I am #1 TAKE 2
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Northside Church
I am
July 21 2024
Jamey Mills
Good morning!!
Welcome to Northside… it’s so great to be with you guys, My name is Jamey Mills and I’m the lead pastor here…
Those pictures… you can see two things in one picture…
This pretty woman and this old witch…
And whatever your brain lands on… you can’t see anything else… you almost have to do a manuel reset…
All of that to get to this…
Who is God to you?
Who do you think He is? What do you think He’s like?
As I was preparing this week, I found myself wondering not only if that was the wrong question… but if that question was potentially dangerous.
If history, even my history, has proven anything… is that the thoughts and ways of humanity are inconsistent at best. They are fleeting… unstable… not dependable… Ephesians 4 says it like this… being tossed and blown around by the wave of every new idea… even really bad ones.
And we’ve seen that even recently… groups of people (some even under the banner of the Church) standing for god awful things… its like they aren’t even thinking about it.
I do think its part of why the Bible refers to humanity as sheep…
For me it really helps me to see the importance of What Isaiah 55 teaches… when it says that God’s thoughts and God’s ways… are higher than ous…
And if we stop to think about it, thats probably a really really good thing.
As I was thinking about that question, who is God to me, I started to wonder if it would be far wiser for us to approach it by considering the reality of who God says He is… start there… with God… and then weight the evidence.
Take the time to know who God says He is and what He means by it…a nd then way the evedicne…
For instance… when it says God is love, what does it mean? What is love by God’s definition and not ours. It even says that God disciplines those He loves… Is there evidence that God is love?
We have to remember that…
God is not of your own creation. In fact, thats completely backwards.
If God is God, He is not the invention of man… in fact, humanity was created by… and in the imag of God… and that piece of theology is far more important than we often think. It starts with… we start with God.
I do think it’s easy, even for good, god-fearing people, in fact I’ve seen pastors do it too… to they get busy and stuck in the ruts of life a little and subcousionly begin to sort of form God into their image… into who they think God should be.
We begin to see God, hear Him, approach him, and even expect things from God based on who we think He should be rather than who He is.
And when we do that, His truth is the next domino to fall. We begin to wrap what God actually says around what we think He should have said…
And with that… what it means to have a relationship, where salvation is found, our identity, what it means to be a part of God’s family, sexuality, marriage, singleness, polotics… it all gets blury at best.
Through the ages, all kinds of people have justified all kinds of things in the name of God… things that God would never endorse.
Every cult starts that way…
We’ve seen organizations try to pinpoint Jesus return… that way. What’s the issue there? God actually tells us no one knows.
When we project who and what we think God should be onto him, the slope gets slippery pretty fast.
Reminds me of Proverbs 3:5–6 (NLT)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
Trust in the Lord… and don’t lean on your own understanding…
Even as to who you think God should be and what His truth should be…
In all of you ways… acknowledge Him… and He will show you which path to take, He will lead you, show you the truth, bring clarity….
And with that, I hope we understand maybe in a new way just how important it is to seek God based on what He says and Who He says He is… realizing how that impacts and sort of trickles down on how we…
See, relate to, interact with, walk with, serve, worship, live, obey… God.
It’s not healthy or wise to relying on who we think God should be and what we think He should say.
One of the things I started doing years ago… was when I spend time reading the Bible (really healthy thing to do if we want to know and draw near to God), I started writing down what I learned about God, and I was as thorough and accurate as I can be.
That is the work of theology… and I’m going to point some stuff out like that in the passage today.
In a sense, thats what this series is about…
A couple months ago we finished what I thought was out best sermon series here at NS on the book of Genesis…
All the way in the beginning when we see sin enter the world, how did that happen? Satan, God Eve to question who God really is and what God actually said… It’s not new.
But we see the impact it had and has as we look at Genesis…
We see people struggling in growing ways… things were getting worse. Sin was impacting them, their marriages, their families… and the worse it got the further they moved away from this place that God created for then to be… This distance that was growing… is something we are supposed to see.
And it got so bad that they ended up all the way in Egpyt.
At first as refugee’s,
but as time went on… as hated, oppressed, and abused slaves under the heavy thumb of Pharoh.
They were there for 4 CENTURIES… and it was only getting worse.
We see that God miraculously saved this young Isralite boy named Moses who oddly enough was taken in by one of Pharoah’s daughters where he was raised, no doubt he had it good.
In Exodus, we read that Moses saw and Egyptian guard beating and Isrealite, one of his own people… so Moses got involved… and it says he killed the Egyptian.
Soon enough, Pharoah found out and Moses was running for his life, he ended up in Midian and where we see that Moses was a pretty high character guy… and that eventually came back to bless him. He was taken in by a man named Jethro and ended up marrying one of his daughters, Zipporah.
Years passed and eventually, Pharoah passed away, but the people of Israel were still under the thumb of Egpyt…
It says that one day, as Moses was out with the flock near Sinai (The Mt Of God), he saw a bush that was on fire… and it sounds like he was both amazed and freaked out… it was burning, but not burning up…
Exodus 3:4–6 (NLT)
When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“Here I am!” Moses replied.
“Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.
4 When the LORD saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“Here I am!” Moses replied. 5 “Do not come any closer,” the LORD warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.
6 I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.
God calls out to Moses by name… (not, he dummy by the bush)
We learn that God knows my name. He knows us, not just about us.
…
but He knows us.
God says don’t come closer and to take off his sandals… because He is stanging on Holy Ground.
This idea of
Holy literally means; set apart, different, sacred, to be used for God and for His purposes.
And we learn a few things about God here…
1. God is Holy:
God is sharing something about the reality of who He is. God himself is holy, in fact, I think He is the definition of holiness. I don’t think you define the word without diving into His “otherness”. His devine nature and eternal power… His sovereignty and majesty…
This idea of holiness is also connected to the depth of His wisdom… His design, His will, His way, His truth… set apart… over and above… There is this sense of finality to it.
God is Holy… everything He does is Holy… everything He says is Holy… He is the definition of Holiness.
God makes things Holy:
Again, I’m not sure this is about the actual ground… But there is something about this ground that is “set apart” for the purposes of God… You’ll see what I mean later… God is calling His shot in a way that Moses will and expereince the reality of who God is…
We learn that
God knows the future.
This ground is holy becasue of the very presnece of God… and thats true of Heaven too… all the incredible things we read about heaven sease if God’s precense is not there.
I also think God might be sharing something about the way we approach Him.
Taking off their shoes was a sign of reverence… I feel like God is saying, Pay attention, what I have to say is important.
And when Moses realizes that this is the same God that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob new… all that he’d heard about it… you see this holy fear… something He’d heard about God is resonating as true in this moment… The holiness… enormity… the power of God…
Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
7 Then the LORD told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
We learn that God sees, hears, rescues, and sends. We learn that God uses humanity in His rescuing work.
And now we know… why God placed Moses in Pharoah’s home. We know why Moses had to flee… it’s cool how we can see the hand of God in the much bigger picture…
And it makes me wonder if that true of you…
Do you believe in a God who sees you?
Who hears you?
Who has the power to rescue you?
That even when you struggle and all hope feels lost… when what you face feels bigger than you are, even when your stuck in captivity in life or in sin… That God is aware and at work.
I can’t help but wonder if part of the reason Israel stayed so long in captivity was… their unwillingness to learn the lessons God was trying to teach them… for their own good. About trusting Him… Calling on Him… Following Him…
But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”
“Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”
The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”
Moses was caught up on who he wasn’t instead of focused on who God is… and we do that to.
God refocused him on what mattered… Moses, I am with you. I am the one who sends you… do you know who “I am”?
And I love that next line… Not if… but when… When you lead my people out… when you find that I am faithful… We will dance on this very mountain…
Moses it won’t be easy… but it will happen… do you know who I am… You will find me faithful, able, present, strong, leading you….
That ground was holy… because God set it aside as a marker… a reminder… He called His shot… and said Moses… we will meet here agian.
Right there… I’d be ready to run through a wall.
You don’t have to trust in your own ability, effort, your own gifting, or even your own provision…
I am leading you…
But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”
God replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.
This is my eternal name,
my name to remember for all generations.
Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”
Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, you are cursed
more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
groveling in the dust as long as you live.
And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
13 But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”
14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.
This is my eternal name,
my name to remember for all generations.
Moses didn’t think they’d listen… they chased him off not long ago.
Who should I tell them sent me… who should I tell them that you are?
And it's almost odd… God says… tell them “I Am” sent you.
And we often miss the power of that.
Right there in the midst of this culture that is full of pride and self-exualtation… in the face of the Egyptian pantheon… surrounded by temples and images of gods who held dominion over certain aspects of life… like… the sun, the moon, fertility…
Not only does God show up… but he changes the game a bit.
Up until now, God’s people mostly referred to Him as El or Elohim… which is a title…
God makes it personal; I Am… your God.
It’s how God wants to be known… We learn about God’s desire to be known by us… and to be in a relationship with us. He is personal.
It also frames in incredible and powerful truths about who God is and how we are to relate to Him.
When God says “I AM” it’s exclusive…
He is saying I alone am… that He is over it all.
That name above all names…
Over any false God or worldly power… over all fear… over all sin… over all doubt…
I am… says… He is the one.
The church catches a lot of shade for its exclusivity… We don’t believe in many ways to God or to Heaven… we believe that there is one God that is in and over it all… and one way to Him which is Jesus.
I am… in my view is the most powerful name we have for God.
I AM… and I alone AM.
It's not who I say He is… statement is not burdened by the flailing thoughts of a bald… middle age fat man…
It’s who He… the God of all creation… says He is…
I Am conveys....
His dominion over all things…
The source of eternal power…
His eternal nature…
Self-sufficient…
Self-sustaining God over all creation…
Who was, is, and will be…
The alpha and Omega…
The all-knowing, All-present, and all-powerful…
In Hebrew… I AM … its where we get the word, Yahweh…
And it carried so much reverence that that Hebrew scribes were careful never to say it out loud or even spell it out completely… even to this day, you’ll see it like this…
YHWH
Or
LORD
They refer to it as the Tetragrammaton… and we see it over 6000 times in the Bible.
And that alone should tell us the sort of weight it carries… this is massive stuff.
WORSHIP TEAM to come back up…
One of the most significant times we see that… comes in John 8 where the religious leaders were trying to catch Jesus in heresy…
They challenged Jesus’ authority and brought up Abraham… and Jesus says… I tell you that Abraham is glad to see the day of the Lord.
And then he drops this…
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!”
(NLT)
58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!”
What? It says they picked up stones to kill him…
What is Jesus saying here?
That He is… I AM. Jesus is claiming divinity.
In fact, the rest of this series will focus in on the “I am” statements of Jesus. That He … and He alone is… those things.
Right there in the face of a godless, self-exalting, proud, and sinful culture… where His people had been stuck in captivity for years…
God sees, hears, and shows up.
He wants them to know He is greater than it all.
When all seems lost, when hope is running, where hurt is deep, where relationships struggle…
God says… I AM… and he makes it personal.
I am able… I am present… I am with you… I am powerful… I am aware… I am sovereign… I am faithful… I am dependable…
That’s who He says He is and that… carries far more weight than who I or anyone else says that He is.
Does it line up what you know of Him?
What does the evidence suggest?
COMMUNION - Matt