To know God and make Him known! - Pastor Gino Bryant

God reveals Himself because He wants people to know Him, trust Him, worship Him, and come back into fellowship with Him. Christ holds everything people truly need and everything their hearts are trying to find. Solomon had money, wisdom, people, resources, and every opportunity, yet Ecclesiastes still calls it vanity without God. The Samaritan woman looked for love in all the wrong places, but Jesus met her at the well and gave her the living water her soul was really after.

Elohim reveals God as the strong One, the divine Creator, and the sovereign ruler. Genesis opens with God creating time, space, and matter, then speaking light into a world that was without form and void. The Father, the Spirit hovering over the waters, and the spoken Word show the unified work of the triune God. Elohim means that life is not an accident, because the Author of the universe intentionally made every person with value, purpose, free will, and the ability to commune with Him.

Elohim also gives faith in chaotic places. The same God who said, “Let there be light,” can speak light into darkness, bring order to what feels out of order, and sustain a life that feels overwhelmed. Christ holds all things together, and He already knew the chaos was coming before it ever arrived. Faith does not deny the mess, but faith remembers that God was already there.

Jehovah Elyon reveals God as the Most High, supreme over every earthly authority, financial circumstance, spiritual battle, and difficult person. Melchizedek blessed Abram in the name of God Most High, brought bread and wine, and pointed ahead to Christ’s covenant supply through the cross. The Most High God possesses heaven and earth, fights for His people, and can move hearts that no person can move. Earthly authority has limits, but God remains the Boss of every boss.

Adonai brings the matter into personal surrender. Adonai means Lord, Master, and Owner, not merely a God who is known from a distance. Abraham called upon the Lord while bringing his unanswered future before Him, and God answered by showing him the stars. Adonai calls believers to lay plans, dreams, and even good desires on the altar, trusting God to return, redirect, or replace what has been surrendered. True freedom is not found in running life alone, but in yielding to the One qualified to take the helm.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus alone fills the soul’s void Christ is not one option among many temporary fillings. Solomon’s riches and the Samaritan woman’s broken relationships both show that the heart stays empty when it chases created things as its god. Living water comes from knowing Jesus, because He is the One every human heart is really seeking. [03:31]
• 2. Elohim speaks light into chaos Elohim created when there was no form, no order, and no visible answer. God does not become confused when life gets messy, dark, or out of control. Faith can call upon the Creator to bring light, speak His Word, and reveal what needs to come back into order. [21:19]
• 3. God Most High outranks every power Jehovah Elyon stands above bosses, governments, pressure, opposition, and spiritual battles. Earthly authority may fail, act wrongly, or feel intimidating, but God can turn the king’s heart and move situations beyond human reach. Prayer becomes steady when it appeals to the One who possesses heaven and earth. [40:03]
• 4. Surrender to Adonai brings freedom Adonai does not crush a surrendered life but directs it with infinite wisdom. A seed must die before it reproduces, and plans must be laid down before God can fully lead them. Submission becomes freedom because the responsibility for the ultimate outcome belongs to the Master who owns and guides the life.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:34] - Seeking Christ Instead of Empty Things
• [02:58] - The Samaritan Woman Finds Living Water
• [04:32] - God Reveals Himself Through His Names
• [07:03] - Ways God Speaks and Reveals Himself
• [11:16] - Elohim: Creator and Sovereign Ruler
• [14:35] - Created With Purpose and Value
• [20:50] - Speaking Light Into Darkness
• [24:32] - Jehovah Elyon: God Most High
• [31:30] - Melchizedek, Bread, Wine, and the Cross
• [35:37] - Appealing to the Highest Authority
• [42:47] - Adonai: Lord, Master, and Owner
• [46:15] - From Acquaintance to Submission
• [50:31] - Freedom Through Surrender
• [63:28] - Letting Jesus Take the Helm

1. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” [11:28]
2. “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” [13:47]
3. “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” [14:06]

1. “Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.”
2. “But He needed to go through Samaria.”
3. “So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.”
4. “Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.”
5. “A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink.’”
6. “For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.”
7. “Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, ‘How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?’ For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”
8. “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’”
9. “The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?’”
10. “‘Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?’”
11. “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again.’”
12. “‘But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’” [03:26]
13. “The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.’”
14. “Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come here.’”
15. “The woman answered and said, ‘I have no husband.’”
16. “Jesus said to her, ‘You have well said, “I have no husband,”’”
17. “‘for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.’” [02:48]
18. “The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.’”
19. “‘Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’”
20. “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.’”
21. “‘You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.’”
22. “‘But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.’”
23. “‘God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’”
24. “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’”
25. “Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’” [03:31]

1. “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.” [31:48]
2. “And he blessed him and said: ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth.’” [33:23]
3. “‘And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’ And he gave him a tithe of all.” [33:35]

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.’”
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?’” [44:25]
3. “Then Abram said, ‘Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!’”
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.’”
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.’” [44:52]
6. “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” [45:10]

1. In Genesis 1:1–3, what details show that the earth was dark, empty, and out of order before God spoke light into it? [21:19]
2. What kinds of things had Solomon and the Samaritan woman pursued, and what did each account reveal about trying to find fulfillment apart from God? [03:31]
3. In Genesis 14:18–20, what titles are given to God, and what does Melchizedek say God had done for Abram?
4. In Genesis 15:1–6, how does Abram bring his unanswered desire for a child before the Lord, and how does God respond? [45:18]

1. Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that ordinary water will leave a person thirsty again, but His living water brings everlasting life. What kinds of “water” do people commonly depend on today that cannot truly satisfy the soul? [04:03]
2. Genesis 1 begins with God bringing light and order into darkness and emptiness. How does this help a believer face a situation that is real and painful without pretending that the situation is not difficult? [22:25]
3. God Most High is called the Possessor of heaven and earth and the One who delivered Abram’s enemies. How should this truth shape a believer’s response when a boss, family member, financial pressure, or spiritual battle feels bigger than they can handle? [35:24]
4. Abram calls God “Lord God” while honestly bringing his fear about the future before Him. What does Abram’s example show about the difference between respectfully surrendering a concern to God and demanding that God follow a person’s plan? [45:25]

1. Is there a created thing—money, success, a relationship, comfort, approval, entertainment, or an experience—that has been asked to fill a place only Jesus can fill? What would it look like to seek Christ first in that area this week? [02:17]
2. What part of life currently feels “without form and void”—confusing, dark, out of order, or beyond control? What specific Scripture or truth about Jesus could be spoken in faith over that situation? [21:34]
3. When pressure comes from someone in authority, is the first response usually fear, anger, avoidance, or prayer? How could remembering that God is Most High change the way that situation is handled? [40:06]
4. Is there a person whose heart or actions cannot be controlled? What would it look like to bring that person before God Most High rather than trying to force an outcome? [37:37]
5. What plan, dream, good desire, or unanswered future needs to be placed before Adonai again? Is there a part that has been held back from God’s leadership? [48:30]
6. Calling Jesus “Lord” means responding to His leadership. What is one clear area where obedience is needed—not just agreement—and what practical step could be taken this week? [55:40]
7. Where does surrender to God feel restrictive or scary right now? How might trusting God’s wisdom and care bring freedom from carrying an outcome that was never meant to be carried alone? [50:37]