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Beloveds of God, flattened by a voice that spoke out of a strange fire, Moses heard his orders to deliver Israel from Egypt. But a question nagged Moses: Who was sending him?
Now putting that question to the voice, Moses got the answer "I am...". Moses must have trembled, waiting to hear the rest of that answer. Already the voice had said, "I am the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob", but Moses wanted a more comprehensible name than that.
He wanted to know something of the nature of this God who was sending him to oppose the mightiest dynasty in the world. The full answer must have left Moses utterly bewildered, "I am that I am". Then, came the further order, Moses you say to the children of Israel, "I am has sent me unto you".
Now Moses went to Egypt to repeat that name again and again to his people. A name that was as mysterious to him as to them. But God could not have explained himself to Moses. It would have been like an astronaut trying to explain to his 6 month old son his trip to the moon.
My friend, it is a small wonder that God tells us no more about himself; we do not half understand what He has already told us.
Now ages passed after God spoke to Moses. God spoke again to man through Jesus from Nazareth. God had to change his form to show himself more clearly.
The form could not be angelic, for we know as little about angels as we do about God. And., perhaps, not nearly as much. So God became man.
Beloveds, what better form than that could God take for revealing himself to us. Through Jesus, God began to answer the long ago question from Moses. Who is this God? What is he like? I am who? I am what? Every person ever born asks at one time or another these questions. Every one wants a sense of belonging and heritage.
Jesus took those mysterious words "I am" out of past ages, and added to them in simple language.
But even more than that, He lived the words. He put them into action, that you and I might see what that great name means. "I am that I am"! He did not of course tell us all that the name means, that would be more than we could bear. But he did tell us much and showed us much.
Beloveds, Moses would have been thrilled to have been in the days of Jesus. And, he would have been thrilled to have heard His mighty "I am’s". What were some of the I AM’s that Jesus said, and just what do they mean to us?
Jesus said, "I am the Alpha". Now what book other than the Bible has so grand an opening like this. In the beginning God created the heaven’s and the earth. In what other book can we find this? All things were made by him and without him was not any thing made that was made. Without Him is neither matter nor energy!, Without Him creation is a zero! Without Him, there is neither up or down, morning or night! Without Him, there is neither today, yesterday or tomorrow. Why? Because everything finds its beginning in God! And since Jesus was with the Father before all things were made - everything finds its beginning in Him.
Not only that beloveds, but Jesus also said, "I am the light"! Our world is dark, but how much darker it would be had not Jesus came! Try if you can, and imagine human history without Jesus Christ.
Jesus said too, "I am the vine"! Beloved, history is filled with nations that tried to exist without God. They are as branches cut off from the vine. The bible tells us that a nation that forgets God and like a dog returned unto itsf own vomit. All over this world, there is much evidence that letsf us know what happens when you push God out. America, who was founded on the precepts and concepts of the Bible, is very rapidly becoming much like Russia use to be - a NATION WITHOUT GOD! But thank God for the remnant of people who refuse to let this nation forget from whence it has come.
Jesus said "I am the shepherd". Now, a shepherd has a special quality. He cares about sheep. He knows a sheep’s needs and he responds to them. Sheep without shepherds are helpless creatures. In fact, if you know anything about caring for this type of animal, then you know that sheep are really dumb creatures. That’s why it is important for sheep to have a leader - a shepherd - because they need someone to guide and lead them.
Jesus said, "I am the door". Beloveds, Jesus doesn’t just open the door to eternal life, but rather, He is the door to eternal life. And contrary to what the devil wants you to believe, there is no other way. You can’t earn your way to heaven, you can’t be good enough to go to heaven, you can’t evolve and ultimately reach heaven. There is only one way and His name is Jesus! Every other door opens on ruin and destruction. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8 to 10 lets us know that by Grace we are saved through faith and that is not of ourselves. It is a gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". John 14:6
Jesus said, "I am the bread of life". Beloveds, we are all hungry. Much of the world is starving for food too. With all of the economic programs and welfare reform we have in todays’ world, many with plenty of food are still hungry. This world has never heard a truer statement than this: "Man shall not live by bread alone" . There is a need within each of us that natural resources just can’t satisfy. We must be fed with the bread of heaven or we will surely die.
Jesus said, "I am the way". Again, we must understand that if someone dies not showing us the way to life, we are forever lost. But Jesus came to tell us He is the way and He is what we all need. Man’s greatest need is for Jesus to save him from sin. Since the beginning of time, man has always tried to please God his way. We see this in both Cain and Abel. Yet since the Garden of Eden, God has shown us what was required - a perfect sacrifice. We see this in the Old Testament sacrifice which foreshadowed the coming of Jesus and what he would accomplish by his death, burial and resurrection.
Beloveds understand, that a Holy God requires a perfect sacrifice and nothing we can do can appease what God requires. Jesus had to come and die that we might have a right to the tree of life. And thanks be to God that He did. Paul writes in the 7th chapter of Romans about our sinful state. He says "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do". In verse 23 He goes on to write, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord...."
Jesus said, "I am the truth"! Now, shall we join the world in saying what is right; that’s what the world proclaims - that they know what is right.
But in all honesty, how shall we know what is right and what is wrong. Nature itself tells us that there is a creator - but nature has no redemptive theology. Such theology is a gift from God brought to us by Jesus.
Jesus said, "I am the resurrection"! Again, nature has no resurrection. Though poets refer to spring as such, in truth, resurrection is the special power of God to restore life from death, and to give that life something which it never had before, a life forever beyond the dominion of death.
Jesus said, "I am the life"! Beloveds, minus God’s power, ours world in which we live is a dead planet. Apart from God, there is no existence. God, Jesus said, He is the God of the living. You are not truly living, if you are not in a right relationship with God. Because I live, Jesus said, you shall love also. The fact that Jesus conquered death, hell and the grave, is our guarantee of eternal life. The bible says that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the death shall quicken our mortal bodies. And Paul writes to the Corinthians that we shall not all sleep but be changed, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.
Jesus said, " I am the omega". God began history, and He has been in it all the way and He will end it, and then start it anew. With God the end is but the beginning!
"I am", God said to Moses, and so He is; "I am", said Jesus and so He is too!. And through His words and work, we are abled to catch a glimpse into the mystery of that great name. Do you want to know what God is like - look at Jesus. Do you want to know the depth of God’s love - Look at Jesus!
Beloveds, to look into that mystery for a moment is enough to make us join in the joy of the psalmist who cried "blessed be his glorious name for ever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory."
Ah, beloveds, the one thing that we come away with when we look into that mysterious name, is that there’s power in that name: "I AM".
When God says I AM THAT I AM, he summons us to humble objectivity. He puts an end to the notion that everybody’s view of God is as good as everybody else’s. God is who he is and nobody’s opinion of him makes any difference. Therefore, our calling as his creatures is to strive to know him for who he is, not for who we would like him to be.
The I AM’s of God dictate that we must conform to God, not he to us. If children should learn their manners from their parents and not the parents from the children; if players should learn their moves from the coach and not the coach from the players; if soldiers should learn their strategy from the general and not the general from the soldiers; then surely it is plain that creatures should conform all their lives to the will of their Creator!
Yes, God calls each and every Christian to glorify him and to trust him.
But beloveds of God, how few of God’s creatures follow this. The vast majority of God’s creatures go their own way with little or no thought of conforming their lives to the daily will and character of an absolute God. And when they think of God they picture him arbitrarily in images of their own making, to suit their own desires. But if God simply is who he is and not who we make him out to be, then it is we who must conform to God and not he to us.
Always remember that God the Father has drawn near to us in Jesus Christ. John chapter 8, and verses 56-58 shows us Jesus answering the criticism of the Jewish leaders. He says, "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad." The Jews then said to Jesus, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly! I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
Could Jesus have taken any more exalted words upon his lips? When Jesus said, "Before Abraham was I AM," he took up all the majestic truth of the name of God, wrapped it in the humility of servanthood, offered himself to atone for all our rebellion, and made a way for us to see the glory of God without fear.
In Jesus Christ, we who are born of God have the unspeakable privilege of knowing God as our Father -- I AM THAT I AM -- the God.....
"who exists", "whose personality and power is owing solely to himself", "who never changes", "from whom all power and energy in the universe flows", and "to whom all creation should conform its life".
This is the name of God: I AM THAT I AM! And may those who know the name of God put their trust in him.
God Bless You!
