Sidney UMC - 13th Sunday after Pentecost - 08/30/20 - Sermon - "I AM WHO I AM"

Sunday 08/30/20 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:        “I AM WHO I AM”

Old Testament Scripture: Exodus 3:1-15                                       

New Testament Scripture: Romans 12:9-21

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 16:21-28

          Welcome again my friends, brothers, and sisters, on this the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost.

          So, I have a question for all of us to think about this morning. This question is, have we ever questioned the authority figures over us? Have we ever questioned our leaders? Our teachers? Our pastors? Our government officials? Our parents? Or even God Himself?

          At different times, we all push back and question, don’t we? Maybe some of us do not have the faith in our leaders like we once did. Maybe you gave one of your teachers a really hard time, only to look back and see that they were right all along. Have you ever been angry with God, due to something that happened in your life?  I am sure that many people have felt angry at God, and hopefully we worked through or are working through these tough times.

          Some of us have even challenged our parents. Anyone here ever gotten one or both of your parents angry before? Ever gotten your grandma or grandpa angry? Ever wanted to do something, and your parents told you “no”? Was anyone here not happy once and a while when your parents told you “no”?

          Maybe you wanted to take a trip, go to a friend’s house, the school dance, or something else, and your parents said “no”. Maybe you were acting a little to hyper, and grandma let you know about it! In our lives, as children, and even now, we have authority figures. We have elected leaders, and other people in leadership positions. At times there is no problem, but sometimes we challenge the authority.

          I remember when I was a kid, sometimes I would beg my mom to let me do something. If she thought that it was a bad idea though, then this was met with a swift of “no!” Once and awhile though my mom would say, “let me think about,” which was usually a “no” to be declared later.

          We all probably have also witnessed “the look,” and the pointy index finger. You know when mom or grandma got mad, raised there voices, looked at you with a look that could kill some people, and pointed a finger at you that looked like a 2’x4”. Some moms, dads, grandmas, and grandpas have what I like to call “the look”. Anyone here ever experience “the look”? Oddly enough, my wife also has “the look”. I think that over the years my mother has taught Melissa more on how to better do “the look”. “The look” is designed to strike fear, stop you in your tracks, and make you listen.

          Beyond this, when all else has failed, you would hear with a raised voice your entire name. Not “Paul Winkelman,” but “Paul Daniel Winkelman!” Anyone here ever hear your full name called out by parent or grandparent with a raised voice? It is like a horror movie. I have learned that only when you are graduating or receiving an award, is good to hear your full name. Outside of this, if my mother, my father, or grandparents said, “Paul Daniel Winkelman,” it was never good! Ever!

          There were times growing up that I disagreed with my parents, there decisions, and sometimes I even questioned their authority. Looking back now though, they were usually always right. It is part of our human sin nature to rebel sometimes, and to challenge authority sometimes.

          With all of this said, we have an Old Testament scripture, once again, from the Book of Exodus for this morning that I can connect with this idea of questioning and rebelling. In our Book of Exodus reading for this morning, once again, we have the story of Moses and the burning bush. How many of us have ever heard or have ever read the story of Moses and the burning bush?

          In looking at our scripture reading from Exodus 3:1-15 for this morning, once again, it says:

“Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. ³ Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵ Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God”                (Ex. 3:1-6, NRSV).

 

          Ever been leading a flock of sheep, when you notice a burning bush that is not burning up, yet is on fire and is burning? Ever hear the voice of God from this same burning bush? My guess is, is that when Moses went back to tell the Israelites about this, they said, “So let me get this straight Moses, you saw a bush on fire, yet it wasn’t burning up, and then God spoke to you through this same burning bush”? Moses would then say, “Yes,” and I’m sure everyone said, “Well of course Moses!”

          I can imagine that this was scary for Moses, and even startling. Imagine if a farmer was out in a corn field, and then suddenly they saw one of there corn stalks a blaze. Yet this corn stalk was not burning up, but was blazing with fire. Then God started speaking to you through this blazing corn stalk. I wonder when you returned to the house, or went to town, if your friends and family would believe this? It would probably also be startling and unsettling. Why would God reveal himself to Moses in a burning bush?

          Let’s find out, as we keep going with our scripture reading from Exodus, as it then says:

“⁷ Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, ⁸ and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹ The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰ So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” ¹² He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain” (Ex. 3:7-12, NRSV).

 

          So, God appears to Moses in a burning bush to tell him that the time had come for the Israelite or the Jewish people to be free from slavery in Egypt under the Pharaoh. This eventual departure or “Exodus” will birth the holiday of the “Passover,” when death passed over the first born of the Jews.

          So, to recap here, Moses is walking along, he sees a bush burning, yet the bush does not burn up like wood in a fire. This bush keeps burning, and God begins to speak to Moses through this fiery bush. God tells Moses that the time had come for the Israelites, or the Jews, to be freed from slavery in Egypt under the Pharaoh.

          The Book of Exodus scripture then ends once again saying:

“¹³ But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations” (Ex. 3:13-15, NRSV).

 

          So, Moses is talking to God through this burning bush, and Moses asks God, that when he goes back to tell the Israelites or the Jews all of this, what should he tell them that God’s name is. As my sermon title for this morning says, God says, “I AM WHO I AM”. God then tells Moses to tell the Israelites, “I Am has sent me to you”. God then tell Moses to tell the Israelites or the Jews that the God of their ancestors sent Moses to the Israelites. God then tells Moses that his name for all generations and forever is “I AM”.

          When I read this, and I have thought this before, I thought what was Moses’ attitude towards God when he asked God His name? Was he afraid?  Was he demanding? Was he worried?

          I decided to venture down the path this morning, of Moses being stern towards God, even though he might not have been. This then made me think of the authority figures in our lives, including God. It made me think of when mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa would be stern with us. “The look,” the index finger, the wood spoon, the belt, the broom, etc. The other thing that I thought of when God said to Moses that his name is “I AM WHO I AM,” is the statement “Because I said so!” Anyone ever have a parent or someone else say, “Because I said so!” I might have asked my mom Susan, “Mom why can’t I stay at my friends house and watch movies tonight”? Well, what if I didn’t do all my chores? Or what if I did something else? My mom might say “no!” “But mom I would say, “Why not!” Mom would then say, “because I said so!”

          While we have all challenged authority figures and authority at different times in our lives, Moses and the burning bush reminded me of what happens when we question our parents or our grandparents. Moses says, God tell me your name, and God says, “I am” in charge Moses, not you!

          The reality then is this, while sometimes we might wrestle with God, struggle with God, or even question God, God is sovereign over us. God is over us, governs us, and is sovereign, whether we want Him to be or not. When we ask God His name, He says, “I AM WHO I AM”. You do not tell me God says, I tell you. When I asked my mom “why not,” she would say, “because I said so!” We will always have authority figures over us, and our loving God will also be over us, but in love.

          In looking at our scripture reading from the Book of Romans for this morning, the Apostle Paul tells us that our love should be genuine (Rom. 12:9, NRSV). The Apostle Paul then specifically tells us the various ways to love, as God is love. For many of us, not all, our parents, our grandparents, and others love or loved us. Sometimes we did or still do challenged such people, but most of them had or have our best interests in mind. Sometimes if they are or were stern and said “no,” or said, “because I said so,” it was out of love. In the same way, we do not ask God what his name is, He tells us “I AM WHO I AM”.

          In looking at our gospel lesson for this morning from the gospel of Matthew, once again, Peter challenges Jesus’ authority. Peter has an “I AM WHO I AM” moment. Specifically, Jesus tells the disciples that he is going to go to Jerusalem soon, and suffer greatly for us all in his trial, torture, and crucifixion. In saying this though, the Apostle Peter says to Jesus in response, this:

“²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things” (Mt. 16:22-23, NRSV).

 

          Now I don’t know about you, but getting called Satan by Jesus, is way worse than mom saying “no,” or “because I said so!”. Many have and still try to challenge God, and this was not different when God came to this earth and took on flesh. The Apostle Peter is attempting to challenge the living God, Jesus Christ. “I AM WHO I AM!”

          To emphasize this even more, when Jesus was challenged in John 8:58, it says:

“⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”

          Jesus, God in the flesh on earth, much like God in the burning bush talking to Moses, said “I am”. Further Jesus is saying before Moses, Jacob, Isaac, and the great Abraham, “I am”. Jesus is saying God is eternal, He is eternal, and that He is in control not us.

          While we all challenged and pushed back at different times, let us humble ourselves, and remember that we are not in control, but God is in control. When we tell God what He should do, or ask Him His name, He says, “I AM WHO I AM”. When Jesus is challenged by Peter, He says, “I am” in charge not you. God loves us and may we submit to Christ knowing that He is the great “I am”. The hope for this country and the world, is us putting our trust in Jesus, and Jesus alone. Amen.