TEXT: Exodus 3:13-15: [Portrays Jesus Christ as our Passover Lamb]
I
bet everyone reading this message has some idea what your name means….or
perhaps where it comes from….some thought was put into the thing that would
identify you for your whole life.
In
the Bible, names were very important and often God would change people’s names.
“Jacob” the Deceiver became “Israel” which means “God rules.” (Pretty good trade, huh?).
Jesus
would look at Simon and said “Thou shalt be called Cephas – (which is by interpretation, Peter), which is the Greek word for Rock! So, Matthew 16:18 really
reads as, “Thou art Petros, and upon this
Petra,” I will build my church. Petros is rock masculine and Petra is
rock, feminine, a (mass of) rock. Jesus was letting us know right then the
character of man must therefore be masculine
and feminine in one unit.
Now
you can see another revelation in Genesis 1:27; So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he
him; male and female created he them.
Within
each individual is the masculine and
feminine aspect. Masculine because
whether you are male or female you
have within you the ability to “give
out the seed” which is the Word
of God. Feminine because whether
you are male or female you
have within you the ability to “receive
the seed” (God’s Word) and reproduce
and bring forth other sons of God in His image, after His likeness.
Galatians
3:28: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Then
He/Jesus of Nazareth turned right around and demonstrated this in His spiritualized body.
We
know that Peter was the faith-thinker.
But we as sons must come to the realization that we are not only the
faith-thinker, Peter, but we are Jesus' flesh and bones in the earth
(Ephesians 5:30), “For we are members of
his body, of his flesh, and of his bones”.
Peter
is one of your twelve powers. Before this truth dawns on you, you are/were a carpenter, a builder in the realm
of matter. Peter is a fisherman,
one who draws his thoughts from the changeable, unstable sea of sense thinking.
When
you realize that you are Mind, and
that all things are originally generated in the laboratory of Mind, you leave
your carpenter’s bench and go
forth proclaiming the Truth that is revealed to you. You find that your tools
in this new field of labor are your untrained faculties or powers that
dwell within you. One of the first of these faculties to be brought under your
dominion is Peter, the thinking power of
faith.
See
the religious system wants to get to heaven to meet Peter at the gate. But
according to Revelation 21 in relation to the Holy City, New Jerusalem, the city
John saw coming down from God
out of heaven, Peter is not at the “gate”:
·
Vs
10: And he carried me away in the spirit
to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy
Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God:
·
Vs
11: Having the glory of God: and her light was
like unto a stone most precious even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
·
Vs
12:
And had a wall great and high, and had twelve
gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written
thereon, which are the names of
the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar,
Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher).
·
Vs
14:
And the wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and in them the
names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
In Matthew
chapter 10:1: And when he had called unto him his twelve
disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out,
and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Vs
2:
Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; the first, Simon,
who is called Peter and Andrew his brother; James, the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother: vs 3: Philip,
and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James
the son of Alpheus, and Lebbeus, whose surname was Thaddeus: vs
4:
Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
So,
Peter was not and is not “at the gate”, he
is a part of “the foundation”. Foundation coming from the root word themel’ios (them-el’-ee-os), meaning something put down, as a substructure which
is a part or structure that is a support or base of something, denoting
to be placed or appointed for special service.
Remember
1st Corinthians 3:11:
For other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus the Christ. And
He said to His disciples as well as to us now: “You have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit,
and that your fruit should remain: that
whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:16).
In
relation to the Holy City, New Jerusalem it contained the “gates” (twelve sons
of Israel) (entrance or portal) into the city and also the “foundations” (twelve apostles of Jesus Christ) (base or support) of the
city that are all one in Christ
which gives the “city” its structure: 12 +12 = 24 (the number of “eldership”) that has nothing to do with age, but it
denotes “maturity” (full grown; ripe; fully developed;
perfected in Christ Jesus).
·
Ephesians
4:13:
Till we all come (attain) in the
unity (oneness) of the faith (assurance),
and of the knowledge (full discernment) of
the Son (hwee-os [wee-os]) of God (theh’-os), unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
When
you multiply 12 x 12 it equals 144, which is “sons of God” multiplied by the thousands. This is God’s number of “uncertain affinity”, equivalent to the “hundred and forty-four thousand” John mentioned
in
Revelation.
·
Revelation
14:1: And I looked and lo a Lamb (Jesus
Christ) stood on the mount Sion (the Church
triumphant), and with him a hundred forty and four thousand (sons of
God) having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Hebrews
12:22-24: But you are come (not going up to) unto
mount Sion (see-own’) and unto the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general
assembly, and church of the firstborn, which are written in
heaven (the higher realms of spiritual elevation – not beyond the blue), and
to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
When
Jesus chose His disciples, this connotes characteristics
that Jesus had to train and discipline in His own life to fulfill the
purpose the Father had sent Him forth for. So, in relation to “Peter being at the gate” can only be
seen as the “gate of faith” as the “portal or entrance by faith” (Jesus’
first choice of His disciples) as the “first
step” in relation to one’s approach to God and not as religion
speaks of him being at “the gate of
heaven beyond the blue”! No!
Simon (hearing): Peter (faith):
·
Romans
10:17: For faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God.
·
Hebrews
11:6: Without “faith” it is impossible to
please him: for he that comes to God
must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
him.
When
we have acknowledged Jesus the Christ this establishes our relationship with
Him. Romans 10:9: If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shall be saved. Vs 10: For with the heart man believes unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
What
religion doesn’t know is that “Peter standing
at the gate (not the pearly gates) of heaven” is no mere
figure of speech, but it’s the “foundation
of your faith”, which is the “gate”
(portal or entrance) where “Peter” (Faith) (the first in position)
always must stand having the “keys of the
kingdom of heaven.” The keys (badge of authority) are the thoughts that he forms and the words that he speaks by faith. He then stands porter at the door of thought and freely exercises
that power which the Christ declares: “Whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (the place
one sits in the higher realms of spiritual authority)!
·
Matthew
12:37: By thy words thou shalt be justified,
and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
·
Matthew
16:19: And I will give unto thee the keys of the
kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt
loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
You will find this also in (Matt 18:18).
Whenever
you use “I AM” make sure the words
you’re attaching to it are positive
and not negative!
This
is all done in relation to Peter that typifies “faith” which is the power
source of our relationship with “God” and the first disciple Jesus
chose.
Look
people, names become more than just words…they become associated with who we
really are, our personality, our character.
Think about it…you don’t meet a lot of people named “Adolf” or “Jezebel,” or “Saddam.”
So,
as Moses stands in the presence of God, shoe-less before His Holiness, He asks
God His name.
“God,
you’re sending me to the Israelites to tell them you’re going to deliver them
from slavery…but suppose they ask me “Who
sent you…What’s God’s name? What do I tell them? (Exodus 3:13)
And
God says, “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus
3:14). This is what you are to tell
them, “I AM sent me to you”!
Hebrew word for “I" is aniy', meaning I; me. "I" in Greek is eg-o' which is first-person, meaning I; my; me. "AM” in Hebrew is “hayah” (haw-yaw’), meaning to exist, be or become, come to pass. Then it goes to the word hava’, meaning to breathe; to be; to be thou. "AM" in Greek means I exist; I am; it is I; I was; I will be. With this, I'm reminded of what Jesus said in Revelation 1:8: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. We are Him (God) in the earth: (1st John 4:17) “As he is, so are we, in this world”!
In
Hebrew Lord is Yahweh (Yah-wey)!
·
Isaiah
42:8
says, “I AM the LORD
(Yahweh; Yeh-ho-vaw’) that is my name. I will not give my glory to another,
neither my praises to graven images.”
This
name became so sacred to the Hebrews they refused to say it out of fear of
mispronouncing it. When they spelled it
they would leave out the vowels spelling it Y.H.W.H just in case they
misspelled it! It’s
used 6,800 times in scripture three times more than “Elohim.”
Yahweh literally means “to be” or “to live.” He
is the self-Existent One, always
present and engaged. The only time the Hebrews would pronounce His name out loud
was on the Day of Atonement which was
once a year.
God
is telling Moses… “There was nothing before me. There will be
nothing after me. There is nothing beyond me. There is no greater power
(Omnipotent). There is nowhere I can’t be (Omnipresent). There is nothing I
can’t see (El-Roi). The I AM, IS ALL KNOWING (Omniscient).”
God
was saying to Moses, I was everything to your forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob…And I will be everything to you no matter what because “I AM THAT I AM.”
God
hasn’t changed. No matter who you are, or where He might find you today, He is
the all-knowing, all powerful, all present
one who wants to deliver us from any situation.
I AM
is here!!!
And
since I AM is here and in us - we are…..
I. STANDING
ON HOLY GROUND
It’s
Holy because of God’s Presence. “Where
two or three are gathered together in my name, I will be in your midst”
(Matthew 18:20).
Have
you ever been in the presence of someone famous, powerful and important?
Someone you really thought was amazing.
Let
me ask…“When was the last time your knees
buckled, you had goose bumps, or your heart pounded in the Presence of God?”
God
tells Moses in Exodus 3:5: “Don’t come
any closer until you take off your sandals…for the place where you are standing
is Holy Ground.”
Holiness belongs to God alone! It is His presence that makes it Holy and a place of worship.
I
wonder do we take off our spiritual sandals when we come to worship God.
Taking one’s sandals off
is a sign of reverence and respect. Taking off your sandals was like the old
custom of a man taking off his hat when entering a building or greeting a
lady. It was a token of respect. The
ground was holy because of God’s Presence. People were to approach God with
solemnity (suh-lem-ni-tee) and humility. Taking off their sandals expressed an inward reverence through an outward behavior in their worship.
When man approaches God in
worship he must take off or remove from his understanding all limited thoughts
of the Absolute…..”Put off thy shoes from
thy feet.”
So,
my challenge and your challenge is to prepare ourselves for real worship daily
as we walk in His Presence or
whenever we assemble as His people.
Another
thing about the “I AM”:
II.
SOME ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD WILL HAPPEN WHEN WE LEAST EXPECT THEM.
Exodus
3:1 tells us, “Moses was tending the
flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Median, and he led the flock
to the far side of the desert.”
Moses
is at work when he encounters the Presence of God and he’s not just at work,
but on the far side of the desert
called Horeb.
Horeb
means solitude. That is, we must go into the solitude within ourselves and lead our
flock of thoughts to the back side of
the wilderness, where dwells the Exalted One, the divine I AM, whose
kingdom is good or righteous in judgment.
There
we are in training for forty years, or until we arrive at a four-sided or balanced state of mind. It
is in this recognition of the power and presence of God that all our strength
and ability lie.
God
does not live in houses made by human hands (Acts 7:48). His Presence in our lives isn’t limited to
Sundays either, but it’s daily and continual!
Church is awesome because
we’re coming together to worship, remember, and celebrate our God which is so
essential. God’s Word says, “Don’t
forsake the assembling of the saints as some are in the habit of doing…but
encourage one another; and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Hebrew 10:25)
Church is the huddle that
prepares us for the game. It’s where we love and encourage others for the week
to come. God is certainly present as we meet at His table and hear His Word and
sing His praise. He’s the audience for our action.
But
God is “I AM.” He’s present in our lives
every day, even when we are in the far
side of the desert.
Let’s
look at some close encounters with God!!!
David
met God on the battlefield before Goliath (1st Samuel 17); Jacob
wrestled with God on a camp-out (Genesis 32:22-32); Abraham,
encountered God’s Presence during a sacrifice (Genesis 22); Elijah met God in fire on a
mountaintop (1st Kings 18) and in a still small voice when he was
depressed (1st Kings 19)].
I’m
sure some of you can go back down memory lane and just think of some situations
that you have been in and felt the Presence of God and you knew He was with you.
I’m
glad God is Omnipresent. If you don’t believe God is with you even on the far side of the desert, or aware daily
of your struggles, then don’t be surprised if you don’t experience His powerful
Presence.
But
I believe!!!
You
see, no matter where we are or what we’re going through we can ask, “God
are you near?” And His answer is “I AM.”
God are you with me at work or school? “I AM.”
God are you with me in the greatest times of
joy? “I AM.”
God are you with me when I walk through the
valley filled with shadows and death? “I
Am.”
I like this reminder from Romans 8
37 Nay, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For
I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come:
Let
me share one final truth today with you about the Great I AM.
III.
GOD EXPECTS US TO SPEAK UP FOR HIM.
Moses
was afraid people would not listen to him or believe him. Standing before the Holy burning Presence of
God…Moses says, “Please send someone
else.”
Here’s
what God says, EXODUS 4:10-13:
·
12 Now therefore go, and I will be with
thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
· 13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
God was
angry for Moses making excuses.
We
all feel like that at times, don’t we? I’m
scared, I’m not that eloquent, I’ll say something wrong, or they don’t want to
hear what I have to say. “God send someone else.”
God doesn’t call the eloquent, He calls the willing.
God doesn’t call the able, but He enables
the one He calls.
If
God can use an ass in the Old Testament (Numbers 22) to deliver His message to
Balaam, He can certainly use you and me.
Moses
walked back into his past life so he could rescue those in slavery. He brought
a message of freedom from the Most High God.
Moses brought the message and God provided the power.
Romans
10:14 tells us, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved, but how can they call on the One they have not believed in? How
can they believe in the One of whom they’ve not heard? And how shall they hear
without a preacher?” Vs 15: “And how shall they preach, except
they be sent?” “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good tidings.”
So,
people of God, let go of the little self and take hold of the big Self: “Not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42).
The
I AM of each individual, is the will in its highest aspect.
I AM is God’s name in man!
I
will close with:
·
Exodus 3:15: And God said moreover unto Moses, “Thus shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel (we today are God’s Israel [those that rule and have power with
God] – not the one in the Middle East), 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 (covenant
name) unto all
generations”! [Now and forever]!
I AM is Jehovah, the indwelling Christ, the
true spiritual man whom God made in His image and likeness. The outer,
manifested man is the offspring of I AM, or inner spiritual man.
By
use of I AM we link ourselves with the outer—or we make conscious union with
the Father, with Spirit, with abiding life, wisdom, love, peace, substance,
strength, power, Truth, the kingdom of the heavens within US.
Let Us Give God The Highest Praise!!!
Evangelist Jackie Burton