I AM so you don't have to be Lesson 9

I AM Bible Study
Chapter Three
I AM your fame

Lesson Nine
‘A Set Up for a Show Up’

Background Reading:
Exodus 5:1-7:7

Key Verse:
"But I will harden Pharaoh's heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in Egypt." Exodus 7:3

I have always been intrigued by the concept of the fame of the Lord. It is mind-boggling to discover God is our identity and likewise we are His. How utterly terrifying to think that how others respond to our God is directly tied to what and how much they have heard about Him from us! In the same manner, our fame as a woman of God is directly tied to the mighty acts He has done on our behalf.

I had never thought of this concept, and yet it is very biblical. I have heard and even stated that I am all the Bible some people may ever read, and yet it had never struck the cord that the above statement by Lisa did.

God orchestrated the harsh servitude of the Israelites and used the hardening of Pharaoh's heart 'in order to multiply His wonders in Egypt.' The Egyptians may not have heard of the God of Israel before the Exodus, but He would not remain anonymous for long!

This is one of the most difficult statements as Christian that we have to deal with. A God that orchestrates the kind of harsh servitude of the Israelites that He did can not be a God of love, and this is so far from the truth. It is because of His great love for me that I have some of the trials that I do, He is trying to teach me, correct me, and grow me. And sometimes it takes a “strong hand” to get my attention.

Are there any of you out there who will raise your hands to the fact that rock bottom is the place where God is most visible?

I love this statement, because it is so true. God is already at the bottom of whatever ‘barrel’ He has us in just waiting to catch us, if we would just fall and quit trying to save ourselves.

"Now, Moses, you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh." Now, you shall see. When all hope is gone, when things can not get any worse. When the debt is crushing, when the husband is unfaithful. When the child is wayward, when the friend betrays, when the health is gone. Now is when you are in a place to credit God for a deliverance only He can bring. And what happens as a result? When you proclaim what He has done on your behalf, You will make your God famous. Those who hear will either respond in worship, fear, or denial. We will discuss in future lessons the implications of each of these.

I want to make God famous in my life. I want there to be so much of Him and so little of me. Hard to get there. I have to either go through the fire, or get on the potter’s wheel.

Discussion Questions:

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself on how often your conversation is seasoned with the works of the Lord on your behalf? If you speak very little of Him, is there a reason you know of? If you speak often, how do people respond?
Does negative numbers count? Sadly depends on whom I am with. If it is my “Christian friends I would say 3 to 5, if it is the non-Christian or non practicing Christian 0 to -5. Why, because if they don’t see it in my life, they will not believe my words.

2. Have you experienced a Set Up for a Show Up when you were uncertain whether the situation was the chastisement of the Lord or a temptation of Satan?
Yes, Rusty and I were suddenly without a home at one time. We hunted and hunted, and I cried and weep, when we found what we thought we were suppose to do-God told me very clearly not to sign the lease, I did it anyway, and the next day He gave us the home we had prayed for and replaced all the money that we lost breaking the first lease.

3. Have you ever or are you now experiencing any Job trials where you can still not identify any wrong-doing on your part?
No, but I have always said that I would like to have the faith of Job.

4. Apply this principle: How can my response make my God famous? Will obedience result in my sanctification and God's Glory?
God’s desire is for me to walk with Him not against Him. My obedience always results in my sanctification and God’s Glory.

5. Does the origin of our affliction matter in view of the fame God can gain from it?
No, I believe that nothing is outside of God’s control, so if an affliction was started by the enemy, it is still in God’s control, and will in the end bring Glory to Him.

Lots to chew on.

Sallye