hayah - translated "I Am"; means to be, to exist"Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." John 8:58
egō eimi - translated "I am"; means I be or exist.The following is an excerpt from Henry Law's "I AM that I AM" sermon.
__________
'I AM THAT I AM.' Here the first sound is eternity. Jesus, as God, here puts on eternity as His robe. He knows no past. He knows no future. He lives unmoved in one unmoving present. He stretches through all the ages which are gone and which are yet to come. His only bounds are immeasurable boundlessness. Before time was born, He is 'I AM THAT I AM.' When time shall have expired, He still is 'I AM THAT I AM.' If there had been the moment when His being dawned, His name would be, 'I am what I was not.' If there could be a moment when His being must have end, His name would be, 'I am what I shall not be.' But He is, 'I AM THAT I AM.' Thus He treads first and last beneath His feet. He sits on the unbroken circumference of existence, as He who ever was, and ever is, and ever shall be. Let thought fly back, until in weariness it faint; let it look onward until all vision fail; it ever finds Him the same 'I AM.'...
To each enquiry—has He loved? does He love? and will He love?—the one reply is, 'I AM THAT I AM.' Do not raise the objection, if He thus loves, why am I thus? why is my path so rugged, and my heart like flint? You will soon know that your bitterest trials and your sorest pains are sure tokens of His love. The father corrects because he loves. In attentive care the physician deeply probes the wounds. Thus Jesus makes earth hard, that you may long for heaven's holy rest. He shows you your self-vileness that you may prize His cleansing blood. He allows you to stumble that you may cleave more closely to His side. He makes the world a blank that you may seek all comfort in Himself. If He seems to change, it is that you may change. He hides His face, that you may look for Him. He is silent, that you may cry more loudly. His desertion prevents your desertion. He saves from real hell, by casting into seeming hell. But love fails not. All His dealings are its everflowing, overflowing tide. On each the eye of faith can read, 'I AM THAT I AM.'
Power goes hand in hand with love. They co-exist and co-endure. It was a mighty voice which said, 'Be'—and all things were. It was a mighty hand which framed this so wondrous universe. It is a mighty arm which turns the wheel of providence. This power still is, and ever will be, what it always has been. No age enfeebles, and no use exhausts it. This is the Church's rock. The Bible, blazing with its exploits, encourages the 'worm Jacob' to 'be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.' He can still bid the seas of difficulty to recede. He can cause hurricanes and tempests to cease. He can make straight, the crooked paths of evil. He can level the mountains of high-towering corruption. He can stop the lion-mouth of persecution. He can quench the scorching flames of every lust. In the face of all Goliaths, He cheers His followers to victory, under the banner of 'I AM THAT I AM.'
Click here to read the whole sermon (well worth reading).____________
Sometimes (or rather often for me) it is the older worship songs which speak the most. Take some time today to offer praises to the great I Am. Find a quiet place and let these songs minister to you and strengthen you in His presence.
No comments:
Post a Comment
In an effort to reduce the amount of spam received, Anonymous posts will no longer be accepted. Comments are still moderated and will appear once approved.
If you have a personal message to relay, please use the "Contact Us" form at the top of the blog. Thank you!