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| The Great "I AM" |
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The Great "I AM"
During my reading last night I stumbled upon a little sumpin' sumpin' that I want to share with you today. As many times as I have read the following passage, I missed one of the key points. Isn't it strange how we can just read right over something time and time again, and then all of a sudden it hits us? Don't you just love the way the Word speaks to us? That's why it is The Living Word. Amen.
The following passage is very familiar to most of us. Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane and was about to be arrested. The verse I want to focus on is verse 6 which is shown as the last line below:
John 18:1-6
When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Wow! That's an awesome revelation for me. I have never even paid attention to that statement. What just happened here?
Here's what I believe:
I took some time looking up the phrase "I am He". The Greek translation for this term is actually "I AM". Also, in the King James Version, the word "he" is in italics, meaning that it was not in the original text and was added by the translators. So actually what Jesus was saying to his captors was "I AM", or in other words, I AM the GREAT I AM!
At that very moment the very power of God shot through them like a mighty lightning bolt and the intensity was such that it thrust them back and they instantly fell helplessly to the ground. Wow! That's awesome! I read elsewhere that is is thought that there were anywhere between 300 and 600 soldiers present. Can you imagine? 300-600 soldiers being thrown to the ground by the two little words that came out of Jesus mouth. What amazing power!
They knew at that very moment that He was in fact The Great "I AM" of the old testament. They were immediately aware of the fact that He is God! Wow!
This one instance alone proves that they had absolutely no power over Jesus. They could not have taken him by force even if they had to. The power of God was upon Him. The power of God was Him. He was going to go voluntarily or he wasn't going to go at all!
Can you imagine the shock and confusion that was going through their minds at that moment? What had just hit them? Can't you just see all those soldiers picking themselves up off the ground and dusting themselves off? So much for their swords, eh? And when they understood that this was God, do you think they were reluctant to arrest him after that? I bet they were. But instead of fearing God they feared their leaders. Their feared their earthly punishment for not following through with their assignment instead of fearing for their very souls.
I am going to continue meditating on this verse. It's powerful. But I also want to say that this is a great example of the fact that the Word of God is more powerful than any army. The Word of God is more powerful than any of your enemies. The Word of God is more powerful than any trial, temptation, or obstacle that you may be facing.
Every knee will bow, and fall to the ground, at the the name of Jesus!
He is the Great I AM! |
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| To add a comment to "The Great "I AM"" |
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| April 09, 2008 |
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they drew back and fell to the ground.
I have read this scripture many time and never had I absorbed those words! Thank you so much for sharing.
But instead of fearing God they feared their leaders.
And this still occurs today even within the Church. |
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| April 09, 2008 |
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Yes Sir! I came upon that a short while back and it opens a whole different way of thinking! That Power, and every other thing that CHRIST did; raising the dead, healing the sick, the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, the lepers cleansed, and on and on and on. Is the very same Dunimus that we have. However, we will never operate in all of that Power until we mature in CHRIST!
Think about it for those of you that are gun owners or hunters are you just going to give a weapon to your child and say have at it? Absolutely not, I know for myself I teach my sons and daughters the discipline needed, the responsibilities required in order to use that fire power!
Or for those that only have daughters or don't agree with having firearms are you just going to turn your children loose in the kitchen with the oven, stove, knives, etc....with out first training them up? Or will you just leave them home alone without knowing that they can fend for themselves?
The Power of God is not a genie in a bottle, we must be disciplined and responsible in doing His will. Most folks are not willing to pay the price required to operate in the fullness of God and that is why we fail to see the Power of God flowing freely in the lives of the believers as much as God desires.
We all want to operate in this Power but paying the price stops us, this is why witchcraft and such is more appealing. There is little or no discipline required because the devil doesn't want you to know the consequences of what you are taking part in...he is seeking whom he may devour.
Good Word brother! |
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| April 09, 2008 |
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Hi Cheryl...thanks for adding me as a friend. I too am still in awe of the fact that I never noticed this!
Plumbline: Cool name by the way, seeing as I am a Land Surveyor! The second oldest profession!
Good points you make about the power of God. For this reason I believe that it is crucial that we don't just make converts. We need to make disciples. Do people need to be saved? Of course they do. But they also need to be taught ALL the things of God to be truly effective.
As far as operating in His Power. I also agree that for most of us, the commitment seems to be too great. Perhaps we cannot see the eternal rewards that come from such a living sacrifice. When Jesus went to the cross he dis-esteemed the shame that was set before him but he glorified or esteemed the Joy that came as a result.
God wants His power to flow through each and every one of us. But the problem is not because God is not transmitting, its because our receivers are broken. We need to get turned on and tuned in! Most people are so condemned by the spirit of their mind (Eph. 4:23) that they don't believe God will work through them. They believe he can do miracles but they do not feel worthy of being used by Him to accomplish this. Sin consciousness. It's a killer. Literally!
Thanks for your input! |
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| April 09, 2008 |
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| All I can Say is WOW! The way you put it bring so much more power to the word of God, JESUS WAS THE WORD IN THE FLESH! praise the Lord for the awesome power of his word. |
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| April 09, 2008 |
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Thanks Keith!
What do you think about the statement that there were somewhere between 300 and 600 soldiers? Do you think that may be an accurate number? I cannot recall exactly where I heard that.
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| April 09, 2008 |
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| Amen! Excellent blog Michael. Isn't it great when God reveals something new to us in His word? We can read the same thing over and over, and then one day it will hit us differently. That is part of the excitement that I feel reading God's word. |
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| April 09, 2008 |
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Hi Deb! - Great to see you!
It is great to discover something new, especially in a familiar passage.
Makes we wanna dig a little deeper tonight!
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| April 09, 2008 |
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That's right Michael, we are not just to introduce them to CHRIST but make disciples, teaching them of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Turn on and Tune in is a good anology.
Good Word! |
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| April 09, 2008 |
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I think that's it Marcella. Sometimes we are so focused on moving on to the next chapter that we keep right on trucking.
It's like, "God, don't speak to me now, can't you see that I am studying your Word so that you will speak to me?" |
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| April 09, 2008 |
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| A little sumpin' sumpin' huh?! Amen! |
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| April 09, 2008 |
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That is something that we need to remember always, who we are through of Jesus, sometimes Satanas tells me that I do not deserve the love of God (today was those moments), but when I was in the church in the afternoon God spoke me and told me: "You are Jesus" and the fact is that some times we forgot that we are one in Jesuschrist.. |
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| April 09, 2008 |
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Yeah Cheryl.....a little sumpin' sumpin'....LOL....
Hi Libia.....sorry you had a little bit of a battle today.....but glad to hear that you came out Victorious! |
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| April 10, 2008 |
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No doubt Lara.....you would have thought at least some of them would have been on their knees begging for mercy.....right?
This whole passage is so powerful.... |
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| April 11, 2008 |
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WOW! wow...wow...We serve a Great BIG God! Praise Him for Revelation! The Word of God is sharper than any double edged sword...Hebrews 4:12
Thanks for sharing! |
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