The Power of Presence

Mes(20)29Jul2018

SCRIPTURE READING:

Exodus 3:11-14 NKJV
(11) But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh,
and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
(12) So He said, “I will certainly be with you.
And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you:
When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
(13) Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me,
‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”
(14) And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”
And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

TEXT VERSE:

Exodus 3:14 MSG
God said to Moses, “I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, ‘I-AM sent me to you.'”

Exodus 3:14 ANV
Toe sê God vir Moses: “Ek is wat Ek is. Jy moet vir die Israeliete sê:
‘Ek is’ het my na julle toe gestuur.”

INTRODUCTION:

There is a lot of power in two very small words. The words ‘I am’. This is the power of presence. A lot of times we use the power of ‘I am’ against us. The principle: What follows the ‘I am’, will always come looking for you. You gave the legal right for it to do so. If you say: ‘I am so poor’, poverty comes looking for you. If you say: ‘I am so old’, wrinkles come looking for you! ‘I am afraid’, fear comes looking for you.’ I am tired and warn out’ fatigue comes looking for you. Whatever you follow the ‘I am’ with, you are inviting it into your life. You give it permission to be in your life. You open the door for it to come in. Whatever follows the ‘I am’s’ in your life is your choice. When you say: ‘I am blessed’, blessings come looking for you. You may not feel very good but when you say ‘I am healed’, healing comes looking for you! ‘I am strong’ strength comes looking for you. You are inviting that into your life. Be careful what follows the ‘I am’. If you say: ‘I am not good enough’ you will not be good enough. If you say ‘I am a failure’, you will be a failure. Don’t invite the lies of the devil into your life. Invite the truth of God into your life. Invite good things into your life when you get up in the morning: I am blessed, I am healthy, I am wealthy, I am disciplined, I am strong, and I am able.

THE GREAT I AM:

Let us look at what God said. God said ‘I am’ – the great I am. God said to Moses in:

Exodus 3:9 NKJV
Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me,
and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

I think that Moses was overwhelmed:
He jumped up and down and shouted:
“Yes God go for it, give those Egyptians a hiding!”
And what did God answer?

Exodus 3:10 NKJV
Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people,
the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

“Me! But God we’ve got a problem you know.
My picture is still up at the post office “Wanted dead or alive” wanted for murder.”

Exodus 3:11 NKJV
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh,
and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

Exodus 3:11 NKJV
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”
And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

I am
“I am sent you” original text: “I am Him sent”
If you are looking for God, I am Him sent!

Who gave you the authority Moses, who gave you the mandate?
God did. I am Him sent!
I am here with a God given purpose!

The world will not see you, they will see God. They will not hear you they will hear God.
They will not experience you, they will experience God!
They will hear “I am Him sent!”

Ask the one next to you: “Do you want to see God?” “Look at Him!”
Do you want to see God raise a building, watch me!
Do you want to see God build His church, watch me!
Do you want to see God save the Vaal Triangle, watch me!
Do you want to see God save this nation, watch me!

I am Him sent; I am on a mission.

1Corinthians 3:16 MSG
You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you?

We’re just like God! We’ll have the radiance, and the fullness of His glory. He is living in us. His Spirit, the Holy Spirit is in us. You have God living in you. The wonderful thing is that we are New Testament believers. We are born again!
That means that ‘God is with us’ Emmanuel!

2 Corinthians 3:9 NIV
If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious,
how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!

It is time for us, the church to realize that God is with us! The great I am is with us!
We can compare our situation with what we read in Psalm 82:1

Psalm 82:1 NKJV
God stands in the congregation of the mighty;
He judges among the gods.

Who are the mighty?
We are!
Let me use the Hebrew words for ‘God’ and ‘mighty’.
‘Elohim’ stands in the congregation of ‘El’
‘Elohim’ is Strong’s word 430: It means God in His fullness, All powerful creator.
So God Almighty stands in the assembly of the mighty! We are the mighty!
God stands in our midst! He reveals His glory, His presence in our midst when we,
the churches come together and worship Him in spirit and in truth!

Colossians 1:27 NLT
For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ
are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you.
This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

Psalm 46:10 NKJV
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

Jesus:

The Pharisees asked Jesus: “Who do you think you are?”
We read in:

John 8:57-59 NKJV
(57) Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old,
and have You seen Abraham?”
(58) Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
(59) Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

The violent response of the Jews to Jesus’ “I AM” statement indicates they clearly understood what He was declaring—that He was the eternal God incarnate.
Jesus was equating Himself with the “I AM” title God gave Himself in Exodus 3:14.

If Jesus had merely wanted to say He existed before Abraham’s time, He would have said, “Before Abraham, I was.” The Greek words translated “was,” in the case of Abraham, and “am,” in the case of Jesus, are quite different. The words chosen by the Spirit make it clear that Abraham was “brought into being,” but Jesus existed eternally

John 1:1 NLT
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

There is no doubt that the Jews understood what He was saying because they took up stones to kill Him for making Himself equal with God. Such a statement, if not true, was blasphemy and the punishment prescribed by the Mosaic Law was death But Jesus committed no blasphemy; He was and is God, the second Person of the Godhead, equal to the Father in every way.

YOUR IDENTITY:

Who are you?
Are you not sure who you really are?
It is time to say who you are. You are what God says you are in His Word.
Confess with me who we are:

I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5).
I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me (Isaiah 54:14).
I am holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:16).
I am God’s child for I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God,
which lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23).
I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ unto good works (Ephesians 2:10).
I am a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
I am a believer, and the light of the Gospel shines in my mind (2 Corinthians 4:4).
I am a doer of the Word and blessed in my actions (James 1:22,25).
I am a joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).
I am more than a conqueror through Him Who loves me (Romans 8:37).
I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony
(Revelation 12:11).
I am a partaker of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4).
I am an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).
I am part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a purchased people (1 Peter 2:9).
I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit; I am not my own (1 Corinthians 6:19).
I am the head and not the tail; I am above only and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13).
I am the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).
I am His elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility
and long suffering (Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12).
I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the Blood (Ephesians 1:7).
I am delivered from the power of darkness
and translated into God’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
I am redeemed from the curse of sin, sickness,
and poverty (Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Galatians 3:13).
I am firmly rooted, built up, established in my faith
and overflowing with gratitude (Colossians 2:7).
I am called of God to be the voice of His praise (Psalm 66:8; 2 Timothy 1:9).
I am healed by the stripes of Jesus (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).
I am raised up with Christ
and seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12).
I am greatly loved by God (Romans 1:7; Ephesians 2:4; Colossians 3:12;
1 Thessalonians 1:4).
I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power (Colossians 1:11).
I am submitted to God, and the devil flees from me because I resist him in the Name of Jesus (James 4:7).

CONCLUSION:

God created you for a purpose. You won’t be able to accomplish it in your own strength, but like God did with Moses, He offers you His power. The next time doubt creeps into your mind or you feel powerless, remember that the I AM has given you this task, and He is mighty enough to accomplish it through you. God offers you His power. ‘I am’ is with you. The power of presence. God is present within you.