Finishing the message, which
this morning we looked at, Jesus, the Great I Am. Jesus, the Great
I Am. This will be part two. We could
actually, we could do study after study after study just on this
one topic. It's so rich. And we're just
going to scratch the surface, but oh, it's magnificent to know
that the Great I Am The Creator of the universe, Vicki and I
were talking about this today, the great I Am, the self-existent
One, and Vicki bought out. Isn't it a blessing to know that
our salvation is in the hands of the self-existent One, the
great I Am? And that also, He's in control
of all we see. He's in control. Gives the believer
great peace and great rest amidst all the storms that are occurring
in this world. And we have a peace that passes
all understanding, keeps our hearts and minds upon Jesus Christ
our Lord. So let's turn to Exodus 3. We
will be finishing this study, Lord willing, tonight on the
statements I am, the great statements I am. We're looking at Exodus
3, and then we're looking at John 8. These are the texts that I used
this morning, and I'd just like to go over them again. Exodus
3, verses 13-15, 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. He said, Thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. In
verse 15, God said, Moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say
unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers,
We looked at how the Lord translated there in the Hebrew is Jehovah,
which means the self-existent one. The self-existent one, the
Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob has sent me unto you. This is my name
forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations, and in
turn, if you would, to John chapter 8. So the great I am, the self-existent
one is speaking to Moses, And we looked at this morning that
our Lord Jesus Christ told the Jews plainly that He
was the I Am, and they took up stones to stone Him. And the word Lord that was used
in Exodus 3, verse 15 is the same one used throughout the
Old Testament for Jehovah, a name which is expressive of his self-existence,
his internality, and his immutability. In John 8, verse 56, Your father
Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad. Then
said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old,
and hast thou seen Abraham? They don't know. They have no
clue that they're talking to the great I AM, that He's speaking
to them. They don't have a clue. Is this
not the state of natural man? Is this not the state we were
in before the Lord revealed Himself to us? We didn't have a clue
about Him. Didn't know who He was. Didn't have a clue. Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. I am. He's just unveiled Himself. But
yet, what do they do? He hasn't given them faith to
believe. He hasn't revealed Himself to
them. He said who He is. But look at this. Then took they
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. Now let's go to Genesis chapter
15. We'll look at a few more Old Testament scriptures, different
ones than we looked at this morning, to introduce tonight's message.
So the Lord Jesus Christ identified Himself when He said, I am. And they knew what He was saying.
That's why they picked up stones. Because to say you were God was
blasphemy to the Jews. So they picked up stones, but
little did they know that this was the very I am who's speaking
to them. God incarnate in the flesh. Look at Genesis 15, verse 1.
After these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abraham
in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abraham, I am thy shield and
thy exceeding great reward. The I am is the believer's shield. He's the believer's protector. And it says, and thy exceeding
great reward. Oh, what we have in Christ. Justification,
redemption, sanctification. Oh, the riches. Election. All in Christ. Adoption. Oh,
the riches. The riches. And then look at
Genesis 15, 7. And He said unto him, I am the Lord. Jehovah. I am the self-existent
One, He says. I am the Lord that brought thee
out of Ur, out of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit
it. This is the same I Am. This I Am who's speaking to Abraham
is the same one who's identified in John chapter 8, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Look at Isaiah 42. Turn over
there if you would. Isaiah chapter 42. And these
are just a few of the I Ams in the Old Testament. As I said,
there's over a hundred of them. This is just a few, we're just
scratching the surface, but it's just an introduction to get us
different verses than we looked at this morning, to give us an
idea of who this is speaking. It's God Almighty, the self-existent
one. He needs no one. He needs no
one. But we desperately need him,
don't we? We desperately need him. Desperately. Isaiah 42,
verse 8. I am the Lord. That is my name. Jehovah. Oh, the self-existent
one. And look at this. Now, I like
to call religious folks, or works people, I like to call them glory
hounds. That's just my own, because I
used to be one. They're always after the glory.
They're always after the notoriety. They're always after. But look
what our scripture says here. In my glory will I not give to
another. God will not share his glory with anyone. No one. No one. To give thee this land to inherit
it. Oh, that was in Genesis, I'm
sorry. I am the Lord, that is my name.
In my glory will I not give to another. Neither my praise to
graven images. They're just false gods. They're
just false gods. God will not share His glory
with anyone. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah 44. Sorry, I got Genesis
15 and I melded the two verses there together. Isaiah 44, verse 6. Thus saith the Lord. Now, our
God's a king, isn't He? Our Lord's a King. Scripture
declares He's the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He's the
King of Israel, right? Spiritually, He's the King. Look
at here, Isaiah 44, verse 6, Thus saith the Lord, the King
of Israel. Oh, He's a King. And His Redeemer,
the Lord. Again, the self-existent One.
The Lord of hosts. I am the first and I am the last. And beside Me there is no God. None! None. He's God. There's no one else. All these other gods are figments
of people's imaginations. Or a man has sprung up and started
a whole religion. We have that with the Mormons.
All based upon a man dead in the grave. But our King is risen
again. Turn with me, if you would, to
Revelation chapter 1. And keep in mind what I just
read there. He says, I am the first and I am the last, right?
That's God speaking. Hearken unto Me, O Jacob, in
Israel. My call, I am He, and I am the first and the last.
Isaiah 48, verse 12. He's the first and the last.
The first and the last. And then in Revelation, our great
King is speaking. Revelation 1, 17 and 18, and
it says, And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And
he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not, I am the first
and the last." This is Christ. So therefore, with this verse,
we can identify the one who's speaking in Isaiah 48, 12. He also says, I am the first
and I am the last. This is the same. This is Jesus
Christ. Revelation 1, 17 and 18. Fear
not. Fear not, sinner, who has fled
to Christ. Remember what we saw with David
and Mephibosheth? Fear not. Why do God's saints fear not
anymore? Because God's wrath and justice
is being turned. It's being appeased in Christ.
He's the first and the last. He's the Alpha and Omega. Look
at verse 18. I am He that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and death. This is the great I Am. This
is the great I Am. Here we have the Lord revealing
Himself as the One who was speaking in Isaiah, chapter 48, verse
12. God was manifest in the flesh,
beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. He existed as a divine person
from all eternity. He's always been God. Always. When he was here on earth, he
was still God. And now in glory, he's the God-man. Oh, what a
King we have. God was manifest in the flesh.
From all eternity, He's the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. The One who is set apart. He is set apart to the
office of prophet, priest, and King. The Lord Jesus Christ. And in the fullness of time,
He was sent into this world to be the author. The author? of eternal salvation to the sons
of men. Oh, what a king. What a savior. The great I am. Turn, if you
would, to John chapter 10. John chapter 10. God in the flesh, the God-man
mediator. Here he says, I am the Son of
God. John 10, verse 36-38, Say ye of him whom the Father hath
sanctified and sent into the world, thou blasphemous, because
I said, I am the Son of God. This is God. If I do not the works of my Father,
believe me not, but if I do, Though ye believe not Me, believe
the works, that ye may know and believe that the Father is in
Me, and I in Him." God incarnate in the flesh. Turn, if you would, to John chapter
11, and we'll continue looking at some more statements in the
New Testament where our Savior clearly states that He is the
I Am. He is the I Am. He is the great
I Am. As I said, our Savior is not
a mere teacher. He's not a mere man. He's God
incarnated in the flesh. And He is the greatest teacher.
The greatest teacher. Look at John 11, verse 25 and
26. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life.
Now, Lazarus has died. The Lord is speaking to his sister.
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. Now here's a question for each
one of us in this room. For each person listening, each
person who will listen, believest thou this? Believest thou this? Jesus said unto her, I am, I
am. The great I am. I am the resurrection
and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, oh, were born dead in trespasses and sin, yet shall
he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Believest thou this? That's a
searching question for every one of us. Believest thou this? And here before us, the Lord
Jesus Christ again states that He is the Great I Am. He proclaims,
I am the resurrection and the life. And he that believeth me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Believest thou this? He is the
fountain. Here is the cause and the fountain
of eternal life, right here. Right here. It's nowhere else. It's not in anything we do. It's
only in Christ. And he asked her, believest thou
this? Salvation is in the Lord Jesus
Christ and Him alone. He is the resurrection. Eternal
life is found nowhere else. Nowhere else. And because He
lives, we live. Because He lives, we live. He is our God. He is our surety. He is our righteousness. He is
our redemption. He's the resurrection and the
life. He is the great I AM. And this is the Savior of His
people. God incarnate in the flesh. Believest
thou this? In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. And we are complete in Him. Turn,
if you would, to John 5, just a few chapters over. This is
the verse that the Lord used to save Donny Bell's father-in-law. He said, after the message, he
said, I hear, look at this, John 5, 28. And this is speaking of
the resurrection, but it's also speaking of a spiritual resurrection.
John 5.28, marvel not at this for the hour is coming in the
which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice. Oh, we
who are dead are made alive in Christ, made alive in Him. We
are dead in trespasses and sins and He makes us alive. makes
us alive. Whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Believest thou this? Now it is
by faith that Christ is received, and no one. It is through faith
and in Him that the believer rests and receives all things. And the Lord Jesus Christ turned
Martha's thoughts from doctrine to Himself. I am the resurrection. Doctrine of salvation, resurrection,
and eternal life are understood only in the light of His person
in His work. As I said this morning, doctrine
is extremely important, but only as it centers around Christ.
Only as it centers in Him. Only in Him. All doctrine will
lead you right to Christ. It exalts and glorifies God. Turn, if you would, to John chapter
14. Oh, our Lord Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life
in person. Do you believe this? May God
grant your faith to believe. Oh, may He grant your faith to
believe. Look at John chapter 14, and remember, this is the
great I Am speaking. We have three truths attached to verse
6. John 14, 6, and we'll read 14,
6 and 7. Jesus saith unto him, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. If ye had known me, ye should
have known my Father also. And from henceforth ye know him
and have seen him. Look at this. Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto
the Father but by me. Remember how I said our Lord
spoke? You know, He's the creator of the whole universe, and He
speaks in one- and two-syllable words. It's incredible. I learned that from listening
to Brother Henry. He brought that out. He said,
look at this. He speaks in one- and two-syllable words. I am
the way. Well, we know what a way is. On the truth, we know what truth
is, right? And the life, we know what life
is. And then he says, no man cometh unto the Father but by
me. So there goes works. There goes man trying to do anything
to gain salvation and merit and favor with God. It's only in
Christ. And reading this verse, we can
clearly see that there's only one way to God. There's only
one way. There's not multiple ways like
the world tells you. There's only one. And the one
who's speaking here is the great I AM. The one who gives us breath
to breathe. So we can clearly see that there's
only one way to God. Only one door. Only one entrance
to the Father. And that's in and through the
Lord Jesus Christ in Him alone. Our great King and Savior here
states before us that He is the way, He is the truth, and He
is the life. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. You can put it
all together because it's one statement. So let's look. I am the way. Now He does not
just show us the way. by His example, but the Lord
Jesus Christ states here very plainly, I am the way. I am. And He prefaces it with
that. I am the way. The way by which we get to heaven.
There's no other way but through the Lord Jesus Christ. No other
way. Christ is our way to heaven by
the doctrine which He taught. As he stated, we looked at earlier,
he said, I am the resurrection and the life. And by his death, the sacrifice
of himself, he has fully satisfied the justice of God in the place
of his people. So he's not merely a prophet
to teach, to teach us a way, or he doesn't merely guide us
in the way, Doesn't just guide us and give
us strength and assistance. No. He is the way. He is the way. He lived the perfect
life. He lived the perfect life for
his people. Honoring the law of God. Honoring it. We could never do it. But He's
God incarnate in the flesh. And He honors the law of God
for His people. And then He dies in their place
on Calvary's cross. And the sword of God's justice
is plunged through Him. He bore it all. He who knew no
sin was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness
of God. Oh, what great, what a great
sacrifice. Our sins are imputed to Him,
and He imputes His righteousness to us. All by the sacrifice of Himself,
He is fully satisfied, the justice of God in the place of His people. He is the only way. The only way. You and I can't
pay for one of our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ paid for
the sins of all his people. Once. By the sacrifice of himself. The great I Am. The great I Am. Died in the place of his people.
The one true way the Savior and Redeemer of His people, I am
the way. No other way but Christ. Acts says this, neither is there
salvation in any other. Why? Because Christ is the only
way. The only way. For there is none
other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. Oh, the Lord Jesus Christ is
our mediator, our advocate, and in Christ his people are reconciled
to God. Nowhere else. No other way to
be reconciled with God except in Christ. I am the way. And then he says, I am the truth.
The truth. He is the true God. He is the
true God. Perfect, spotless, without sin. He is truth. He is the sum and
the substance of the truth of the gospel. Without Christ there'd
be no good news. No good news. All the types and
shadows in the Old Testament find their fulfillment in Him.
Only in Him. Those sacrifices were only shadows
of which He is the substance. He is the substance. They were types and shadows and
figures and representations of which He is the truth. He is
the truth. These types and shadows pointed
to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the fulfillment, The truth
of these types. The truth of these types. He
is the way of salvation. He's the true manna. He's the true manna from heaven.
He's the water of life. From which the rock pictured.
When that water flowed from that rock. He's the fulfillment of
the brazen serpent. Remember? All who look to that
serpent. But all who didn't perished,
but all who did were saved. Oh, he's the substance of that
picture. All who look to Christ are saved. Look and live. They all pointed
to him as the one true source of reconciliation. He's the one
true source of reconciliation, the one true source of spiritual
life, and the one true source of eternal life. He's the truth. He's the way and the truth. Now
many had rose up and claimed to be Messiah, but our Lord Jesus
Christ is the truth. He is God manifested in the flesh. The great I am, the self-existent
one. Part of that's, what is truth? Our Lord answers here, I am the
truth. Christ is the truth. He's the
only way and he's the truth. And then it goes on to say life,
the life. I am the life. And in the context
of our text, our Lord is telling the disciples that he must die.
That he must die. And he goes to prepare a place
for them. He speaks of life as opposed to death. He is telling
them that he is the life. The great I am is the life. The
great I am is the life. The Jews thought the way to God
was by the law of Moses, but our Savior here tells His disciples
that He is the way. He is the way. There is no other
way. If the law could have given eternal
life, or could have given life, then Christ had died in vain,
as the Apostle argues. Therefore, our Lord clearly states
here that there is no coming to the Father but by Him. He's
the way, He's the truth, and He's the life. It's all in Him. And now by nature we know that
we're dead in trespasses and sins, and we have no life. But all we who believe we're
dead in trespasses and sins, but now we're born again by the
Holy Spirit of God. Born again by the Holy Spirit
of God. And in Christ we have life. In Him we have life. In
and through Him alone. Nowhere else. Turn, if you would,
to John chapter 10. John chapter 10. And we see here that He is the
author and giver of eternal life. John chapter 10. Under the heading
of, I am the life. John 10, verses 28-30. And I
give unto them eternal life. Now free willers like to say
that it's their choice and they save themselves. Well, no. No. Only God can give eternal life.
Only God can give eternal life. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall what? So all who trust in Christ, He
gives them eternal life. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. Oh, what security the believer
has in Christ. What security. Neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand. We were talking about that
today, Vicki and I, that man can destroy the body, but not
the soul. Not the soul. Oh, the believer
is secure in Christ. Secure in Him. My Father which
giveth in me is greater than all. Greater than all who? Anything. Anything. We're in Christ's hands and we're
in the Father's hands. What security. What security. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all. No man is able to pluck them
out of my Father's hands. And then he says this statement,
I and my Father are one. God. God incarnate in the flesh. If you're a believer, this is
our Savior. This is Him. He's the author and the giver
of eternal life. And He's the purchaser of it
also, too, by His death. So He's the author and the giver.
We see that. And I give unto them eternal life. He's the author
of it, He's the giver of it, and He's the purchaser of it.
He purchases people with His own precious blood on Calvary's
cross. So let us think on this. Only
God is all truth. And only in God is life eternal.
And only through God can we be in heaven. Only through the Lord
Jesus Christ do we have these wonderful truths which our Lord
proclaims. Only in Christ, God incarnate
in the flesh, the self-existent One who has become flesh and
dwelt among us to redeem His people from their sins. The next I AM statement I'd like
to look at is in John 15. John 15. Put your finger, if you would,
into Zechariah and Jeremiah. Jeremiah first and then Zechariah. John chapter 15 and then Jeremiah
33 and Zechariah 6. So the next statement, the next
I am statement is found in John chapter 15. And I'll read verses 1 to 5.
I am the true vine and my father is the husbandman. I am. I am the treeline, and my Father
is the husband. Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit, he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit,
he purgeth, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are
clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide
in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself.
Well, there's a lot of religious folks that are trying to bear
fruit of themselves. They're not in Christ, and they're Scripture
says here, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except
it abide in the vine. No more can ye except you abide
in me. I am the vine. Again, a very plain statement,
eh? This is a God of the universe.
I am the vine. One-syllable words. You are the branches. He that
abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.
Look at this marvelous statement. Oh, if we could just learn to
say, for without me, you can do nothing. Isn't that what happens
to we who believe? We came to, God's revealed to
us, you can't save yourself. But He's revealed to us the One
who can. The Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. And here
before us, our Lord gives us a beautiful illustration of the
union between Christ and His body. The oneness. The oneness. In union of the vine and the
branches. Now we've looked at that in our Colossians study,
haven't we? He's the head. We're the body. He's the one
true vine. Now verse 1 says, the one true
vine. The prophet calls them the branch
in Jeremiah 33, verses 15 and 16. And Brother Matt hit on 16
in our study this morning. Look at 15 and 16, we'll tie
the two of them together. And think of this, the vine.
He's the vine, right? We're the branches. Now this
branch spoken of here is a single branch. In those days, verse
15, Jeremiah 33, in those days and at that time will I cause
the branch of righteousness to grow up unto David. Oh, this
is speaking of Christ. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell
safely. And this is the name whereof
she shall be called, the Lord our righteousness. So John 15, again, John before
us is under the same authority as the Old Testament prophet,
pens that our Lord is the branch. He's the vine. He's the vine. The great I am, the self-existent
one, the branch, as proclaimed by the prophet, has visited.
In Zechariah, turn if you would there, I'll read Zechariah 3,
but turn to Zechariah 6. Zechariah 3.8 says, Again, speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then in Zechariah 6.12 and
13. And keep in mind the illustration
of the vine and the branches, which John, by inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, wrote down for us. Zechariah 6, verses 12 and
13. And speak unto him, saying, Thus
speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man. Oh, behold the
Lamb of God, beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold the man, whose name is the branch. And
he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple
of the Lord, speaking of his body. Even he shall build the temple
of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and
rule upon his throne, and he is right now. And he shall be
a priest upon his throne, and the council of peace shall be
between them both. We have it right here before
us in John 15, I am the true vine. Oh, it's magnificent. Our Lord
has told his disciples that I am the door, the entrance, the way,
the truth, and the life. Any man enter in, he shall be
saved. And we saw that this morning,
that there's no other door, no other entrance into heaven except
through Christ. He said, I'm the true bread from
heaven. I'm the water of life. I'm the way, the truth, and the
life. Turn, if you would, to John chapter
3. John chapter 3. Verses 35 and 36. Our Lord Jesus Christ has all
power. Look at John 3, 35 and 36. The
Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand.
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. Do you
believe on Him? And he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. The only reason we who believe
have life is because the Lord Jesus Christ has appeased the
wrath of God in our Roman place. We who believe, we who believe,
he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. Do you
believe? Everything that God has spiritually
and eternally is in Christ, by Christ, and through Christ. It
is found nowhere else. Nowhere else. He is the one true
vine, and we are the branches. And in Him, the true vine, we
have salvation, forgiveness of all our sins, because of the
shedding of His precious blood. He's risen again. He's the resurrection
and the life. We have acceptance with God,
peace with God, a vital union with Christ who
is the true vine. And look at verse 1, I am the
true vine and my Father is the husbandman. Christ is the true
vine and the Father is the husbandman. The Father is the vine dresser
who purposed, planted, and supported the vine according to his will
and for his glory. For his glory. Believers are
trophies of the grace of God. We who are sinners. Oh, in whom also we have obtained
an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of Him
who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will,
that we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted
in Christ, in whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word
of truth. This is why it's vital to preach the Gospel. The Gospel
of your salvation. Lazarus, come forth! Oh, God's sheep hear the shepherd's
voice, and it's an effectual calling, and He calls them by
name. Whom ye also trusted after that
ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and
whom also after that ye believed. Again, God's people believe on Christ.
They trust in Christ. And they rest in Christ. You hear folks say, well, such
and such was saved. Well, did they believe? No. And whom also after that ye believed,
ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the
earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the person's
possession unto the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1, verses
11 to 14. And remember this. We have no
cause to glory in our salvation. that has anything to do with
us. We have the glory in the Lord in what He's done. Because
He's done it all. We have no room to boast. We
have no room to boast. But we do boast of Christ. We
do boast of the great things that He's done. That He's had
mercy upon this poor sinner. Oh, believest thou this? And
look again, I am the true vine and my father is the husband.
The great I am. Think of who's speaking here.
The great I am. The one who spoke to Moses from
the burning bush. The one who in Isaiah we saw
proclaim that he is the Savior, the Redeemer. The great I am. In our text before
us, the Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, says, I am the
true vine. Now folks will pop out about
their free will and about them making the decision before God
will save them, but we will have nothing of that foolishness,
because that's what it is. It's false teaching. If God does
not move to save a man or a woman, they will never be saved. Because if they could make their
own decision, think of this, I thought about this this afternoon.
If they could make their own decision, then that would be
a branch attaching itself to a vine. How's a branch attached, how's
a branch grafted in? By the husband. By the husband. It's not grafted
in by itself. I am the true vine and my Father
is the husband. So our text clearly states that
our Father, the Father is the husband. He must graft us into
the vine, born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And let us think on this, what
a picture we have before us as Christ is the vine and we as
the branches. The vital sap which comes from
the vine, right? It has to come from the vine.
And it spreads out to the branches. But it must come through the
vine. It must come through the trunk. It must come through the
branch. It must. We're just branches. Grafted into the vine. All life and strength proceeds
for the believer from Christ alone. from Christ alone. And look in verse 5 of John 15,
he says, I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth
in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. Much
fruit. For without me you can do nothing. There's the believer's utter
reliance upon Christ and Him alone. And not upon anything
of himself. And God teaches us this. I remember
hearing a grace preacher once say, we're all recovering Pharisees. And it's true. We really are.
We really are. And he's teaching us. He's teaching
us every day. Without me, you can do nothing. And nothing means nothing. The nature of man is unfruitful
and destitute of every good We are born dead in trespasses and
sins so that no man has the nature of the vine till the branch be implanted
in the vine, born again in the Holy Spirit of God. Ye must be
born again. You must be. You must be. Now we'll conclude by looking
at six I Am's in the book of Revelation. We'll just go over
the texts of them. And if you want to write them
down for further study, the six I Am's were closed with these
in Revelation. And these stress, again, the
eternal existence of Christ from eternity to eternity, thus proclaiming
Him proclaiming Christ to be the self-existent one. The first
one is found in Revelation 1, verse 8. I am the Alpha and Omega. I am. I am the Alpha and the
Omega. The beginning of the Greek alphabet
and the ending of the Greek alphabet. He's it all. He's the author
of our salvation and the finisher. I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is and
which was which is to come, the Almighty. The Almighty. And in Revelation 1.11, saying,
I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. And in Revelation
1.17 and 18, when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead, and
He laid His right hand upon me, saying, Fear not. Oh, our King
says that to us. I am the first and the last.
I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and death. And then Revelation 21.6. Revelation 21.6. These stress
the eternal existence from eternity to eternity, proclaiming Christ
to be the self-existent One. Revelation 21.6. And He said
unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end. I will give unto him that is
a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. And in
Revelation 22, 13, again, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, the first and the last. And then the last one is
found in Revelation 22, verses 16 and 17. I, Jesus, have set
mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.
I am the root and offspring of David. He is the promised Messiah,
beloved. And the bright and morning star,
and the Spirit and the bride say come. And let him that heareth
say, Come, and let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will,
let him take of the water of life. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Believer's
Savior, Redeemer, is alive. He sits upon His throne, ruling
and reigning a King Supreme. King Supreme. He is the Creator. He is the sinner's substitute.
The great sin bearer. Our sins were imputed to Him
and His righteousness is imputed to us. And we who believe, He
is our Savior and He is our King. And He is our Redeemer. Oh, do you know Him? Do you love
Him? Is He not everything to you who
believe? Is He not your hope? All your hope? He is the Great
I Am. The Self-existent One. God incarnate
in the flesh. If you don't know Him, oh, may
God grant you faith to believe.