Sunday, July 5, 2020 am
FIRST PRINCIPLE LESSONS
“Who Am I?”
Exodus 3:11
A while back, I decided that I
would devote the first Sunday of each month to presenting first
principle lessons, giving us a break from our intense study of our
yearly theme. And while over
the past few months we have seen extraordinary things that have prompted
changes in what we preach, I want to get back to this format as much as
possible. So this morning,
I want to share another first principle lesson.
We will continue with my theme – The Teachings of Jesus – when I
return from vacation in 3 weeks.
Our
text for this lesson is taken from Exodus 3:11. Moses has been away from
Egypt for about 40 now, having fled after killing an Egyptian taskmaster
who was abusing one of his Israelite brethren.
He is about 80 years old and is tending flocks for Jethro his
father-in-law. He sees
a burning bush that is not consumed.
As he investigates, the Angel of the LORD appears to him in the
flame of fire and calls him to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt.
Moses is hesitant, and likely uncertain about himself, and thus
begins to make excuses believing he is unqualified.
His first inquiry is to ask God, “Who am I…?”
Moses saw himself as insignificant, but the Lord answered, “I
will certainly be with you…”
He then proceeded to give him signs to present before Pharaoh.
We
could devote more time to that account, but this morning, I want to and
talk about the expression, “Who am I?” It
is a worthwhile question that we OUGHT to ask ourselves and we need to
find answers according to God’s word.
a.
The expression is found
6 times (NKJV), all in the Old Testament, and it always showed humility
as one realized his standing before others – 5 of the 6 times that
humility is directed toward God
b.
Exodus 3:11 – we have
our context, where Moses is speaking to God at the burning bush.
c.
Spoken by David before
king Saul as he is given a daughter to be his wife – 1 Samuel 18:18.
David sees his unworthiness to be a part of the King’s family.
d.
NOTE: The final 4 times
are all associated with David’s desire to build a permanent house for
God.
2 Samuel 7:18 as David is told by the LORD that his throne would be
established forever.
(Also 1 Chronicles 17:16)
e.
1 Chronicles 29:14 – as
David, later in his life makes preparations for Solomon to build the
temple and receives great offerings from the people to do the work.
He praises God acknowledging his unworthiness to be shown favor
by Him.
f.
2 Chronicles 2:6 – as
Solomon makes preparations to build the temple, he acknowledges his
insignificance (realize this is a king with wisdom from God).
a.
These examples show one
who humbly acknowledges his place, especially before God.
When we consider who God is and our insignificance it ought to
humble us.
“Who am I?” IS A QUESTION we ought to be asking to keep ourselves humble
before Him. So, as you
examine your life, what is the answer to that question?
We could go many directions with this, but I want to briefly
focus on some things that apply to all of mankind (a first principle
application”.
b.
I am created by God
–
i.
Genesis 1:1 tells us
that God created the heavens and the earth.
He created all things
ii.
Genesis 2:7 tells us
that the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life. So,
man became a living being.
iii.
Zechariah 12:1, The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus
says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the
earth, and forms the spirit of man within him
iv.
Colossians 1:16 speaks
of our Lord being the firstborn over all creation and notes that all
things were created by Him, both in heaven and on earth.
v.
Many today struggle with
the idea God created man or anything whatsoever.
They declare we are nothing but
the product of natural forces.
This despite the fact, that the laws of nature contradict so many
things necessary for life to begin, AND nothing that explains our
essence and humanity. But it
is the way of the world that refuses to retain God in its knowledge
(Romans 1:28). To me,
everywhere I look I see design and that calls for a designer as David
said in Psalm 19:1-4 notes that the heavens declare the glory of God,
8:3-4 where he said, When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your
fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man
that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
vi.
BUT, if we are to have
spiritual meaning and realize who we are, we need to know that God
created each of us as He said in His word.
c.
I am made in God’s image –
i.
Not only are we created,
we are created in God’s image.
Genesis 1:26-27. This is
important to understand as this is what sets us apart from the rest of
creation, including every living thing.
Think about what makes man different, even from animals – the ability to
reason and formulate coherent and exact thoughts, our ability to
philosophize, to calculate and understand the laws of nature and to use
those laws to develop technology that can improve our quality of life,
our ability to appreciate beauty, and our ability to worship.
Our depth of intelligence, feelings for one another, etc.
I am convinced ALL OF THESE are part of how we are created in the image
of God.
ii.
Job 32:8, “But there
is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him
understanding.”
iii.
I have a dual nature –
an outer and inner man – 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:2.
Scripture clearly teaches that I have a soul that will live on
beyond this life (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
iv.
That is why I seek to
ask the question, “Who am I?” and “What am I going to do about it?”
d.
I am loved by Him –
i.
While there are many
religions in the world, Christianity is very unique.
One of those qualities is the fact that God loves each of us
personally. And He has shown
that love.
ii.
John 3:16 – He so loved
us that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus.
iii.
Salvation is available to EVERYONE – Romans 5:6-8, even though we are unworthy.
And that includes me!
2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God is longsuffering and not willing that any
should perish.
iv.
Many struggle with this
today for many reasons – personal disappointments, the influence of the
wisdom of man and worldliness, doubts, etc.
But it all boils down to this: THEY don’t know God as He has
revealed Himself to us.
v.
But I need to realize
that God does love me and has proven that.
Study His word and consider what He did in giving His Son!
vi.
Because God loves us, we
need to love Him – 1 John 4:19.
e.
I am subject to God’s
laws
i.
IF, as we have
mentioned, we are created by God, created in His image, and loved by
Him. We need to realize that
we are subject to Him. That
He has a right to establish “the rules” that we are to follow.
ii.
Far too many today balk
at the idea of following God’s laws – many out of rebellion and outers
outs of selfishness. And all I
can say is, LOOK AT THE MESS THIS WORLD IS IN!
Much of its brokenness is a DIRECT result of rejecting God and
His ways!
IF we want a better world, let me recommend that we follow the standard
God has outlined for us in His word – it involves loving and respecting
one another, living with self-control, being humble and unselfish, and
so many other things. Who
can HONESTLY deny that this world would be much better if we would ALL
follow the moral pattern found in scripture?
BUT, to accept this is to acknowledge we are accountable to Him –
something far too many are unwilling to do (more on this in a moment).
iii.
God calls for us to be obedient to Him – Romans 10:13-16, “Whoever calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved”… but they nave not all obeyed the gospel.
Hebrews 5:9 tells us that Jesus became the author of eternal salvation
to all who obey Him.
John 14:15, Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My
commandments.” Tie
this in with what we have addressed thus far.
f.
I am accountable –
i.
Related to the previous
point, I must realize that I am accountable to God.
ii.
When we break God’s
laws, we are sinners – 1 John 3:4, Romans 3:23.
When we sin we are accountable to Him – Romans 6:23.
Vengeance will be meted
out to those who do not obey the gospel – 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9
iii.
Scriptures teach that
one day I will stand before God and give an accounting for how I have
lived my life – Romans 14:10-12, 2 Corinthians 5:10
iv.
Because of this, I need
to prepare. I need to take
care of my sins by obeying the gospel and resolving to faithfully live
for Him.
Which brings me to my final point:
g.
I am what I make of
myself –
i.
Throughout life, we are
presented with many choices.
On a daily bases we come to crossroads where we must decide which
direction we are going to take.
ii.
Joshua 24:14-15, as he
gave his farewell address he observed this fact, “Now therefore, fear
the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods
which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt.
Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose
for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which
your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the
gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord.”
iii.
As Jesus concluded the
Sermon on the Mount, He did so by noting there are two paths – one that
leads to destruction and one that leads to life eternal (Matthew
7:13-14). You need to choose
which one you will go down.
He further illustrated this with a parable about two men that built
houses – one on a solid foundation, the other on sand (Matthew 7:24-27)
– the one who chose to build on the solid foundation – with Jesus as
that foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11, cf. Acts 4:12)
iv.
So, what will you make
of yourself? And when we do stand
before God, will it hold firm?
These are some fundamental thoughts as we ask the question, “Who am I?”.
We could take this question in a
different direction and address who I am AS a Christian, but this
morning we have presented this for everyone with the hopes that you will
become a Christian, and then resolve to live for Him.
Think about it!