Table Of ContentPraise for …
WARREN W. WIERSBE
“Warren Wiersbe is one of the greatest Bible expositors of our generation.”
Billy Graham, evangelist
“In a day when many are offering cotton-candy theology, Warren Wiersbe takes
us to the meat, bread, milk, and honey of the Word of God.”
From the foreword by Michael Catt, senior pastor of Sherwood Baptist
Church, Albany, Georgia, and executive producer of Sherwood Pictures
“Who Jesus Christ is really matters, now and for eternity. Warren Wiersbe
brilliantly explores the great I AM–ness of Jesus. It’s good to know who Christ
is, but knowing what He can do for you is a matter of life and death, literally.”
Palmer Chinchen, PhD, speaker and author of Justice Calling, True
Religion, and God Can’t Sleep
“Dr. Wiersbe’s unique style is not overly academic, but theologically sound. He
explains the deep truths of Scripture in a way that everyone can understand and
apply. Whether you’re a Bible scholar or a brand-new believer in Christ, you
will benefit, as I have, from Warren’s insights.”
Ken Baugh, pastor
HE WALKS WITH ME
Published by David C Cook
4050 Lee Vance View
Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.
David C Cook Distribution Canada 55 Woodslee Avenue, Paris, Ontario, Canada N3L 3E5
David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England The graphic
circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced
or used in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Bible credits are listed in the back matter.
LCCN 2016904398
ISBN 978-0-7814-1448-7
eISBN 978-0-7814-1506-4
© 2011, 2016 Warren W. Wiersbe First edition published under the title Jesus in the Present Tense, ISBN
978-0-7814-0487-7.
The Team: Tim Peterson, Amy Konyndyk, Jack Campbell, Susan Murdock Cover Design: Nick Lee
Cover Photo: Shutterstock
Second Edition 2016
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
032816
CONTENTS
Foreword
Preface
1 Moses Asks a Question
2 The Apostle John Provides Some Answers
3 The Bread of Life
4 The Light of the World
5 The Door
6 The Good Shepherd
7 The Resurrection and the Life
8 The Way, the Truth, and the Life
9 The True Vine
10 The Neglected I AM
11 “I Am Jesus” (Acts 9:5; 22:8; 26:15)
12 Living and Serving in the Present Tense
Notes
Bible Credits
FOREWORD
They say you judge a book by its cover. I’ve tried not to do that. Although I have
nearly ten thousand books in my library, I seek to judge a book by the author and
content. Covers can be misleading. Content is revealing.
As the author or editor of nearly two hundred books, Warren Wiersbe writes
content that reveals a man who walks with God, listens to God, and knows
God’s Word intimately. The book you hold in your hands is no exception.
One of the first books I ever purchased as a young minister was one of Warren
Wiersbe’s “BE” series commentaries. That book helped me to stay balanced in
my understanding of the Scriptures. As a pastor, I always check my Wiersbe
commentaries to make sure I’m balanced on my interpretation of a text.
Warren Wiersbe is respected by Sunday school teachers and seminary
professors. He is read by laymen and scholars. His insights have helped millions
of students of God’s Word.
In the 1990s, I finally got to meet Warren and his wife, Betty. Sometimes
when you meet an author, you can see a vast difference between the person and
the print. Not so with Warren. He lives what he writes. He loves the Lord he
writes about. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to know him as a friend,
encourager, and adviser. When I talk to him, I have pen and paper ready,
because I know there’s going to be a nugget of truth to write down and
remember. I cherish every opportunity to talk—most of all, to listen.
This newest book from the desk of Dr. Wiersbe is what I would call “classic
Wiersbe.” He Walks with Me is a journey through the I AM statements of our
Lord (and a few other statements, as you will discover). These pages reveal the
difference Christ makes today in the lives of those who embrace the truth. After
reading these pages, you will have a greater grasp of who Jesus is and what He
wants to do in your life today.
He Walks with Me is a reminder that our Lord is not a distant deity, nor is He
just a figure of history. He is the living God, the great I AM. Dr. Wiersbe guides
us through a practical and applicable study of these statements. While these
statements are familiar, we often forget they are for us today, not just for those
who heard them in the first century.
When you read this book, you’ll love Jesus more. You’ll see how the divine
life is intended to work itself out in daily living. Many books today seek to water
down truth to make it more acceptable, but not this one. This book will stretch
you to look to the Lord daily for all your needs.
In a day when many are offering cotton-candy theology, Warren Wiersbe
takes us to the meat, bread, milk, and honey of the Word of God. The content is
sound and scriptural. May the I AM speak to you, as He did to me.
Michael Catt
Senior pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church, Albany, Georgia
Executive producer of Sherwood Pictures
PREFACE
There is no substitute for Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can save us from our sins and
give us the grace we need to live for Him. If you want fullness of life, you have
to go to Jesus.
The way we relate to the Lord determines how He will relate to us. “Come
near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8). Apart from Jesus, we
can do nothing (John 15:5). It’s a tragedy for us to have an active life and then at
the end discover that nothing we did would last.
No leader, no author, no organization, and no set of religious disciplines can
do for us what Jesus alone can do, if we let Him. Even the book you are now
reading can merely point the way to Jesus. Divine truth becomes dynamic life
only when we yield to Jesus by faith and follow Him. If the founders of the
world’s philosophies and religious systems were alive on earth today, they could
only say, “I was.” They are dead, and they can’t personally help you. Jesus
doesn’t say, “I was.” He is alive and says, “I AM.” He can meet our needs today.
He is alive this very moment and offers us a satisfying spiritual life in the
present tense. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb.
13:8). Past history, present reality, and future certainty all unite today in Jesus
Christ, the great I AM.
The I AM statements recorded in Scripture reveal the depths of the Christian
life and how God’s children can go deeper by living with Jesus in the present
tense. With Paul we should be able to say, “The life I now live in the body, I live
by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
Note that phrase: “The life I now live.”
In our memories and imaginations, we try to live in the past or in the future,
but this doesn’t produce a balanced or creative Christian life. Someone has said
that the “good old days” are a mixture of a bad memory and a good imagination,
and I agree. My past may discourage me and my future may frighten me, but
“the life I now live” today can be enriching and encouraging because “Christ
lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). As we live by faith, a day at a time, Jesus enables us to
be faithful and fruitful and content.
God doesn’t want us to ignore the past; the past should be a rudder to guide us,
not an anchor to hold us back. Nor does He want us to neglect planning for the
future, so long as we say, “If it is the Lord’s will” (James 4:13–17). The better
we understand our Lord’s I AM statements and by faith apply them, the more
our strength will equal our days (Deut. 33:25) and we will “run and not grow
weary [and] … walk and not be faint” (Isa. 40:31). We will abide in Christ and
bear fruit for His glory today—now.
That is what this book is about.
Warren W. Wiersbe
