Jesus Said

Jesus said "I AM"

by Steven L Pace, First Baptist Church of Fieldon

3/22/2003

In the early morning, just as the sun begins to brighten the sky, a man moves silently through a vineyard. He has work to do, and he does it with determination and precision. He pauses to sharpen a pruning knife, because he knows that he will be most effective if his knife is sharp. He works with skill, reaching first here, then there, slashing a branch loose from the vine. Occasionally he will even slice through a cluster of grapes, dropping them on the ground as useless. When he has finished with that particular vine, he moves on, leaving behind a stump of where a branch used to be. The rising sun glistens on the sap as it oozes from the fresh wounds the vinedresser has just created.

Sometimes God moves in our lives in such a way that it causes us pain, and our wounds are fresh and oozing. At the time it is occurring we do not necessarily think, ¡§Well, this hurts, and it may be God working in my life to cleanse me of what I don¡¦t need.¡¨ But it is so necessary for us to know that much of the time, God is working a great work in our lives, even if we do not understand what is happening at the moment. (Was taken from Sermon Central wish I could give the person the credit but I cannot find it again)

Jesus says "I AM" 7 times in the new testament.

1. The first is found in John 6:35, "And Jesus said to them¡ ’I am the bread of Life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never Thirst.’"

2. The second time is found in John 8:12; "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ’I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk n darkness, but have light of life.’"

3. The third time is John 10:7,9-10; "Then Jesus said to them again, ’Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep’ I am the door: If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture, The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

4. The 4th time is John 10:11, 14, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep" "I am the good shepherd, and I know My sheep and am know by My own."

5. The 5th is John 11:25 where Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me. He who believers in Me, though he may die, he shall live."

6. The 6th in John 14:6, it is where Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me."

The final time that Jesus uses the "I AM" statement is the 7th and finial time he uses it.

He simply says that "I am the true Vine"

The number seven represents the perfect completion scripture.

The Vine was used to represent Israel, God¡¦s Chosen People.

Now Jesus say I am the true Vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. Jesus is God¡¦s anointed, God¡¦s only Son, God¡¦s gift to may so that he may have eternal life.

He also says that My Father is the vine dresser. It also says that God is the vine dresser. God is the one that looks upon us and judges our work for him. He is the one that opens and closes the door to heaven and the only way in is through His son.

Verse 2 also tells us that God allows us to go through trials and difficulties in our life. You see it is going through those time that strengthen our life. He says that God prunes the trees.

I also want you to notice that they are taken away, cut off. They differ from those found in verses 4-6. Jesus said they are "in me" but they have problems: they bear no fruit.

I want to hang out on verse 2 for just a minute and look at three aspect of these branches.

1. The unfruitful branches at one time were attached to Christ. There was a time, a point, when they began to bud and sprout. They even grew into branches.

They:

* Listened to Jesus and the Gospel.

* Opened their ears

* Made professions

* Were baptized

* Seemed capable of bearing fruit

* Appeared to be fruitful branches

So many time is our lives that is as far as we get. We are a part of the vine. We go to training on how to share our faith. We learn the methods but we never use them.