Be: Just Be [Part 2]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright rest from all of that labor is same God did it in Jesus.

That's faster at welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series. We called saver has presented it were an older church in North Carolina are unable to stay with us throughout the entire program to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now and audio album called saver can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries either a CV album or digital download of these audio messages so as you listen to today's messages go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us@pastorout.org that's pastor out in.O RG or call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 moral all of this later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright talk about something that is endlessly deep and a fairly simple way here because I want to see this that actually if we could put back up. Exodus 3 tax the verb that is rendered here in Exodus 313 that then Moses said about if I come to the people of Israel and say to them, the God and father sent me to my asked what is his name what shall I say them and God said to Moses, I am who I am. The words that are used. There is simply the Hebrew verb for to be as high and literally what this says is God said to Moses, I am being that I am being I I am I am that I am, but is not yet given his name but and you continue on in the text to the next part of it say to this people of Israel. I am has sent you. He still has hair is left at with this sense of just using the verb to be in Hebrew, and so he comes to this say this in the next verse say this to the people of Israel, the Lord, and when you see the Lord right there. That's the first time he gives his name Yahweh and the reason that that's important is because does it not, and then makes sense that what God is doing is before he actually says here's my name Yahweh what he says is he uses the verb from which Yahweh is derived which is a verb to be in is that I am being that I am being you can tell them that I am being sent you and then he comes plainly says the Lord Yahweh has such as the essence of his name is making it clear is that he is the one who is and that is foundational many implications of this of course, the first is this the most important thing that you can know about God is that he is, he exists. He is not an idea he is real is the first and most important thing you can know about God. You hear me often top-end and Griffith show on my favorites. When my favorite episodes is Mr. McGreevey OP little Opie comes to his paw and tells about a man he called Mr. McGreevey who went high walking amongst the tops of the trees, who wore a silver hat who had jingle as he walks and had extra hands and said that he could blow smoke from his ears and at first and he fell with this is cute in no but then one day Opie came in he brought a nickel 1/4 or something said look what Mr. McGreevey gave me an anti-set. Opie, this is going to fall any threatened Opie with a spanking. If he didn't admit that Mr. big BV was something he made up and obese about Paul.

I can't say that because he is real and Andy is torn with all this into one day there walking through the woods and there is Mr. McGreevey. He was a telephone linesman who climbed around up top of the poles in the top of the trees and he came down he met Andy and had a silver hat all his tools were as extra hands and Andy said I bet you can blow smoke out your ears, and he took a cigarette or something blue like you could like the smoke come out of his ear and Andy would never happier in all his life to realize that Mr. McBee, the was God. He is though the Israelites were suffering in their slavery in Egypt.

God appeared to Moses and he said I am your suffering and slavery and difficulties of life do not change this.

I am it is also to say that God by existing and being real stands in utter contrast to idols that are made by man in human creation of an idol is mopped in the Scriptures because idols cannot do anything but what is more important to say is they are not actually real, and God is saying I am I am real it means. Thirdly, that no one made God he is, by definition, the one who exists. He is fourthly the one who is the ground of all other existence, though not an Orthodox theologian Paul Tillich gets it's something that is quite deep and true. When he says God is the ground of all being, because God is. It means that everything else is and nothing is except for the fact that God is in God had not existed, then nothing else would exist.

All of this goes far to say when we sing of the resurrected Jesus that because he lives I can face tomorrow.

We are essentially same because he is and he is alive and he is a real that I have all hope, God is. It means also that God is always present and he's always in the present. It's a mystery that's hard to speak of, but you can't think of God so much in the past because it's our past, but to God every moment in the present, because he's an eternity he's eternal and he's therefore at all times and all places were speaking of mysteries now, but when we say he was and is and is to come. What we really are saying is it from our time perspective, we can refer to the time in which God was there but from his perspective. He's always there. So he is present active in every moment when Moses was going to lead the people.

He pleaded with God for his presence to go with them. Exodus 3314 and he said my presence will go with you and I will give you rest.

And he said to him, Moses that if your presence will not go with me. Do not bring us up from here and so the Lord appeared to Moses in Exodus 34, five, when Moses is in the cleft of the rock, the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with them. There proclaim the name of the Lord. So what this text says is Yahweh descended in the cloud stood with him there and proclaim the name of Yahweh and Yahweh passed before him and proclaimed Yahweh. Yahweh, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger. In other words, Moses said, I need your presence and God said I'm in a show you this and put in the cleft of the rock and would he do he gave his name over and over Yahweh. Yahweh I am I am I'm here I'm here I exist I exist, I present to every single moment it means also that he is who he is by his own definition you don't define him.

Nobody defines an he defines us. We don't define him. He doesn't bend his identity. Other identities have to be shaped by him to be. I am also means he already is who he is. This is important theological point because it means it is not becoming something else. God is not in process of growing up or discovering himself. That means, therefore, to us. There is no unreliability, and God because he's not fickle and changing in his nature. There is no shadow changing and God he is the great I am, means that he's named in accord with who he is as important it is.

Is everything he does his name. The chosen revealed personal name of God is about who he is not just what he does. All he does flows out of who he is and this is where I turn us to the implications for us because you like God made in his image are for most of being who is it is to say that who you are as a person is what makes you valuable is not your profession.

That's Alan Wright will have more teaching in a moment. Today's important series so much worry about yesterday's failures cemetery getting ready for tonight is hard to focus on the moment that matters most.

Wearing seasoned coaches, and nine psychological program. Eastern religion mindfulness living in the present life messages with your digital partnership making gift textures and levers of God's grace. Each moment moment every day of your life is shared when you get Alan Wright Ministries.

This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer. We are happy to send this to you as I banks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website past Rowan.work days teaching now once again is for any of us who have grown up with any shame-based thinking this is one of the deepest solace and greatest comfort you could ever half and I would say some up most of my Christian growth over the last 25 years it is been growing into an ever increasing awareness by the grace of God that I am of utmost value just because I have not spent a hard thing. If you grow up in a family where there is a big emphasis on performance, you can end up translating that to your own mind to say I am valued only to the degree that I can do but in actuality you are first and foremost a human being and beloved your remarkable. Whether you're a Christian or not you are remarkable because God is made, you just because you exist. We have no idea just the human body. Just the human cell.

Just the idea that there was initially one cell that then divided and then divided and at some point that sell that original stem cell that would one day become your hundreds of billions of cells that form your brain got turned on for it to know to become a brain cell that would then lead you to everything that you say and do and think and imagine and feel all came from this on both capable, unbelievable design that cell is so fascinating that Harvard trained physician. The former Dean of Yale medical school.

Lewis Thomas had this to say of it.

I love this.

He wrote the mere existence of that cell should be one of the greatest astonishment of the earth people to be walking around all day all through their waking hours calling to each other and endless wonderment.

Talking of nothing except that sell if anyone does succeed in explaining it.

He writes within my lifetime I will charter a sky writing airplane maybe a whole fleet of them and send them aloft to write one great! After another around the whole sky until all my money runs out just to think of one cell and the complexity and majesty of who you are.

That is been made into the image of God is astounding.

But, beloved, you are not just a collection of cells in a physical being, but you are a person you are a soul hall. You are more than the collection of all the sales because you can't dissect you and look and find a cell and say, oh, there you are. I have found you there you are Bob I see you right here in this elf know you are a person who has a soul and a consciousness and a personality that is complex and beautiful and and wonderful and fantastic CS Lewis wrote on this glorious nature.

If you nap humanity by saying there are no ordinary people you've never talked to a mere mortal nations, cultures, arch civilization, these are mortal in their life is ours as the life of a gnat.

But it is immortals with whom we joke work with Mary snob and explored immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. He said next to the Blessed Sacrament itself. Your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. You are you a glorious marred by sin broken in this fallen world and absolutely glorious when you think about whether your have value because whether you got the promotion at work aware that you did well on the test. Whether you beat your competitor out or whatever it might be what you need to remember is that you are no mere mortal but you are the pinnacle of the creation of I am made in his image. Fast-forward 1500 years after Moses and Jesus is interacting with those religious leaders that often persecuted him and John chapter 8. One of the most fascinating texts and one of the greatest proofs that Jesus absolutely called himself God is John chapter 8 verse 53 and following are you greater than our father Abraham, who died in the prophets, died who you make yourself out to be. And Jesus answered if I glorify myself, my glory is nothing.

It is my father who glorifies me, of whom you say he is our God, but you have not known him. I know him.

If I were to say that I do not know, I might be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.

Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day he saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him you are not yet 50 years old and you have seen Abraham and this is the line verse 58 Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I and they all knew what he just said.

He said, before Abraham was, and he is referring to himself as Yahweh. He said I am who I am that it verse 59 is when they picked up stones to throw him because that's the moment they said he's blasphemed and called himself God. It means beloved, when you accept Christ into your life, you accept I and to be in Christ is to be in Yahweh. Everything that is true of the nature of God and his name becomes your identity as well. He lives in you. It means that you have him with you at all times and in all places, but what it means is that because God came in the person of Jesus Christ. If you accept his saving work what your accepting is that Jesus, the perfect I am in the flesh who was utterly holy and sinless that he deliberately went to the cross so that if you would trust him. He would become your sin and you by faith would be regarded from now on.

By God, is the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

God, the great holy I am imparts to every believer his own holiness so that every bit of strife in your life that worries about whether I can be accepted because I don't know if I've done enough can rest from all of that labor and say God did it in Jesus. So therefore my life is not defined by what I do nearly so much as who I am and I made in the image of God having come to faith, saving faith in Jesus Christ have been restored unto God and made into his trial. This is all to say if God puts the priority on being and doing flows out of being it is to say that being with one another love is the priority and let your life be full of every wonderful activity and every glorious party your vocation and every good thing that God would ever call you to do. Let it be full of all that to be before you do is not an invitation to do nothing, but it is to say that the contentment and solace and joy of your life and mine that enables us to savor each moment in the moment and count every blessing and be mindful of God's presence.

All of this begins with knowing God is Yahweh and you are in the great I am, and that's the gospel, Helen Wright and today's teaching be just be in the series. Savor and Alan is back with us in the studio sharing aborting good news thought for the day. Here it just a moment so much worried about yesterday's failures cemetery getting ready for tonight is hard to focus on the moment that matters most. Wearing seasoned coaches calling mindfulness psychological program.

Eastern religion mindfulness living in the present life messages with your digital partnership making gift textures and levers of God's grace. Each moment moment every day of your life gospel is shared when you get right ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website past Rowan.work with Alan Wright and I like how you said there at the end, it is not just be it's not negating the other parties that in him we we live and move and have our being is good news.

I think that is out of our being that we do everything and we get that backwards. Sometimes we think it what I do and how I perform will determine who I am, it's just opposite. I just want to say again particular to anyone who struggled as I did for much of my life with performance anxiety. Shame that says you haven't done enough. You aren't enough to be accepted and just here the gospel again in Christ are accepted in the below which means that you don't have to become someone else and are to be loved by God. Just be who you are.

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