The Great I Am (Christ Centered)
The Mighty God In Christ • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Introduction
Introduction
If I were to ask you today “Do you believe God cares about you?” What would your response be? What if I went even further and asked — if you do believe then “How much do you think God cares for you?”
Today, I want you to know that God desires more than any thing, that you know He loves you, cares for you, and desires to spend eternity with you — that you may know Him without any barriers. In the midst of your pain, struggles, heartache, trials, times of spiritual blindness, and even in the midst of you sin — God chose to seek after you.
Ezekiel 34:16 (KJV 1900)
16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: .....
Greater Than Abraham
Greater Than Abraham
A. “Are you greater than Abraham?”
Here in John 8, Jesus had just defended the woman caught in the act of adultery and began speaking to the group of people there at the Feast Of Booths, a feast where every Israelite was to live in booths in remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt.
Jesus said to them John 8:12
12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
What followed was an interrogation of Jesus about
The authority of Jesus words
Who his father was as Jesus explained to them who their father was
Then the question in V. 53 “Are you greater than our father Abraham?”
To this question, Jesus responded with a very clear answer:
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Now, when Jesus spoke these words — the pharisees reacted by taking-up-stones to stone him.
That might seem a little extreme to some of us — but these pharisees did have a zeal for God even in the midst of their blindness. Jesus had just spent time telling them the truth about who he was — who they where — and his authority but they could not receive it and desired to stone Jesus for simply saying “before Abraham was, I Am”.
B. Moses - Pharaohs genocide
I mean, was his words really so intense that he deserved to be stoned over them? To understand this extreme reaction of the pharisees — we must go back to the book of Exodus and meet a man by the name of Moses.
Moses was a man born during a time of great tribulation for the Hebrew people. The children of Israel had been in bondage under the Egyptians who were in what history calls the “Golden Age” of their Kingdom. There came a time when the Hebrew slaves began to grow into a great number of people which made the Pharoah of Egypt concerned about the security his kingdom.
The Pharoah stated Exodus 1:9 “9 And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we;” Because of this, The Pharoah began to multiply their burdens of slavery but they still increased in number even more.
In his fear, the Pharoah spoke to two of the Hebrew mid-wives secretly (Shiphrah and Puah) He commanded them to kill any son that would born to the Hebrew women. However, these mid-wives refused and the Lord blessed them with families of their own.
When the secret command of the Pharoah did not work, he openly called for genocide of the Hebrew males that were to be born from that point forward. Now, all of the people under his command were to see to it — that the Hebrew boys were thrown into the Nile river.
If there ever was a time that the children of Israel needed God, it was now. They were about to be completely wiped out by a reckless king. They didn’t need more provision from God such as grain or wealth, no, this time they needed something new from God — they were in need of a deliverer, a saviour. And God was already on the move for His people.
C. Moses Birth to the Mountain
A boy by the name of Moses was born in the midst of the tribulations but God protected Moses. Most of us know the story well how he was hidden in a basket, saved by the Pharaoh's daughter, lived in the Pharaoh’s palace as an Egyptian, and was raised by his own mother.
But there came a time where Moses heart went out to his brethren, the Hebrews. One day he say an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and Moses killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand — thinking this would be a sign to the Hebrews that he was on their side, but now they feared him wondering if he would kill them too.
So Moses, at age 40, left his Egyptian palace and spent the next 40 years of his life in the dessert of Midian, tending to sheep and his new bride.
Until he had a divine encounter with a burning bush.
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
God tells Moses “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”. To your fathers I made a promise of provision — that their seed would come into a land flowing with milk and honey. But I have seen the oppression of — My people— and I am here, not for provision, but to deliver my people out of their bondage. And you Moses, I will send you to Pharoah and you will lead my people out of bondage. For i have heard the cry of MY children and I will deliver My people.
D. Who Am I? (Humble)
Moses was known as a meek and humble individual in the scriptures and after hearing these words coming from God out of a burning bush — Moses replied with 3:11 “Who Am I?”.
If you continue reading, you will notice how many times Moses questions Gods choice for delivering the Hebrews. We must be careful that humility does not turn into doubt and fear.
Still, God encouraged Moses to trust in Him and that he would be with him as he spoke to the pharoah and the children of Israel.
But Moses asked WHO do I tell them has sent me? What name should I give to these people that they may know who you are?
The Great I Am
The Great I Am
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.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Definition:
Apostolic Study Bible: King James Version: Notes (Notes)
God’s response is one of the most central passages of theology. God reveals Himself through His eternal name as the I AM. The personal name of God, YHWH, is known as the Tetragrammaton. It is formed from the third-person singular of the verb “to be” (He is/was/will be). (See Rev. 1:4, 8; 4:8: “Who is and was and is to come.”) This occurs more than 6,800 times in the Old Testament. Many times it is printed as LORD (all capitals) or occasionally as GOD.
God declared that His name will always be Jehovah, as a memorial to all generations. The name “Jesus” is the English pronunciation of the Greek form of an Aramaic name that combines Jehovah with salvation to produce Jehovah-Savior.
Provider to Saviour
Provider to Saviour
Why is this so important? Up to this point the Fathers of the children of Israel knew God in part. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew God mostly as a
provider
a God of increase and prosperity
EL SHADDAI - God Almighty
but to Moses He says — this people will know much more than only my provision. Even though Moses did not know it yet God was going to provide them with:
Shoes that would never wear out.
Food from heaven every day they were in the wilderness
and all the riches of Egypt, that city of great wealth and power, their riches would leave Egypt in the hands of the Hebrews.
God was going to show this people that i am not a god like the Egyptians believe in, i am not a god with control of a single aspect of the world but I AM THAT I AM!
And God proved just that when he sent the plagues on Egypt in defiance of all the Egyptian God. Each one representing a god that the Egyptians served.
When he lead the children of Israel to the Red Sea and I AM split the waters and made the land under the sea dry so that the army of the Lord could pass over on dry ground.
He closed up the Sea as the enemy passed through consuming the armies of Egypt
Because of this, from that day forward, the Children of Israel knew God as the I AM. The one who holds all power and authority. They would know that He is the One who controls:
The Wind
The raging Sea
The beast of the field
The well-being of His people
And in His hands alone is deliverance from all enemies.
From this moment— God would continue to reveal Himself by many names that would manifest all that He is to His people.
Jesus Christ is the Great I AM
Jesus Christ is the Great I AM
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
The Jews did not misunderstand what Jesus said in any way, shape, or form. Before them stood the one who delivered the children of Israel out of their bondage of Egypt by His mighty hand. Before them stood the One who appeared unto Abraham and said “I will bless you and make your name great”.
Without controversy,
Jesus was not claiming to be better than Abraham.
He was not claiming to be born before Abraham.
Jesus was stating — before Abraham was even a thought — I AM THAT I AM.
I AM the one who blessed Abraham, your father.
I AM the one who spoke to the red sea and it obeyed my commands
I AM the one who spoke to the ravens in the wilderness to bring my people food
I AM the one who placed David on his throne
I AM the one — I AM the one — I AM HE
Jesus Christ is the great I AM. In him is everything you need! What is it that you need today? What does a saviour look like to you today? Whatever it is… He is able. He is the I AM THAT I AM.
I AM the bread of life
I AM the Light of the World
I AM the door
I AM the good shepherd
I AM the resurrection and the life
I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life
I AM the true Vine
I AM the Alpha and Omega
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
He is all that you need today.
Do you need peace? - He is Jehovah Shalom
Do you need provision? - he is Jehovah Jireh
Do you feel like you are in a battle? - he is Jehovah Nissi
Do you need healing today? - he is Jehovah Rapha
Do you feel invisible? - he is El Roi (the God who sees)
But today if you need any of those things, there is one who said: Matthew 11:28
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
There is one name that is above every name. There is one name that the winds obey and the demons fear. There is one name that brings salvation to mankind. For God alone is salvation and all of our hope is in him.
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
