Believe That I AM

The place where many miss it, is in their understanding of who Jesus is. Jesus was not shy about sharing that information. In The Gospel of John, chapter 8, He spends 51 verses clearing the air about it. He begins this section by saying… ” I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12 ) Light is the thing that reveals knowledge. When you walk into a dark room, you know nothing of what is in it until you turn on the light. The Apostle Paul said exactly this to the Ephesian Christians.   “But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.” (Ephesians 5:13)

Believe That I AM – SERMON AUDIO

Jesus is the Light of the World. He is the One who reveals the truth to us about ourselves and about God.  That truth is that we need a Savior. We are in darkness and we need to be shown who we are (rebels against the Holy God who created us), and who God is (One who loves us enough to take on human flesh to redeem us and bring us back to Himself). Usually, we are too block-headed to get it. We are too absorbed in our sin and rebellion, so much so that we don’t even realize that it exists. We thing God ought to be satisfied with us just as we are though try to use Him to our own ends rather than subject ourselves to His. Humanity is both wicked and blind.
Much of the reason we do not understand that Jesus truly is God in Human Flesh is because we automatically downplay the intensity of our sin (which happens to be a still greater rebellion). In order for man to be reconciled to the God against whom he has committed treason, God must be the Initiator. He must be God to be a sufficient Sacrifice. He must be man to be a real one. He became the Second Adam ( See Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15), the new Representative for the redeemed human race. His perfections are imputed to those who put their trust in Him. This could not be done with a mere man. And God did it in such a way as to accomplish His original purpose in us. To restore us and to give us what Adam lost in his rebellion.
And so, the Jews were perplexed by Him;

John 8:25  Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.

That is the question that needs to be answered. They should have known, they had the Scriptures, they saw the works that Jesus did. But they would not acknowledge who He is.  Why? Because it takes a dose of great humility. They were more concerned about their own ability and their own righteousness.

John 8:40-45  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.  41  You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father–God.”  42  Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  43  Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.  44  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  45  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.

They did ultimately kill Him for what He said about them and about Himself. Yet even this was a part of God’s plan (See Acts 4:27-28). All in order to redeem the rebels! All done by God Himself. Jesus ends this conversation with the bold statement of His deity.

John 8:58-59  Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”  59  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

The Name that God gave for Himself to Moses at the burning bush is the Name that Jesus claims here (See Exodus 3:13-14). In acknowledging who He is we also must realize our own helplessness. We must see that our sins have separated us from God. That He is the rightful Judge of the universe. That unless and until He comes to take us back, we have no more hope of being reconciled to Him that a guilty traitor has of regaining the friendship of his king on his own terms. Jesus is God. He is the One who has come to save us from our rebellion, from the sin that we have committed against Him. He is the love of God that pardons the guilty and establishes him as a son. Only God can do that.
Listen to the audio and consider what He says about Himself!

Believe That I AM – SERMON AUDIO

In Christ!
Kevin