The Great I Am

Message Title:

Message Series: The Great I Am (#1)

Text:

Date: Sunday, February 16, 2020

Scripture Reading: Exodus 3:1-17

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

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.’”

15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘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,

the name you shall call me

from generation to generation.

16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

Message Introduction/God Story:

Friends, in a week and a half we enter a season of the church year known as Lent. For the benefit of those unfamiliar with this season, or those who might need a refresher, Lent is a 40 day season of fasting and preparation (not including Sundays) that begins on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 26th) and ends on Resurrection Sunday. It’s a time to reflect on the sacrifice and servanthood of Jesus as he journeyed to the cross. It’s also a time of repentance… a time or self-awareness in which to recognize our need for God’s grace and purposefully draw near to Him.

Many people - both Protestants and Catholics alike - observe Lent by choosing to give something up. Maybe it’s meat on Fridays, which explains the Catholic tradition of eating fish instead. Or

As we enter this season, I’ve felt inspired to begin a new series of messages that will focus our attention together on the Identity and Character of God. The Title of this Series, and of today’s message, taken from Exodus 3:14 is this:

“The Great I Am”.

As we sang it a just few moments ago, I hope the realization struck you that this isn’t just a descriptive phrase we sing about God… whenever we declare him to be the "Great I Am”, though it may seem a bit odd, what we’re actually doing is addressing God by his proper self-given name. And we’re saying implicitly, “I know you… I know who you really are!"

Why is this significant? It’s significant because this is precisely the thing we need to know most when we encounter whatever challenges life brings our way. We all face challenges… it’s just part of being human and living in a fallen world. But not all people know that the God of the Universe, the “Great I Am”, is with them in facing those challenges.

Illustration: Sophie’s Surprise

Why do I tell you this? Because throughout the day, despite these troubling circumstances, I had a strange sense of God’s presence and peace. I wasn’t particularly worried because I knew deep in my knower who God is - and that he was with us. I just had that unexplainable sense that God, in all of His greatness, with truly with Sophie and with us.

The thought just kept running through my mind: the LORD is with us. The LORD is for us. The LORD is Great. The LORD is Good.

So let me take you with me, for the next few moments, on an excursion of the mind and spirit… an excursion into the mysterious way that our God has made himself known to us. Let’s revisit together this incredible story of Moses encounter with the LORD at the burning bush so that we can fully appreciate who God is and what his name means for us.

To do that I’m going to share with you three key insights into the name of God that I hope and pray will inspire you to know him in new and even deeper ways. And here’s the first one...

Message Point 1:

The Creator of the Universe, our Father in Heaven, has revealed his name (‘YHWH') and identity to bring people into personal relationship with him.

Illustration: Titles vs. Names

Have you noticed that we live in a society where titles have taken on great importance.

Not too long ago, if you follow the news, there was quite a hubbub during the President’s impeachment hearings when one of the witnesses objected to being called by his name, Alexander Vinman, when he was questioned by a Congressman. Instead, he made it a point to correct the Congressman, Devin Nunes, by clarifying that he was supposed to be addressed by his proper title: Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman.

This was serious business to him. It was a title earned through years of service to the Military and surely it is a title worthy of respect. Now I”m not sharing this story to take a poke at him, nor to vindicate his objection… I share it simply as a timely illustration. But here’s the relevant question for you: do you suppose Leautenant Colonel Vindman’s wife, a woman named Rachel, calls him by his Title or his name?

If I had to guess, I imagine she might call him Alex… or maybe even Al. But almost certain she doesn’t address him as Lieutenant Colonel Vindman.

And neither does my own wife ever refer to me as Pastor, or Coach, or even Hubby!

Why? Because those who know us best refer to us by our name, not by our Title. Names, by their very nature, are more personal and relational than titles. To learn a name when you first meet someone, and then to remember that name, and perhaps to even know what it means, is an indication of relationship.

Titles are used with all do respect and honor, but not with intimacy. So If you really want to be known by someone, you don’t instruct them to use your title, you invite them to use your name, and thereby to truly know you.

Now then, how is this observation connected to the story of Moses at the burning bush?

Let me put it this way: This story, more than any other, is God’s personal introduction of Himself. He had of course made himself known in other ways, especially to the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But here, in this sacred interaction with Moses, God revealed something about himself that is of supreme importance: He revealed his name, which allowed Moses (and us!) to know Him in a new a deeper way.

Notice with me the two places where God reveals his identity to Moses in two very specific ways:

Ref. Exodus 3:6 “I am the God or your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

This is the LORD’s way of saying to Moses, I am the same One who made myself known to your ancestors. As I related to them and spoke to them, I am now doing the same with you. In other words, this initial revelation is about continuity.

It’s about helping Moses identify with the history of his own ancestors with the One who is speaking to him now.

But then, the second revelation, takes us even deeper. For it reveals something new, that none of Moses’ ancestors had been privileged to learn.

**Ref. Exodus 3:13-14.**Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

*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.’” *

What is it about these two references that’s so significant for us to learn from? Revelation is for relationship. What’s happening in these verses is that God is choosing to make himself known to Moses in a personal one to one interaction. He is revealing his identity for the sake of having a personal interactive relationship with Moses. And what this tells us about God is that He is essentially relational by nature. It tells us that He initiates making himself known to those He wants to be in relationship with. This encounter reveals to us how deeply God wants to be known by people.

In fact, more than anything else, the LORD wants to be known and loved for who He is. He wants people - around the globe and down through human history - to know his name so that we can understand what it is to be in a personal relationship with Him.

Friends, that is the heart of our God… and it is reflected in the hearts of each one of us, who are created in the image of God, and thereby long to be known and loved for who we are.

Certainly the LORD wants us to love Him and to serve Him, but all that starts with simply knowing him. And by that I mean more than knowing about him… I mean knowing Him in the context of a growing personal relationship.

Stop and think with me for a moment about how remarkable this really is. The one true God of the Universe, the One who gave us life and breath, wants us to know him and be in personal relationship with Him.

The trouble is that many people, sadly, are content with knowing about God instead of knowing and interacting with Him personally.

A.W. Tozer described the problem this way: he said the problem in our modern world is a spiritual disease called chronic unbelief, and it’s primary symptom is a numbness toward spiritual things that often keeps our knowledge of God at a very superficial level. What God is longing for is to take us deeper in our knowledge of Him, and for that knowledge to sink from the intellectual level (our heads) down to the relational level (our hearts).

For example, to highlight this important distinction, I could say that I know that Beth Ann Shoemaker exists, or that I know about Beth Ann Shoemaker. But the connotation is very different when I say, “I know Beth Ann Shoemaker personally and intimately, and I know her much better now than when I first met her.”

Speaking of my wife, here’s a quirky thing about her that not too many people know. She likes to call people Fred.

Anybody. Sons, or daughters. Friends, or strangers. For some strange reason she likes the name Fred, so she will quite often use it in reference to another person, no matter what their name really is. So even the mailman has a name… we just call him Fred… even though we have no idea what his name really is.

Friends, here’s the challenge and invitation before us: God wants us to know Him better than we know our mailman!

Did you know that your mailman, or mailwoman, has a name? They are somebody’s husband or wife… somebody’s child, and somebody’s father or mother. They are somebody’s friend.

Do you know the LORD like you know your mail deliverer? Or is there is there a genuine growing relationship there that’s drawing you deeper and deeper?

That’s observation number one. The LORD is inviting each one of us to know him personally, and he wants to be known by us.

But, there’s more. Here’s a second insight for you:

The LORD has revealed his name (‘YHWH') and identity to remind us of his presence with us.

Think about this way:

If you look closely at the names by which God identifies himself to Moses, something remarkable becomes apparent: there’s a contrast between the two names that holds significant meaning, both for Moses and for us.

In the first case, God introduced himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For Moses this was intended to awaken the realization that he was encountering the One True Living God who had already made himself known in the past. Through these patriarchs, and the covenant relationship God made with them, God had already established the pattern of how he would relate to his people throughout history. But this first name is all about the past. It’s about what God did before, in relationship with Moses’ ancestors.

But the second reference, where God responds to Moses’ question about his name is very different, and even more insightful. In fact, it’s downright radical, because it puts Moses (and the rest of God’s people like us) on a first name basis with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You see, the term God, which we use so frequently, is really more of a generic term, or title, not a personal name. So to call Him “God” is something like calling me “Mr.” or “Sir”, instead of addressing me as Kevin. The point is that names are very personal, and their use often indicates something important about the type of relationship two individuals have with one another.

So what is God’s name and what in heaven and earth does it mean?

His name is “YaHWeH”, which simply means “I Am who I Am”.

In Hebrew, the four consonants that make up the name of God are YHWH, or Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh. And they are known, respectfully, as the “Tetragrammaton”… which is fancy word for simply saying “Four Letters”. Tetra means four, and Gramma means Letters.

And they look like this, in Hebrew, which reads from right to left, not left to right like English.

Now, let me tell a few remarkable things about this name, and what it means.

First, let me point out to you that this is the first use in Scripture of this name, but it is used after this in the OT over 6000 times. In other words, from this point on, this is how God became known and referred to among his people.

Now ironically, here’s a second and related insight: In our English Bibles, instead of using the literal translation with vowels added, which would be “YaHWeH”, our English translations substitute this “the LORD”. So every time you come across a reference to “the LORD” in the Old Testament you are actually reading what in the original Hebrew was the Tetragrammaton, YHWH.

But here’s the best insight of all about this name God ascribed to himself: Notice that in Exodus 3:14 we don’t just get the name itself, we also get the meaning of that name. The LORD says to Moses, “Here’s my name… here’s who you should tell the Israelites has sent you…", but instead of simply using the name itself, Scripture gives us the meaning of the name: “I Am who I Am”. So YaHWeH is what we would call a transliteration of the name of God. “I Am who I Am” is an actual translation of what the name means.

Now I might not surprise you to learn that the meaning and translation of God’s name has been quibbled over by scholars for centuries, so there are some who differ on the subtle nuances of what His name actually means. But this translation, “ Am who I Am” is most favored and most commonly used among Biblical scholars.

But again, the question for us is how and why this translation is significant? What does it really mean?

Maybe you’ve never really given much thought to this. But I’ll tell you what it means to me.

It means the LORD, YaHWeH, is making himself known to Moses (and to us!) in the present, not the past. And it means that He is present with Moses. You see, as simple as it is, there’s something profound to be discovered here as we reflect on God’s self-identification… God’s revelation of His name. I believe, friends, that more than anything else, God wants us to know that He is present with us. He’s not just the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that is, the God of the past. He is the God of the now. He is the with us and wants to be known by us in our own experience.

Scripture says it this way: He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He was, and is, and is to come. So He is the one true living God of the past, the present, and the future. In other words, who He is and how he wants to be known never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. His nature and character is unchanging. The same one who made himself known to the Patriarchs is here with us to make himself known to us, right here and right now!!

Our God, the LORD, is present with us. This, at least in part, is what makes Him and Him alone the “Great I Am”.

So let your mind noodle on that for a while. Allow the profound revelation of God’s presence with you to sink in to a new and deeper level. He has made Himself known as the One who is present with us.

Ref. Psalm 139:1-12

You have searched me, Lord,

and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue

you, Lord, know it completely.

5 You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,”

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

But as we close, let me add one other dimension to God’s revelation of His name….

The LORD has revealed his name (‘YHWH') and identity to draw us into reverent worship of Him.

Now, as we think about the significance of Moses encounter with God together, I want you to appreciate that God is making himself known in such a way as to draw out of Moses a particular response. Beyond the reality that God wanted to draw Moses into a deeper relationship, He also wanted to set the terms of that relationship. In other words, God wanted Moses to realize that he was encountering a God of personal revelation and relationship, but at the same time, a God of absolute holiness… a transcendent God whose character elicits from men and women the appropriate response of fear, reverence, respect, and worship. As Solomon put it so well, Moses found himself in a situation where he realized that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge.”

This comes out in two very distinct ways:

The manifestation of the burning bush. vs. 2-3

The command to remove your sandals. vs. 5-6

⠀

Why is this so important? Because it’s an important counter weight to our personal knowledge of God, in that it keeps our knowledge of God from literally going to our heads. And if you’ve ever met or known someone famous and powerful you know what I mean by that. You see, as much as God wants us to know Him personally, he also wants us to recognize that to truly know Him is to respect Him and reverence Him for who He really is.

He doesn’t want us to go around acting like big shots just because we’re on a first name basis with Him!

We need to realize that there is a dynamic tension between the personal/relational nature of God, and His transcendence. What God was doing with Moses, and what he wants to do with us too, is simply to keep the awareness of his holiness so high that our hearts are guarded from the pride of knowing Him personally.

For the Hebrew people this sense of God’s Incredible Holiness was even cultivated in how they referred to his name.

Did you know that the name YaHWeH was considered so holy and sacred, that it was actually forbidden to pronounce it?! So instead they would just insert ‘Ha shem’, which means ‘the name’. This explains why the vowels were dropped in the Hebrew text and the name of God was represented by its four consonants YHWH. It also explains why most English translations insert “The LORD” instead of God’s actual name YaHWeH.

In fact, in the spirit of reverence, I even have a few friends that have taken to spelling the word ‘God’ like this: “G-d”.

Why would they do that? To emulate the sense of holiness that accompanies any reference to the LORD by the Hebrew people. For them, it’s simply a matter of reverence. You don’t refer to God with too much familiarity because you never want to lose sight of his awesome holiness.

Worship is simply an act we enter into on Sunday mornings. It’s a mindset of reverence before the Lord.

Ref. Hebrews 12:28-29

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Friends, to know God personally is to know his character… his holiness… and to relate to him accordingly.

It’s to know that He wants to be known. It’s to know that He is present with us. And at the same time, it’s to know that He alone is Holy and worthy of all worship.

Closing Invitation:

How well do you really know Him?

What I want to fix your attention on through this series of messages over the fall season is the fundamental question: “Do you know the one true God of the universe personally and intimately, and is that knowledge continuing to grow deeper?” Do you know how He is present with you? And do you know how He is greater than you?

Illustration: Family Camp… A Challenge From Vince

What’s does God want from us more than anything else?

Not to have faith, to love Him, or to serve Him… but to know Him.

And not just to know that He exists, but to really know Him relationally.

That challenge really got me thinking about the priority of knowing God.

The more we know God, the more we trust Him, and the more we want to love Him and serve Him.

Illustration: Herbert Spencer’s bird in space analogy. (Little, p.27)

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