I Am

John 8:58

John 8:57-59 ESV

So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

THE AUDIENCE

• We can become so entrenched in our manmade theologies and traditions, that we fail to see God in the very systems we’ve created to worship Him!
• “So for the sake of your tradition you have made void (nullified) the word of God.” Matthew 15:6 ESV

THE ARGUMENT

• Paternity of Man vs. Paternity of God

• “He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.” John 8:23 ESV

• When we limit ourselves to “earthbound” thinking, we will never experience the glory of who Jesus is and what He offers us!

o “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” John 15:19 ESV

o By contrast, we have already come near to God in a totally different realm, the Zion-realm, for we have entered the city of the Living God, which is the New Jerusalem in heaven! We have joined the festal gathering of myriads of angels in their joyous celebration! And as members of the church of the Firstborn all our names have been legally registered as citizens of heaven! And we have come before God who judges all, and who lives among the spirits of the righteous who have been made perfect in his eyes! And we have come to Jesus who established a new covenant with his blood sprinkled upon the mercy seat; blood that continues to speak from heaven, “forgiveness,” a better message than Abel’s blood that cries from the earth, “justice.” Hebrews 12:22-24 TPT

THE APPLICATION

• What are the Abrahams in your life?

o The traditions you’ve held onto for far too long…
o The things that push up against Jesus, or cause you to miss Jesus…
o Childhood family traditions, religious duties (legalism), or political/cultural ideologies…

• In Areas of Uncertainty…

o Ask yourself, where do I see God working in this?
o Does scripture lead me to this conclusion, or is it self-taught or cultural?
o Does scripture bring life to this belief and re-enforce it, or does my belief try to fit into scripture?

• Who you obey and what you do, ascribes to who you worship or who your Father is. (John 8:40-45)

• Always be aware of the condition of your heart towards others.

o Your heart towards others will inform you if your thinking is earthbound or eternal bound.