El Shaddai, and El Olam.
Today we will study a little about Adonai...

We are introduced to the meaning of this name of God in Genesis 15:1-6.

 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision,
saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”

 Abram said, “O Lord GOD,
what will You give me, since I am childless,

and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 

And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me,
one born in my house is my heir.” 
Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “
This man will not be your heir;
but one who will come forth from your own body,
he shall be your heir.” 
And He took him outside and said,
“Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars,
if you are able to count them.”

And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 

Then he believed in the LORD;
and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

When Abram answered God and said "O Lord GOD" he was saying "O Adonia GOD". The word Adonia means Lord or Master. It was at this time that Abram was submitting himself to God's Lordship. It was at this moment that he said, "I am not the boss of my life, God, You are."  

As we read further in this passage we see that it was at his moment that Abram was saved. When Abram submitted to God's Lordship and believed upon His Word and trusted in His way, God reckoned it to him as righteousness. Abram, right here, is our example that we are Saved By Faith.

yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

Romans 4:20-24

Abram's moment of salvation came by faith, it came by believing God. He was saved before circumcision and before the Law... to show us that works, even good works, do not save us... only believing God does. And not just believing in a god, or in the idea of God, but taking God at His every Word... and His Word said that a Son would be born,(Isaiah 7:14) and when that Son came He said His name is Jesus (Luke 1:26-38) and then He said listen to Him, my Son, and do what He says, (Matthew 17:4-6) do what I have said and be saved.

The way of salvation has always been by faith.

The way of salvation has always been by first submitting ourselves to the authority of God, giving Him full reign over our life, putting His on the rightful throne of our lives and taking ourselves off the throne.

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord,

and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,

you will be saved;

Romans 10:9

So what exactly does it mean for Jesus to be Lord of our life?  If you have been in church at all you have most likely heard the phrase Jesus is Lord of my life. The question is though, Is He really?

All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;... 

Isaiah 53:6

All of us, all of us are like sheep who have gone astray, following our own way. Romans 3:9-23 goes on to say how none of us seeks God, none of us understands, none of us does good, all of us are after our own will, our own desires and we have no fear of God before our eyes. That might be hard to swallow for some... but look deep, with open eyes, and you will see that it is indeed the truth.

We can't just say Jesus is Lord, it's more that that. In Matthew 7:21-27 Jesus Himself tells us that many will call Him Lord, many will use the phrase, "Oh yeh, Jesus is Lord of my life" but only those who do the will of His Father truly speak that phrase... the rest are only offering lip service.

THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

Matthew 15:8

Many will claim to be serving God and doing great things in the name of Jesus for the kingdom of God... but if you look closer, you will see they are simply name slinging in order to build up their own kingdoms. So be very careful who you follow and who you admire...

Obedience to the Word of God and the commands of His Christ are evidence of our faith... faith is not blind, it is not invisible. Evidence is something you present before a judge to prove your case. It is something tangible, it is something that can be examined and scrutinized... ever seen a prosecutor present invisible evidence to a judge in an earthly court? Think about it.

Our faith is something that can be seen if it is really there.

And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed.

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic,

“ Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

Matthew 9:2

Seeing their faith, He said,

“ Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

Luke 5:20

This man was listening to Paul as he spoke,

who, when he had fixed his gaze on him

and had seen that he had faith to be made well,

Acts 14:9

Oh precious one, when Jesus is truly Lord or your life, your faith can be seen, because your obedience to His Word, your willingness to submit to His will and His ways, can be clearly seen. By Him and by those who know Him.

Making Jesus Adonia means you no longer are purposely going your own way... you have made Him Boss, Master, Lord, He alone is on the throne of your life.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your body
And refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:5-8