I AM WHO I AM: There is No Other
I AM WHO I
AM: There is No Other
Exodus
3:11-15
July 28,
2013
Introduction
It has been quite a week for the
royal family across the pond. Over last
weekend and into the early days of this week the question was when the royal
baby would be born and whether or not it would be a boy or a girl. I don’t’ know what the big deal was. I know the baby is now third in line for the
throne, but it just seemed silly to watch serious news anchors gush over the
royal birth. I rolled my eyes more than
once during the news coverage until I could no longer take it. Even after the prince was revealed, the world
waited – or at least some did - for the revelation of his name. Why all the fuss and the waiting. We had our kids named even before they were
born. Then again, neither of my kids was
destined to rule a nation.
Evidently, the naming of babies is
a big deal – at least in England. In a
story dated April 17, 2008, Rueters wrote:
British parents spend 30 million hours a year
picking the names of their newborn children, a survey showed…And choosing the
right name can be crucial -- if you want your child to get on in life. The survey by Abbey Banking showed that
parents agonize for up to 45 hours over the name of their child -- a combined
30 million hours annually in Britain. One
in three parents believed the right name can give a child confidence while up
to two million thought it could help their child's career prospects.
"There
is no doubt that children's names reflect people's aspirations and parents believe
names can affect career prospects," said Abbey Banking director Steve
Shore.
That may be true. The wrong name can certainly get you lots of
trouble. Remember the song by Johnny
Cash, “A Boy Named ‘Sue’?” And what about this poor little guy?
Proverbs 22:1 tells us: “A good name is more desirable than great
riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” A powerful name on your list of references
can land a job for you. A letter over
the right signature can get things done.
The right name will open doors.
Scripture – Exodus 3:11-15
That’s what Moses was seeking when
he was asked to lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt.
But
Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the
Israelites out of Egypt?”
And
God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I
who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will
worship God on this mountain.”
Moses
said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your
fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what
shall I tell them?”
God
said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites:
‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
God
also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your
fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me
to you.’
“This
is my name forever,
the name you shall call me
from generation to generation.
God is Self-Existent
Forty years prior to this incident,
Moses had fled Egypt into the desert, scorned by his own people as a murderer
and pseudo savior. Moses needed
credibility so that the people would listen to him. So God gave him his name. The founding fathers of Israel had all called
on the name of the Lord. But the
specific name that God gives to Moses at the burning bush had never been
revealed before in the biblical narrative.
I AM WHO I AM reflects the very nature of God.
Virtually every child, when they
become aware of the existence of God asks the question, “Where did God come
from?” It’s a fair question because we
all come from someone, from some place.
But it is this very point that distinguishes God from his creation. He has no beginning and he has no end. The heavenly hosts, in never-ending chorus
cries out, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is
to come!”
Because we ourselves are creatures,
it is nearly impossible for us to conceive of One without a beginning. But if God were to have a beginning, His
source would then be greater. Such an
idea is inconceivable. If God had a
source, he would then be subject to it and no longer sovereign and
supreme. Such a god would not be the God
of the Bible.
But Yahweh – the name that means I
AM WHO I AM - exists within Himself and is subject to no one and no thing. Because God is self-existent he is also
self-sufficient. God does not need
anything or anyone. He is not, nor can
he ever be, needy. Fanciful and romantic
notions that suggest, “There is a place in God’s heart that only you can fill”
are nonsense and have no relation to the God of the Bible. That God desires us is fantastic…and
true. But it flows from his love for us,
not his need for us.
Because God is self-existent, he is
also unchangeable. I’ll have more to say
about this in a couple of weeks. But a
God who is evolving and ever changing – like the god of the Mormons – is a god
of diminished glory. If God could
evolve, then it would mean that he is now less than perfect – a concept
completely foreign to the Scriptures.
Since before time began, He was perfect in his holiness. He remains the same, today and forever.
Made in His Image
‘All well and good,” you say, “but
what bearing does God’s name and his self-sufficiency have to do with me and my
problems today?” Everything. By understanding your Creator, you will begin
to understand yourself.
A philosopher once said, “Know then
thyself, presume not God to scan: The proper study of mankind is man.” He could not have been more wrong. While the study of man and of all creation is
a worthwhile endeavor, such a seeker will lie frustrated on his deathbed because
he will not understand the source of his own nature.
Man stands alone atop of all creation
as the only one made in the image of God.
The doctrine of us being made in the image of God (Imago Dei) is foundational to both the Jewish and Christian
faiths. I do not know if the earth is
millions of years old. Bible believers
differ in their opinion as to whether the earth was created in six twenty-four
hour periods or longer days. But the
biggest stumbling block to embracing the modern theory of evolution is that in
so doing, we forfeit the doctrine of being made in the image of God. We cannot give that ground.
The image of God is stamped deeply
in our souls and is manifested in countless ways in contrast to the animal
kingdom. While there are many social
animals, none have the capacity and complexity of human relationships. For example, sexuality is a necessary
phenomenon throughout the natural world.
Human sexuality, however, transcends mere mechanical reproduction and
forges spiritual and emotional bonds reaching to the depths of our souls. “And the two shall become one” is more than a
physical act.
But the realm in which God’s image
is perhaps the most evident is in our capacity to make a moral choice. Unlike any other of his creation, except
angels, God gave Adam and Eve the ability to choose between right and
wrong.
There’s a saying, “there are no bad
dogs; only bad dog-owners.” Though I
hate to admit it, it is true. (Where
does that put me?) My dog has no
capacity to make a choice between right and wrong. The “choices” she does make are a result of
her inbred instincts. If I want to
change her behavior, I have to appeal to those instincts. If I don’t want her to mess on the rug, for
example, I have to make it unpleasant for her to do so. If I want her to “come” when I call, I have
to make it pleasant for her to do that.
Usually that means bribing her with a treat. But she isn’t making a “choice” between right
and wrong. She’s just responding to a
stimulus to her instinct. And so it goes
throughout the animal kingdom.
But we are different. We are made in the image of God and given the
ability to exercise moral choice. And
beginning with Adam and Eve, we’ve all made the choice to be self-sufficient
apart from God. We, like Eve, have all
fallen for the Devil’s lie, “You will not surely die…you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.” We have asserted
our own selfhood against God’s eternal being.
The Kingdom of Self
The fallen nature of man has taken
upon himself the holy name of God, “I am who I am.” We laugh at Popeye who slobbers, “I yam what
I yam” but we all suffer from the same malady.
Popular culture has exalted this self-idolatry to a place of virtue. Self-worth and self-esteem are the highest
and most valued of personal qualities in our land. Professional athletes and performers leverage
self-worship into a profitable business practice. We don’t even notice that the worship of
ourselves is our own undoing.
Tozer offers this insightful
description of the essence of our deadly problem:
Sin has
many manifestations but its essence is one. A moral being, created to worship
before the throne of God, sits on the throne of his own selfhood and from that
elevated position declares, “I AM.” (Knowledge
of the Holy, p. 29-30)
The Gospel’s Demand
When the Gospel begins to resonate
in the heart of a man or a woman, their little self-centered universe is deeply
shaken. God is God and we are not. The Good News releases us from the burden of
propping up our pitiful little kingdoms and abdicating to the Lord of All. It is at that point – when we surrender our
lives and trust the great I AM for everything – we finally discover our destiny
as glorious creatures made in the image of God.
In what universe do you exist
today? Are you the sovereign of your own
little world, making all the choices and bearing all the responsibility for
your destiny? Are you finding real peace
and fulfillment in that? You never will
until you give up control of your life to the One who made you. Jesus said, “Come unto me, all of you who are
weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). It is when you allow God to be God that you
will finally discover the fullness of life that you are searching for.
Removing ourselves from the throne
of our universe and coming under God’s rule is a life-altering decision. But it is also a behavior – counter to our
selfish instincts – that must be learned and implemented over and over. Israel struggled to learn that God was indeed
God – and that he controlled their destiny and would take care of them. They wandered for forty years in the desert
trying to learn submission and obedience.
For four hundred years they had lived under the yoke of slavery in
Egypt. While they certainly had some
sense of God’s covenant with their fathers, they did not know him as I AM WHO I
AM. Through a forty-year long process,
they had to learn trust and obedience.
When they needed water in the desert, they panicked and whined about
going back to Egypt. When they grew
tired of the bread God was miraculously providing, they grumbled. So God gave them so much meat that they got
sick. When they blatantly disobeyed, God
disciplined them – sometimes severely.
Are we so different? We run short of money, so we panic and
whine. Has God ever failed to provide
for you? When something doesn’t go the
way we think it should, we get impatient and take matters into our own hands,
making it even worse. When we really
want something we connive and push good judgment aside to get what we’re
after.
We get back up on our puny little throne
and stake out our universe. And we’re
miserable.
A lot of you live in that unhappy
state. But you’re just stubborn enough
to stay there and maintain sovereignty in your own little world. There is only room for one sovereign in your
life. It’s either you…or God. This morning, God is ready to reassume
lordship, if you will let him. Why will
hang on to your anger, bitterness, and misery?
Let it go. Step off the throne
and let God be God.
Most of us don’t really have it
that bad. Most of us don’t wrestle with
questions that shatter our world. Some
of you do. Many people of faith have
experienced devastating disaster in their lives. In the depths of despair and deep
questioning, they found peace in letting God be God. The spouses of martyred missionaries to the
Auca Indians of South America experienced that.
The film, “The End of the Spear” tells the story of the aftermath of the
murder of five men who were attempting to reach a remote tribe of Indians in
Ecuador in 1956. The little film clip
that I want to show here features the tribe fifty years later after they have
responded to the Gospel. The singer,
Steven Curtis Chapman, also experienced horrendous tragedy when their teenage
son backed the car over his five-year old daughter and killed her. The song he sings is no mere
performance. It is his life experience
that we can learn from as well.
Song of Response – “You Are God
Alone”
Benediction
To him who is able to keep you from
stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and
with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and
authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!
Amen.
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