Sermon - I Am, I Can, I Will - Part 3 - Litleby Baptist Church - January 28, 2018
I Am – I Can – I Will!
We started out with I Am by looking how the Nation of Israel was told by God to stop wandering around in the wilderness and to turn north. They had to reach a point where they were willing to say, Yes I am going to follow God. I Am going to do what God wants me to do.
Every single one of us will have many times in our lives where we have to decide if we are going to respond to God’s call with an I Am or I am not. Will we turn from what God is calling us to do or will we embrace that next step and Turn North, saying I Am Ready!
Once we say I Am Ready and embrace what God is calling us to, then we are faced with the next challenge. Accepting the task that God has given you is one thing, accomplishing it is another. To often our I Am is clobbered by an I Cannot when we realize that the task God has given us is more than we bargained for.
As I mentioned last week, my I Am almost hit its match when I realized that I would have to speak in front of people as a Pastor. Something that I was deathly afraid of at that time. I had to remember that God wanting me to be a Pastor was part of the Plan, the very detailed Plan, for my life and another part of His pan was me overcoming my fear.
God has planned out tasks for each one of us to complete. He knows that many if not all of them are beyond what we can do with the skills, knowledge, and resources we have on our own. He is looking for us to remember that these are His Plans and through His Grace, Wisdom, and Strength we can turn our I Am into an I Can. We cannot do it on our own, we need to trust and lean on the King of Kings to make sure our I Can will overcome our I Cannot.
First, each one of us needs to say ‘I Am Ready’ to serve God.
Then we have to remember that through His strength We Can achieve the Plan He has for us.
Then we come to the next step, the I Will step.
Isaiah 6:1-8
“6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth. 4 The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies. 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said: Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for. 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who should I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.”
Here was a man who knew he was not worthy of being in God’s presence, yet at the end of it He states ‘Here I am. Send me.’ A very simple statement that moves past I Am Ready and I Can overcome… to saying I Will do it.
I will step out in faith.
I will invite my neighbor to church.
I will volunteer to teach a class.
I will share the gospel with my friend.
I will help at church.
I will stretch beyond my comfort zone.
I will do whatever Jesus wants me to do.
I will go where God wants me to go.
I Will is more than agreeing that you are called to do something. It is more than knowing that you can overcome the challenges before you, it is having the determination to move forward. It is where the rubber meets the road. I Will is where things actually get done.
God wants every single one of us to say I Am, I Can, AND I Will.
Isaiah 1:17-19
“17 Learn to do what is good. Pursue justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause. 18 “Come, let us settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are crimson red, they will be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land.”
Do what is Good.
Pursue Justice.
Correct the Oppressor.
Defend the rights of the Fatherless.
Plead the widow’s cause.
These are all actions and are followed by verse 19, where it states ‘If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land.’
We need to be willing AND obedient to what God has called us to do.
Micah 6:8
“Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Saying ‘send me’ or ‘I Will’, results in serving God and Others. It goes beyond coming to church on Sunday and singing a few songs and listening to some guy speak for half an hour. It goes beyond having a Christian bumper sticker on your car. It goes beyond saying you are a Christian.
I Will leads to Action.
The Nation of Israel was told to ‘Turn North’ and they did. It led them to some challenging times as they entered the promised land, but it led them to Act on their Faith in God.
Acts 1:8
“Buy you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
If Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit is in you. With the Holy Spirit living in you, you are to be Jesus’s witnesses. As a witness you are to share what God has done in your life and the lives of your loved ones. It requires Action.
Matthew 28:18-20
“18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The Great Commission… a statement of Action.
Go… Make…Baptizing… Teaching…
God wishes that None would Perish and the only way that is going to happen is if, WE the Church go and be His witnesses starting in our communities and spreading all the way to the ends of the Earth. We need to be reaching the Lost, sharing how Jesus has changed our lives, baptizing them into the family of God, and teaching them how to love, showing them how to live, and helping them to share with others.
If you read through the Gospels you will find 37 documented miracles. But that is only a sampling of what Jesus did.
John 21:25
“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.”
The 37 documented miracles are just are like a trailer for an upcoming movie. The trailer gives us a glimpse at what the movie is going to be like in hopes of convincing us to spend our time and money to watch it. The 37 miracles found in the gospels give us a glimpse into the power of God, the heart of Jesus, and show us that He puts his money where His mouth is.
Jesus not only tells us to do what is good, to love others, to care for those in need. The Bible shows that while He talked the talk, He also walked the walk. He put others needs before His own, He went out of His way to share the message of Grace, He sacrificed for others.
Jesus served others.
John 13:12-15
“12 When Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer clothing, he reclined again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are speaking rightly, since that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you.”
Jesus demonstrated that our I Will means putting others first. We need to say I Will and serve others within the church and in our communities.
Jesus shared the message of the Living Water with the Samaritan Woman.
John 4:40-42
“40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of what he said. 42 And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.”
No self-respecting Jewish man would have gone to Samaria. Jesus went out of His way to share His message of Grace. Our ‘I Will’ means going wherever God tells us to go. Sharing with others as we go. I Will may take us to our neighbors, it may take us to church events, it may take us to the far corners of the earth. We need to respond in faith and go where God leads.
Romans 5:8-9
“8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 How much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath.”
Jesus freely gave of Himself so that we can have eternal life. Our I Will, will drive us to sacrifice for others. Giving of our time, our money, and there are some who will give their lives in service to others for Jesus.
Scripture tells us that we are to imitate Jesus. Jesus put others first, we need to put others first. Jesus went out of His way to share the message of Grace, we need to do the same. Jesus sacrificed so people can be saved, we to need to sacrifice so that Jesus message can be spread.
We cannot accomplish this on our own, we NEED the Holy Spirit to work in us, but it does require us to act.
We need to stand up and say ‘I am ready’ to step out in faith.
We need to proclaim that ‘I can overcome’ any obstacle according to God’s Plan and through Christ who Strengthens me.
We need to say ‘I will act’, I will follow the example that Jesus left for me.
I Am, I Can, I Will – following these three statements will change your life and carry the Love of Christ father than you can imagine.
I Am Ready – I Can Overcome – I Will Act.
Thanks for Reading!
God Bless,
Robert
We started out with I Am by looking how the Nation of Israel was told by God to stop wandering around in the wilderness and to turn north. They had to reach a point where they were willing to say, Yes I am going to follow God. I Am going to do what God wants me to do.
Every single one of us will have many times in our lives where we have to decide if we are going to respond to God’s call with an I Am or I am not. Will we turn from what God is calling us to do or will we embrace that next step and Turn North, saying I Am Ready!
Once we say I Am Ready and embrace what God is calling us to, then we are faced with the next challenge. Accepting the task that God has given you is one thing, accomplishing it is another. To often our I Am is clobbered by an I Cannot when we realize that the task God has given us is more than we bargained for.
As I mentioned last week, my I Am almost hit its match when I realized that I would have to speak in front of people as a Pastor. Something that I was deathly afraid of at that time. I had to remember that God wanting me to be a Pastor was part of the Plan, the very detailed Plan, for my life and another part of His pan was me overcoming my fear.
God has planned out tasks for each one of us to complete. He knows that many if not all of them are beyond what we can do with the skills, knowledge, and resources we have on our own. He is looking for us to remember that these are His Plans and through His Grace, Wisdom, and Strength we can turn our I Am into an I Can. We cannot do it on our own, we need to trust and lean on the King of Kings to make sure our I Can will overcome our I Cannot.
First, each one of us needs to say ‘I Am Ready’ to serve God.
Then we have to remember that through His strength We Can achieve the Plan He has for us.
Then we come to the next step, the I Will step.
Isaiah 6:1-8
“6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth. 4 The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies. 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said: Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for. 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who should I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.”
Here was a man who knew he was not worthy of being in God’s presence, yet at the end of it He states ‘Here I am. Send me.’ A very simple statement that moves past I Am Ready and I Can overcome… to saying I Will do it.
I will step out in faith.
I will invite my neighbor to church.
I will volunteer to teach a class.
I will share the gospel with my friend.
I will help at church.
I will stretch beyond my comfort zone.
I will do whatever Jesus wants me to do.
I will go where God wants me to go.
I Will is more than agreeing that you are called to do something. It is more than knowing that you can overcome the challenges before you, it is having the determination to move forward. It is where the rubber meets the road. I Will is where things actually get done.
God wants every single one of us to say I Am, I Can, AND I Will.
Isaiah 1:17-19
“17 Learn to do what is good. Pursue justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause. 18 “Come, let us settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are crimson red, they will be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land.”
Do what is Good.
Pursue Justice.
Correct the Oppressor.
Defend the rights of the Fatherless.
Plead the widow’s cause.
These are all actions and are followed by verse 19, where it states ‘If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land.’
We need to be willing AND obedient to what God has called us to do.
Micah 6:8
“Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Saying ‘send me’ or ‘I Will’, results in serving God and Others. It goes beyond coming to church on Sunday and singing a few songs and listening to some guy speak for half an hour. It goes beyond having a Christian bumper sticker on your car. It goes beyond saying you are a Christian.
I Will leads to Action.
The Nation of Israel was told to ‘Turn North’ and they did. It led them to some challenging times as they entered the promised land, but it led them to Act on their Faith in God.
Acts 1:8
“Buy you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
If Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit is in you. With the Holy Spirit living in you, you are to be Jesus’s witnesses. As a witness you are to share what God has done in your life and the lives of your loved ones. It requires Action.
Matthew 28:18-20
“18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The Great Commission… a statement of Action.
Go… Make…Baptizing… Teaching…
God wishes that None would Perish and the only way that is going to happen is if, WE the Church go and be His witnesses starting in our communities and spreading all the way to the ends of the Earth. We need to be reaching the Lost, sharing how Jesus has changed our lives, baptizing them into the family of God, and teaching them how to love, showing them how to live, and helping them to share with others.
If you read through the Gospels you will find 37 documented miracles. But that is only a sampling of what Jesus did.
John 21:25
“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.”
The 37 documented miracles are just are like a trailer for an upcoming movie. The trailer gives us a glimpse at what the movie is going to be like in hopes of convincing us to spend our time and money to watch it. The 37 miracles found in the gospels give us a glimpse into the power of God, the heart of Jesus, and show us that He puts his money where His mouth is.
Jesus not only tells us to do what is good, to love others, to care for those in need. The Bible shows that while He talked the talk, He also walked the walk. He put others needs before His own, He went out of His way to share the message of Grace, He sacrificed for others.
Jesus served others.
John 13:12-15
“12 When Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer clothing, he reclined again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are speaking rightly, since that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you.”
Jesus demonstrated that our I Will means putting others first. We need to say I Will and serve others within the church and in our communities.
Jesus shared the message of the Living Water with the Samaritan Woman.
John 4:40-42
“40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of what he said. 42 And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.”
No self-respecting Jewish man would have gone to Samaria. Jesus went out of His way to share His message of Grace. Our ‘I Will’ means going wherever God tells us to go. Sharing with others as we go. I Will may take us to our neighbors, it may take us to church events, it may take us to the far corners of the earth. We need to respond in faith and go where God leads.
Romans 5:8-9
“8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 How much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath.”
Jesus freely gave of Himself so that we can have eternal life. Our I Will, will drive us to sacrifice for others. Giving of our time, our money, and there are some who will give their lives in service to others for Jesus.
Scripture tells us that we are to imitate Jesus. Jesus put others first, we need to put others first. Jesus went out of His way to share the message of Grace, we need to do the same. Jesus sacrificed so people can be saved, we to need to sacrifice so that Jesus message can be spread.
We cannot accomplish this on our own, we NEED the Holy Spirit to work in us, but it does require us to act.
We need to stand up and say ‘I am ready’ to step out in faith.
We need to proclaim that ‘I can overcome’ any obstacle according to God’s Plan and through Christ who Strengthens me.
We need to say ‘I will act’, I will follow the example that Jesus left for me.
I Am, I Can, I Will – following these three statements will change your life and carry the Love of Christ father than you can imagine.
I Am Ready – I Can Overcome – I Will Act.
Thanks for Reading!
God Bless,
Robert
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