Who I Am Matters by Sonny Owens

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And 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 at God.

Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, 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 bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for 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, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the 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 thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
Exodus 3:1-15

V. 14, And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”

There is a lot we could say about this statement, I Am Who I Am. One thing for sure, God is saying to Moses, “Who I Am is important.” That was a long, long time ago. But it still matters who God is. But does God ever say, “It Matters Who You Are?”

In Exodus 3:7-10, it seems as if God is saying to Moses…

Moses it matters who you are. You are the one who I have chosen to lead My people that is oppressed and hurting and needing relief from the heartache of life. Moses it [really does] matters who you are!

Excuses

Of course, we know that Moses began to make excuses to God as to why he couldn’t possibly be the one to do such an important work and besides Moses said, “Who will I say sent me?”

God told Moses [3:14] you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.” The One who is important has sent you. The One that matters has sent one that matters.

You are important. It matters who you are. It really matters who you are! Whether God is talking to Moses or talking to you or me….it matters who you are.

Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.
2 Timothy 4:9-11

We believe the apostle Paul is near to his time of death. He is in prison. He writes for Timothy to bring certain things to him. First Paul asks that Timothy come and be with him. Timothy was so important to Paul. Who Timothy was mattered to Paul.

He asks Timothy to bring him some clothes and his books. And he asks Timothy to bring a (young) man named Mark.

Most likely this young man is John Mark. John Mark was a companion of Barnabas and Paul on a missionary trip. John Mark and Barnabas were cousins. John Mark was a missionary companion with Barnabas and Paul but for some reason he left the mission and Paul must have been upset with him.

When it was time for another mission trip, Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along with him again, but Paul said no, you are not taking John Mark. In fact, in Acts 15:38 it says that Paul insisted that John Mark was not to travel with them.

We know that Barnabas and Paul had a pretty bad falling out over this…..Acts 15:39,40, Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; (40) but Paul chose Silas and departed,

Years later (from Acts 15 to 1 Timothy 4) Paul ask Timothy to bring John Mark to him. Why? Different translations describe Paul’s want and need for John Mark.

• He is useful to me (NKJV, NAS, ASV, ESV)
• He is profitable to me (KJV)
• He is helpful to me (NIV)
• He can help me in my work (TEV)

If you or I were writing this we might say, “Bring John Mark to me because he matters. He is important to me.” It really did matter who John Mark was, it really did. You are a part of a youth group. You are important to your youth group. You are important to the church you attend.

I am sure there have been times and will be times that you might think, “I can’t do what I have been called on to do.” Maybe the task you are asked to do is out of your comfort zone. Perhaps, like Moses, you have said, “Hey I just can’t do that.”

Remember, God reminded Moses that Moses mattered and that is why he was asked to free Israel. God in essence is saying, “Who you are matters to Me. “

Don’t you know there are plenty of people that could have filled Moses shoes, but God asked Moses. Why did God choose Moses? Because Moses mattered to God. Who he was mattered.

You come to CYC and there are some great people at CYC. Some of our heroes are at CYC. We could listen to them all night as they teach God’s wonderful words…..you know, that message that strikes our hearts.

Listen, listen very carefully. You matter to CYC. Who you are matters as to what happens on this special weekend in Dallas, TX. and Pigeon Forge, TN. More important than CYC who you are matters to your church family. You matter to your youth group.

Who you are ABSOLUTELY matters to God

More than anything else who you are matters. Yes, I have belabored the point. Repeated myself several times because you are important. Who you are matters.