“Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Exodus 3:13-14
It’s interesting to notice that God reveals Himself to Moses as the I AM. This name appears as a verb in the present simple tense, implying that God is a God of the present. God takes on all our needs of today as His own responsibility. For years I preached about the God of tomorrow, preaching that even though, in this life, we had nothing, in the next one God would give us a reward. I realized each time I preached in this way people felt disappointed and sad. They wanted an answer for their immediate need. But, I couldn’t give them what they were hoping for because I thought that faith meant to patiently endure all kinds of setbacks in order to get a ticket to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
As I concentrated on studying the Word, I began to understand that the name of God is closely related to faith, and the Great I AM is present now, everywhere we are. Faith is the only key that allows us to enter His presence and positively transform our circumstances.
After the Lord rose from the dead, He told His disciples, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons” (Mark 16:17a). This means that each and every time you use the name of Jesus, He will be present to back up His mighty name. The Lord also said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). Thanks to His redeeming work at the Cross, the Name of Jesus came to be the name above all names. The Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
We recently visited Singapore, where my daughter Sara, who was nineteen at the time, was one of the speakers at the convention there. After the service we had dinner with several Pastors and one of them asked her, “When did you start preaching?” My daughter answered, “When I was twelve years old my Dad told me to prepare a message and to have it ready. I thought he wanted me to share it at a small meeting, but the next Sunday he told me, ‘Sarita I want you to share the teaching you prepared.’ I had all kinds of arguments in my mind of why I could not do it. I thought I was still too young for such a big responsibility. I thought I should be more prepared, or that it would be better for someone else to do it. And I told my Dad, ‘I think I need more preparation.’ He told me, ‘Don’t you worry; you’ve been preparing yourself your whole life. You have been teaching in your cell groups and in the encounters. You have been trained alongside your leaders. I think you are ready.’ In that moment I considered the fact that God shows no favoritism between man and woman, or old and young. The same God that was with Abraham was with my parents, and therefore He was with me. I told my Dad: ‘It’s ok, I will do it.’ I took a step of faith and the Lord backed me up. Since that time I’ve been preaching and going with my parents to several international conventions as a speaker.”
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“I met the God of now, I received His blessings, I accepted His presence and now He leads me in my destiny.”
Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Three.
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
- Old Testament: Isaiah 49-50; Proverbs 27:15-27
- New Testament: Luke 23:44-49; Hebrews 11:1-16
