"I am Who I Am"
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Attributes of God Series: Exodus 3:13-15

Introduction: One of the questions in life from so many people is: Who is God? Some ask because they do not believe. Others want to know because they want to understand this God in whom they trust. They want to know because along with faith, there needs to be some understanding. Even more, they want to know that God is truly the One in whom they can put their trust. So this morning we start a new series on the “Attributes of God.” Over the next few weeks we will be talking about how God is unchanging and provides for our needs, how God is almighty and all-powerful, how God is all-knowing and over all things, how God is holy and good. I believe that when we get to the end of this series, we will have a better understanding of who God is, and why it makes sense to put our trust in Him. This is important because we are seeing God and Christians being attacked by the world all the more! We need to make sure we know exactly who God is so that we will not be led astray.

I.                   The Greatness of God- (Exodus 2:11-12, 3:1-15)

a.      Moses- Moses is a lot like you and me. At first glance it might not

seem to be this way, but this is true on many accounts. Even though Moses grew up in the palace of the Pharaoh, and even though Moses had most everything that he could want, and even though Moses had the best training and teaching, in the end he knew that he didn’t belong in the palace. In the end, Moses knew that he was a Hebrew, and it pained him to see his people struggle.

            In the book of Exodus, we read about how Moses would look out and see his people doing their hard labor. He saw how the Egyptians treated his people so poorly. And in time, this began to wear on him. Moses had nowhere to take this burden, and he let it build up inside of him. So much so, that it finally just exploded. Just like you and me, if we let our frustration build up, it will come out in unhealthy ways. It didn’t seem to Moses that God was doing anything to help his people, and so one day he took it upon himself.

We read about this in Exodus 2:11-12, “One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” Because of this, Moses had to flee to the desert, where he spent many years. Moses didn’t realize that this time in the desert was actually preparing him for what God had for him to do. But before Moses could agree to do it, Moses had to learn who God was.

b.      Moses meets God- So as we come to Exodus, chapter 3, Moses gets

the opportunity to meet God. This is probably an experience many of us would want to have. Especially those who struggle to believe because they can’t see God or experience God in a visible way. Moses gets the opportunity to do this.

            Now think about this for a moment, God was going to ask Moses to go back to Egypt, to confront the Pharaoh, and to free the Hebrews from their slavery. But Moses was a murderer, and a deserter. To go back could mean possible death. To go back and challenge the Pharaoh could very well be suicide. Why would Moses ever agree to do this? Moses didn’t want to do this at first. God had to help Moses understand that God was on his side. God wanted Moses to understand about God’s greatness and authority. God wanted Moses to understand that he wasn’t going alone, but on behalf of God, and with God’s authority and power fully behind him.

            So God and Moses get into a discussion. God assures Moses that He has seen the suffering of His people. God assures Moses that He plans to do something about it. Then comes the kicker in verse 10: “God says, ‘So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt’.” I could imagine Moses saying: “Come again? I don’t think I heard you right God. (laughing) I thought I heard you say that you were going to send me to free the Israelites.” Actually, the way Moses really said it was like this: (verse 11)- “But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh…?’” I’m sure this is the way you and I would respond too. Who am I to go and do this?

            This next part is where God helps Moses understand who God is: (verse 12)- “God said, ‘I will be with you;…’” That’s it. God says, ‘I will be with you.’ God thinks that this should be enough for Moses, because God knows who He is, and what it means for God to be with Moses in this. But it isn’t enough for Moses. Moses presses on, implying that the people will want to know God’s name. In other words, they will want to know God’s credentials. SO, God responds in verse 14, “I AM WHO I AM.” That is God’s name; I AM WHO I AM. Again, not much for Moses.

            Now on the surface, this name might not mean that much. But we need to understand that this name means that God is self-existent; He has no dependence on any one or any thing else. As self-existent, He is also self-sufficient, and therefore all-sufficient. I AM WHO I AM also refers to His eternal being. He is the One who was in the beginning, who is now, and who will be for all eternity. He is the One who is truly great. From Him all things have come forth, and in Him all things find their meaning. To understand that God is “I AM,” is to understand that the creator Himself is with you!

We know the rest of the story, God is there with Moses. God does show His power, and authority, and greatness. And God, through Moses, frees the people.

II.                The God Who Provides- (Genesis 2:15-22; Exodus 17:1-7;

Matthew 6:25-32)

But another important attribute is how God provides for His people.

This is seen from the beginning of time. A popular belief about God is that He created the world, started it in motion, and now sits back just letting things happen as they happen. But this isn’t even close to the truth. The Bible shows us time and time again that God is a God who cares about us, and provides for us.

a.      Adam- We see in the beginning of the Bible, that God creates

Adam. But God sees that this isn’t enough. Let’s hear the scriptures tell it for us:

Genesis 2:15-22, “15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." 18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." 19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.”

            God provided the earth and all that was in it; but that wasn’t enough. So God provided the animals; but that wasn’t enough. So God provided Eve, so that Adam and Eve would be partners, and have each other. In marriage God designed for men and women to partner together and complement each other!

b.      Water in the desert- As we go back to the story of Moses, we see

that the Israelites are saved from slavery, and they go out into the desert. God knows that the people need some time to prepare themselves so that they can be independent, and govern themselves, and protect themselves from others. But the people grumble against God, not thinking that God is really caring for them.

            And yet, time and time again, when the people grumble, God responds and provides for them. One such instance is in Exodus 17:1-7, “The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?" ³ But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?" ⁴ Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me." ⁵ The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶ I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷ And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?” We see here God providing for His people.

c.       Don’t worry- But there is another important passage that helps us

to understand that God is a God who provides. This passage is in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 6:25-32, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?  ²⁸"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these…³¹So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?’… your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

            God knows our needs. God cares about our needs. God provides for our needs. The God who created us, and said we are “good” is not going to leave us wanting. This God is the One we can trust to care for us and provide for us; guaranteed!

III.             The God Who is Almighty- (2 Samuel 7:18-20)

The last attribute of God I want to talk about this morning is the attribute of

God being almighty. The Hebrew word for this is “El-Shaddai.” This word was made popular by Amy Grant with her song of the same name. I want to play for you a portion of this song for you now….  El shaddai, el shaddai, El-elyon na adonia, Age to age you’re still the same, By the power of the name. El shaddai, el shaddai, Erkamka na adonai, We will praise and lift you high, El shaddai…Through your love and through the ram, You saved the son of Abraham; Through the power of your hand, Turned the sea into dry land. To the outcast on her knees, You were the God who really sees, And by your might, You set your children free….El shaddai, el shaddai, El-elyon na adonia, Age to age you’re still the same, By the power of the name. El shaddai, el shaddai, Erkamka na adonai, We will praise and lift you high, El shaddai. /God as almighty is never ending (As Amy Grant said: “age to age”), God as almighty saved Isaac by providing the ram to be sacrificed. God as almighty exhibited His power by turning the sea into dry land and by setting His children free.

In 2 Samuel 7:18-20 we read, “Then Kind David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in Your sight, O Sovereign Lord, You have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord. What more can David say to you? For you know Your servant, O Sovereign Lord.” /  Here we see the great King David humbling himself before God, acknowledging how God is the Almighty, above all. Here we see David recognizing that God has given him all that he has, and led him to place where he is now.

Time and time again in the Bible we see God referred to as almighty; we see that acts of God as almighty!

Conclusion: Who is God? God is great. We see His greatness exhibited in how He freed His people from slavery, how He frees His people from their sins, and how He continues to free You and me when we seek Him. God is also the One who provides for His people. I gave you only a few examples of this, but the Bible is full of examples of God continually being there for His people, hearing their cry, and caring for their needs. God is also the almighty God; the el-shaddai. There is none other that is greater; there is none other who has more authority; there is none other who can be counted on more.

            Today we barely touched the surface of who God is. And yet, with the little we did cover, I believe it gives us a wonderful glimpse of the wonderful God we believe in and worship. As you leave here today, I encourage you to take one aspect of today’s sermon, and find someone to share it with. By doing this, you will remember it more, and you will bless someone else, and hopefully draw them closer to God. You will help them to see God as great, the One who provides, and the Almighty God! Let us give praise to our God this day. Amen.

"You Have At Least One Friend"
John 15:9-17
Sunday, August 26, 2012

Introduction: When it comes to friends I feel like I have been very blessed. I have many who I would call “good friends”. I have friends whom I have reconnected with after 25 years. I have a friend who has been my friend for over 30 years! It is good to have people in your life that you can consider your friend.

            This morning I want to talk about friendships. I want us to think about what makes a good friend, how do you deal with struggles in your friendships, and what should be important to you in your friendships.

A good friendship is a relationship that is characterized by enjoyment, acceptance, and genuine mutual concern. So let’s think about some facts regarding friendships.

I.                   Facts About Friendship- (John 15:9-17)

a.      Chemistry- Fact 1: Have you ever noticed that friendship is a

chemistry thing? When you develop a friendship, it is usually because you have some part of your life in common with that other person. Even more, there is something about that other person that you connect with. You are comfortable in their presence and enjoy being with them.

            I think about the people that I have become friends with, and it is always because I have a connection with them in regards to sports, or God, or something that we both like to do. When I think of my friend of 30 years, Dean, I remember back when we first met. We became friends first of all because we were both going to the College Group at our church, but even more because we shared an interest in racquetball. Once we started playing together we enjoyed each other’s company and started to hang out more often. At this point it grew into a deeper friendship.

b.      Other people cannot fix your friend problems- Fact 2: You will have

problems from time to time in your friendships. Any good friendship will have some kind of conflict. However, a second fact is that other people cannot fix your friend problems!

            As a minister there have been many times when people come to talk to me about their “friend” problems. Often times, if I know the other person, they want me to talk to that person for them, hoping that I can resolve their conflict. However, to fix your friend problems you and the other person must come together to talk it out. Only through good communication, and a willingness to forgive and move on, can our conflicts be managed well.

c.      Enjoyment alone creates very shallow friendships- Fact 3: enjoyment

alone in a friendship creates a very shallow friendship. Meaning, that if you or the other person are only friends because of the fun you like to have together, your friendship will never grow deep. You have probably heard of a fair weathered friend? That is a friend who is only in the relationship for what you can do for them. Maybe you have a car, and they like you because you drive them places. Or, maybe you have connections that help them.

            The questions you might want to ask is this: Will this person be there for me in times of trouble? Can I call on them if I have a need? If not, then you know that this person is more of an acquaintance than a friend. That doesn’t mean they can’t become a good friend, but they aren’t right now.

d.      Acceptance can be bad or good- Fact 4: Acceptance can be bad or

good. What I mean by this is that we want a friend who accepts us, and who we accept, and that can be a good thing in friendships. But sometimes there are things in their lives that we shouldn’t accept, or things in our lives that they shouldn’t accept. Tolerance is a popular word in our culture now. But God doesn’t want us to be tolerant of everything. There are some things that are wrong, and we should speak against them.

            For a friendship to be meaningful and deep, there must be accountability.

EX. I remember a time when I was in high school, and I was at this music camp. For whatever reason, I became pretty popular at the camp. This popularity started to go to my head and change my behavior. I remember this good friend I had, Peter, came up to me one day and said: “Chris, I don’t like who you have become. You are stuck up. If you keep acting this way I won’t hang around you anymore!”

            Wow! Peter told it to me straight. At first I was mad at him and didn’t talk to him. But as I thought about what he said I realized that he was right. I was not a person people wanted to be with anymore. So I decided to change. I am glad that Peter, as a friend, was willing to tell me the truth. We need accountability in our lives for when we do things wrong or misbehave.

e.      God wants us to start with His standard- Fact 5: When we become a

Christian, we need to take on a new standard; God’s. The Bible is clear that we become new creations, and need to take on the lifestyle and beliefs of Jesus Christ. This is to be our standard. It should affect how we think, live, and relate to others.

            You and I are godly only when God is alive in us! Our friendships need to be filtered through God’s word and God’s will. This might mean that some of the people who we were friends with before we were Christians won’t be the same kind of friends with us after we are Christians. It is difficult to be good friends with non-believers, because their beliefs and behavior are often not in line with God’s word.

            This goes back to the whole tolerance idea as well. When we become Christians, it should lead us to a lifestyle change. It should also lead us to talk to our friends about Jesus Christ and the change He can make in their lives. If and when we see them not living as Christ would have them to live, we should talk to them about it, not just accept that this is how they will behave. We should lift up God’s standard in our own lives, and encourage God’s standard in the lives of others.

f.       Friends influence the quality and direction of our lives- Fact 6: We

need to understand that those who we consider friends will influence the quality and direction of our lives. If we want to live godly lives, then we need godly people as our friends. We want people in our lives that will direct us to God and godly living!

            EX. Think about what happened when Jesus came into the lives of the disciples. He called them away from their jobs to learn how to be godly. He called them from the careers they had, to become preachers of God’s word. He challenged them in how they thought and how they lived.

            In John chapter 15, Jesus talked about how He considered the disciples to be His friends. In verses 10 and 14 Jesus talked about what He expected of them: “When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in His love…You are my friends if you do what I command.” To be Jesus’ friend meant that they had to live a different life, a life that followed the teachings and commands of Jesus!

II.                God’s Ideal Friendship- (John 15:11, 22:15-19; Psalm 16:11; Romans 5:8)

God does have an ideal for what makes a good friendship; for what makes a lasting friendship; for what makes a life-changing friendship. First of all when we live in this ideal, we will be filled with joy.

a.      Filled with joy- I don’t know about you, but I have had friendships

that have brought me joy, and others that have brought me heartache. Jesus wanted His disciples, and wants us, to have friendships that bring us joy. That is why Jesus said in John 15:11, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow.” Doesn’t that sound great?

            So, what has Jesus told them? Think back to our John 15:9-17 reading: Jesus talks about remaining in God’s love, following the commandments, loving others as Jesus has loved you, laying down your life for another, and producing lasting fruit.

            If you were to think of the friendships that you have, do they help you to remain in God’s love, or do they pull you away from God? Do your friends follow God’s commands and encourage you to do the same? Are your friendships helping you to produce fruit for the kingdom of God? When you have friendships like this, you will see all these things come about, and you will be filled with joy.

b.      Acceptance- Next, we live in the ideal of acceptance. What makes

Jesus such a great friend, and a great example of how a friend should be, is that Jesus accepts us even in our sin. Romans 5:8 tells us: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ didn’t tell us that we had to change before He would die for us. He knew we had sin, and chose to die for us anyway.

            However, even though God accepts us as sinners, He doesn’t want us to stay in that lifestyle. He knows that there is so much more that we can do and become. When we are lost in sin, we are held back. So in the midst of the acceptance, there is challenge. In John chapter 21, when Jesus comes to Peter, He shows Peter that He still loves him, even though Peter denied Jesus three times in Jesus’ darkest hour. Three times Jesus asks Peter if Peter loves Him. Peter says yes all three times. In this Jesus was telling Peter that He still accepted him. But then Jesus tells Peter to go and feed His sheep. In other words, grow from your mistakes and learn how to live for God all the more!

A good friend will not stop loving us because we do wrong, but a good friend will also challenge us to rise above our mistakes.

c.      Genuine and mutual concern- The third ideal is having a genuine and

mutual concern for your friend. Remember how I told you about a fair weathered friend? To be a good friend means that you are not in the friendship for what they can do for you, but rather for what you can do for them. Now hopefully the feeling and effort is mutual, and you receive back from your friend. But of first importance is what are your motivations for being a friend to this other person!

            As a pastor I have had people who have pretended to be my friend hoping that they can get something from me. Maybe they want money from the church. Maybe they want some kind of role in the church. Maybe they think that being my friend will get them extra special blessings from God. Whatever it is, they are not true to me in the friendship.

            To have genuine concern for another person means you care about who they are, and what is going on in their life. You take time to get to know them. You are there for them if they have a need. And a good friendship will have mutuality. Meaning that the other person is genuinely concerned about you and what is going on in your life. They will want to be there for you in the good times and the bad. They will show that they care by making time for you.

III.             What Good Friendships Look Like- (Luke 6:37)

Let’s now put this all together and look at what good friendships should look like. In this section I will do some summarizing, hopefully driving the points home that I have already made, but I will also add a little more to them.

a.      Your interest- First you will be more interested in the other person

than you are in the friendship itself. This might sound obvious, but often times this is not how friendships are lived out.

            What does this mean to care more about the person than the friendship? It means that you want to make your friend a better person, and you want them to make you a better person. Now this is tricky, because the truth is we can’t change anyone, we can only change ourselves. Along with this, we don’t want to make them feel like they are defective.

          Let’s go back to my friendship with Peter. Peter wanted me to change because my behavior had gone awry. He did this by telling me that if I didn’t change, he wasn’t going to hang out with me anymore. This might have been a little extreme, but it was effective in this situation. He didn’t try and change me, he challenged me to change myself. He forced me to look at myself and who I was becoming. Once I looked deep at who I had become, I had a choice, I could continue in my behavior, or seek to stop being conceited and stuck up. I could continue to act like I was better than other people, or I could start being concerned about others again.

b.      Tell the truth- This then leads us to being people who are willing to

tell the truth. Again, this can be tricky if you don’t do it right. There are certain things that have to be handled with care.

EX. Like the GEICO commercial that asks: could switching to GEICO really save you 15% or more on car insurance? Was Abe Lincoln honest? Then they show Mary Todd Lincoln asking Abraham Lincoln, ‘Does this dress make my backside look big?’ Abraham Lincoln hesitates for a minute and then says, “Well…” At this Mary Todd Lincoln storms off!

            Part of being able to be honest with our friends is establishing first that you genuinely care. If they know you care, then they will be more willing to hear the truth from you. The truth is that not all outfits look good on us. So if I tell Tami that she looks better in one outfit than in another, she doesn’t take offense by it.

            When you keep people accountable, there might be times when they don’t like you for a while. This is because we have lost the importance of allowing ourselves to be held accountable. We live in a world that no longer lives in moral absolutes; in the truth that there is a right way to live and a wrong way to live. Deep, meaningful relationships will allow room for accountability!

c.      Acceptance without judgment- Lastly, we need to accept people

without judgment. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that you approve of everything someone does, if they are doing wrong. I am just saying that we are not to judge. This is because we are not called to be judges of others. God has made it clear that He is the judge!

            So you make sure that your friends know that you love them. You make sure that they understand that you will be unconditional in your love. But you also make it clear that you do not condone sinful behavior. You love them through their sin. And as the friendship grows, and becomes genuine, then they will accept the challenges you bring to their lives.

            This happens in a marriage all the time. I tend to be a little more the disciplinarian in our family, and sometimes I react in ways that are not the best. Tami will call me on this. I need to accept this from her not as a judgment against me, but as a reminder of where I have fallen short. Likewise, sometimes I need to challenge Tami in not being so lenient, and she will accept this from me as well!

As Jesus said in Luke 6:37, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

            Acceptance without judgment. Loving others with challenge.

Conclusion: Our friendships are one of the most important aspects of our lives. The friends we have will lead us to be stronger in our Christian faith, or pull us away from God. Know who you are in Christ. Know that Christ has called you to remain in God’s love, follow the commandments, love others as Jesus has loves you, lay down your life for another, and produce lasting fruit.

            Let all of this be your filter through which you test your friendships. If they fall short at all, seek God in how you can make them deeper and more founded on the Lord. And if you don’t have that many deep Christian friendships, know that in Christ you have at least one friend. If you commit yourself to Christ, and pray for godly friends, the Lord will bring them to you! Amen.