Jesus is Lord! Adonai - Pastor Gino Bryant

God calls Abram out into a vulnerable place, after he has left much behind to follow the promise. God does not merely give Abram a map for every next step. God gives Abram Himself: “I am your shield and your exceeding great reward.” The shield answers the fear of what may come against him. The reward answers the question of whether the surrender is worth it. God becomes both Abram’s protection and his portion.

Abram calls God Adonai, Yahweh, Lord God, yet his questions reveal the deeper issue of lordship. Abram has promises, but he still cannot see how the promise of children will happen. God brings him outside, points him to the stars, and calls him to believe beyond what his natural eyes can calculate. God counts that faith as righteousness, then cuts covenant with Abram. God does not ask for blind trust. God proves Himself faithful, qualified, and able to hold together what no human plan can control.

Lordship goes deeper than knowing Jesus as Savior, healer, or deliverer. Jesus as Lord reaches into the reins of life: decisions, attitudes, ambitions, money, time, and personal plans. Abraham faces that depth again when Isaac, the promised son, is laid on the altar. The gift could not become greater than the Giver. The mountain of surrender reveals whether God is truly Lord or merely an associate.

Jesus Himself shows the full weight of lordship in Gethsemane. “Nevertheless” means personal will becomes the less, while God’s will becomes the greater. A life can look put together from the outside and still resist God in hidden places. Real lordship is found where a person yields when God says move, pauses when God says pause, and obeys when obedience costs something.

God is the great weaver of life. A widow’s family, a little mountain church with six people, a chance conversation at a rental-car counter, and generations of churches can all become threads in a design nobody could have planned. What looks like nothing to the enemy can become something when God puts His hand on it. Hagar sees Ishmael near death, but God sees twelve princes. Human eyes may see failure or an ending, while God sees a beginning.

Psalm 34 calls the yielded heart to taste and see that the Lord is good. God knows where the prize eggs are. He knows where the blessing, warning, deliverance, and provision are found. Those who make Him Lord can lay their plans at His feet, trust Him with the outcome, and come boldly for grace in every battle.

##

Key Takeaways

• 1. God Himself is the great reward God does not only promise Abram an inheritance somewhere down the road. God identifies Himself as Abram’s shield and exceedingly great reward in the middle of uncertainty. The surrendered life finds its deepest security not in having every answer, but in knowing the Lord has become its portion. [07:39]
• 2. Lordship reaches into hidden control Jesus can be acknowledged as Savior while personal plans, attitudes, and decisions remain guarded territory. Lordship becomes real where a heart allows Christ to pull the reins of life, not merely bless a direction already chosen. The outside may look orderly while the inward will still says, “My way.” [15:39]
• 3. Nevertheless makes God’s will greater Jesus in Gethsemane shows that surrender is not casual or painless. “Nevertheless” puts personal preference in its proper place and refuses to make self-preservation the highest good. God’s will may lead through costly places, but self-rule is always the less. [35:36]
• 4. God knows where the prizes are God sees the thorns, troubles, and future pressures hidden beyond human sight. The Spirit’s nudge may seem small, but it often directs a life toward protection, provision, and blessing that could not be found by natural reasoning. Submission is not losing direction; it is following the One who knows the whole field. [31:35]
• 5. God weaves what seems insignificant A small church, an old prayer, a painful loss, or a brief encounter can become a thread in God’s larger work. Human eyes often call something failure when God is still bringing forth fruit through it. God’s weaving reaches beyond one moment and even beyond one lifetime.
  
  ## [27:22]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:57] - Do Not Let Trouble Define You
• [02:56] - Take Dominion Over the Day
• [06:10] - Freedom and the Lordship of Jesus
• [06:58] - Abram’s Shield and Great Reward
• [10:02] - Adonai, Yahweh: Is Jesus Lord?
• [13:08] - The Mountain of Absolute Surrender
• [16:01] - Jesus Is Qualified to Be Lord
• [18:29] - Yielding Personal Plans to God
• [20:00] - God the Great Weaver
• [28:58] - Total Yielding and Total Responsibility
• [30:22] - God Knows Where the Prizes Are
• [33:38] - Taste and See That the Lord Is Good
• [37:41] - Lordship in Daily Obedience
• [43:56] - Grace for Every Battle

1. “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.’” [07:39]
2. “But Abram said, ‘Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’” [10:02]
3. “Then Abram said, ‘Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!’” [10:16]
4. “And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.’” [10:25]
5. “Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” [10:35]
6. “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” [10:48]

1. “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” [33:48]
2. “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.” [34:45]
3. “The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” [37:41]

1. “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’” [35:36]

1. In Genesis 15, what two things does God say He is to Abram, and what fears or needs might each one address? [08:47]
2. What specific concern does Abram bring to the Lord after hearing the promise that God is his shield and great reward?
3. What does God ask Abram to look at, and how does that picture answer Abram’s concern about having no child? [10:35]
4. In Psalm 34:8-10, what words describe the response God calls for—taste, trust, fear, and seek—and what promises are connected to that response? [34:28]

1. God does not first give Abram every detail of how the promise will happen; He gives Abram His presence and His promise. How does this shape a believer’s understanding of faith when the future still feels unclear? [17:10]
2. Abram calls God “Lord God” while still honestly bringing his disappointment and questions. What does this show about the difference between questioning God and refusing His lordship?
3. Jesus prayed, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Why is surrender not the same as pretending that a hard choice does not hurt or matter? [36:36]
4. Psalm 34 connects trusting and seeking the Lord with His goodness and provision. How should believers understand this promise when God’s provision does not come in the timing or form they expected? [37:48]

1. Where has fear been taking up too much space lately—your health, finances, family, future, or something else? What would it look like to bring that specific fear before the Lord as your shield? [09:12]
2. Is there an unanswered prayer or delayed promise that has made it difficult to trust God? Like Abram looking at the stars, what truth from God’s Word can help you look beyond what your natural eyes can presently calculate?
3. Jesus’ lordship reaches into decisions, attitudes, time, money, and ambitions. Which of those areas is easiest for you to hold onto, and what would yielding it to Christ look like in one practical decision this week? [38:08]
4. Is there a personal plan you have been asking God to bless, rather than first laying it at His feet? How could you pray honestly about that plan while remaining open to God redirecting it? [19:36]
5. Think of a recent nudge, warning, or prompting from the Holy Spirit that you were tempted to ignore. What made obedience difficult, and what might a faithful response look like if that kind of prompting comes again? [38:44]
6. Where do you need to say “nevertheless” right now—choosing God’s will even though it may cost comfort, control, time, or personal preference? [35:49]
7. Can you identify a small event, relationship, loss, prayer, or unexpected conversation that God may be weaving into something greater than you can presently see? How does remembering that help you trust Him with your unfinished story? [23:44]