Thesis
The name Yahweh — 'I AM WHO I AM' — is God's eternal, formal name, declaring that He alone has always existed, always exists, and always will exist. This same God, revealed fully in Jesus (whose name means 'Yahweh saves'), created us for both relationship and purposeful mission. Just as He called a doubting, guilt-ridden Moses to go and promised to go with him, He calls every believer today. The sermon's central claim is that every 'I can't' we raise is answered by who He is: because He is, we can.
Key points
- 1
God's formal name, Yahweh, means 'I AM' — declaring that He is the only self-existent, eternal being from whom all existence flows.
- 2
God created us for both relationship with Him and purposeful mission; trying to have one without the other causes faith to flatline.
- 3
When God calls us to go, our first mistake is starting with ourselves — our inadequacies, past failures, and fears — instead of starting with who He is.
- 4
Jesus is the great I AM — the pre-incarnate Yahweh who spoke to Moses, the Creator of Genesis 1–2, and the one who declared 'Before Abraham was even born, I AM.'
- 5
God doesn't ask us to bring ability or resources — only who we are and what we already have — and He will use it in ways we never imagined.
- 6
Every Christian is called to active, purposeful service in the local church body; isolation is a strategy of the enemy that stalls faith.
- 7
There is a critical difference between leaving a church service and going — God always calls us to go with Him on mission, not simply to leave encouraged.
Outline
Introduction: The Names of God
Using the Sandlot clip as a hook, the pastor introduces the series on God's names, explaining that in Scripture names describe attributes and character, and that knowing God's name is essential to knowing God deeply.
Elohim and Yahweh in Genesis
The pastor traces the move from the generic 'Elohim' in Genesis 1 to the personal compound name 'Yahweh Elohim' in Genesis 2, showing that God created us for both relationship and purposeful mission — two sides of the same coin.
Moses at the Burning Bush — The Call
The pastor retells Moses' story: forty years of failure and obscurity, then God's re-engagement at the burning bush, where He declares He has seen the suffering of His people and is sending Moses to act.
The Name Yahweh — 'I AM WHO I AM'
Moses protests, asking what name to give Israel. God answers with Yahweh — 'I AM' — meaning eternal self-existence, the only God, the source of all reality. The big idea emerges: 'Because He is, I can.'
Jesus Is the Great I AM
The pastor connects Yahweh to Jesus, showing that 'Yeshua' means 'Yahweh saves,' that Jesus claimed ego eimi ('I AM') in John 8 before Abraham, and that the angel of the Lord at the burning bush was the pre-incarnate Christ.
God Equips What He Calls — The Staff and the Cloak
God answers Moses' continued protests by transforming his shepherd's staff and healing his diseased hand, illustrating that He asks only for what we already have and who we already are, then empowers it beyond what we could achieve alone.
Application — Stop Leaving, Start Going
The pastor applies the sermon directly: some need to surrender to Christ's grace for the first time; others need to stop wanting relationship without purpose. He calls believers to serve in the church, give financially, and walk out the doors going rather than merely leaving.
Memorable moments
because he is, I can
A relationship with God will always come with a call to go in the purpose of God
I am that I am is saying I am the only thing that has always been, that always is, and always will be
When God calls us to go serve his purposes, he doesn't expect us to bring anything except who we are and what we have and just say take it
there is a difference, a vast difference between going and leaving
that's where you get to see the great I am, be the great I am. That's where you see the power of God start to work
Application
The pastor's 'so what' cuts in two directions. For those who have never surrendered to Jesus, the invitation is simple: stop trying to be good enough on your own, cry out to Him, and accept His grace — because He is, you can be forgiven and brought into real relationship with God. For those who already know Jesus but have settled for a comfortable, purposeless faith, the call is to stop leaving and start going. Practically, that means finding a place to serve in the local church, honoring God with your finances, and putting what you already have — your time, your gifts, your ordinary shepherd's staff — before Him and trusting Him to use it in ways you never imagined. The barrier is almost never ability; it is almost always the unwillingness to surrender the 'I can't' and trust the great I AM.
