I AM statements
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I AM
I AM
We have hit the start of the I AM statements in the Bible.
Jesus said it and therefore I believe it.
I AM ------ I AM
There are seven of them
What Are The I Am Statements?
I Am The Bread Of Life (John 6:35)
I Am The Light Of The World (John 8:12)
I Am The Gate For The Sheep (John 10:7)
I Am The Good Shepherd (John 10:11)
I Am The Resurrection And The Life (John 11:25)
I Am The Way The Truth And The Life (John 14:6)
I Am The True Vine (John 15:1)
next week
we will go through the Bread of Life
We started this series on Gospel John to
Discover more about Jesus
The ultimate Goal is to Know Jesus more than ever
The Ultimate Destination in our study is for you
to FULLY and COMPLETELY understand
that....
Jesus is GOD
This is a HUGE theological issue that has divided the church into denominations for centuries.
Yet i raise this question....
WHY?
Why do we have so many arguments and theories
so many divisions
Jesus says that HE IS THE WAY
Jesus never says that He is a possible way
nor does He ever say that He is A way
Jesus says that He is THE WAY.
Some times we just need to accept the TRUTH and let it be
Jesus said it therefore it is TRUE
now OBEY IT
We often struggle in our learning with the differentiation of
History and Present Time ---
we slide in to the CULTURE IS DIFFERENT TODAY
But i want to inject a moment and remind you JESUS is GOD
I AM ------ I AM
What i mean is that we look at Biblical History and
say something like
well that was then and this is now.
we are focusing today on
connections between OLD and NEW
The Words of JESUS HIMSELF
and the Ways of man that sidetrack us.
Christians started well
the first part of the Christian History was the
Age of the Apostles ( the Book of Acts is often called the Acts of the Apostles)
the Apostles of Jesus spreading the Good News and
people of different nations becoming Christian
in the first 60 years after the death and resurrection of Christ
Christianity had moved from the area we know today as Israel
into Africa, India, Europe, the Mediterranean area and through Turkey
The formula for success was pretty simple
A disciple of Christ Jesus ( a follower of the Way)
WENT out —whether by choice or persecution
and shared the Good news
I was not there of course,
but we have Spiritual guidance from the Book of Acts
on the what was said,
how it was said,
where it was said,
and to who it was said.
i see no distinctive argument for much of what the next 2000 years brought in history.
I have not found the “disclaimer” in the Bible that HIS TRUTH expires
or that HIS TRUTH is only conditional applicable today or even one asterisk that says
except for me or you.
Truth is Truth
i often wonder what the world would be like if we all fully followed the Bible.
i hope you all say AMEN to that
BUT
there is a problem
We don’t want to fully follow the Bible
yup.. our SIN NATURE
This SIN NATURE includes our PRIDE
and it is that Focus that i argue
in the Divisions of the church over the Centuries
Jesus told us how to LIVE as CHRISTIANS as FOLLOWERS of HIM
and it is HIM that i want to explore deeper today.
Jesus said, I AM
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
I AM ------ I AM
Jesus said it and therefore I believe it.
JESUS is GOD
JESUS is GOD
The Bible may easily be the most misunderstood book in the world,
and i would argue that it is by nature that way —
God Designed.
Must have the Key to understand --- Holy Spirit
We fight the Spirit when we don’t agree with what it says
the Truth is revealed in God’s time
It is living and can apply to our whole life not simple part of life.
Wars and nations have been fought and divided over understanding
Crusades in the middle ages
the country of ireland in this centure
the start of Anglicianism with King Henry the VIII
Martin Luther on the door
YET ---- the Bible is written to reveal who GOD is
and that God wants us to know who He is very very deeply.
God reveals Himself through Jesus, Through the Spirit and through the WORD
in fact when ask by Moses who He is......
he answers “ I AM who I AM”
and I am the God of Israel
Jesus is asked who HE is and he answers I AM
Jesus wants you to know HIM, and HIS attributes
being God in the Flesh ----- Jesus is God and therefore every attribute of God
Our study on the I AM statements are just that they are the statements of WHO HE IS ---- Jesus is I AM
This is our connection to the OLD and the NEW
6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
Moses is born to a Family from the House of Levi
The King of Egypt demands that all Hebrew boy babies be killed
To save Moses, his mother places him in a basket so that the Pharaoh’s daughter sees him
and she adopts him
Moses grows up in Egypt in the court of Pharoah
Moses has an incident in Egypt and flees
Moses finds a wife and settles in to a new life of being a shepherd
Then Moses encounters an angel of the Lord in a Burning Bush
God calls out to Moses
HERE I AM
God appears to Moses
I Am the God of your father....
and Moses is fearful
in awe
God calls Moses to Lead his people out of Egypt
Moses asks God
Well if i go to the people
they will ask for the Name of He who sent me
what shall i say
God answers
you tell them
I AM WHO I AM
15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
This is my name forever
I AM ------ I AM
Jesus is I AM
Jesus is I AM
When Jesus uses the statement
I AM
our Lord is identifying HIMSELF as GOD
These I AM statements in the Book of John follow a pattern
There is
a metaphor
an explanation
and connect to a miracle
for example
I AM the BREAD of Life
follows the feeding of Bread to the 5000
They are meant not just as a display of HIS POWER and AUTHORITY
BUT TO TEACH US
WHO JESUS IS.....
Jesus is the Great I AM
Jesus is GOD in the Flesh
Friends this is the Gospel
that God so loved that world
that He came in the form of Man
to pay the price
that price needed to be perfect
it was the only way to overcome the CURSE
no short coming or blemish.
ONLY GOD IS PERFECT
so JESUS had to be GOD
or all is worthless
God came to US
to live among us
to interact with us
He experienced first hand the evil, the hatred, the pride, the jealousy, and the deceit that is in us
God proclaimed to Moses
I AM
Jesus proclaims to the World
I AM
Importance of the I AM
Have you ever met a person and you hit it off?
in fact you pursue a friendship
to make that happen you really need to invest time
listening
learning
and the whole time you are evaluating....
i get that is not fun to think about…
That we evaluate others to see if we want to continue a relationship with them
We often have degrees of relationship with the people that we engage with.
work friends
weekend friends
friends at the gym
Then we have another level
the one on one coffee person
the walk daily with them person
the talk on the phone for hours person
We have another level
the ones we trust
the ones we share with
yet there is things we hold back from each one of those relationships
Jesus has pursued you when you were lost
in fact
one of the most assuring verses of Scripture to show how much He wants you is
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Jesus wants to know you and wants you to know Him
The I AM statements reveal TRUTH and IDENTITY
Jesus is the Bread of Life ---
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Jesus is the Light of the World
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Jesus is the Door
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
the only way to eternal life
Jesus is the Good Shepherd
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Jesus is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus is the True Vine
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Friends
Jesus is revealing to us WHO HE IS
He calls us to FOLLOW HIM, to OBEY HIM, to LOVE HIM
Jesus wants you to know WHO HE IS
Jesus never had an identity crisis
HE simply said I AM
today i ask you
Who are you?
Are you IN HIM?
Is HE in YOU?
Is Jesus coming out your walk, your talk, your very pores
If not, then i welcome you to continue to move towards Him
to learn more about Him
Know this my Friends
you are loved by I AM
lets pray.