YHWH
Exodus 3:9-15
Paul Dickson has written a book entitled, What’s In A Name?
In that book he shares some of the most unusual names he’s come across.
How would you like to have any of these for your name?
Cletus Clodfelter, Rotten Earp, Jinglebells Kaplan, and Boomfa Umfumpa.
Can you imagine? "Hey Boomfa!"
Joe Bunt became a baseball coach.
Dan Druff became a barber.
Two men with the last names of Goforth and Ketchum actually became partners in a police force. Would you feel secure hiring a plaster contractor by the name of Will Crumble?
What’s in a name?
Well, God says there is a great deal of importance to a name when it’s His name.
The most distinctive name by which God was known in Israel is Yahweh.
God’s name was so sacred that the jews would not even say the name “Yahweh”.
So they took letters from the word Yahweh and spelled it Y-H-W-H
To pronounce the letters Y H W H comes the word Je HO Vah.
These words still mean “I AM”
(Jehovah), which comes from the same root as “I AM”
Exodus 3:14 “God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ’I AM has sent me to you.’ "
“I Am’s” significant meaning here in Exodus is that Moses credentials for being the one to lead Egypt out of bondage are found in him using the name “I AM.”
God is the One giving permission to Moses to use His name to deliver the Israelites.
This will be done by God’s mighty power which will work through Moses.
In the book of John that we have been studying, Jesus uses the same words “6 times” the word for
“I am”.
Jesus did this at risk of being killed for blasephmy
This morning we are going to look at the six different references and each one of these are so important that you might print these passages out and put them around your house to memorize.
The first passage is John 6:35 “Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
Jesus is feeding the 5,000 people when he made this statement.
But Jesus is referring to much more than just mere food.
Jesus is said you will never go hungry or never go thirsty.
1. I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE.
I believe that Jesus is referring to more than just physical hunger.
However He does provide our every need.
I believe He is speaking of the spiritual hunger
God has put within each of us an emptiness.
Many try to fill this emptiness with human love, drugs, alcohol, work or material possessions.
The only thing that will fill this hunger and emptiness is a relationship with God.
John Piper summed up our problem well with his statement,
‘The weakness of our hunger for God is weakened and many times not realized because we “keep ourselves stuffed with other things”’
If you want to have a life filled with purpose, then make God the Lord of your life.
Make God the center of your marriage, the center of why you work and the center of your love for others.
Jesus says “I am the bread of life.
John 8:12” When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
2. I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
A burglar broke into a house one day.
As he was stealing the valuables he heard a voice out of the darkness that said, "Jesus is watching you". He almost choked.
He stopped and looked around and then he shook off his fear and went on stealing some more.
Suddenly just as before the voice came and said Jesus is watching you.
He was trembling so bad he could hardly contain any composure.
He finally approached the corner and there was a bird cage with the cover over it.
The words came from the CAge, Jesus is watching you.
The thief pulled off the cover and saw the parrot.
He said with an angry voice, what is your name?
The parrot replied, MOses.
The thief replied, what kind of weird person would name a parrot Moses?
The parrot replied the same kind of weird person that would name a Rocwieller "Jesus".
Jesus is the light of the world.
Sometimes Jesus can use us to be bring light to other people’s lives.
On the morning of September 11, Jeannie Braca switched on the television to check the weather report, only to hear that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center.
Jeannie’s husband, Al, worked as a corporate bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald.
His office was on the 105th floor of Tower One.
Al had survived the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and had even helped a woman with asthma escape from the building.
Jeannie knew that Al would do the same thing this time, “I knew he would stop to help and minister to people,” she said, “but I never thought for a minute that he wouldn’t be coming home!”
A week later, like so many others who were in that building, Al’s body was found in the rubble.
Al’s wife, Jeannie, and his son Christopher were devastated!
Then the reports began to trickle in from friends and acquaintances.
Some people on the 105th floor had made a last call or sent a final e-mail to loved ones saying that a man was leading people in prayer.
A few referred to Al by name.
Al’s family learned that Al had indeed been ministering to people during the attack!
When Al realized that they were all trapped in the building and would not be able to escape, Al shared the gospel with a group of 50 co-workers and led them in prayer.
This news came as no surprise to Al’s wife, Jeannie.
For years, she and Al had been praying for the salvation of these men and women.
According to Jeannie, Al hated his job and couldn’t stand the environment.
It was a world so out of touch with his Christian values, but he wouldn’t quit.
Al was convinced that God wanted him to stay there, to be a light in the darkness, and although Al would not have put it this way, to be a hero!
Jesus said “I am the light of the world.”
John 10:9 “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.”
3. I AM THE GATE
Gates can be used to keep things in and gates can also be used to keep things out.
A bus driver and a minister were standing in line to get into heaven.
The bus driver approached the gate and St. Peter said, "Welcome, I understand you were a bus driver. Since I’m in charge of housing, I believe I have found the perfect place for you.
See that mansion over the hilltop? It’s yours.
The minister heard all this and began to stand a little taller.
He said to himself, "If a bus driver got a place like that, just think what I’ll get."
The minister approached the gate and St. Peter said, "Welcome, I understand you were a minister.
See that shack in the valley?"
St. Peter had hardly gotten the words out of his mouth when the irate minister said, "I was a minister, I preached the gospel, I helped teach people about God.
Why does that bus driver get a mansion, and I get a shack?"
Sadly St. Peter responded, "Well, it seems when you preached, people slept.
When the bus driver drove, people prayed."
Jesus tells us that He is the gate. Who ever enters His gate will be saved and find pasture.
With the teens I played this game called Marshmellow walk.
It is a game based upon the scripture
Matthew 7:13-14
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Those of you in adult Bible study upstairs new when I played this game.
I heard the noise of all the yelling disturbed your class.
Go on with illustration.
Jesus states “I am the gate and who ever enters His gate will be saved.”
John 10:11 “"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
4. I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
A shepherd provides for the needs of His sheep.
A man by the name of George Muller believed this as a fact.
If a man leaned hard enough into Jesus, then God would provide their every need.
George Muller was born in Prussia on September 27, 1805.
His father was a collector of taxes and George seemed to inherit his father’s ability with figures.
When Muller was converted to Christ he was impressed by the many recurring statements of Jesus for us "to ask."
At this point in Muller’s life he and his wife launched into a daring experiment.
First, they gave away all of their household goods.
The next step was even more daring, he refused all regular salary from the small mission he had been serving.
He then set out to establish an orphan home to care for the homeless children of England.
The first home was dedicated in a rented building on April 21, 1836.
Within a matter of days, 43 orphans were being cared for.
Muller and his co-workers decided their experiment would be set up with the following guidelines:
1- No funds would ever be solicited.
2- No debts were ever to be incurred.
3- No money contributed for a specific purpose would ever be used for any other purpose.
4- All accounts would be audited annually.
5- No ego-pandering by the publication of donor’s names.
6- No "names" of prominent people would be sought for the board or to advertise the institution.
7- The success of the orphanage would be measured not by the numbers served or by the amount of money taken in, but by God’s blessing on the work, which Muller expected to be in direct proportion to the time spent in prayer.
When the first building was constructed, Muller and his friends remained true to their convictions.
The public was amazed when a second building was opened six months after the first.
They kept concentrating on prayer and eventually there were five new buildings, 110 workers, and 2,050 orphans being cared for.
George Muller not only counted on God to provide, but he believed that God would provide abundantly. For over 60 years Muller recorded every specific prayer request and the results.
Muller was responsible for the care of 9,500 orphans during his life.
These children never went without a meal.
Muller never asked for help from anyone but God.
$7,500,000 came to him over the course of his life and he vows it was all in answer to believing prayer.
If Jesus the Shepherd of your life?
John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
5. I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.
Lord willing, some of you in this room I will be doing a funeral service for one day.
That is the sad truth that all of us are going to die and our loved ones will be left behind.
One of the most comforting scriptures that I read at funerals is this particular verse.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ”Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. “
Jesus tells you and I that He is the resurrection and the life.
You will live even if you die.
When Jesus is Lord of your life, then you have his promise.
You will have eternal life in heaven with Jesus and stand in the presence of God.
My last point comes from John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
6. I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.
At the Last Supper, Jesus warned his apostles about his coming arrest and death.
The Apostles couldn’t understand what he meant.
Finally, Thomas exclaimed: We don’t know where you’re going, Jesus!
How can we possibly know the way?
Jesus took that opportunity to teach them: I AM the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
There are many religions popping up all over the place.
Scientology, man;s wisdom will get them to heaven.
Isalam, they don’t believe that Jesus is the Christ. They believe in Alla.
Moses asked and was given God’s sacred name.
The name of Yahweh and would be later spoken as Jehovah.
All these words mean, “ I AM”
Jesus is the I AM
1. I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE.
2. I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
3. I AM THE GATE
4. I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
5. I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.
6. I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.
“Nathan Hale was a young man who had every prospect for a happy and fulfilling life.
He was very well educated for his day—a Yale graduate in an era when very few went to college. Although there are many contemporary accounts regarding his appearance and personality, no negative statements have been recorded; indeed, he was vividly remembered and admired by his acquaintances—longer than 60 years after his death.
Accounts from classmates, friends, relatives, fellow soldiers, teachers, and students all carry the same general theme: that he was kind, gentle, religious, athletic, intelligent, good looking and as one contemporary testified, “the idol of all his acquaintances.”
In 1775, Hale accepted a commission as 1st lieutenant in the Connecticut Regiment and later served under Washington as the commander of a ranger company whose mission in the cause of Freedom was forward reconnaissance.
One evening in September, 1776, Hale was captured as a spy.
After making a “sensible and spirited speech” to those few who were there, the former schoolteacher and Yale graduate was executed by hanging—a horrible fate to one of his time and class.
Upon his hanging, he spoke the words we all remember,
“I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”
“… An insignificant schoolteacher who never wrote anything important, never owned any property, never had a permanent job, never married or had children, never fought in a battle and who failed in his final mission—made history in the last few seconds of this life.
And there is a familiar ring in the story of Nathan Hale, an echo from 1743 years prior.
Jesus, who was “the idol” of many…kind gentle, religious, who never personally wrote anything important, had no where to lay his head, never married or had children, who in the world’s eyes failed at his final mission—made history in the last few seconds of his life.
Jesus said “I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, AND NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.”
