Our message this morning is three
statements of the Lord. I am, I have, I will. I am, I have, I will. Having read these verses in Exodus
chapter six, let me begin by saying, as we often have before,
that the context of a passage is so very important to the understanding
of that passage. If you just open the Bible to
a brief passage of Scripture and read it without knowing what
went before it or what comes after it, it's very easy to read
something into it that it's not even saying, let alone to grasp
the meaning of it. Here in Exodus, 10 chapters,
chapters 3 through 12, cover the time period from when the
Lord commissions Moses there at the burning bush, he appears
to him in chapter 3, until the time of the actual exodus out
of Egypt in chapter 12. easily break into two divisions. Chapters 3 through 6 emphasize
who the Lord God is. And chapters 7 through 12 record
what the Lord does concerning Pharaoh and Egypt. Now in the third verse, here
in chapter 6, he declares his name Jehovah. which is the Lord. Not God, Elohim, Creator, but
Jehovah, the Lord. This is the name or title used
in covenant relationship with His people. And you might note that when
you read the title God or the title Lord. For example, in Genesis
6, before the flood, The Bible says that God saw, God saw the
wickedness. But you come on down a few verses
and it says that Noah found grace in the eyes of, not God, but
the Lord. Oh, he's one in the same. We're
talking about the titles which are used. The Lord in covenant
relationship to his people. So here, It's Jehovah. And this
record of these chapters is about the Lord delivering the Israelites. It's not about His delight in
sending plagues on Egypt. It's about His delight and determination
and purpose to deliver Israel. One of the verses somewhere around
here said that you may know that the Lord doth put a difference
between the Egyptians and between the Israelites, and he certainly
did. And by the way, that's the only difference there is. The
only real difference in all the human family is the difference
that the Lord doth put. He makes the difference. All
right, it's not until chapter 7 that the Lord actually begins
to send the plagues upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. And you know
all about those 10 plagues. And that's exactly what Moses
wants the Lord to do. You start dealing with the situation.
But chapters 3 and 4 are taken up with the Lord convincing Moses
to go. It's interesting to read those
chapters and see Moses' excuses, but the Lord convinces him. In
chapter 5, he goes to Pharaoh, and the result is negative. Instead
of Pharaoh giving in the least bit, he said, who is the Lord? That I should obey his voice.
I won't, I will not let the people go. And so then after that, the
men of Israel charged Moses and Aaron saying, you've just made
matters worse by coming here instead of better. So chapter
five ends with Moses not feeling very confident. Let me read those
last two verses of chapter 5 and you'll see that. Beginning with
verse 22. And Moses returned unto the Lord. Give him credit for that. Enough
has gone wrong here in chapter 5 for him to forget the whole
business. Forget the Lord and say, I'm
getting out of here. But he doesn't do that. Verse
22 says that he returned unto the Lord and said, Lord, wherefore
hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast
sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to
speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people. Neither
hast thou delivered thy people at all. He says, Lord, Pharaoh
is worse than ever. And you've done nothing. Moses
is impatient with the Lord. Maybe he's been watching some
of those TV guys, not all of them, but some of them who imply
that you just snap your fingers and God will jump. But Moses has found out that's
not so. And so have I. The Lord doesn't
get in a hurry for anybody. He don't have to. So going into
chapter 6 then, the Lord sees fit to give one more chapter
of preparation and give Moses a refresher course before he does anything, before
he starts the plagues. He's going to give Moses a refresher
reminding him that I am the Lord. In spite of all the negative
response of Pharaoh, in spite of the lack of visible evidence, the Lord says I'm in control
of here. In spite of how things appear to be, here's the bottom
line, Moses, I am the Lord. And he says that five times in
the text verses that we've read here in chapter 6. Verse 2, And
God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD. In verse 6, Wherefore, saying
unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD. In verse 7, middle of the verse, you shall
know that I am the Lord, your God. Verse eight, the end of
the verse, I am the Lord. Uh, then on down in verse 29,
where we read, I am the Lord. I think Moses need here is the
same as our need very often. We're so anxious for the Lord
to do something and show the world that He's boss. And we feel like He must do it
now. But our greater need is to have
rest in our heart that the Lord knows more about
what to do and when to do it than we do. And our need is to believe that
he is faithful to himself, to his promise, and to his people,
and that he will do what ought to be done in the right time. That's what we need. But in all
our prayers and petitions, As to when we'd like the Lord to
do it, the answer is always the same. Immediately, Lord, right
now. Yesterday would have been fine. There is most of the time a conflict
between our wants and God's wisdom. And I want to say this, how very
blessed we are that God ignores so much of our ignorance. Isn't
that blessed? We're quick to tell him exactly
what needs to be done, how he should do it, when he should do it. Most of
the time we're on two different pages entirely. How very true
the words of the Lord through Isaiah. My thoughts are not your
thoughts and my ways are not your ways. For as the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. I guess we could say
it like this. We only look at the headlines
and go into action. But the Lord is operating in
the fine print, the fine print. That's where he is. Patience
is such a needed virtue on our part. I thought of this talking
to one of our local apple growers yesterday, and I asked exactly
when do they start picking apples? It's not too far off now. They're
just now little bitty things, but it won't be too long. Here's what he told me. He said
it's not a specific date. Some years it's earlier than
others. It's not a specific size. Some
years the apples are larger or smaller than others. It's not color. Sometimes they
turn redder quicker, sooner, depending on the weather. But
the big factor, especially for these commercial growers, is
the sugar content in the apple. They test with an injection of
some sort to measure the sugar content. And when the time is
right, They pick. And I thought about that. We're
so guilty of telling the Lord. The time looks right. And many is the time I've rode
through the county out here and seen these orchards just loaded
with luscious, big, beautiful red apple, and they're not picking
them. But now I thought about this
in our lives. We say, Lord, I'm looking at the calendar and I
know it's the right time for you to do something about this
situation in my life. I'm looking at the size. These
apples are big enough. They're nice. And they're red
enough. Lord, it's got to be time. But you know what he's looking
for? He may be looking for the sugar content in our hearts toward Him. He may be looking
for a submission and willingness on our part to trust Him with
it and leave it with Him. You remember that old song, take
your burden to the Lord, and then take it somewhere else?
No, that's not the way it went, is it? Take your burden to the
Lord and leave it there. That's the way it went. The problem so often is not out
yonder, but in here. Moses went out of chapter five,
telling the Lord, and we just read this a while ago, Pharaoh
didn't cooperate. And by the way, Lord, you hadn't
done anything either. Pharaoh didn't cooperate. Well,
that wasn't supposed to be a surprise to Moses. The Lord had already
told him Pharaoh wouldn't cooperate. The problem is not in what Pharaoh
did or didn't do. The problem was Moses failed
to hear. what the Lord said, and we're
so like Moses in that, aren't we? We really are. So five times
in chapter 6, he reminds Moses, I am the Lord. I am the Lord. Oh, wouldn't it
be good if we really believed that? If we really did believe
He is in charge, well then, Three times he says,
I have. Look here in verse 4. He says
it once. I have also established my covenant
with them, referring to Israel, to give them the land of Canaan,
the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they are strangers. I
have done that. My covenant is established with
them. It's not a matter of them earning
it. I've done it. It's done. And then twice in
verse five, I have. I have also heard the groaning
of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage.
And I have remembered my covenant. Oh, I want to tell you how blessed
it is to have a God like this that remembers his covenant. And the one I'm most thrilled
about is the one He made in eternity, the Father and the Son and the
Holy Ghost. God chose in Christ a number
from among Adam's fallen race. You say, well, they hadn't even
been created yet. Yeah, but that's all right. They was in the mind
and purpose of God, chosen in Christ. before the foundation
of the world. In that covenant, God Almighty
would do whatever needed to be done, just like He's going to
do here. It involved sending His Son into
this world to die for His people. That wasn't no happenstance.
It wasn't no coincidence. It wasn't no accident. He came
here on purpose, and He came here to die. And He doesn't come
here to die just hoping somebody might believe on him along the
way. He came to die for his people. He shall save his people from
their sin. Who are they? Those given him
by the Father in eternity past. And that's clearly what he says
in John 17 too, praying to the Father. He says, I come to give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given me." You want to know
who's going to be saved? There's the answer. Jesus said
it to the Father. As many as thou hast given me. Not one more. Not one less. You don't have to worry about
the devil getting any of God's children. Nuh-uh. Nuh-uh. It's not happening. It's not
happening. So He says here, I have three times. Three times, I am,
I have, then seven times he says I will. Three times in verse
six, wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord and
I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians
and I will rid you out of their bondage and I will redeem you
with a stretched out arm and with great judgments. Twice in
verse 7, and I will take you to me for a people, and I will
be to you a God. Twice in verse 8, and I will
bring you in under the land. And then the end of the verse,
I will give it you for an heritage. I am the Lord. Now, he never
did say I might. I'm thinking about, I have several
options. No, he says I will. I am, I have, I will. The Lord is declaring himself
to Moses in three tenses. I have, that's past tense. I
am, that's present tense. And I will, that's future tense. He is saying to Moses and he
is saying to you and I this morning, I was on top of your situation
yesterday. I'm on top of it today and I'll
be on top of it tomorrow. And you just go ahead and work
your fingers to the bone trying to fix it. trying to solve your
problems, make yourself, get it done. No, the Lord said, I
am the Lord. I am the Lord. If you're my child,
I'll take care of it. This is how he introduces himself
in Revelation 1.8, I am Alpha and Omega. the beginning and
the ending, saying the Lord, which is, present tense, and
which was, past tense, and which is to come, future tense, I'm
the Almighty. Now the dispensationalist boys,
they interpret that, and I heard one very well-known, if I called
his name, some of you would get mad at me. He said this is the
outline for the book of Revelation, that which was, that which is,
and that which is to come. And he made it out to be time
periods and events in time. And of course, coming to chapter
four there, they've got the rapture and from there on everything's
future. That ain't what chapter one, verse one said. It said
this book is the revelation of Jesus Christ. It's about him. It's about his victory. It's
about his conquering throughout. taking care of his people. So
he says, this is who I am, the Alpha and Omega, which is the
first and last letters in the Greek alphabet, the beginning
and the ending. And he's not just saying I'm
first on a long list and I'm last on that same list. He's
saying I am the list. I'm the first and the last and
all in between. I am He which is and which was
and which is to come, the Almighty. Oh my, so much religion nowadays. I'm just really feeling joy in
myself this morning. So much religion nowadays is
geared toward urging you to condition yourself to be able to back God
in a corner and answer your prayer now, when the real need, your real
need, my real need, is in abiding trust in Him, that He is the all-wise, sovereign
God and he's going to take care of his children. Some of you mamas and daddies
out here this morning, you let somebody try to mistreat one
of your young'uns and you're going to come unglued. I know
you are. It's what I'd do. I will tell you how much more,
how much more our Heavenly Father is a far better parent than anybody
sitting here this morning. He's going to take care of his
own. He is. He's going to work all things
according to his good pleasure. His good pleasure, not ours. Our interest is our being well. God's interest
is our well-being. Big difference. We major on our
wants. He majors on our needs and promise
to supply them. We order what feels good. He
delivers what is good. Here in Exodus 6, Moses had no Bible. He couldn't turn to a verse and
claim it, like these guys say to do, back God in the corner. No, he didn't have a Bible. But
in the next few chapters, he learns a lot of scripture, and
it hadn't even been written down yet. He learns Malachi 3.6, I am the
Lord. I change not. He learns Isaiah 46, 9 and 10. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God and there is none else. I am God and there
is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning. and from
ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My
counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure. He learned
that. Moses learned the truth of Proverbs
21 30, There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against
the Lord. You're just beating your head
against a brick wall. to try to go some other way than
the way he said it's going. He learned Isaiah 55, 11. So
shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not
return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah was not referring to the
written Word. I hear men quote that. Well, you
know, God said His Word will not return void. He's not talking
about every jacked leg that grabs up the Bible. No. He said, My Word which goeth
forth out of my mouth. The Living Word. When God speaks
His Word affectionately, it will not return void. it'll do what
he said it would do. Moses learned God's words are
factual. He learned Proverbs 19.21 too.
There are many devices in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the counsel
of the Lord, that shall stand. He learned Isaiah 14.27. For
the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And
his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? He's
learned these scriptures and they're not even written down. Moses learned Romans 9.15. Paul
told us about it. For God saith to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy. and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. Moses learned that God does as
he pleases, does what he says he'll do, and nobody can or does
stop him. Moses learned Romans 9.21, hath not the power,
hath not the potter, power over the clay, of the same lump, not
a different lump, but of the same lump, to make one vessel
unto honor and another unto dishonor. Moses surely learned what King
Nebuchadnezzar learned. Daniel 4, 34 and 45, God's dominion
is an everlasting dominion. And his kingdom is from generation
to generation. And all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing. What that means is God ain't
scared of nobody. And he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth. And none can stay his hand or say unto him what doest
thou." Don't judge the validity or soundness
of God's Word and promises by the visible evidence. Never limit God to visible evidence. He don't need it. But you judge the word of God
and the promises of God by this, by this one thing, who he is. Check out his record. He who
said so many times, I have, he did every time. He never lied. And he who said so many times,
I am, well, he is and proves himself
so to be. And he who said so many times,
I will, he cannot lie. God's own character is all the
evidence we need to believe his every word. and trust Him with
every problem. You say, but preacher, you don't
know the mess I'm facing. You don't know the mess I'm facing. But I'm giving God credit for
knowing all about mine and all about yours and being big enough
to handle it all. We ought never to pollute God's
I haves by saying, did he really? We ought never to pollute God's
I ams by saying, is he really? We ought never to pollute God's
I wills by saying, will he really? I cannot tell you this morning.
how to find the answer of all your problems to all your problems
tomorrow. But I can tell you that our God
will still be God tomorrow. I cannot give you a magic recipe
for whatever healing your heart might need this morning. But
I can promise you the healer will never leave you and never forsake you to have
to make it on your own. Some of you have some wounds,
deep wounds, old wounds that you've been carrying a long time. The healer is here. The healer is here. Our Lord told the eleven, John
15, Judas Iscariot had done gone out. He told the eleven, I've
not called you servants. I've called you friends. That's his word to all his children
this morning. I've called you friends. I'll
be your friend. Proverbs 17, 17 makes this little
statement. A friend loveth at all times. And Christ said, I'm your friend. You haven't failed enough for
him to turn against you. Hebrews 13, 8, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and
forever. So I want to say this morning,
when you've lost it all and you've lost everybody you think, you
can't lose Him. He won't leave you. He won't
leave you. My greatest need in life and
your greatest need in life is simply this. to love Him more. Nothing else
matters. He giveth more grace. You say, oh, I need this problem.
He giveth more grace. If I loved Him more. You see, your life can't belong
to you and Him. That won't work. To love Him more. To love Him
more. You can wade through hell if
you love Him more. That was the songwriter's cry.
Oh, for grace to love Him more. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him. How I proved Him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus! Oh, for grace to love Him more. You say, but what do I need to
do? You need to do nothing. Say nothing. Shut up. Go somewhere. And fall prostrate
before Him. And listen. You can't give Him
30 seconds. You can't give Him five minutes
once a month. You give Him all of you all the
time. And your life will be all He
makes of it. And that's all you want. Who
is it we're talking about? We're talking about Him who said,
I am the Lord. I have! And I will take care of you. That's our God this morning.
Bless His holy name. Let's stand together.