In the sermon titled 'The Seven “I AM” Statements in the Gospel of John,' Jason Dohm explores the unique claims of Jesus found exclusively in John's Gospel. These statements, 'I am the bread of life,' 'I am the light of the world,' 'I am the door of the sheep,' 'I am the good shepherd,' 'I am the resurrection and the life,' 'I am the way, the truth, and the life,' and 'I am the true vine,' each reveal an aspect of Jesus' divine nature and His role as the all-sufficient Savior. Dohm highlights the connection between Jesus' use of 'I AM' and the Old Testament encounter where God reveals himself to Moses as 'I AM WHO I AM' in Exodus 3. This self-identification signifies Jesus' claim to deity and His ability to meet the spiritual needs of believers. The sermon emphasizes that Jesus is the source of spiritual nourishment, truth, guidance, protection, life, and connection to God. Cross-references from both the Old and New Testaments enrich the understanding of these statements, illustrating Jesus' fulfillment of messianic prophecies and His role as the sole mediator between God and humanity.

Please turn with me to Exodus chapter 3. Exodus 3, our sermon text, oftentimes when we have our readers come up, they back up a few verses for context. This morning our text is the context for our sermon topic. Please follow along. Exodus chapter 3, starting in verse 1.

Now, Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush So he looked and behold the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed Then Moses said I will now turn aside and see this great sight why the bush does not burn So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, here I am. And then he said, do not draw near this place.

Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. Moreover, he said, 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 upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good land, a large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.

Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed them. Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? So he said, I will certainly be with you, and this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. Then Moses said to God, indeed, When I come to the children of Israel and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, what is his name?

What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I am has sent me to you. Moreover, God said to Moses, thus you shall say to the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, 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 is my memorial to all generations.

Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt, and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites to a land flowing with milk and honey. Then they will heed your voice. And you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the King of Egypt, and you shall say to him, The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us, and now please let us go three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. But I am sure that the King of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders, which I will do in its midst.

And after that, he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. And it shall be when you go, you shall not go empty handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. And you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters, so you shall plunder the Egyptians." You may be seated.

I Am is the self-existent Almighty God who has come to bring you out of bondage. The title of the sermon this morning is the seven I Am statements in the Gospel of John. Unbelievably, not one of these I Am statements can be found in any of the other Gospels. Can you believe that? It is entirely unique to the Gospel of John.

So glad we have them. They are sprinkled throughout the Gospel of John and We are now at the beginning of John chapter 15 and we just encountered the last one of the seven. And we decided rather than to keep marching forward through the Gospel of John, we would just stop for one week and take the opportunity to collect them all up, to talk about them in their totality, and to glory in Jesus Christ and all that He is to your people, this should be such a happy, happy study. We need everything that He is, and all that He is, He is in inexhaustible abundance. So the people of God today rejoice.

And if you're not in the people of God, know that there is an all-sufficient Savior who is everything that you need now and will need in the future can sustain you through all eternity. The format of each of the I AM statements is exactly the same. It's always Jesus who says it. It's never anyone else saying it of Jesus, it's always a self-claim of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus says, I am blank.

There are seven of them. In that form, the claim to deity is clear, meaning this. If you weren't God, but you said, I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world, you would be a lunatic. No prophet from the beginning of time has ever spoken that way. The prophets pointed to Jesus, Jesus pointed to himself.

So the claim to be more than man, The claim to be God is clear because of what fills in the blank. A lot of people say, I am something. I am the dog catcher. That's no claim to deity. But when you say things like, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me." That's another claim altogether.

But the claim to being the I Am of Exodus 3 is subtle. It wasn't subtle in Exodus 3. You know exactly what's being said there. I am the self-existent Almighty God who is able to bring a people out of bondage by my mighty right hand. Jesus saying I am the bread of life is a subtle claim to that.

But there are actually a couple of other claims that aren't subtle at all in the Gospel of John. They are not any of the seven I AM statements, but I want you to consider these two. They are actually my favorite I AM statements. Listen to John 8 verse 53. John 8 verse 53.

Jesus is being challenged by the Jews and they say, are you greater than our father Abraham who is dead? Jesus says this in John 8 58, most assuredly I say to you before Abraham was I am. Abraham was thousands of years ago. Jesus says I pre-exist Abraham. That's not subtle at all.

How do you know it wasn't subtle? Well, the Jews immediately got it and the Jews immediately took up stones to stone him. And it was a remarkable providence of God that he wasn't stoned then. It wasn't his hour, so he couldn't be stoned then. But the Jews got it.

The claim to being, I am the self-existent God. Self-existent just means he needs nothing outside of himself. He can exist for eternity with nothing outside of himself. He needs nothing. He is self-existent.

You're not self-existent. I'm not self-existent. God is self-existent. Listen to this. In John 18, Judas and the officers come to the garden to apprehend Jesus.

In verse 4, Jesus says, this is John 18 verse 4, Jesus says, Whom are you seeking? Verse 5, they say Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus says, I am. Now the translators there have added a he, but if you have one of those Bibles that put added words in italics, you'll see The translators added that to make it have a correct sentence structure. It's very unhelpful.

Jesus says, I am. He doesn't say he. And here's what we read in verse 6. Now, when he said to them, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground. Judas the betrayer and the officers who have come out with swords and clubs are there to apprehend Jesus.

Jesus says, who are you here for? They say Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus says, I am. And when he says that, the armed mob draws back and falls down prostrate, probably for reasons that they didn't even understand at the time. I am.

Power went out from Jesus. They prostrated themselves, or were prostrated, I'm not sure which. Here's our road map. For each of the I Am statements, We'll go to them and briefly consider one the context and audience Who was Jesus addressing and what were the circumstances to a? Helpful cross reference.

I think each one of these has probably many but a helpful cross reference. It just throws light and expands the truth of what Jesus is teaching. And three, I'll just summarize the core truth of that. My intent is not to re-preach seven sermons, And all God's people said, Amen. You don't want me to re-preach seven sermons.

We did that. We're pulling out highlights. So it should be wonderful. Number one, I am the bread of life. Turn to John chapter 6.

I am the bread of life. What is the context and the audience? Jesus has just fed 5, 000 people with practically nothing. Only He can make something from nothing. He fed a multitude.

Night comes. In the middle of the night, Jesus walks out to his disciples who are in a boat, and they go across the Sea of Galilee. In the morning, the people want to be with Jesus again, but they find that Jesus is not there so they follow around the Sea of Galilee. And we pick up this scene in John chapter 6 beginning in verse 25, beginning in verse 26 through 35. John 6, 26 through 35.

Follow along as I read that. Jesus answered and said to them, Most assuredly I say to you, you seek me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal on him. And they said to him, What shall we do that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.

Therefore they said to Him, What sign will you perform then that we may see it and believe you. What work will you do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat." The implication is you fed us, Moses fed us for forty years, What will you do? Then Jesus said to them, I'm in 32, then Jesus said to them, Most assuredly I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." And they said to him, Lord give us this bread always.

And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. 40 years is nothing. Physical bread is nothing. He who comes to me will never hunger.

He who believes in me will never thirst. Forty years of manna for a nation, a nation of millions. Forty years of supply for a nation for forty years is nothing compared to the supply available in the Lord Jesus. He is the bread of life. Here's a helpful cross reference.

Matthew chapter 4 verse 4, Jesus answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And acknowledgement, yes, we need, our bodies need food, we need physical bread. You can't live on that alone. You need something sent from heaven for you. You need words from heaven, truth from heaven.

The words from heaven, the truth from heaven, points to one source of life. It is Jesus. The core truth. What bread is to the body? How many times are you going to eat today?

It's more than three. Tell the truth. What bread is to the body, Jesus is to the soul. A must have ongoing spiritual nourishment. If I come to Him, I will never hunger.

If I believe in Him, I will never thirst. Today? No, Not today. Tomorrow? No, not tomorrow.

Throughout all eternity? No. You will not hunger or thirst throughout all eternity. Number two. I am the light of the world.

John 8 verse 12. Turn to John 8 verse 12. What is the context? And audience. This is just after the Feast of Tabernacles.

The scribes and Pharisees just brought Jesus, a woman caught in adultery. Where was the man? Nowhere to be found. They went about this in a completely unlawful way. Jesus shames them.

Jesus ends up saying, let him who is without sin cast the first stone. The accusers gradually melt away until there's not one accuser And then Jesus addresses those who remain. And he says this in John 8-12. Then Jesus spoke to them again saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.

I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." A helpful cross reference. Matthew 4 verse 16. Matthew the Gospel writer says this, The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned." Those are Matthew's words.

Matthew is borrowing those words from Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 9, a text that if you go and look at what is quoted and you just look at what's around it. It's words that are used over and over in different places in the New Testament. Isaiah 9 is quoted many times about the Messiah, unmistakably messianic prophecy in Isaiah 9. So Matthew the Gospel writer pulls forward Isaiah 9 and says, What's happening with the arrival of Jesus is the fulfillment of this.

A promise, God's promise to send a Savior. In Isaiah 9, Messiah equals light. Also in Isaiah 42, Messiah equals light. Also in Isaiah 49, Messiah equals light. Also in Isaiah 60, Messiah equals light.

Matthew had a lot to pick from. He picked Isaiah 9. But in many places, the prophet said, Messiah equals light. Darkness all over scripture is figurative for falsehood and wickedness. Darkness, blindness, falsehood, self-deception, and wickedness, moral corruption, defilement, darkness.

Of course, these things go hand in hand, don't they? Falsehood and wickedness go hand in hand. Falsehood is a pathway to wickedness. It is the pathway to wickedness. Light all over scripture is figurative for truth and righteousness.

Truth, light. The ability to see and know, rightly, light and righteousness. Light, moral purity, like 1 John. God is light and in him is no darkness at all. Total purity, righteousness.

And of course those two go hand in hand. Also, truth and righteousness. Truth is the pathway to righteousness. The core truth. Jesus has come into the world to deliver from falsehood and wickedness.

Into truth and righteousness. Why did Jesus come into the world? Well, to liberate us from falsehood and wickedness. And bring us out of that and into truth and righteousness. We have natures bent against God.

Natures that actually love darkness. So back to Matthew quoting Isaiah 9, the people who sat in darkness. There's no light to walk by. You can't see anything. Blackness that prevents any sight, any understanding, so you just sit.

Where would you go? How would you get there? Sitting in the shadow of Death. Jesus came to deliver from that into truth and righteousness. It is Jesus as truth and Jesus as righteousness that makes a way for us to be saved.

Number three, I am the door of the sheep. John chapter 10 verse 9. Turn to John chapter 10. I am the door of the sheep. It was the context and the audience.

In chapter 9, there is a man who was blind from birth. He had never seen a sight in his entire life. Now he is in adulthood. Jesus comes and gives him sight. The Jewish leaders question his parents, then they question him, then they question his parents again, then they question him again.

And the result of him having the audacity to be healed and given his sight is that he's kicked out of the synagogue because he trusts the one who gave him sight. Imagine that. Jesus then seeks him out after he has been put out of the synagogue. The Pharisees challenge Jesus because Jesus calls him to faith in himself as the promised Messiah. The man who was blind but now sees trust in him as Messiah.

So the Pharisees immediately are putting pressure on Jesus. So Jesus tells a parable to talk about their illegitimate access to the people of God. They are the Jewish leaders. They have seized access to the people of God and Jesus is saying it's illegitimate access. We'll read now John chapter 10 verses 1 through 10.

Follow along as I read, starting in verse 1. Most assuredly I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber. He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which he spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them, Most assuredly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. There is a very helpful cross-reference. It is in the Old Testament. Turn to Psalm 118.

Psalm 118. Again, like Isaiah 9, it has the fingerprints of messianic prophecy, the foretellings of God promising to send a Savior, what that would be like. All the marks of that are all over Psalm 118. So I'll be reading Psalm 118 verses 19 through 29. And just have in your mind Jesus saying, I am the door.

Psalm 118 beginning in verse 19. Open to me the gates of righteousness. I am the door. Open to me the gates of righteousness. I am the door.

Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will go through them and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous shall enter. I will praise you, for you have answered me and have become my salvation." The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing.

It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now I pray, O Lord. O Lord I pray, send now prosperity.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." By the way, the save now send prosperity, it's the Hosanna of the triumphal entry. If you look at the words in the original languages, this is the Hosanna that the people were saying when Jesus came into Jerusalem, to hundreds of thousands of people saying, Hosanna to the King of David. They are quoting this out of Psalm 118. Verse 26. Verse 26.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God is the Lord and He has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God and I will praise you.

You are my God and I will exalt you. O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever." Jesus is the door of the sheep. Jesus is the gate of righteousness through which you go to be saved. Jesus is the Sacrifice that is bound with cords to the altar that brings His people into righteousness. The core of the truth.

The core truth of Jesus saying, I am the door of the sheep. As the door, Jesus is the way to enter into the flock of God, a gate to a narrow way that leads to life. As the door, Jesus is the way true shepherds have legitimate access to his sheep. People are always trying to get to the sheep for their own gain. There is a way to have access to the Lord's people.

It's that the chief shepherd gives you access. He is the access. He is the door. He's all these things together, So sometimes it's hard to talk about it because he is the shepherd and the door. 4.

I am the good shepherd. John 10 verse 11. We're back to John 10 now. Two verses later. These two I Am statements come in quick succession.

Context in the audience is the same. It's just two verses later. So I'll just pick up reading where I left off in John chapter 10. I will read 11 through 16 now. Having said, I am the door of the sheep, he now says, I am the Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But a hireling who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. The wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. Hirling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd and I know my sheep and am known by my own.

The Father knows me even so I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep." Hiraling flees. Jesus lays down his life for the sheep. Verse 16. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring and they will hear my voice. There will be one flock and one shepherd.

That verse explains why I'm born again. Outside the Jewish people he has other sheep to call and bring and he has done it. Praise the Lord. A helpful cross reference. Psalm 23, of course, Psalm 23.

Any good Jew hearing Jesus saying, I am the good shepherd knows that he is laying claim to Psalm 23. Just listen to it, it's beautiful. It's a Psalm of David, a shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The core truth.

The Lord Jesus Christ takes it upon Himself to gather and to protect and to care for His people. And he does it all perfectly. He is the good shepherd. He is the perfect shepherd. He gathers his people perfectly.

He protects his people perfectly. Why? He's not the hireling. He never runs away. He always stands.

Gives his life for his people. He sustains his people, feeds his people perfectly. Our provision never misses a beat. Surely Goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He is a good shepherd who can do that.

Five, I am the resurrection and the life. John 11, 25. Turn to John 11, 25. I am the resurrection and the life. The context in the audience.

Lazarus is dead. Jesus delayed on purpose. He got news that he was sickened to death and he waited so that he could reveal his glory. He waited for Lazarus to die so he could reveal his glory. He comes and he has a remarkable interchange with the sister of the dead man Martha.

Martha is the sister of the dead man. I'll be reading John 11 verses 23 through 27. Follow along. John 11 beginning in verse 23. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again.

Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus is talking about a few minutes. She's talking about at the end when the dead shall rise. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live.

And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him, yes Lord, I believe You are the Christ, the Son of God who has come into the world." A helpful cross-reference. This one is Jesus' commentary on Jesus out of John chapter 5. Flip back to John chapter 5.

Jesus as the resurrection and the life, he's used very similar terms to speak more fully of it in John chapter 5. I'm going to read John chapter 5 verse 21, Then I'm going to skip to John chapter 5 verse 25. Just skip down a few verses. I'll tell you when I do it so you can follow. John chapter 5 verse 21.

Jesus says, For as the Father raises the dead, and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom he will." I'll read that again. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom he will. Skipping down to verse 25. Most assuredly I say to you, the hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself." Jesus called forth from the grave a man who had been dead for four days just to prove that he can raise you from the dead spiritually.

That's the whole point of him raising Lazarus from the dead. Wasn't doing Lazarus any favors. The real resurrection, the resurrection that counts, the resurrection that you need to know that Jesus Christ can deliver, is the resurrection of your spirit from spiritual death. The core truth is this, we are dead. Jesus has life in Himself.

If you believe in Him, He will raise you from the dead spiritually in that instant. He will raise you bodily. He will raise you physically when He comes again. There are two resurrections. He is capable of giving you both of them.

Number six. I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14 verse 6, turn to John 14. I am the way, the truth, and the life. What is the context in the audience?

This is part of the upper room discourse that we are in right now. It extends from chapter 13 through chapter 17. It is Jesus at the Last Supper with His disciples. He has been saying, only a little while longer, only a little while longer, only a little while longer, and then he begins to speak words of comfort to his disciples. And he says, in my Father's house are many dwellings, and you know where I am going and you know the way.

And Thomas says, Lord we don't know where you're going. How can we know the way? And then in John 14 verse 6, Jesus says to Thomas, I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. A helpful cross-reference.

Acts chapter 4 verses 11 and 12. Peter has been apprehended with the other apostles for preaching in the temple and Peter is now giving an explanation of why they are preaching Jesus in the temple. In his preaching, Peter says this in Acts 4 verses 11 and 12, of Jesus, this is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. What is he quoting there? Psalm 118.

We are already at Psalm 118. The gates of salvation also includes this. The stone which was rejected by you builders has become the chief cornerstone. Then he says this, Nor is there salvation in any other name, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. You can only be saved in one name.

There is only one person who has done one saving work. Any other name will fail you. Any other hope will fail you. There is not salvation in any other. There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.

The core saved. The core truth. Jesus is that one exclusive way to come to the Father in all of His consuming holiness. Do you understand the consuming holiness of the Father? There is only one way for a sinner to come to the Father in His all-consuming holiness.

Jesus is that way. He is the truth. He is the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. 7.

I am the true vine. John 15 verse 1. God as the vineyard owner and God as the vine dresser has this rich Old Testament history. But in the Old Testament, Israel is always divine. Well, they are just the picture of the true vine.

That's why Jesus says, I am the true vine in John 15. Jesus is actually the reality that that picture was always pointing forward to. I am the true vine. All that Israel could never live up to, I live up to. And you are the branches in me.

The context, same context, we are still in the upper room discourse, this Last Supper that he had had with his disciples. Jesus has just said in the last chapter that he would not leave his disciples as orphans, but that he would send his Spirit to indwell them. The disciples are going to be in Jesus, and Jesus is going to be in the disciples and the Father and the Son are going to come and make their dwelling with believers through the indwelling of the Spirit. And Jesus, I believe, gives us this parable to understand what this is like. It's like a vine and branches that abide in the vine.

Let's read John 15, 1-8. Follow along. Jesus says, I am the true vine. My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away.

Every branch that bears fruit, He prunes that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine.

You are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. For without Me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit. So you will be my disciples." A helpful cross-reference is John 6 verse 56. Here is what Jesus said in John 6 verse 56. He who eats my flesh. Just think about that.

Eating flesh. We read these things and so we stop recoiling from them. These are words to be recoiled from. Eating flesh, that is what the Jews did in John 6. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him.

This is what it means to abide, to partake of Him, to keep partaking of Him. You don't have what you need. Jesus is what you need. His body broken is what you have to have. His blood shed is what you have to have.

To abide in the vine is to eat his body and drink his blood. Yes, recoil that it would take something like that to save you. We make So light of our sin. You have to eat a body to be saved. You have to drink blood to be saved.

You deserve death for your sins. To abide in him is to keep partaking, keep forsaking every other hope that there ever was in the world. Because they will all fail to hope. And the one thing that won't fail, Jesus, eat His body, drink His blood, abide in Him. As a branch abides in the vine, drawing from the vine day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade.

All that it needs, Jesus is that. The core truth. As the vine, Jesus gives life to his disciples, sustains the life of his disciples, and makes his disciples fruitful. No such thing as an unfruitful disciple of Jesus. That's just counterfeit.

No fruit, not a disciple. Friends, what is all of this about? Seven pictures of what Jesus is. What is all of this about? My body needs food, but even more than that, my soul needs food.

It must have food. Jesus is the bread of life. There is nowhere else for me to go. There is nowhere else for food for my soul. Only Jesus Christ.

I need truth and righteousness because I am filled with falsehood and wickedness. Jesus is the light of the world. There is nowhere else for me to go. Anything else is darkness. I was born without hope, and without God in the world, a nature bent against God.

I loved the things that God hated. I loved them. I was very respectable. I've never been anything but respectable. I hated the things that He loved, respectively.

I was rightly outside of the people of God. Jesus is the door of the sheep. You don't have to stay in your natural condition with a fallen nature, bent against God, hating the things that He loves, loving the things that He hates. There is a door. You press through that door, you become part of the people of God.

There is nowhere else to go. There is no other door. Even once I'm part of the people of God, I am vulnerable and weak. I desperately need protection and care as much today as the day that I was saved. I was saved almost 40 years ago.

I need protection and care today as much as I did in Vacation Bible School in Greenville, North Carolina on the day that I was saved. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. There is nowhere else for me to go. There is a Shepherd who will care for me throughout eternity. The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want. I was born in a body of death and then lived dead in my trespasses and sins. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. There is nowhere else for me to go. There is not life in any other.

I have no way to approach God, no way to discern the most important truths, No claim to anything but eternal death. But Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. There is nowhere else for me to go. No one comes to the Father except through him. Listen to Hebrews 7 verse 25.

Hebrews 7 verse 25. Therefore Jesus is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since he always makes intercession for them. Because Jesus is the totality of all the I AM treasures and more, much, much, much more. He has saved me to the uttermost. There is a sense in which he has saved me and he is saving me today.

And he will save me all through eternity. I need the bread of life. I need the light of the world. I need the door of the sheep. I need the good shepherd.

I need the resurrection and the life. I need the way, the truth and the life. I need the true vine. In those things and more, I am saved to the uttermost, because He always makes intercession for me. If you are a believer, rejoice today.

All of your most pressing needs are met in the Lord Jesus Christ. Never with a little, always with abundance. All that you need. If you are an unbeliever, what could hold you back from the I AM? What would hold you back?

You know you have these tremendous needs. You know that you do. Turn away from the worthless things that you chase, that you cling to, that keep you from Him. Turn away from those things. To God, who is of infinite worth, you'll see real beauty, You'll know real pleasure in Him.

Forsake those worthless things. I've walked with the Lord for almost 40 years now. It's true. I beg you to believe me. It's true.

It's all true. He is all of these things. Throw yourself upon Jesus. Cast your cares upon Him. He cares for you.

God, I thank you for Jesus. Jesus, you are, You are all that your people need. We cast ourselves upon you. There is nowhere else to go. You are not a way, a truth, a life.

You are the way. There is no other way. You are the truth, there is no other truth. You are the life. Everything is death but you.

We glory in these truths. I thank you for an exalted view of the sun set forward in these I AM statements. How could you claim these things? You are God. You are God.

There is No one like you. Praise you for these truths. We rejoice in them. You are all beautiful. Pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

In.