Today for our Bible study, please
turn to the book of Exodus. Exodus chapter 3. Exodus chapter
3, and I'll begin reading at verse 10. If you don't have your
Bible, just listen closely, but I would encourage you to find
your Bible and let's read these verses together. Exodus chapter
3 at verse 10. Come now, therefore, and I will
send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth my people.
the children of Israel out of Egypt. 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, thou shalt serve me upon this mountain.
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I am 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 unto me, What is his
name? What shall I say unto them?"
Now verse 14, Exodus 3 verse 14, 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 unto you. Now, here's what I want you to
listen to this morning. Who is this that speaks from
the burning bush upon this mountain? God is about to send Moses back
to Egypt to lead this people out of bondage. And who is this
one who speaks from this bush that burns with fire but is not
consumed? It is the very same person that
speaks throughout the gospel. writings we read in Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John. It is none other than the Lord
Jesus Christ, make no mistake. Our Lord told the Pharisees,
now listen closely, in John chapter 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. Hast thou
seen Abraham? And the Lord Jesus said unto
them before, Abraham was, I am. I am. Now, it's no mistake that
the Lord uses the same words as this voice that speaks from
this burning bush because it is the same eternal God. Our blessed Savior did not have
his beginning at Bethlehem. He is the everlasting God. Yes,
in time he was manifested in the flesh as a real man. We read
in 1 Timothy 3.16, without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness,
God was manifest in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit of God,
seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in
the world, and received up into glory when he had by himself
purged our sin, he sat down at the right hand of God. He is
the mighty, the great, the everlasting God Almighty, God incarnate,
God manifest in the flesh. Let us never forget that our
Lord at no time stopped being God. The Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and full of truth."
Someone has put it this way. He remained what he was, Almighty
God, and became what he was not, flesh and blood among us. Especially
through the gospel record in John, our Lord identifies himself
at least seven times as the I Am. I Am that I Am. Now, I want to read these seven
scriptures to you and make a few comments through the book of
John. The first one we read of in John 6, verse 35. If you want to jot these down,
I'll give you the scripture references. John 6, verse 35. Our Lord declares, I am the bread
of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger. He that believeth on me shall
never thirst. The Lord Jesus Christ declares,
He is the I Am. He is God and He is, as God,
the bread of life. And He clearly says, He that
cometh to me shall never hunger. How do we come? How do we come
to Him? Once by faith. By faith. We come to Him, we receive Christ
as everything in salvation. He says, He that cometh to me
shall never hunger. We never lack any spiritual good,
any spiritual necessity. He that believeth on me shall
never thirst, never hunger, never thirst. God's people are never
lacking. We read in Ephesians 1, verse
3, God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies
in Christ Jesus. All spiritual blessings are in
Christ. He has made unto us wisdom. righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. He's able in Christ, God in Christ,
meets all our needs according to His riches in glory through
Christ Jesus. Never hunger. We never lack for
righteousness, never lack for redemption, never lack for wisdom. He that believeth on me shall
never thirst. He's the water of life. So there's
the first one, John 6, 35, I am the bread of life. The second
one we find in the book of John, chapter 8, verse 12. Our Lord
spake unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. I am the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
the light of life. Now, by nature, we're born in
darkness. We read in John 3, 19, men love
darkness rather than the light. By nature, we are born in sin
and darkness, ignorance and depravity. We read in Ephesians 2, without
God, without hope, without help, without Christ. By the grace
of God, we are born again. We are born of this supernatural
light. He has commanded the light to
shine in our heart to give us the knowledge of God, the glory
of God that shines in the face of Jesus Christ. He is the light
of salvation. He is the revelation of salvation. He is a revelation of the glory
of God. He is that light. A light reveals
things. And the Lord Jesus Christ reveals
unto us the light of salvation, the light of redemption, the
light of God, the glory of God, the holiness of God, the purpose
of God, the sovereignty of God. And you can go on and on. He
is that light. I am the light. The third reference
we read in the book of John is John chapter 10, verse 9. Our
Lord said, I am the door. I am the door. By me, if any
man enter in, he shall be justified, saved, redeemed, and shall go
in into life, into salvation, and out, out of death, out of
depravity, out of disease and sin, and find pasture, find plenty. He's plenteous in redemption. He's abundant in mercy, into
life and out of death. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
means. I am the door. A door is a means
of access, a means of entrance into a tabernacle, into a building.
The Lord Jesus clearly sets himself forth as the means God has provided
for our salvation. We read in Isaiah 28, God said,
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall never
make haste, will never be forced out. The Lord Jesus Christ is
that foundation. He is that door. He is the very
means that God has provided to secure our salvation, to purchase
our salvation, and to guarantee the salvation of God's people.
Now, here's the fourth reference, found also in chapter 10 of the
book of John, chapter 10. We read in verse 11 and in verse
15, I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd. What does a good
shepherd do? Well, we're told. I am, this
I am, this eternal God, I am that I am. I am the Good Shepherd,
the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Now in Scripture he's called
several times, our Lord is by this name Shepherd, he's called
the Chief Shepherd who shall come again. He is called the
Great Shepherd of the sheep who redeemed us by the blood of the
everlasting covenant. But here our Lord calls Himself
the I Am who is the Good Shepherd. Now we know the Shepherd, David
said, the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. The Shepherd
provides for the sheep, protects the sheep, cares for the sheep. He owns the sheep. But here he
says the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. The Lord
Jesus Christ as our Good Shepherd, the Shepherd of His people. laid
down his life, gave his life as a sacrifice for sin. He's
dying in the room and the stead of God's people. Call his name
Jesus. He's the Good Shepherd. He shall
save his people from their sin. The Lord Jesus Christ, as Shepherd
and Charity and High Priest, didn't bring the typical animal
sacrifice. He brought his own blood. He
said, I am the Good Shepherd. This Good Shepherd gives His
life for the sheep, not with the blood of bulls and goats,
but with His own blood. He obtained eternal redemption
for us with His own blood. And notice this is particular
redemption. I am the Good Shepherd that gives
His life for the sheep. The Lord purchased His church
with His own blood. He loved the church and gave
himself for the church. The Lord Jesus died for His elect
exclusively, particularly, and redeemed His people from their
sin. I am the Good Shepherd. The fifth
one we read of is in John 11, verse 25, I am the resurrection
and the life. I am the resurrection. I am life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live." The Lord Jesus Christ is the
firstfruits of all His people. He's the firstfruits of the dead. He's resurrected of God. His resurrection, He was delivered
for our offenses and raised again for our justification. His resurrection
declares that all He said and all that He did is true and accepted
of God. He is my resurrection. He is my life. He is that to
all of His people. I am, He says, the resurrection. Now, the sixth one is found in
John chapter 14, verse 6. Our Lord said, I am. Now, this is the same one that's
speaking. I am the way, the truth, the life. No man comes unto the
Father but by and through Me. Christ is salvation. Salvation is in Christ. Adam
lost those three things. Adam in the garden lost the way,
he lost truth, and he lost life. In Christ Jesus, we have all
things restored. Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. By one man's disobedience, many
were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be
made righteous. Christ is the way. Not a way
the way salvation in no other. He is the truth. And he is like. The last one is found in John
15. Verse one, he said, I am the
true vine and my father is the husband. I am the true vine. Now, what's he saying here? The
same as he said, has said in these other six references, there
is life and salvation in Christ. Salvation is of the Lord. He
purchased salvation. He planned salvation. He accomplished
salvation. He said at Calvary, it is finished.
It is God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to God's own purpose
and grace. He is that true vine, that true life. Now, as you can
easily see from meditating upon these scriptures, our Lord Jesus
Christ has made unto us all that we need now and eternally. We read in Colossians 2, verses
9 and 10, "...in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily, and in Him we are complete." Now, you might ask yourself this
question, is it really important? that I trust Jesus Christ as
God and believe Him alone as all my salvation. Yes, and here's
the reason why. John 8, 24. Now listen carefully. Our Lord said to those Pharisees,
He said, except you believe that I am. I said therefore unto you
that you shall die in your sins, for if you believe not that I
am, you'll die in your sins. You see how vital this is? We
read in John 3, 36, He that believeth on the Son hath life. He that
believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God
abides on him. We read again in John 5, verse
24, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him
that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Now I pray this message will
be a blessing to you and I trust you've written these references
down through the book of John and would go back and read them
and ask the Lord to reveal himself to you as the mighty God, the
only Savior of sinners. I am that I am. If you would
like a copy of this message, you can call me at 631-9053 or
you can write to me at Zebulun Baptist Church, 6088 Zebulun
Highway, Pikeville, Kentucky.