EHYEH! WHO AM I? VS I AM!
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
*EH-YEH (HEY – yeah): I AM THAT I AM! (Theme: Focus on the problem or the promise?)
WHO AM I? REMEMBER FROM WHERE WE HAVE COME? REMEMBER THE VIET NAM WALL?
*THE WALL HAS 58,287 NAMES. *39,996 WERE 22 OR YOUNGER. *8,282 WERE 19.
*33,103 WERE 18. *12 WERE 17. *5 WERE 16.
*THERE ARE 3 SETS OF FATHERS AND SONS ON THE WALL. *31 SETS OF PARENTS LOST 2 OF THEIR SONS.
* 997 DIED ON THEIR FIRST DAY IN VIET NAM. *1,448 WERE KILLED ON THEIR LAST DAY OF DUTY THERE.
*8 NAMES ARE WOMEN ON THE WALL, ALL WERE NURSES.
*244 SOLDIERS RECEIVED THE METAL OF HONOR DURING THE WAR. === *153 OF THEM ARE ON THE WALL.
AM I? VS I AM! Your aura? We learn in communication skills several issues come into play. Volume, tone, body language and how you phrase your words. Sometimes changing the order of your words can change the whole communication. Let us look at two words: AM I – VS-- I AM.
*WHO AM I? (Rusty Goodman)
When I think of how he came so far from glory, came and dwell among the lowly such as I, to suffer shame and such disgrace. On Mount Calvary took my place, then I asked this question: WHO AM I?
WHO AM I THAT THE KING WOULD BLEED AND DIE FOR? WHO AM I THAT HE WOULD PRAY NOT MY WILL , BUT
THINE O LORD? THE ANSWER I MAY NEVER KNOW, WHY HE EVER LOVED ME SO. BUT TO THE OLD RUGGED CROSS HE’D GO for who am I?
REMEMBER THE APPROACH: WHO I AM? VS “THE GREAT I AM” … GOD IS THE GREAT I AM…MOSES SEES HIS ABILITY, BUT THIS CAN NOT RELEASE GOD’S PLAN… MOSES, IT IS NOT ABOUT WHO YOU ARE… THE GREAT I AM HAS COME.
Who am I? I lived in the palace? I killed a man? I have an APB out on me? I never came willingly to the desert, I know WHO I AM? THE BURNING BUSH WILL FOREVER CHANGE WHO AM I? AM I? TO I AM!!!
Exodus 3:11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
** A GREAT DREAM BEGINS WITH A DREAMER, NOT WHO AM I, BUT WHO GOD IS. ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU HAVE WITHIN YOUR HEART THE “GREAT I AM” YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH, THE PATIENCE, THE ENDURANCE, THE PATIENCE AND THE PASSION TO REACH HIGHER AND TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE.
Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
I AM NOT …GOD SAYS YOU ARE NOT! He is the I AM. I AM ABLE TO DO THIS? NO, I CAN’T? I HAVE THE EXCUSES DOWN PAT:
Exodus 4:10 (NLT2) But Moses pleaded with the LORD, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”
11 Then the LORD asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”
A WOMAN IN ANCIENT TIMES, KNEW WHO SHE WAS… LET US SEE HOW WE PERCEIVE THE WORDS WE STATE: WE ASK THE QUESTION: WHO AM I?
My husband and 2 sons left our home and moved away for 10 years because of a famine at home. We heard MOAB had plenty. Life has been difficult, hard and crushing. Ruth’s husband died in MOAB, a strange land. Her sons married there. Ruth visits the funeral home and makes arrangements in this strange land. Her husband is dead. Sometime later there is another trip to the funeral home. That’s ok, Naomi has one more son. The second son dies. Who am I?
WHO AM I? I am not a Moabite. NAOMI HEARS SOME GOOD NEWS… “THE I AM RETURNS” TO ISRAEL.
Ruth 1:6 Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.
AFTER A LONG DISCUSSION: WHO AM I? NAOMI SAYS WHAT AM I DOING HERE? Naomi “AM I?” Am I stuck here? The decision, the choice, I AM GOING HOME. Naomi knows the “I AM” in her pain she focuses on “AM I?” NOT HE IS!
Ruth 1:14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
AM I FOREVER TRAPPED… NAOMI IS HURTING AM I? RUTH IS GOING TO MEET “THE GREAT I AM OF ISRAEL!”
Ruth 1:16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
NAOMI IS SO WRAPPED UP IN SELF-PITY AND SELF-DOUBT… ALL SHE CAN SEE IS AM I. HER VISION HAS LOST SIGHT OF THE “GREAT I AM!”
Ruth 1:20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
NAOMI IT IS NOT AM I! GOD WAS WITH YOU, GOD IS WITH YOU NOW… NOT AM I, RATHER THE GOD OF I AM!
Ruth 4:14 (NLT2) Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the LORD, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. 15 May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!” 16 Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own.
CONCLUSION: WHO AM I? NO, IT IS THE GREAT I AM… JUST PONDER IF YOU SAW JESUS’ LIFE THROUGH MARY’S EYES? THE EHYEH (Hey –yeah) --- THE “I AM THAT I AM” IS HERE AMONG US. Quit acting like orphans. THE GREAT ELOHIM, YHWH, AND EHYEH IS HERE… IT IS NOT WHO I AM, IT IS THE GREAT I AM THAT I AM.
THERE ARE SOME COMMON SENSE LAWS. One of which is if too many are demanding a free ride. Seems like no one wants to pay the price of pulling the wagon. The wagon will not go very fast nor will it go very far. We can help bear each other’s burdens, but we are responsible to carry our own loads. GOD CAN!
Galatians 6:5 (MSG) Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.
OFTEN WHILE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS ARE FIGHTING THEY DON’T SEE THE ENEMY IS COMING UP. THE ENEMY IS SNEAKING UP AND WILL SPIRITUALLY DESTROY THE INDIVIDUALS OR THE FAMILY. THE “GREAT I AM WILL REPLACE THE AM I QUESTION.
John 8:57 (NLT2) The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” 59 At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.
WHO? WHO I AM VS ‘THE GREAT I AM” … GOD IS THE GREAT I AM… YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE GOD SWEAT? NO ONE CAN SURPRISE THE “GREAT I AM!”
Hebrews 1:10 (MSG) And again to the Son, You, Master, started it all, laid earth's foundations, then crafted the stars in the sky. 11 Earth and sky will wear out, but not you; they become threadbare like an old coat; 12 You'll fold them up like a worn-out cloak, and lay them away on the shelf. But you'll stay the same, year after year; you'll never fade, you'll never wear out.
USUALLY WHEN A SHEEP GETS PICKED OFF BY THE BIG BAD WOLF, HE IS ALMOST ALWAYS DISTANCED HIMSELF
FROM THE CHURCH AND THE PASTOR. IS THE HOPE OF THE CROSS WHY WE LIVE, MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING? GOD’S PLAN IS WHILE WE STILL HAVE THE BREATH OF GOD IN OUR LUNGS WE CAN TRUST HIS PLAN. FAITH KNOWS WE HAVE TO PRAISE GOD IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM. FAITH KNOWS WE HAVE TO TRUST GOD IN THE DARK VALLEYS. PRAISING GOD BRINGS US THROUGH THE DARK, LONG NIGHTS.
*LAURA JEAN TRUMAN WROTE: Lord, keep my anger from becoming meanness. Keep my sorrow from collapsing into self-pity. Keep my heart soft enough to keep it breaking. Keep my anger turned towards justice, not cruelty.
Remind me that all of this, every bit of it is for LOVE. Keep me fiercely kind. I WILL TRUST THE I AM THAT I AM”
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
