Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I invite you to turn with me
this morning in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 3 and I want to
read verses 11 to 15. It says, And Moses said unto
God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should
bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly
I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee that
I have sent thee. When thou hast brought forth
the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain.
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? 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 to
you. 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
forever. And this is my memorial unto
all generations. I want us to begin by noticing
three phrases that we just read. And this is the order, the progression
that the Lord has purposed in salvation. Verse 11 says, who
am I? Verse 13 says, what is his name? And verse 14 says, I am that
I am. If a person ever gets a hold
of those three phrases, it'll be an evidence that salvation
has come. Who am I? What is his name? I am that I am. Well, the title this morning
and the subject this morning specifically is, What is His
Name? Verse 13 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 hath sent
me unto you, And they shall say to me, what is his name? What shall I say unto them?"
First he said, when I come unto the children of Israel, that's
who deliverance is sent to, the children of Israel. Israel is
Jacob. Jacob is the sinner. He's the
trickster, the supplanter. When I come unto the sinners,
there's the gospel right there. This gospel is for sinners. Deliverance is for sinners. Christ came to seek and to save
sinners. I'd love to tell that to more
sinners. But you know, sinners are very hard to find. Very hard
to find. The scripture says, all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God. All have sinned. But sinners are very hard to
find. It's hard to find somebody who
really believes, really believes deep in the heart, who am I? Who am I? I'm just a sinner."
They're hard to find, few and far between. But Lord, if I find
any, if you send any, verse 13 says, 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? What
should I, your messenger, say unto them? You know, that is
the substance of our entire message. That is the gospel of our entire
message. What is his name? Who is he? That's the gospel. Who does he
say he is? Moses said, Lord, what should
I say about you? What should I say to the people?
Who should I say you are? Verse 14, and God said unto Moses,
I am that I am. I am that I am. I am not what you think I am. I am not who you've made me up
to be in your mind. I am that I am. The first thing you tell sinners
is, I answer to no one. When they say, what is his name?
You tell him, I said, I am that I am. The word that, that's so
interesting to me. It's how the Lord has chosen
to describe what he is. I am that I am. Turn with me over to Luke chapter
one. The angel Gabriel has come to
Mary to tell her that she would be with child. And the angel
said, he shall be great and shall be called the son of the highest.
And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father,
David. Now look at verse 34 with me. It says, then said Mary unto
the angel, how shall this be seeing I know not a man? And
the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." How
do you describe Him? How can anyone or anything possibly
describe him? Turn over with me to 1 John 1. Verse 1 says, that which was
from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have
handled of the word of life. For the life was manifested and
we have seen it and bear witness and show unto you that eternal
life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you. I am that I am. That's what he is. Here's the
definition of it. It means the existing one. Absolute, therefore unchanging. The eternal being of God. I am that I am. What he is is self-existent. The best man or woman in the
world or the best angel in glory has to say this, by the grace
of God, I am what I am. But God says, I am that I am. He is self-existent, self-sufficient,
all-sufficient, inexhaustible. Do you know what that means?
Here's what it means. He doesn't need me. He doesn't need me. He doesn't
need me to give him glory. He doesn't need my praise. He
doesn't need me to give him company. He doesn't need my presence.
He doesn't need me to bring him joy or happiness. He doesn't
need me to do anything. He is that he is. He doesn't need me to take the
first step. He doesn't need me to accept
him. He doesn't need me to open the
door to my heart and let him in. When he wants in, he breaks
the door down. He doesn't need me. He doesn't
need me to fundraise for him. He does not need me to lead anybody
to him. When he chooses to save a person,
he confronts that person himself, and he speaks clearly and directly
to their heart. And like a two edged sword, he
says, I am that I am. Somebody asked the question one
time, does he speak out loud? No, no, he doesn't. It's much louder than that. Much louder. He doesn't need
me. But do you know what is sweeter
than the honeycomb to the heart of a center, a real center? It's
hearing him say, even though I don't need you, I love you
and I want you. He is what he has always been
and he is what he will always be. What does that mean? I don't fully know. He is unsearchable. Listen to Job. This is chapter
11, verses seven to 10. It says, canst thou by searching
find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection? It is as high as the heaven.
What canst thou do? Deeper than hell, what canst
thou know? The measure thereof is longer
than the earth and broader than the sea. If he cut off and shut
up or gather together, then who can hinder him? Who can hinder
him? Well, I'm gonna search him on
my own until I find him. You can't. He's unsearchable. He said unto a man named Manoah
who wanted to know his name. He said, why askest thou thus
after my name, seeing it is secret? You cannot find me. You cannot know me. You cannot even know my name
unless I reveal it to you. Our texts back in Exodus chapter
3, verses 13 and 14 say, 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? And
God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And the Lord gives Moses two answers. First, you tell the people, I
am that I am. And then verse 14 says, thus
shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am. hath sent me to you. I am hath sent me to you. To the unbelieving world, I am
that I am. But let me tell you what I am
to you. I am faithful. I am merciful. I am exactly what I've said I
am. Now he told his messenger Moses,
you go tell my people, I am hath sent me to you. So I want to
tell you some of the times that he said in his word, I am. I'm just going to give you 12
of them only from the book of John. He said it many times.
But I'm going to give you 12 from the book of John. This is
His Word. In John 4, verse 26, He said,
I am the Messiah. The woman at the well said, I
know when Messiah comes, He will tell us all things. And the Lord
Jesus Christ said unto her, I am He. I am the Messiah. I am Emmanuel, God with us. I am the one that should come. John chapter six, verse 35 says,
and Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh
to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall
never thirst. John chapter eight, verse 23
says this. He said unto them, you are from
beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not
of this world. This man Jesus is not of this
world. This is no mere man. This is
God come down. In John 8, verse 58, he said,
I am eternal. He said before Abraham was, I
am. In John 9, verse 5, he said,
I am the light. The light of the world. I am
the one that causes the blind to see you go tell the blind
that John chapter 10 verse 7 he said I am the door Knock and
it shall be opened unto you John 10 verse 11 he said I am the
Good Shepherd and the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
John 10, 36, he said, I am the son of God and I'll make intercession
for you. John chapter 11, verse 25, Jesus
said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth
in me, Though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever
liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? I am the one who died. I am the one who rose. You go
tell my people that. John 13 verse 13, he said, you
call me master and Lord and you say, well, for so I am. I'm your master. I'm your Lord. John 14 verse six. He said, I
am the way I am the truth and I am the life. No man cometh
unto the Father, but by me. And in John 15, verse five, he
said this, I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abideth
in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For
without me, you can do nothing. Nothing. Now that's who He says
in His Word that He is. Now turn with me over to Matthew
chapter 16. Matthew 16 verse 13 says this,
When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, He asked
His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of Man
am? I've said who I am, who do they
say I am? Verse 14, and they said, some
say thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, and others Jeremias,
or one of the prophets. Now listen to this, they say
those who don't know who you are, Those who don't know what
your name is. They say you're John the Baptist. They say you're the front runner
for God. They say you are the one who
came to prepare the way for God. They say you're only the person
that points men to God. You're the one that can get men
to God. And that's where they leave it.
Or they say, you're Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Jeremiah was called the weeping
prophet. They say, you're begging men,
you're pleading men and women, crying for men to let you save
them. That's what they say. They say
you're a good man who only wants the best for everybody, a good
man. Verse 15, the Lord said unto
them, but whom say ye that I am? Who do you say I am? Do you say
I'm just the man who can get you to God? Do you say I'm begging
lowly sinners to let me do anything? Verse 16, Simon Peter answered
and said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. By God's grace, By God revealing
himself to us, by God's mercy to us, we say, thou art the Christ,
the Christ. A man named Robert Hawker defined
the name Christ as this, God united to humanity. We believe you are God. united to humanity. What is His name? Here it is. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. THE. One and only. LORD. That name means Jehovah. That name means God. Jesus. The man. Born of a virgin, the
Savior, Christ. That means the union of both.
100% God, 100% man. The perfect union of both. Now
back to our text over in Exodus chapter 3, verse 15 says this. 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
forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. You tell
my people The sinners whom I've chosen to save, I am the Lord
God of their fathers. I am the same God that Abraham
had. Abraham was a 75-year-old idolater,
a false religion sinner. And I made a promise to him to
lead him out of all that. and give him faith to believe
that I would bring him into the place he should be, the place
of his inheritance, a city which had foundations, whose builder
and maker was God. And I blessed him, and I kept
my promise. I am still the same God. I'm the God of promise. You tell
my people They have the same God Isaac had. Isaac was tied
up, bound to an altar, ready to die. He was as good as dead. And I provided a way out for
him. I provided a substitute for him,
a ram caught in the thicket. I spared his life because of
the blood of another. Now you go tell Israel, I'm still
the same God, a just God and a Savior. You tell them I'm the
same God Jacob had, that lying, cheating sinner who I broke. I wrestled with him and I broke
him. He was struggling with everything.
He was having a hard time with everything. He knew it, but he
wasn't bowing to it. And I broke him. I broke him
to my will. I broke him to my word. I made him bow. And then I converted him to be
a prince with God. Now you go tell my people, I
am still that same God. Thus shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel, I am hath sent me to you. Verse 15 says, this is my name
forever. And this is my memorial unto
all generations. What a blessed name. Blessed
name. Oh, how sweet. Hope of earth
and joy of heaven. What a God we have. I am so thankful. that He is who He is. I am so thankful that I AM sent
His message to me. I am so thankful that the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the covenant
God, had mercy on me. Oh, Lord, have mercy on us all,
we pray. Until next Sunday morning, may
the Lord God bless His Word. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 10.45 a.m., and 6 o'clock
p.m. Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace. you