I am that I am_2
I Jn 4:16-18
16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is,(in our minds) so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (KJV)
· Our conceptions of God, will define our relationship with him and determine how we see ourselves!
How GOD REALLY IS..is one thing! How we perceive him can be another! But the verse says how he is, not how we perceive him!
Rom 10:9-15
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (KJV)
2 Cor 4:3-4
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (KJV)
· The devil has been trying to pervert the way that we see God since the beginning. If he can cover our eyes and lead us ito darkness we will follow our perception of God.
Rev 3:14-22
14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm-- neither hot nor cold-- I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so that you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so that you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so that you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
· All our lives God is knocking!
· I don’t believe in God, He doesn’t exist. That is not true!
Rom 1:19-22
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, (KJV)
· Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them : The greatest evidence of God is YOU! The evidence of the creator is the creation!
· Does your acceptance of something make it real? Could it be that we have the wrong understanding of the role of faith? Faith doesn’t cause something to exist. Faith only makes it available for you.
· Also we feel that if I deny the existance of something I remove it’s ability to affect my life. If I admit that I believe in something, then I commit myself to find out what or who that something is. I don’t want to do this because I may discover it and then I would have to obey and believe etc… Ignorance or an intelligent sounding excuse is better.
· I don’t believe in you! What do you mean? You can see me. No I can’t, I can only see your body. I can only see what you have decorated. How do I know that you are you? Yes you told me your name when you came in, but how do I really know that you are who you say that you are? AND how do I know that you are in there? How do I know that you are not a clone? Or maybe you had an operation on your face and you are really someone else? What if you get in a car wreck and your face gets burnt and your legs get cut off, are you still you?
· God does not have this need on the inside of him that you believe in him. He doesn’t have an ego problem. In reality you have this need on the inside of you to believe in Him, you have an ego problem.
e·go
1. The self, especially as distinct from the world and other selves.
2. In psychoanalysis, the division of the psyche that is conscious, most immediately controls thought and behavior, and is most in touch with external reality.
3. a. An exaggerated sense of self-importance; conceit. b. Appropriate pride in oneself; self-esteem.
· What do I mean by this? Who am I? Why am I here? Self discovery. Man without God is still trying to discover himself. The individual self. This is the part that is like God. When God created Adam in the Garden he breathed into him the breath of life and he became a living soul. More than an animal, he became aware of himself!
Exod 3:13-14
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 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.
· God is the ultimate self existance. He was, is and will be forever. He created man the same and until we know God we will never know ourselves. This is one of the worst things about not believing in the existance of God, we also stop believing in the existance of ourselves. In the God given worth of MAN. I am an animal, I am a relative of a monkey, I am an accident of nature, I am… Here we are trying to explain what we are but we still haven’t explained how it is that we are. What is man..?(Ps.8)
Jer 10:23
23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
Acts 17:24-31
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 6 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. 30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
2 Cor 4:17-18
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.