I Am

Jesus claims to be everything that your heart is longing for.

John 8:28  So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I AM He. I do nothing on My own but say only what the Father taught Me.

John 10:30-33  The Father and I are one."  31  Once again the people picked up stones to kill Him.  32  Jesus said, "At My Father's direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone Me?"  33  They replied, "We're stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God."

John 18:4-6  Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to Him, so He stepped forward to meet them. "Who are you looking for?" He asked.  5  "Jesus the Nazarene," they replied. "I AM He," Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed Him, was standing with them.)  6  As Jesus said "I AM He," they all drew back and fell to the ground!

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If your opinion of Jesus is that he is a good man and nothing more then you probably have not checked out the Bible for yourself. The Bible is crystal clear that Jesus is not just a mere man.

Jesus told us clearly who he is, in my study of the "I Am" statements made by Jesus it has became more clear to me than ever before, Jesus wasn't trying to hide his identity or his mission for being with us.
 

In all of the "I Am' statements Jesus is claiming to be everything that we have ever needed and everything that we will need for this world and for all of eternity. What an incredible thought, that the one that knows me, loves me and provides so abundantly for me!

You can have all this world just "Give Me Jesus!" I love that song, it sums it all up for me, while the world is begging me to find what I need in a thousand other places, I know that there is only one place to get it all.

I Am The Way, The Truth And The Life Jesus answers important questions that have eternal consequences. I Am The Gate There is only one way to get to the safe place of rest that God offers his sheep. I Am The Vine God planted a new vine and he tends to it so it will be fruitful. Light Of The World The Bible proves that Jesus is the light that we need. I Am The Good Shepherd Jesus provides outstanding care and protection for his sheep. I Am The Resurrection Jesus predicted the events surrounding his death to make it obvious that he is the promised Messiah. I Am The Real Bread Jesus came to satisfy our soul not our body.

RELATED ARTICLES

The 'I Ams' of Jesus (billygraham.org)

Who Do You Think That I Am? (gty.org)

Worship The Redeemer

Sooner or later we are all going to do it.

Revelation 5:9-14 And they sang a new song with these words: "You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For You were slaughtered, and Your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 And You have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth."

11 Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. 12 And they sang in a mighty chorus: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered--to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing."

13 And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: "Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever." 14 And the four living beings said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb.

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When Jesus called for John to visit Heaven the entire population of Heaven is worshiping the creator (Revelation 4:1-11) until the worship music suddenly stops. The abrupt silence came as God presents his scroll that has been protected with seven seals. (Revelation 5:1)

There must have been great anticipation as they all pondered the contents of God's book that were known only to him. He was ready to reveal the mysteries contained in his book but it seemed like nobody could possibly meet the qualifications to take such a book from his right hand. (Matthew 13:11)

A "strong angel" knew that he wasn't even qualified as he called out "Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?" John was grieved that there seemed to be no way to learn about the contents of God's book. Would we ever know more? (Daniel 12:8-9)

John can stop crying because the all knowing and all powerful Lion has been revealed and he has the right to reveal the contents of God's sealed book because of his submissive and sacrificial death as the Lamb of God. (Matthew 28:18)

The Gospels reveal the Lamb of God to us who came in meekness to be judged as our Savior and the provider of God's grace. God's love story for us continues in the Book of Revelation as it reveals to us the promised Lion who will came in majesty to be the judge that will govern and carry out the return of God's kingdom. (Genesis 49:9-10, Matthew 6:10)

Why did they have to look around for Jesus? In this scene Jesus isn't at God's right hand, the church is in Heaven so there isn't any reason for him to be there in that location interceding for us, Jesus isn't seen until he steps up to take the scroll from God's right hand. (Hebrews 10:12)

As Jesus steps up all of the inhabitants of Heaven break out into song, their song explains why Jesus is the only one that is qualified to take God's scroll. Because he submitted himself as our substitute and died for our sins he is worthy of all praise and honor.

Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

When we get to Heaven we will finally see the infinite worth of Jesus and the natural reaction will be unhindered, spontaneous praise without anything getting in the way. When we meet him face to face we will know him fully and we won't have our carnal man getting in the way of the worship he deserves.

That's His favorite song of all, Is the song of the redeemed
When lost sinners now made clean, Lift their voices loud and strong
When those purchased by His blood, Lift to Him a song of love
There's nothin' more He'd rather hear, Nor so pleasin' to His ear
As His favorite song of all
- Phillips, Craig & Dean "Favorite Song Of All"

Since we are all going to bow the only question is when. Will you choose to practice worshiping now or wait and do it when it is too late? If we bow before Him now we will receive salvation but if you wait to bow before Him at the final judgment then condemnation is your eternal destiny.

The Living One

The "Living One" gave me life so that I can give it back to him.

Revelation 1:17-18 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead. But He laid His right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the living One. I died, but look--I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

John 1:1-4 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone.

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We live in an age that is consumed with avoiding the inevitable fact that we will all stop living someday. We look for better ways to eat and exercise and we look to advances in medical technology to help keep us alive longer.

Still we are not the master of our destiny and we cannot change the fact that we are going to stop living in this world. It is really an unnecessary worry because living eternally is what we are all going to do. The only thing that you need to be concerned with is where you will be for all of that time.

The "Living One" is the reason I should not be afraid

The main story of the Bible that you need to understand is that Jesus has made it possible to change your eternal destination. The work of the "Living One" on the cross has made it possible to spend eternity with him if you accept the free gift.

Jesus is the source of all life, he can take it or give it, the Bible has plenty of examples of Jesus giving physical life back to people that have died. Remember The widow of Nain’s son, Jairus’ daughter and Jesus' dear friend Lazarus. (Luke 7:11–17, 8:52–56, John 11)

John 5:24, 26 I tell you the truth, those who listen to My message and believe in God who sent Me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. 26 The Father has life in Himself, and He has granted that same life-giving power to His Son.

Have you listened to Jesus message? Have you honestly checked out who he is for yourself? He has the power to give life in this temporary existence and he can also give you an eternity with him in the place he is preparing.

The "Living One" is the High Priest that I desperately needed.

The law of God that was passed down to the Jews through Moses stated that a substitute sacrifice had to be given in your place so that you didn't have to die for your sins. In order to be made right with God you had to go to the high priest and follow the steps that the law of God required.

Hebrews 7:16, 23-25 Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. 23 There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. 24 But because Jesus lives forever, His priesthood lasts forever. 25 Therefore He is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.

Jesus is my high priest and he has declared me righteous! But before he became my perfect high priest he was the perfect sacrifice for my sins. The old system of sacrifices is gone because the perfect sacrifice is the final sacrifice and the new high priest is the "Living One" that will never die.

The "Living One" is the one I live for

Romans 14:7-9 For we don't live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it's to honor the Lord. And if we die, it's to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose--to be Lord both of the living and of the dead. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 Either way, Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Before I accepted the great sacrifice that was given for my sins, it didn't matter how I lived, I could not do anything to change my eternal destination so it was up to me to enjoy this life while it lasted.

But now that I have been bought out of the slavery to sin, I don't belong to myself anymore, a high price was paid to give me eternal life, the one that purchased my freedom deserves to be Lord and ruler of my life.

I don't live under the restraints of the old law and I do not obey it to please the people around me. The Pharisees are not around anymore checking out my behavior to see how spiritual I am. Well they are not supposed to be but there may still be a few of them around.

My motivation to live a holy life that sacrifices self and glorifies God is out of love and gratitude for what the "Living One" has done for me. (Romans 7:4-6)

Who Is Jesus? Here Is Some Proof

The most important fact that you need to believe.

John 5:17-23  But Jesus replied, "My Father is always working, and so am I."  18  So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill Him. For He not only broke the Sabbath, He called God His Father, thereby making Himself equal with God.

19  So Jesus explained, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself. He does only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.  20  For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing. In fact, the Father will show Him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished.

21  For just as the Father gives life to those He raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone He wants.

22  In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, He has given the Son absolute authority to judge,  23  so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent Him.

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In the previous post Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath, the man that was healed would like to think that the miracle was all about him and about making his body whole but the healing was probably more of a setup for Jesus to have a conversation with the religious leaders.

Jesus didn't stir things up for no reason, he wanted to speak directly to their greatest sin, he wanted to show them that their abuse of the Sabbath day rules was not pleasing to God. If they are going to get right with God, who they think they are serving, they need to look at the greatest sin in their life.

Healing this man on the Sabbath is only the beginning, Jesus next statement really stirs things up, the next thing that Jesus says is outrageous:

"My Father is always working, and so am I."

These words made them furious, the religious leaders are not willing to acknowledge that healing the man at the pool was proof of who Jesus is and now they are convinced that Jesus is blasphemous.

God and Jesus are always working.

Since the beginning of Jesus' ministry we have seen him at work through circumstances, we have seen him create the right circumstances to force a confrontation, each of these moments gave Him the opportunity to reveal himself to them. Jesus didn't refrain from telling the truth because it would make his life more difficult.

Basically Jesus said to them, "I did something good on the sabbath, something that God would do." So if you have a problem with what Jesus did then you have a problem with God.

Isaiah 40:28-29 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.

God created for six days and then he ceased from creating but he never ceased from all of his work. When I was taught the creation story as a child I always pictured God taking a nap at the end of the week. I don't think that it was ever explained to us that God is always at work. Our existence and the existence of everything else in creation depend on God's continuous sustaining work.

God and Jesus are the same.

The most important concept in the Bible is the trinity. If we are going to know God then we need to get to know him for who he really is and we need to know that the only reason that Christianity has any validity is because of the fact that Jesus is God.

John 10:31-33 Once again the people picked up stones to kill Him. Jesus said, "At My Father's direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone Me?" They replied, "We're stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God."

In healing on the Sabbath, Jesus was not acting against the Father’s commands, but doing what the Father wanted him to do. God and Jesus are busy doing the same work, they work in perfect harmony and there are no secrets between them.

God gives Jesus two "God jobs."

Raise the dead and judge the world, those are two jobs that God has transferred over to Jesus, both jobs require that you be just as much God as God is. Neither one of those jobs can be accomplished by a mere human.

John 5:27 And He has given Him authority to judge everyone because He is the Son of Man.

The power of judging the world implies the ability to search the heart to really know somebody and to understand the motives for everything they do.

Who is Jesus?

There are only three choices:

1. Jesus is absolutely correct and he really is God.
2. Jesus is a liar and he knows that he is lying to us to try and deceive us.
3. Jesus is a liar but he is a delusional mad man.

The first option is really the only one that makes any sense. A deceiver will rarely continue his deception to the point of death. A deceiver or a delusional man could not heal the man on the Sabbath, or raise the dead, or take control of both nature and the demons. A delusional man cannot teach with the authority that Jesus had and they couldn't have insight like Jesus had.

Who is Jesus? Don't neglect to find out the best answer to that question.

Playing Well With Others

Authority, everybody likes to have it and nobody likes to yield to it.

1 Peter 2:13-14 For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority—whether the king as head of state, 14 or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.

1 Peter 2:18 You who are slaves must accept the authority of your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.

1 Peter 3:1-2 In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over 2 by observing your pure and reverent lives.

1 Peter 3:7-9 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it.

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Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has tempted us by questioning authority, he lied about God and Adam and Eve began to wonder about God's intentions and whether the rules that he gave them were fair. God's commandments have been questioned every moment of everyday ever since and we see the consequences all around us but we still want to live life our way.

Accepting authority and being submissive is required of every child of God, it is necessary in our relationships, starting with God and going down the line to every other relationship that we have. From government, the work place and our family, there is an order that God designed to help us live together in harmony.

We see the idea of submission demonstrated in the Trinity, all of them working together in unison, each of them fulfilling a role and each of them bringing glory to the other and doing what is beneficial to the Trinity.

✔ Jesus sought to bring glory to God the Father. (John 15:10)
✔ Jesus willingly died for us. (John 10:17-18)
✔ The Holy Spirit gives Jesus glory. (John 16:13-15)
✔ God the Father gave glory back to Jesus. (John 8:54, 17:24)
✔ The Holy Spirit didn't refuse when he was sent to us. (John 14:26, Acts 1:4-5)

Too bad we do not get to enjoy this oneness and cooperative spirit from the people that we relate to.

Philippians 2:3-8 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Jesus is our ultimate example of submission and looking out for the needs of others. Deserving glory and honor yet he came to us selfless and humble to take care of us. We all need to follow Christ example and look for ways to bless others.

I need to yield to authority, give up my own authority and be submissive to others in my country, my workplace and with my family and friends. 

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A Question You Need To Answer: Who Is Jesus?

It's Jesus' turn to ask the Pharisees some questions.

Luke 20:39-44  "Well said, Teacher!" remarked some of the teachers of religious law who were standing there.  40  And then no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

41  Then Jesus presented them with a question. "Why is it," He asked, "that the Messiah is said to be the son of David?  42  For David himself wrote in the book of Psalms:

'The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at My right hand  43  until I humble Your enemies, making them a footstool under Your feet.'   

44  Since David called the Messiah 'Lord,' how can the Messiah be his son?"

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The leaders in the temple were trying to find a way to get rid of Jesus, they thought that they needed to do something to get him to slip up and do something wrong, they were "Putting Out Some Traps" to try and catch Jesus but he gave the perfect answer to every question that they threw at him.

After Jesus answers their questions he turns the tables on them, according to the account of these events in Matthew 22:41-46, Jesus asked them two questions:

Question number one: “What do you think about the Messiah, whose son is he?”

Every Israelite knew the answer to that question. For hundreds of years they have been waiting for the arrival of the Messiah, they thought that they knew everything about the Messiah and that they would certainly know when he comes but somehow most of them didn't.

There are hundreds of prophecies about the Messiah that were made hundreds of years before he was born. They knew that prophecy predicted that:

• The Messiah would be a descendant of David
• He would be born of a virgin
• He would be called out from Egypt after hiding from Herod
• The children would be killed by Herod
• A messenger would precede the Messiah's arrival

Jesus clearly claimed to be the Messiah and Son of God:

• Jesus told the Samaritan woman that he is the Messiah (John 4:25-26)
• Jesus made himself equal with God (John 5:17-18)
• Jesus said that he had seen God, which no one else could do (John 6:46)
• Jesus forgave sins, which only God had the authority to do (Mark 2:5-11)
• Jesus affirmed Peter's statement that he is the Messiah and Son of God (Matthew 16:15-17)
• Jesus told the high priest that he is the Messiah and Son of God (Mark 14:61-62)

The Pharisees couldn't deny the answer to the question, everybody knew that he would be a descendant of King David, but they didn't put it all together. Jesus, David's son fulfilled so many prophesies but they were so spiritually blind that they could not see the person that they had been watching for.

Question number two: "Since David called the Messiah ‘Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”

Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1 and asks them the question that they can't answer, it would be ridiculous for King David to call any of his sons "Lord," a new king would never be given that esteem by the old king. The people knew that this Psalm referred to the Messiah. David was referring to somebody greater than himself, somebody with a greater mission to accomplish.

The king described in Psalm 110:1-7 that David calls Lord, is a king that sits at the right hand of God, he is a king that rules over all other rulers, an everlasting priest and the judge of the nations.

The final proof
Romans 1:2-4 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus birth already gave us so much overwhelming evidence to prove that he is their Messiah, but if that isn't enough for you then there is always an empty tomb, Jesus death and resurrection also prove he is the Messiah.

The Jewish leaders couldn't deny that Jesus was back, the disciples were empowered because he was back, Saul of Tarsus changed from a devout Jew to being a Christ follower because he was back. In fact thousands of people converted immediately while Jesus was back on earth for forty days as he spent time proving that he was not a ghost but that he was the same person that they had crucified.

Nobody could decide to be a phoney and try and imitate the Messiah and the prophecies that his life, death and resurrection fulfilled. I just pray that each reader of this column has the ability to see the plain truth better than the citizens of Jerusalem did. Who Is Jesus? You must decide.

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