We find in the book of John that
the Lord Jesus Christ used this term about himself, I am. Now we find that he said, I am
the bread of life. He said, I am the light of the
world. And we're gonna read the rest
of those in just a minute, but he is making reference to an
Old Testament passage of scripture. We have brought out every time
we've been talking about this subject, that in the Old Testament,
in the book of Exodus, there was a man by the name of Moses. Now Moses ran into some trouble
and he ran away. And while he's in the desert,
he marries a gal. They have some children and he
turns out to be a sheep herder for his father-in-law. And one
day he is herding sheep out in the desert. Now, to me, that's
Eastern Oregon. Lots of sagebrush and a little
bit of grass. Used to herd a lot of sheep out
in that area. But anyway, he's herding sheep out in the desert,
and there was a sight that was brought to his attention. There
was a bush, the Bible tells us, a bush that was on fire but was
not consumed. Now God intended for Moses to
see that bush or it would have never been there for him to see.
He wasn't hoping he would turn aside to see it. He purposed
that Moses would turn aside and see that bush. Now he walked
over there and God said, you're on holy ground, take your shoes
off. And there was a conversation
that took place while Moses was there and Moses is instructed
that he is going to lead the children of Israel out of Egyptian
bondage. They've been in bondage for 400
years. He's going to be the one to lead
them out. Now he asks a name. He says, I need to tell the people
down there what name, what is your name? So I can tell the
people in Egypt who has done this. Now we're going to find
out that even though he's going to share that name, there's very
few of those people that understood what was going to take place.
But anyway, God spoke out of that bush and he used, in our
English language at least, I don't know what it was in the original,
he used five words. I am that I am. And that's the name that God
gave to Moses to go down to Egypt and tell the children of Israel,
this one is going to lead you out of Egypt. Now that is a very
significant name. It means I am the self existent
one. He depends on nothing or anybody
for his existence. He is himself, himself. He's from eternity. I have a
big bunch of trouble trying to grasp what eternity is. I'm so
caught up in time. And as I visit with you, I have
a dear friend here. He's up in his 90s. He had 90
years of time. And I'm about to approach, well,
I'll just go right over here. My friend over here is about
to approach day after tomorrow, his 75th year. He's been here
quite a bit of time. November, I'm gonna do that,
I'll catch up with him. So time, we're so caught up,
and then we find out that God runs us out of time. It is appointed
unto man once to die, and after that, the judgment. So as we
go back there, God appeared to Moses out of the burning bush
with the name, I am that I am, I am the self-existent one, I
am the sovereign king of all creation, And that's who Moses
went back and represented. Now, many, many years later,
we have in the prophecy, the fulfillment of prophecy, the
word of God, there was a man that came to this earth. It was
a body prepared. His name, we know him as Jesus.
Jesus Christ the Lord. Now he was so special in his
birth that he did not have a human father as we know it. He was
perfect in every way, righteous and holy in every way. He never
thought a bad thought. He never had a disease. He never
had a cold. He never had a pimple. He had
none of those things. He was the perfect son of God.
Now, as he started his ministry, we find in the book of John that
he mentions that word I am seven times with regard to himself. Now there's going to be a time
when a whole bunch of religious leaders want to take him out
and stone him to death because when he uses that term, they
understand he's calling himself equal with God. He is equal with
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They're
all equal. They're co-equal, co-powerful, co-interested in
the salvation of the people, of his people. So Jesus used
this term in the book of John, I am the bread of life. And we
find out that that just simply means that there is no sustenance,
no spiritual except the Lord Jesus Christ. I am the light
of the world. He's the one that enlightens
us about spiritual things. Nobody else can do that for us.
Now they can tell us about it. I don't know what it'd be like
to be blind. Now, between the time of today
and when I die, that may happen. But you know, I have all the
experience over these years of seeing things. So someone came
to me and says, you ought to see the sunset. I, in my mind's
eye can say, whoa, I saw some beautiful sunsets. Oh, you ought
to see that tree. Well, I, in my mind's eye, could
say I've seen trees, so I can imagine that. But someone that
was never able to see, it is absolutely the most difficult
thing to explain to them what we see. The sunset, they can't
comprehend it. A tree, can't comprehend it because
they never saw it. Well, from a spiritual standpoint,
that's how we are born into this world. We can't see spiritual
things. So we have to be given sight
by the Lord. And that is, I'm the light of
the world, is what he said. I'm the one that gives light
to my people. I'm the door. Now that means
he's the entrance, but also he's the protection. I like my door
where it is. I don't have any glass in my
door. Because glass is easy to break out and someone to reach
in. My door not only stops and is a protection, but it's a defense. Jesus Christ said, I am that
for my people. I am their protection. I am their
door. He said, I'm the good shepherd.
The good shepherd, that is such a statement. And he says, the
good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. So he's so beneficial
as a shepherd that he would ransom his sheep. He would give his
life for his sheep. I am the resurrection and the
life. He declares that this is not all the life there is. He
said, there's a resurrection coming. Many will be raised unto
the left-hand side, and a few will be raised unto the right-hand
side. And the right-hand side, he said, blessed come for the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Well, today, our I am statement is I am the way, the truth, and
the life. And in that sentence, he sums
up so much No, if I asked, if I gave a test, if I asked, no,
I wouldn't give a test. If I asked you to write down
on a piece of paper today, the worst thing that has ever happened
in the history of the world, we'd probably get a number of
different answers for that. If you were a world war one or
world war two or Korean or Vietnam vet, you might say worst day
I ever had was when I was in battle. And that was terrible,
there's no question about it. But that is a result of something
that took place. The actual worst thing that ever
took place in the history of the world was God's first created
man decided of his own volition to not obey God. And God said,
the day you eat, you shall surely die. And it was a serious thing. I've had preachers bring it up
and illustrate, not a molecule in the universe was not touched
by the fall of Adam. Everything, every animal, every
tree, there was no death before that time. Now a tree may live
to be 500 years old, but it's going to die. We're in the same
boat. So the worst thing that ever
happened. Now there's some significant
things about what happened there. Adam lost his way. Now Jesus
said, I am the way. As we look at what he had to
say, we find that he absolutely takes care of the problem that
Adam brought into our midst. Adam lost his way. It says darkness fell and really
a blindness fell, a spiritual blindness fell upon him. He lost
his way when he sinned and he was no longer capable of perceiving
the truth. Adam couldn't tell the truth
from a lie. He was a liar. He was a liar
from the beginning when he disobeyed God. God had instructed him,
and he represented every one of us. God had instructed him
from the very beginning, there's one tree in this garden. Now
let's just say that's a 10-acre orchard, or a 100-acre orchard,
or a 1,000-acre orchard, or a million-acre orchard. one tree out of all
of those trees, God said, don't you eat the fruit. Now we'd think
that's pretty simple instructions, but we know from our own experience
that our parents have told us not to do something and we went
ahead and did it. I wonder what it's like. Well, we're just following
the example that was shared with us by Adam. So he lost his way
He was no longer capable of perceiving the truth. He would believe a
lie. He thought if he covered himself with fig leaves, he would
be able to be all right with God. Now, that's not the robe
God wants his people to have, and that's not the robe that
God gives his people. His robe that he gives his people
is a robe of righteousness, not fig leaves. And we also find
out that he no longer had spiritual life. He was dead in trespasses
and sin. Now, I find it, what a blessing. In history, we go down many years
and the Lord Jesus Christ, the savior of his people, the son
of God, God come in the flesh, speaks to his disciples. He says,
I am the way, the truth, and the life. And what he's essentially
saying, Adam brought you where you are. I'm taking you out. I am truly the way. Now, some
people say, well, he is a way. He is a way, but he's not the
only way. You know, the only thing we have to base all of
what we believe on that is sure is the Bible. We can't base anything
about eternity on anything but the Bible. It's the only viable
thing that we have, the only truth that we have. And the Bible
says, Jesus is the only way. There is no other way. There
is no other way. He is absolutely the way. He's not merely an example. He
is not merely a prophet to teach the way. I try to do my best
to preach about the one who is the way. That's all I can do.
I can point you like John the Baptist did, behold the Lamb
of God which taketh away the sin of the world, but I can't
get past that point. It's up to God from that point.
He's not merely a guide to the way. If we follow his example,
he'll take us through the way. And he's not anything that humanity
can come up with because we lost our way in Adam. But Jesus said,
I am the way. There is no hope outside of him.
And it's not what we do. It's what he has done for us.
In the book of Ephesians chapter one, Ephesians chapter one, I
just want to read one verse of scripture over there in the book
of Ephesians chapter one. And it tells us in chapter one,
verse three of the book of Ephesians said, blessed be the God and
father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. There's not a spiritual
blessing outside of Christ. Not one. And every spiritual
blessing is in Christ. So he is truly the answer to
the problem that came about in the Garden of Eden. The worst
experience that this world ever had is when Adam said, I'll be
my own way, I'll be my own truth, and I'll be my own. And we find
out he absolutely failed in every account. He disobeyed a thrice
holy God. And the Lord Jesus Christ comes
along and says, I am the way. He has no knowledge of the way.
I am the truth. He has no knowledge of the truth.
I am the way, the truth, and I am the life, because he has
no knowledge of life. Now, I believe God gave him the
truth, the way, the truth, and the life, and he was someone
that was actually born again. But when he fell, he took the
whole world into that tank of sin, and that's where we find
ourselves as a result of it. He's the truth. He's not only
the true God and the true man, but he is the truth itself. There
was a very powerful individual that was a Roman representative,
and he asked Jesus at his trial, what is truth? That's a question
that's been asked many, many times. What is the truth? What,
not what is the truth, what is truth? Jesus is the truth. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. He is the truth. He is the word
that is truth. His message is truth. His gospel
is truth. He is truth. And then we find
he's the life. In him was life, and in him was
no darkness at all. He giveth life unto the world.
I give unto them eternal life. Unto my sheep, I give unto them
eternal life. So he said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No man cometh unto me except
the Father draw him. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. And he just is stepping back centuries there in the Garden
of Eden and saying, Adam left it all. I am the one that fulfills
all. In closing, I just have this
one paragraph that I want to read. The Lord finds men in ignorance
and gives them knowledge. The Lord finds men in darkness
and gives them light. The Lord finds men in superstition
and gives them truth. The Lord finds men in despair
and gives them hope. The Lord finds men slaves to
sin and sets them free. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. The Lord Jesus' words to deal
with what Adam did in the Garden of Eden, when he lost his way,
he lost the truth. As we read there, when Adam sinned,
he lost his way. He was no longer capable of perceiving
the truth, and he no longer had spiritual life. And the second
Adam comes along and says, I am the way, I am the truth, I am
the way, I am the truth, and I'm the life. Jesus Christ the
righteous said that about himself. All right, we're gonna stop there
for today and we'll pick this last I am up next time we're
together. Brother Mike, if you'll come.