The Ancient I AM

[0:00] Exodus chapter 3, we'll begin in verse 13. Again, thank you all for being here today. Appreciate the presence of the Lord, I feel, in this place today.

[0:18] And I thank you for helping me invite his spirit here so we could have liberty. His presence dwells within the praises of his people. Help me praise him for the remainder of the service. Amen.

[0:29] And so my opening scripture comes from Exodus chapter 3, verse 13 and 14. We'll read it and then I'll set some foundation here. The Bible says, And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, What is his name?

[0:59] What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am has sent me unto you.

[1:16] Help me pray. Lord Jesus, we thank you for a timely word today. God, I know that every word that you have has meaning. Every word, Lord, that you've put inside your scriptures, God, is for the edifying of us, God, that we could learn something, that we could grow.

[1:31] God, I pray, Lord, that your word would go forth with anointing today. And God, that your word would be received in the minds and the hearts of your people today, God. And that we would grow from it, Lord. And that we would find nurturing in it.

[1:42] And that we would find life in it, God. And that you would help us understand who you are, Jesus. God, we thank you, Lord, for a name that you've given us. And we thank you for that name. In Jesus' name I pray.

[1:54] Amen. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. Amen. If you would recall the origin story of Moses, he was a Hebrew born during a time in which the children of Israel were in bondage as slaves in Egypt.

[2:18] At the time Moses was born, there was an executive order in place by Pharaoh to kill all the Hebrew baby boys that were born. Moses' mother, Jacobed, who was a servant in Pharaoh's house, was able to save him by placing him in a basket by the riverbed and carefully executing a plan to ensure that Pharaoh's daughter would inadvertently find her baby Moses.

[2:48] Moses, being just three months old, Pharaoh's daughter finds him in a basket on the river and claims the baby as her own, saving Moses from her father's order to kill Hebrew boys.

[3:04] And Pharaoh's daughter then gives the Hebrew baby, unbeknownst to her, back to her servant, Jacobed, to raise him for her.

[3:15] So baby Moses is miraculously back in the arms of his mother, but was claimed to be the child of Pharaoh's daughter. And then he is then raised in a palace as the grandson of the Pharaoh.

[3:29] And during his upbringing, he was in the royal palace being educated, getting royal treatment. The whole while his people, the Hebrews, his brethren, the Israelites, were being afflicted by the Egyptians.

[3:45] They were slaves to Egypt, being used to make bricks for Egypt's vast construction projects in cruel and harsh conditions. And 40 years go by, and Moses began to see and be bothered by the afflictions of his people, his brethren.

[4:02] There came a day when he was out of the palace in the fields with his brethren. He saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating on a Hebrew.

[4:15] This triggered Moses. And in the defense of his fellow Hebrew, the Bible says he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. By that next day, Moses realized that word was spreading, and what he had done was going to be found out.

[4:31] And so he fled Egypt as Pharaoh sought to kill him. And so at 40 years old, Moses is fleeing, and he ended up settling in Midian, which was southeast of Egypt, where Saudi Arabia is today.

[4:44] And Midian, Moses married, had children, and became a shepherd. And for 40 more years past, he's living his life.

[4:58] And the Bible says in Exodus chapter 2 that in the process of time, the Pharaoh that wanted to kill Moses died. And there was a new Pharaoh, and apparently just as harsh as the previous Pharaoh on the people of Israel and their bondage.

[5:18] And the Israelites cried, the Bible said. And the Bible says their cry came up unto God by reason of their bondage. And God heard their groaning, and then God remembered his covenant that he made with Abraham hundreds of years earlier.

[5:32] And then it happened that Moses was out tending sheep on the backside of a desert. And the Bible said that he came to the side of a particular mountain.

[5:43] And God began to try to get his attention. And the Bible says that an angel of the Lord appeared in a flame of fire in the middle of a bush. And Moses noticed that the bush was not being consumed by the fire.

[5:57] And so he went closer to investigate this strange thing, that this bush was not being consumed by the fire. And the Bible says that God spoke to Moses from the burning bush.

[6:09] And Exodus chapter 3, verse 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.

[6:22] And he said, here am I. And he said, draw not nigh hither. Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

[6:33] Moreover, he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

[6:47] And God went on, and he explained to Moses his plan to use him and to bring his people out of bondage, out of Egypt. And that is where we started out in our opening scriptures.

[7:01] And Moses said unto God, behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, the God of your fathers has sent me unto you. And they shall say unto me, what is his name?

[7:12] What shall I say unto them? 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 you unto you. Amen.

[7:23] And God told Moses that his name is, I am that I am. Which, it may come as a surprise and a shock to you, but that's not actually a name.

[7:35] I am that I am. That's not actually a name. It means the eternal one that has always existed and will always exist. That's what it means. God said unto Moses, I am that I am.

[7:47] And he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. The name I am conveys the meaning of God's name in Hebrew, Yahweh.

[7:59] In English translations of the Bible, like we read, we will find that translated as Lord, often with capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, Lord. The ancient Hebrews never knew the actual name of God.

[8:14] They went with what God told Moses in the burning bush, which was not a name. It was a definition. It was a meaning. It was a description that is attributed and reserved for God Almighty.

[8:26] The one who is always present. I am that I am. The God of Abraham. The God of Isaac. The God of Jacob. Yahweh. The eternal one. That has always existed and will always exist.

[8:38] The Lord God. Or simply I am. I am. Was the descriptive God used to introduce himself to the Hebrews in ancient times.

[8:50] And I want to preach from this thought. The ancient I am. The ancient I am. And we know the rest of the story. That God was with Moses.

[9:01] And Moses went back into Egypt and miraculously helped lead God's people out of Egypt. But fast forward about 1400 years. And we find Jesus in the temple teaching about who he is.

[9:15] Some Jews are believing what he's saying. Others Jews aren't getting angry with him and want to kill him for the things that he's saying.

[9:25] And we look in John chapter 8 beginning in verse 56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it and was glad.

[9:39] Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old. And hast thou seen Abraham? And Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

[9:54] Then they took 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. Before Abraham was, I am.

[10:07] That's not even good English. What was he doing? He was placing himself at that burning bush. By applying the description, I am, to himself, Jesus declared to the world that God himself stood in their midst.

[10:23] The ancient one, the ancient of days, the great I am, standing there in the flesh, revealing himself in that temple that day to those Jews. And all through the gospels, he demonstrated that he was God.

[10:33] Through his words and his actions, he healed the sick. He raised the dead. Amen. He forgave sins and flawlessly lived out all the moral teachings that we find in the word of God.

[10:45] But most importantly, he backed up his claim that he was the eternal one by conquering death. In John chapter 10, Jesus said, No man is taking my life. I'm laying it down of my own choice.

[10:57] And he said, I have the power to lay it down and I have the power to pick it back up again. Jesus proved that he was the eternal one that has always existed and will always exist.

[11:09] Many throughout history have tried to proclaim to be God or a deity. But let me tell you something. Buddha is dead. Muhammad is dead.

[11:20] Baudar is dead. Dionysius is dead. Osiris is dead. The Hindu Krishna is dead. They're all dead. And many, many others have self-proclaimed or have been regarded as divine or as deities or gods.

[11:38] But all except Jesus have fallen short of being God. Jesus isn't a man that was proclaimed to have become God. He is God that became a man. He was crucified, buried in a tomb and raised himself.

[11:51] And he is alive today and his spirit dwells inside of us. Amen. Amen. Jesus is the ancient I am. And the thing that we need to understand today is that God's name was never revealed until just 2,000 years ago when Jesus was born.

[12:10] The true name of God, the actual name of God was hidden from mankind for 4,000 years. Adam and Eve didn't know God's name.

[12:20] The Bible says that God walked with them and talked with them in the cool of the day, but they never knew his name. Noah built an ark with the directions from God to save his family from destruction, but he never knew his name.

[12:36] Abraham left his country at a calling from God, answered a call, and left his country and his family to go to a land that God said he would show him. And God made a covenant with Abraham, and Abraham was going to be the father of a great nation of God's people that were set apart and set aside for God to be holy unto God.

[12:58] But Abraham never knew God's name. Moses, chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt and lead them through the wilderness and took them to the edge of the promised land, yet Moses never really knew God's actual name.

[13:13] Joshua, who actually led the Israelites into the promised land, didn't know God's name. The prophets of all the Old Testament heard directly from God. They were the mouthpiece of God to the Israelites all through their history, and none of them ever knew God's actual name.

[13:29] The first king of Israel, Saul, didn't know God's name. The king David, the man, the Bible says that was a man after God's own heart, never knew the name of God.

[13:40] Solomon, the wisest man ever to live, wrote the book of Proverbs. Surely he discovered the name of the Lord. No, not even Solomon knew the name of God. All through the Old Testament, they called God Yahweh or Jehovah or Yehovah, which was rooted in the same Hebrew words that made up I am, that was given to Moses.

[14:01] It was all they knew. The ancient I am, Yahweh, Yehovah. And really, it was just four letters without vowels, Y-H-W-H. And if it was in English, it would just be Y-H-W-H.

[14:15] And they didn't know the name of God, not truly knowing his name. And they didn't want to say the wrong thing or be disrespectful. So they honored all they knew of God so much that they would not pronounce the vowels.

[14:28] And nobody to this day even really knows how to pronounce Yahweh. We say Yahweh. Most people say Yahweh. But we really don't even know how that's pronounced because it was never said aloud.

[14:38] And reverence because they were fearful that they would say something that wasn't correct because they really didn't know the name of God. And to be safe, the Jews started just referring to God as Adonai, meaning the Lord.

[14:51] And that's all they had. All they had was titles and descriptions, some letters. And it all came from and started with God telling Moses to tell them, I am sent you.

[15:05] Now, a prophet got it close to knowing God's name but still didn't. In Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14, Finally, right?

[15:26] An actual name, Emmanuel. He must be Hispanic. Let's see when the time came.

[15:37] Matthew chapter 1, verse 18. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. As his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

[15:55] Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her in a public example, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

[16:18] And she shall bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now, all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, meaning, being interpreted, God with us.

[16:43] Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife, and knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus.

[16:57] And so Emmanuel was still not the name. It meant God with us. So it was another meaning. It was another description. It was a prophecy. So the prophet was not given the name of God, but the prophet was given the prophecy that the child that would be conceived by the virgin was going to be God with us.

[17:18] And when the time came and the name of God with us was finally revealed, and the angel told Mary and Joseph that the child was to be named Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.

[17:33] And now everyone knows his name, because the name of God with us has been revealed. His name is Jesus. And we can freely call on his name whenever we want, without fear, without being disrespectful in any kind of way.

[17:49] Now we now, today, we know who God is. We know his name. His name is Jesus. The ancient I am is Jesus. Jesus made sure that everyone in that day knew who he was.

[18:01] You talk about a gender reveal party. Oh, Mary, congratulations. Was it a boy or was it a girl? Well, Mary would be like, you wouldn't believe me if I told you.

[18:16] It's the ancient I am, the eternal one that has always existed and will always exist. And now God is with us, and his name is Jesus. Amen.

[18:27] The only revealed understanding that all of the Jews in that day had of the name of God was I am. And so when Jesus said, before Abraham was I am, they all knew that, what he was talking about, what he was claiming.

[18:42] But they didn't accept him. They picked up stones to kill him, and Jesus had to hide and escape. And after that, Jesus made sure everyone really understood what he was talking about, that he was the ancient I am.

[18:55] And, you know, I believe that God set it up that day with Moses at that burning bush to make sure that it was clearly recorded in the Old Testament scriptures and would be clear to all the generations of Israelites to come that would study those written words so fervently like they did, who would take pride in memorizing the scriptures like they did, generation after generation, so that at the right time in God's plan, when he put on flesh and came unto his own, it would be clear who he was claiming to be.

[19:28] The man Christ Jesus revealed the true name of God to us, but he also revealed God's nature to us more perfectly through his I am description.

[19:39] Famously known as the I am statements in the Bible, Jesus leaves us no doubt in the minds, in our minds. He leaves no doubt in the minds of his disciples who he was, and the claim he was making that he is God.

[19:57] Jesus didn't stop with just saying before Abraham was, I am. He went on and on. Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

[20:11] Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will be saved, will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

[20:21] He said, I am the door of the sheep, and if anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. He said, I am the good shepherd.

[20:32] The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. He said, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. Jesus said, I am the vine, and you are the branches.

[20:45] Whoever abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

[20:57] And these all represent Jesus' claim to be God. And Jesus is God's revealed name. And Jesus is our source of life. He is our salvation. He has all authority.

[21:08] He is the manifestation of the Father. He is the physical expressed image of the one true God. Amen. Amen. And so Thomas and Philip, thank you, Thomas and Philip.

[21:22] They say that if you ask a question, you're a fool for five minutes. But if you don't ask a question, you're a fool for a lifetime. Thomas and Philip asked some questions.

[21:36] Thank you, Thomas and Philip, for that. Because it's now recorded in Scripture. It was right after their last dinner together, known as the Last Supper. And right before Jesus would be crucified.

[21:48] And his disciples are realizing that the time is coming. We're getting to the end. Jesus is going to be crucified. And Jesus tells them, Let not your hearts be troubled.

[22:02] You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself.

[22:18] That where I am, there ye may be also. And where I go, you know. And the way, you know. Then Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not where you go.

[22:32] And how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And no man comes unto the Father but by me. And then he continued.

[22:44] This is John 14 and 7. Read it for yourselves. He said, If ye had known me, you should have known my Father also. And from henceforth you know him, and you have seen him.

[22:57] And so Jesus said, He said, If you knew who I was, you would know, have known the Father. And he said, And from henceforth, from right now, Thomas, you know him and have seen him.

[23:11] That's powerful. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices to us. Show us the Father, Jesus, and we'll be satisfied. And then Jesus said to him, Have I been so long time with you?

[23:26] And yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that has seen me has seen the Father. And how sayest thou then? Show us the Father. Jesus is the ancient I am.

[23:36] Jesus was not there at that burning bush in the flesh as the man Christ Jesus. But it was the Father that was there.

[23:47] Jesus was there in the invisible spirit that he is as God. But now that invisible spirit has flesh. And he has revealed his name to us.

[23:58] His name is Jesus. And if you ever see Jesus, you're going to see God. And you're going to see the creator. You're going to see the eternal one, the ancient I am. And don't be that guy that gets to heaven and sees Jesus for the first time in physical form that he now has.

[24:15] and says, Wow, Jesus, I'm so glad to finally have met you, Jesus. I've been praying. I'm so thankful I've made it to heaven. Nice to meet you, Jesus.

[24:26] Now, Jesus, it's been nice meeting you. Would you please show me your Father? What is Jesus going to do? Oh, sure, yeah. Here, let's go in the side room over here and pull back this curtain.

[24:40] No. He's going to say this. If you do that, if you're that guy, if you're that guy, Jesus is going to say the same thing he told Philip. He's not going to take you to the side room.

[24:51] He's not going to pull a curtain back and show you the Father. He's going to say, When you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father? Amen. Aren't you glad you know who Jesus is?

[25:03] Aren't you glad you know the name of God? For 4,000 years, they didn't know the name of God. 2,000 years ago, it was revealed. Amen. Amen. And the Christ.

[25:16] Let's read on. John chapter 14, verse 9. Jesus said to him, Have I been so long time with you? And yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me has seen the Father.

[25:28] And how sayest thou then, show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am the Father and the Father in me? In the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me.

[25:40] He doeth the works. Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do, shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father.

[25:57] And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, in my name, we know the name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

[26:08] If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever.

[26:20] Verse 17, Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him. But ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

[26:32] Verse 18, and then he just points it out right there, I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. So this can be very confusing. We can understand where maybe these Trinitarian doctrines come from, because we're talking about a father and a son.

[26:47] We have to understand the difference between spirit and flesh. It's very simple. Once you get the revelation of who Jesus is, Jesus is saying that when he leaves, there will come another comforter that will be with you right now, and shall be in you.

[27:03] And if they didn't know who he was talking about, he says it very clearly, I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. And then in verse 25, Jesus says, These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you, but the comforter, and he says who the comforter is, which is the Holy Ghost, who the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

[27:30] So you've got to get that. Amen. You've got to get that. Stand with me. These things he is saying to them is because he was presently with them in the flesh. He says that because he was being yet present with you.

[27:44] But he was about to be crucified. He was about to be raised again and be glorified out of the flesh and ascend back to heaven and be glorified.

[27:55] He said, I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. And then plainly says, the comforter is the Holy Ghost. And so we need to understand Jesus is the ancient I am.

[28:08] Jesus is the name of the Father. Jesus is the Savior that saves us from our sins. Jesus is the comforter, the Holy Ghost that we can receive still today.

[28:18] And if you will receive the comforter, the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Ghost, then you get Jesus inside of you, the ancient I am. You get the bread of life. You get your spiritual body shall never be hungry again.

[28:30] You get the light of the world and you will never have to walk in darkness anymore. You get the resurrection and the life and you can count on it. You will be raised and the last day you will get to see Jesus for who he is, the ancient I am.

[28:45] And Jesus is his name. And I wonder if today, as we close out this service, if you can just help me magnify the name of Jesus.