The Problem Is The Cure - [1 Corinthians 10:9]

Bethlehem Bible Church iconBethlehem Bible Church

0 views

0 comments

00:01
Well if you're a visitor, we're very glad to have you we preach through the Bible verse by verse
00:06
And so let's take our Bibles and turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 10 this morning as we're going through this great book 1st
00:13
Corinthians there should be a blue Bible in the chair back seat just in front of you You'll need a
00:19
Bible this morning hence Bethlehem Bible Church. What a great morning so far of worship
00:25
I'm glad I'm able to remember the triune God as we come and worship in song and baptism and prayer
00:32
What does this word mean? There's lots of phobias? What does a video phobia mean a?
00:39
video phobia sometimes it is written ophio phobia a more generic term would be herpetophobia the fear of snakes
00:54
From the Greek words ofis snakes and phobia which you all know as fear an irrational fear of snakes
01:05
It's not a good thing But some snakes you should be very very afraid of Especially if they're sent by God to punish you
01:15
What? The visitors are here and after the kissing and Then the snake biting
01:21
I want to say early on we don't handle snakes of this church Paul is a
01:34
Jewish man and as he's talking to this church at a city called Corinth right by the ocean
01:40
Close to Athens. He's trying to teach them lessons He's trying to instruct them a way that they can honor
01:47
Christ Jesus their Lord And the way he does it is a way we would do it and that is you can imagine taking a child and say
01:55
You know, let me tell you a story about grandpa This is what grandpa did and you should do what grandpa does or let me tell you a story about That old uncle that you have and here's what this uncle does don't do as he did
02:09
Or it could be of grandma or from an aunt. So Paul does the same thing Paul has a
02:15
Bible and that Bible is only what we call the Old Testament From Genesis to 2nd
02:20
Chronicles are in our Bibles up to Malachi And so Paul says let me tell you how to respond to Christ Since God has blessed you since we've learned about today
02:29
God has called you God has justified you God has foreknown you God has predestined you God has
02:35
Will soon glorify you in light of what God has done. How do we act and The Corinthians are kind of getting too big for their britches and so they're saying, you know, we have freedom in Christ We can't be more forgiven.
02:48
We can't be less forgiven. We can't be loved more by God We can't be loved less by God. So we'll push the envelope and some of the things that we used to do before we were saved
02:59
If we do them now, we're not gonna lose our salvation. And so they're saying, you know this restriction of Can't live the way you used to live.
03:09
We don't really like it and they begin to grumble. They began to complain They begin to say, you know what you can just imagine some little kids having some kind of tantrum
03:18
You ever seen a kid having a tantrum. I always like to Do something about it and by the way
03:24
Don't be a pastor and then go to some public area like McDonald's or an airport terminal
03:30
Because then I feel like I'm the pastor to all those kids, but most of those parents don't want my advice You Paul wants to tell them listen, you're you're pushing your liberties too far and you're acting like a little kid
03:45
Well, we used to be able to go to the idol festivals We used to be able to eat all this meat in the pagan cultic temples
03:52
We know it's not offered really to idols because there's no such thing as an idol we we want to kind of do what we used to do and For us the same thing could happen you get saved you run from your old life
04:03
The more you grow you're more you realize you know, what my old life had a lot of do's and don'ts My new life in Christ has a hangover in do's and don'ts.
04:13
You're a good Christian if you don't smoke You're a good Christian if you don't drink you're a good smoke. You're a good smoker if you don't tattoo yourself
04:21
There's all these rules we have and when you first get saved lots of it just go You know what? I just want to run from all that but as time goes on you kind of temper back and you think you know
04:30
What? How does it really fit in What do I do? How do I go about it?
04:36
What is really allowable for the Christian and instead of answering answering this question and asking it how far can
04:42
I stay away from sin? Then the question sometimes for people who are too big for their britches says how close can
04:49
I get to sin? I'm already forgiven anyway so Paul says somebody was just like that and that somebody was a nation and Israel pushed themselves to the very
04:59
Brink of Liberty and instead of God honoring them He killed them all
05:07
Sin is that deadly sin is that costly why? Because it's against God If you kill me, that's one thing if you kill the president of the
05:17
United States We're both human beings but because of his position because of his title you will fry if you kill him if you kill me
05:27
You probably just you know go to jail for 30 years Paul is going to teach us through the
05:35
Israelites bad example that we ought never to say You know what? I kind of got an unfair deal when
05:42
God saved me God this wife that you gave me Husband you gave me, you know these kids at job at church
05:54
Those neighbors God, I think you could have done better and After all these things that the
06:01
Lord has done To to Israel and for Israel. Can you imagine God your divine guidance isn't great.
06:09
I'm tired of the manna I'm tired of the quail. I'm tired of all that and instead of being grateful
06:15
They were testing God and trying him and God judged Israel People are the same all around the world in every generation
06:23
And so if we're not careful the same thing could happen to us So let me read first Corinthians chapter 10 verses 1 through 9 to set the context and the context generally is
06:37
Everybody in Israel got the blessings But only some made it to the promised land in other words
06:43
There were 2 million people in the wilderness, but only those 20 and under made it in Joshua and Caleb are the only two
06:51
Because of their sins and their sins that if we're not careful we could commit as well first Corinthians 10 1
06:56
For I do not want you to be unaware brothers that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea and all were baptized in Moses in the cloud and sea and All ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink every one of those
07:12
Israelites experienced every one of those blessings They all drank from the spiritual rock that followed them and the rock was
07:19
Christ nevertheless, and here is a figure of speech With most of them.
07:25
Yes all but two God was not pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness Now these things that happened
07:33
Israel took place as Examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did and then he gives four
07:42
Things that Israel did that we ought not to do and we saw several weeks ago Number one do not be idolaters as some of them were as it is written that people sat down eat and drink and rose up to play
07:54
Number two, we saw last week. We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did
08:01
And 23 ,000 fell in a single day dead and now for our passage today verse 9
08:08
There's another common reoccurring thing that those blood -bought Christians at Corinth were
08:13
Pushing the envelope on and it is testing God verse 9 We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents
08:24
So for you today Christian if you've ever been in a tough straight and you've said could God really be good.
08:37
I My mother taking away my grandfather having this disaster happen accident
08:43
God, you're strong enough You're sovereign enough. You're mighty enough. You could have stopped it If you've ever thought how can
08:51
God be good and let all these things go on in the world like he does This is a good passage for you first Corinthians chapter 10 verse 9 that's as far as we're going to get because it does refer to the
09:04
Old Testament we're going to look at the horrible sin of Complaining against God by testing him and by questioning him and by saying, you know what
09:14
God you could have done better true or false the
09:21
Israelites tested God a lot a Lot you just look at numbers.
09:26
It looks like it's like the numbers of testing at least ten such occasions the Israelites put the
09:32
Lord to the test and so Corinth is saying we used to be able to eat idle meat if the idle festivals
09:40
With the idle celebration and you know what meets meat demons aren't real in the meat and his idols are false
09:47
So, you know what? Why don't we just start going back to the pagan temples and we'll sit in there We'll eat the meat, but we won't really worship and Paul says no and then they say yeah, but you're holding something out.
09:58
It's like It's like Satan Talking to Eve saying you know what God really isn't very good is he?
10:06
He's holding out on you So Paul says we must not Paul puts himself in the category
10:12
Do you see it in verse 9 not you guys, but we must Paul wouldn't want to do that either must never put
10:18
Christ to the test Christ who is in the wilderness with the Israelites they tested
10:24
Christ the eternal Son of God Oh, but we long for our days before we were saved
10:33
We long for those days where we could go do what we used to do by the way sin is fun a lot of it is
10:41
Unbelieving lifestyles are fun short term at least Remember I was taught years ago.
10:47
There's the divine layaway program. Remember we used to have layaway at stores They still have it at Marshall's by the way, not that I personally know by experience
10:55
Layaway kids say just charge it sin now pay later is the divine layaway program
11:02
But if you've been a Christian for a while I hope you say to yourself there are things that I used to do as an unbeliever that I better not do now and If you're not thinking properly, you'll say but they were kind of fun
11:14
I'm exciting We had a lot of fun in those days and you can hear the siren song beckoning come back to the old life
11:22
After all you're free in Christ. You're justified. You cannot undo God's forgiveness. Just go back to where you used to live a little bit
11:30
That's exactly what was happening at Corinth What chapter of the
11:37
Bible is Paul referencing when he says some of them did this and were destroyed by serpents? Where's that?
11:44
Let's go there numbers 21 We're only gonna get through one verse in 1st
11:49
Corinthians, but we're gonna do most of the chapter in numbers 21 This is one of those passages that are like last week
11:57
Phinehas and the javelin here. It happens to be snakes. I hate snakes. You probably seen
12:03
Just about two months ago. I was walking up through the orchard and I turned a corner and I heard this sound
12:10
And it was a cat no just kidding it was it was a snake
12:18
Hissing and there's almost something built in maybe it was because of Satan Who knows why but snakes and slithering and kind of I don't know that many people who just love snakes and here in this passage
12:33
God sends snakes to judge Israel because Testing God saying to God.
12:40
I love my old pre -salvation days. I want to live those God I think you you could have gave me a better spouse and you gave me this spouse.
12:48
You gave me this job I live in this state. I go to this church God. You could have done so much better Now we're more sophisticated than to say it like that Aren't we we would never broach it that way but the crumble the crumbling the complaining the grumbling this kind of attitude
13:08
You're gonna see how bad it is. And by the way, as I said last week does God still kill
13:14
Christians for doing these sins? first Corinthians chapter 11 reveals the answer
13:22
Now the book of Numbers is all about numbers, but it's more about the wilderness That's really that's the
13:28
Jewish name for the book of Numbers or close to it in the wilderness 38 39 years wandering around Anticipating the entrance into the promised land
13:43
God testing Israel and Wanting from them because of the covenant he had made with them wholehearted obedience
13:53
God does for us and our response is worship adoration homage submission gratitude
14:02
Same thing with Israel. Here's what God has done for Israel Temporally and spiritually and God just wants wholehearted obedience and they're gonna wander in circles until they figure that out numbers chapter 21
14:18
It says let me just read the first few verses to catch us up to what's happening When the
14:24
Canaanite the king of Arad who lived in the Negev Heard that Israel was coming by the way of a thyrine.
14:32
He fought against Israel and took some of them captive and Israel vowed a vow to the
14:38
Lord and said if indeed or if you will indeed give this people into my hand
14:43
Then I will devote their cities to destruction Common language for back in those days something is committed to the ban or to the vow and you just destroy it all
14:52
You just wipe it out to cancer. And here's this Canaanite religion. And so if you give us victory
14:57
God, we'll wipe them out we'll kill them all and Then I will devote their cities to destruction verse 3 and the
15:05
Lord Yahweh this covenant -keeping personal name of God for Israel Heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the
15:12
Canaanites. And so they devoted them and their cities to destruction And Israel had gotten whipped at this place in Battle in chapter 14 and now they win and so the place was called
15:23
Horma Complete victory and you know, this is gonna be good.
15:29
We're getting close to getting into the promised land We've just come off the heels of victory and what happens to sports teams and what happens to us when we have a super high spiritually
15:40
Take heed lest you what fall because if you're not careful after a super spiritual high
15:46
You kind of coast a little bit and then there's trouble and that's exactly what's gonna happen here a great victory thorough success
15:56
So victory ahead must be certain Sadly spiritual catastrophes often follow spiritual victories and that's what happened here learned from Israel Verse 4 from Mount Hor they sent out by the way to the
16:12
Red Sea To go around the land of Edom and the people became impatient on the way
16:19
Sometime look in the 67th book of the Bible called the book of Maps Look up that book and see where they went
16:27
The other day I was driving back from Taunton and there was a detour and I had to go around my GPS wasn't working and I'm telling you with a small detour in Taunton.
16:35
I was getting kind of flustered I've got a car. I'm driving around And I've got a
16:42
GPS And so I know what it's like to to seem to wander around and have detours and now
16:48
God is telling them. No, don't go forward Circumvent yourself around this way way circuitously backtrack and they're going to complain
16:58
They're going to test God So close to eating real food in the promised land
17:07
Getting tired by the way side note here tiredness is no excuse for sin
17:13
Right, you can't say I was too tired. I have a headache. I don't feel good.
17:18
It's never an excuse for sin It's a reason why you we we do things but it's never an excuse
17:27
They're so disappointed the detour through the wilderness of Taunton and The people spoke against God and against Moses By the way eight other times they spoke against Moses they spoke against Moses they spoke against Moses They spoke against Moses.
17:45
They spoke against Moses. They spoke against Moses. They spoke against Moses. They spoke against Moses And for the first time it's revealed what's really in the heart when you're complaining against leadership
17:55
You're really complaining against the God who gave you the leader. I don't like President Obama Someone says well at the end of the day
18:03
God voted the Father Son and the Spirit and he gave us a president Here we have
18:13
God setting this all up and Instead of saying like every other time
18:22
Moses It's your fault. The real colors come out. It's Moses and God you see it the people spoke against God and Moses Of course the wilderness was no walk in the park, of course there was sand and Horrible things going on there
18:45
Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness I've said some pretty stupid things to my mom growing up and you can just you
18:54
They come out of your mouth and you just go that was the most stupid thing. I've ever said My six foot four 250 pound father will soon meet me
19:08
And you and here's what happens when other people do something really stupid. We go that was really stupid
19:14
When other people sin we go that's so sinful when other people complain against God and test him that was so bad
19:20
And so what Paul is trying to do is see what they did Corinth see what the Israelites do and then you just turn the turn the mirror and say that's what we do
19:30
God, you could have prevented all these things. You could have stopped it. You could have Worked my life differently spoke against God and Moses This is serious rebellion
19:47
This is a high -handed rebellion, which all our testing of God is Spurning the grace of God slamming
19:55
God and look what they say about God's food Can you imagine God's food for there is no food and no water really?
20:03
And here it gets worse and we loathe this worthless food God you gave us worthless food.
20:11
By the way, was it worthless food? It's only worthless if you saved up some of the food For the
20:17
Sabbath and you didn't get twice as much as you needed it the day before the Sabbath, but it was nutritious vitamins and minerals and all the things that you were
20:25
Needing to sustain yourself. And now what do they call it? This is worthless food. It's miserable. It's like Wonder Bread It's like some fake bread that they just put in the smell of bread
20:37
You know what honestly when I took college I When I went to college With all the drugs and alcohol and all that stuff.
20:43
I don't really remember anything in college in terms of from the Lecturer, but I do remember at current economic issues with Burt Evans that he said there's a conspiracy behind Wonder Bread That's the only thing
20:55
I remember and I knew I could use it right here And mark it in your life.
21:04
What does discouragement do and what does complaining do it begins to exaggerate doesn't it?
21:10
It begins to pick and to look for and to try to put a big magnifying glass in there
21:16
Yeah, this is so bad And it's like you try to one -up other people. You know, you think you got it bad You think your husband's bad look at my husband
21:25
And I just wrote down a few of these things and I thought you know compared to what we deserve compared to how good
21:30
God is May we never be people who say that worthless husband
21:36
God you gave me that miserable wife you gave me That unbelieving spouse you gave me those miserable children.
21:46
You gave me This miserable house you gave me our didn't give me. Do you know what
21:52
God? Life was better before I got saved at least
21:58
I could complain and nobody would get after me. What does sin do or How bad is sin that can take a gift received from God and then say how could you?
22:14
Only one time in my life When I received socks from my grandmother in 1971
22:21
For Christmas and didn't look happy. Oh, I only did that one time
22:26
Before again that oaf of a six -foot -four father This worthless food you've given me or maybe in your life
22:42
It's this if I only could have this then I'd be happy that's just the same, but it's the opposite It's not this worthless woman you gave me it's be you know what but if I had this in my life
22:52
I'd be happy if I had this amount of money or I had this kind of job or I had this particular thing then
22:58
I would be happy and God is sovereign over everything and when we talk that way we're indicting
23:03
God Israel Sounds just like Corinth and if we're not careful could sound just like us
23:17
So what does God do you know what's that God does sometimes he says well, you know Moses I'm gonna do something bad unless you intervene
23:26
Moses you better do something about it Grab Aaron grab the the other leaders you better get something done and often
23:33
God does that when you read the Torah? The first five books of the Old Testament But you know at this time
23:39
God doesn't do that at all God said to the snakes kill him I often say to myself
23:50
Why would God kill Uzzah for touching the Ark? How could
23:56
God kill Nadab and Abihu for worshiping with strange fire? How could
24:01
God kill these people? When the real question is not how could God kill those people is how could
24:07
God not start killing all of us? There's punctuated deaths in the Bible to show you how bad sin is but it's the mercy of God that there's not more verse 6
24:19
Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people We don't know if he energized snakes that were already there or just made new ones and They bit the people so that many people of Israel died
24:43
Supernaturally sent by God Divinely sent by God, and you know what really at the end of the day think about how good
24:50
God is Think about how good God is because what if he just let it go complaining and testing just keeps going and going and feeds on itself and it's just like pouring
24:59
Kerosene on the fire of the heart that will not be satisfied with the sovereign grace of God and so God interrupts them
25:07
I'm gonna probably get in trouble when I say this, but that's all right You know if you have a dog and the dog is fixated on something
25:15
What do you have to do to the dog? What does Caesar do? Right, this is the dog and you take your fingers
25:23
You just jab the dog in the ribs the dog staring something or biting something and just and you hit the dog the dogs like oh
25:29
Yeah, I shouldn't be fixated on that thing anymore now. I can pay attention. You know it happens with kids to playing video games
25:38
You say are you comparing us to dogs? No Laugh now yuck it up now
25:54
It's like Jonathan Gershner that went to the master seminary, and he said you know men are worse than rats humans are worse than rats because God made rats to act radish
26:06
Lee and They obey and God made humans to worship and adore the eternal
26:13
Son of God And they stiff arm him so lest you think this is
26:20
God's Judgment alone it is simultaneously judgment and the goodness of God to stop this
26:28
To give him a little poke in the ribs as it were It gets the nation's attention, and you say well,
26:35
I kind of like to know how they were fiery some say it's because they were red But the real reason is because once they bit you
26:46
It hurt it was hot and fiery. I regularly on my bicycle get stung by hornets and wasps and The result of that is hot fiery
26:57
I remember one time a hornet hit me on the forehead dropped down to my
27:03
Quadriceps and then stung me right there, and I'm telling you the the welt raised up, and it was fiery and So you get bit by the snake it wasn't that they were orange and fiery it was because of what happened snakes that produce burning
27:23
Now sometimes they had snakes back in those days called dipsus Which means thirst and because they bit you and made you thirsty they were called thirsts
27:33
This isn't fiery because they look fire. It's because the effect of getting bit by one of these God sent snakes
27:39
It's hot this is where we get the word seraphim hot Hot angels as it were glowing
27:49
Sent from heaven the heaven gave the manna and now the snakes are given by the wilderness habit forming self -destructive
28:07
Complaining will be stopped by God ever been bitten by a snake.
28:17
What happened verse 7 And the people came to Moses and said oh, they're getting it.
28:25
Here's good news for a change. We have sinned and now the Confession becomes specific
28:31
When you confess dear God's you know please forgive me for everything I've done We have sinned and this is the specific kind of forgiveness confession for we have spoken against the
28:40
Lord and against you That's exactly right Pray to the Lord that he may take away the serpents from us so Moses prayed for the people
28:50
This is our fault in particular. Please. We're not worthy to even pray an intercessor should pray for us
28:59
Now if you're not careful, you'll forget this Just next verse what's gonna happen
29:06
Moses is going to start making the serpent, but in the meantime people are still getting bit
29:12
This is not well everybody stop Moses is now going to be told to do something while all this other stuff is going on And the
29:22
Lord said to Moses make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole and everyone who is bitten when he sees it
29:29
Shall live Imagine the yelling what if your kids were bit by a poisonous snake some are already dying
29:36
This isn't kind of just a garter snake. This is not a cobra This is the kind of snake that if you get bit by it
29:42
You will certainly die and it's burning and the people are yelling and the people are wailing and now you've got to make a
29:49
And fashion this Object just how fast I wonder it must have
29:54
Moses worked make a fiery serpent aren't snakes unclean
30:11
Doesn't Leviticus say something about unclean make another snake Let's see. I got bit by a shark and then
30:19
I make a shark and put it up on a pole. Yeah, that'll work. I Got bit by a scorpion.
30:26
So you make a scorpion you put it up on a pole and everybody looks at it Hmm Salvation by looking at snakes.
30:37
Oh That bread is so detestable. You want detestable? It's up on a pole unclean animal so verse 9
30:46
Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole and if the serpent bit anyone a serpent bit anyone he would look at the bronze serpent and live
30:57
Now this happens a lot in the Old Testament God sets up an object lesson
31:05
Naaman you want to get cleaned? I want you to go to the river and dunk yourself in a bunch of times what?
31:11
Yep, we're gonna have a vision. We're gonna have something that you must do personal responsibility and duty to respond in faith
31:24
Kind of seems dumb seems foolish Kind of seems as foolish as for the
31:30
Word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing But to us who are being saved it is the power of God For it is written.
31:37
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discerning the sermon of the discerning I will thwart you got a sin problem.
31:43
It's ingrained in you. You know how you get rid of it. Look to Jesus. Oh, yeah Look to Jesus the one who's burying the sin
31:52
How can he save others he can't even save himself Look to the bronze serpent and Live and by the way the word there look it means to pay attention to it means to gaze
32:03
It doesn't mean just to kind of glance and it means to look at it and you go I'm gonna look at that I've been bit my kids yesterday said to me who would not do it.
32:11
Who would not just go I'm just gonna look I Asked the same question you want your sins forgiven
32:17
You don't want to have to pay in hell forever for your sins look with faith to Christ Jesus No, I love my sins more.
32:30
These snake bites are always fatal. I Looked up on the internet if you get by a spit by a snake.
32:36
What do you do? Stay calm get safely away from the snake. I thought that was pretty good advice
32:46
Call 9 -1 -1 are the emergency number in your area or for the Israelite 9 -1 -1 was
32:52
Moses pray for us Have the victim lie down with the affected limb lower than the heart
32:59
Treat for shock and preserve body heat remove rings bracelets boots the extremity will swell
33:08
Apply a light constricting band two inches above and below the bite get anti -venom
33:17
Do not cut the bite. Do not apply tourniquet. Do not suck out the venom by mouth Do not apply cold or ice packs
33:27
But then if you're a holistic around here kind of funky kind of green person. I don't think any of this would work aloe
33:35
Milk thistle Echinacea Or the one that I thought was the hilarious one
33:42
Prunes Yeah, that'll do no matter what happened to these people who were bit they were gonna die
33:52
God sent this judgment for their sins and they deserved it anti -venom wouldn't have worked
34:03
Look and believe what God has said Look to this unclean animal and you get to start start comparing what happened with Jesus Not that he was unclean, but he was bearing our unclean our uncleanness
34:17
And let me give you if you're having taking notes today. Let me give you some words That describe this look that describe this look of faith
34:29
Words that should help you because the issue is faith. It's not rationalization. It's not titration analysis
34:36
It's how do I figure this out? It's not prayer. It's the look of faith.
34:41
So let me give you some words That help describe this look of faith and then you say not just for Israel, but for me, too
34:49
Do I really believe it's one thing to know the knowledge So far everybody here in this room has the knowledge of the gospel because it's preached in the baptism of thought
34:58
It was almost preached for Ephesians chapter 2 I've already talked about it the death burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus for sinners you intellectually know
35:05
But what kind of faith do I have? Is it just knowledge is it just a center am I really trusting my life
35:12
Into the hands of Christ. Let me give you some words About what this look was back in numbers 21 and what the look is required for you today to believe on Christ Jesus Number one.
35:23
It was an exclusive look Exclusive You couldn't look at anything else and live
35:31
It was the only thing that would cure you the exclusivity of the bronze snake
35:37
And the exclusivity of Christ Jesus self -reformation won't work being good won't work being reformed won't work
35:45
Somehow being religious won't work. It's the only thing and that's what people get mad about it with Christianity This is the only way that saves and they say well
35:54
You mean to tell me all the Jews and in Auschwitz and you mean to tell me all those Muslims you mean to tell me
35:59
All the people in Sri Lanka you mean to tell me I mean to tell you this the exclusivity of Christ Jesus is the only way of salvation because God has said and he has one son
36:09
Christ Jesus and the eternal counsels of God That son was the only one who could go be our sin bear and rescue us.
36:18
It's an exclusive look number two If you look it would be sufficient
36:27
This should encourage you a sufficient look well, you know what the first 2 ,000
36:35
Israelites who look they get saved It's like Jehovah's Witnesses come to the door and only a hundred forty -four thousand make it to the best heaven
36:43
And I think you know what I tell them There's a lot of other people who come into my door who say they're Jehovah's Witnesses who work a lot harder than you do
36:49
And you think how far Jehovah's Witnesses have been around and how long they've been around you are like nine million 1044 you better get a get a work.
36:58
Okay, where's work to be done? sufficient every person 13 22
37:06
Hundreds thousands millions all those who had looked at Christ Jesus is his death valuable
37:13
Infinite for everyone Jew Gentile slave Greek man woman Sri Lankan or Norwegian today 2 ,000 years ago are in 2 ,000 years
37:25
It's efficient all who would look This kind of looking number three is efficient for everyone that looked it worked
37:37
For every single one there wasn't one person who said Moses. I look but my leg is still killing me.
37:42
It's fiery Number four, it's infallible
37:50
It's infallible. You don't have to look twice. You don't have to look a bunch of times
37:57
Just like looking to the Lord Jesus Christ with saving faith. I Look, but I wasn't healed.
38:03
No Number five personal dad.
38:09
You're the priest. Would you please look for me? Mom, would you look for me?
38:15
Pastor, will you look for me? Would you believe for me?
38:21
Kind of salvation by family. Nope Everyone here to go to heaven.
38:27
You must personally look by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. I can't do it for my kids
38:33
Priests can't do it for someone else SOS Johnson said can you not imagine some
38:40
Hebrew youngster? Maybe from the tribe of Dan and can you imagine him moving out around the barn or whatever and suddenly one of these little snakes?
38:48
Strikes him and he realizes that he's been bitten he begins to feel the poison coming through and finally he's carried into a tent and There he awaits
38:57
His death because he knows what has happened to others And someone hears about the brazen serpent that Moses has put on a pole and he rushes in and says of the young Hebrew fellow
39:06
Look Moses has put a serpent on a pole. And if you look to the serpent you will live others have tried it they've lived and I can imagine him say it because he's a member of the
39:17
Unitarian Church and He says it's so irrational What possible connection can there be between a serpent of brass and a pole and the fact that I'm dying in this tent?
39:26
You can look at my ankle here and see the swelling what connection has a brass serpent have to do with this
39:32
But I have seen it happen that I can hear him say now if it were some kind of ointment Some kind of priests that would bring in some new medicine
39:42
Some like some of those other churches have some of those Mormons They talk about salamanders and things like that if they would just bring in and if they would strike their hand over the place
39:51
I can see how There might be some connection with that But looking at a pole and just looking at it.
39:57
I just imagine that those people that you saw healed are just some of those credulous fundamentalists
40:04
But we Unitarians and Mormons and others who are enlightened we obviously see that there is no connection between that serpent on the pole and the
40:11
Fact that I'm dying of the fever here and now As Lewis said it may seem strange, but it was the divine remedy word six
40:21
Supernatural, it's a supernatural remedy both for them and for us.
40:26
It's a supernatural remedy Nothing touched nothing was given no IVs.
40:32
No medicine Supernatural remedy, it's the same thing looking at the Lord Jesus Christ with faith.
40:37
It is a divine remedy Seven it's just It's just if you don't look and live
40:48
Israelite You got what was coming to you? Well, how is it fair if Jesus died for the elect and then we don't believe in him?
40:59
And I'm not elect and God didn't choose me friends Justice will be there.
41:05
If you don't look to the Lord Jesus Christ repent from your sins justice will be given. It's a just death and Lastly ordained it's ordained by God plan by God.
41:19
It's the divine plan of God To look and live now when
41:27
I read these next few verses Don't they seem to make a lot more sense? Don't they seem to be tied in more?
41:35
With from where am I reading and as Moses lifted up the serpent ill in the wilderness
41:43
So must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life
41:50
It's the exact same thing Everyone here has been bitten by the snake of sin and Everyone here will die and everyone here has one way for forgiveness is
42:04
To look to the Lord Jesus Christ. So why do we preach the Lord Jesus Christ here because he's the only
42:09
Savior look and live Why wouldn't you look and live? Why wouldn't you believe just as this was lifted up and you have to say by nothing rational by nothing logical by nothing
42:20
Medical by nothing pharmaceutical. I can't figure this remedy out. I've been bit by a snake look to the snake and In the exact same fashion
42:30
We have been bit by the snake of sin and we have to look by faith to the one who becomes the sin bearer and People go
42:40
I don't like all that blood language Show me a Christian and he loves the blood language because that blood was what assuaged the wrath of God so that we don't have to be punished for our sins
42:51
The great news is we have forgiveness look why wouldn't you look let's go back to my kids
42:58
Question and we need to wrap it up Dad you've been bit by a snake and you're gonna die
43:05
Why wouldn't you look? You can just almost give kind of a fake look or something
43:10
Just kind of look over when they just be wheeling people in on stretchers bringing them over just look for God's sake look
43:19
Then you know why Paul says the Corinthians later, you know what I beg you to be reconciled to God Why won't you look you love your sins so much.
43:29
You won't look God Almighty I won't look because you told me to look why would you perish?
43:39
for sin Look to the Lord Jesus Christ and you will live
43:44
Let's pray Father in heaven, we will readily confess that often by our attitudes and our actions and our speech that we're not satisfied with where you've placed us and father
44:02
We struggle with longing for things we could do before we were saved that we can't do now But we'd ask that you'd grant us repentance forgiveness
44:13
You'd help us to look to Christ Jesus again to see what he has done to sin and see what sin did to him that we might run from it and Father for all those who are here today
44:25
Maybe it's a member Maybe it's a visitor It was one of our kids
44:31
Anyone who has not looked to the Lord Jesus Christ with saving faith today. I pray that you would cause them to look
44:42
Father they're dead and sins. They can't look on their own grant them saving faith in Jesus name.