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

Well if you're a visitor, we're very glad to have you we preach through the Bible verse by verse

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

Corinthians there should be a blue Bible in the chair back seat just in front of you You'll need a

Bible this morning hence Bethlehem Bible Church. What a great morning so far of worship

I'm glad I'm able to remember the triune God as we come and worship in song and baptism and prayer

What does this word mean? There's lots of phobias? What does a video phobia mean a?

video phobia sometimes it is written ophio phobia a more generic term would be herpetophobia the fear of snakes

From the Greek words ofis snakes and phobia which you all know as fear an irrational fear of snakes

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

What? The visitors are here and after the kissing and Then the snake biting

I want to say early on we don't handle snakes of this church Paul is a

Jewish man and as he's talking to this church at a city called Corinth right by the ocean

Close to Athens. He's trying to teach them lessons He's trying to instruct them a way that they can honor

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

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

Or it could be of grandma or from an aunt. So Paul does the same thing Paul has a

Bible and that Bible is only what we call the Old Testament From Genesis to 2nd

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

God has called you God has justified you God has foreknown you God has predestined you God has

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.

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

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.

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

You ever seen a kid having a tantrum. I always like to Do something about it and by the way

Don't be a pastor and then go to some public area like McDonald's or an airport terminal

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

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

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

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.

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

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

What? How does it really fit in What do I do? How do I go about it?

What is really allowable for the Christian and instead of answering answering this question and asking it how far can

I stay away from sin? Then the question sometimes for people who are too big for their britches says how close can

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

Brink of Liberty and instead of God honoring them He killed them all

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

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

You probably just you know go to jail for 30 years Paul is going to teach us through the

Israelites bad example that we ought never to say You know what? I kind of got an unfair deal when

God saved me God this wife that you gave me Husband you gave me, you know these kids at job at church

Those neighbors God, I think you could have done better and After all these things that the

Lord has done To to Israel and for Israel. Can you imagine God your divine guidance isn't great.

I'm tired of the manna I'm tired of the quail. I'm tired of all that and instead of being grateful

They were testing God and trying him and God judged Israel People are the same all around the world in every generation

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

Everybody in Israel got the blessings But only some made it to the promised land in other words

There were 2 million people in the wilderness, but only those 20 and under made it in Joshua and Caleb are the only two

Because of their sins and their sins that if we're not careful we could commit as well first Corinthians 10 1

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

Israelites experienced every one of those blessings They all drank from the spiritual rock that followed them and the rock was

Christ nevertheless, and here is a figure of speech With most of them.

Yes all but two God was not pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness Now these things that happened

Israel took place as Examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did and then he gives four

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

Number two, we saw last week. We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did

And 23 ,000 fell in a single day dead and now for our passage today verse 9

There's another common reoccurring thing that those blood -bought Christians at Corinth were

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

So for you today Christian if you've ever been in a tough straight and you've said could God really be good.

I My mother taking away my grandfather having this disaster happen accident

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

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

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

God you could have done better true or false the

Israelites tested God a lot a Lot you just look at numbers.

It looks like it's like the numbers of testing at least ten such occasions the Israelites put the

Lord to the test and so Corinth is saying we used to be able to eat idle meat if the idle festivals

With the idle celebration and you know what meets meat demons aren't real in the meat and his idols are false

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.

It's like It's like Satan Talking to Eve saying you know what God really isn't very good is he?

He's holding out on you So Paul says we must not Paul puts himself in the category

Do you see it in verse 9 not you guys, but we must Paul wouldn't want to do that either must never put

Christ to the test Christ who is in the wilderness with the Israelites they tested

Christ the eternal Son of God Oh, but we long for our days before we were saved

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

Unbelieving lifestyles are fun short term at least Remember I was taught years ago.

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

Layaway kids say just charge it sin now pay later is the divine layaway program

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

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

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

That's exactly what was happening at Corinth What chapter of the

Bible is Paul referencing when he says some of them did this and were destroyed by serpents? Where's that?

Let's go there numbers 21 We're only gonna get through one verse in 1st

Corinthians, but we're gonna do most of the chapter in numbers 21 This is one of those passages that are like last week

Phinehas and the javelin here. It happens to be snakes. I hate snakes. You probably seen

Just about two months ago. I was walking up through the orchard and I turned a corner and I heard this sound

And it was a cat no just kidding it was it was a snake

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

God sends snakes to judge Israel because Testing God saying to God.

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.

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

You're gonna see how bad it is. And by the way, as I said last week does God still kill

Christians for doing these sins? first Corinthians chapter 11 reveals the answer

Now the book of Numbers is all about numbers, but it's more about the wilderness That's really that's the

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

God testing Israel and Wanting from them because of the covenant he had made with them wholehearted obedience

God does for us and our response is worship adoration homage submission gratitude

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

It says let me just read the first few verses to catch us up to what's happening When the

Canaanite the king of Arad who lived in the Negev Heard that Israel was coming by the way of a thyrine.

He fought against Israel and took some of them captive and Israel vowed a vow to the

Lord and said if indeed or if you will indeed give this people into my hand

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

You just wipe it out to cancer. And here's this Canaanite religion. And so if you give us victory

God, we'll wipe them out we'll kill them all and Then I will devote their cities to destruction verse 3 and the

Lord Yahweh this covenant -keeping personal name of God for Israel Heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the

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

Horma Complete victory and you know, this is gonna be good.

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

Take heed lest you what fall because if you're not careful after a super spiritual high

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

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

Red Sea To go around the land of Edom and the people became impatient on the way

Sometime look in the 67th book of the Bible called the book of Maps Look up that book and see where they went

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.

I was getting kind of flustered I've got a car. I'm driving around And I've got a

GPS And so I know what it's like to to seem to wander around and have detours and now

God is telling them. No, don't go forward Circumvent yourself around this way way circuitously backtrack and they're going to complain

They're going to test God So close to eating real food in the promised land

Getting tired by the way side note here tiredness is no excuse for sin

Right, you can't say I was too tired. I have a headache. I don't feel good.

It's never an excuse for sin It's a reason why you we we do things but it's never an excuse

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.

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

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

God voted the Father Son and the Spirit and he gave us a president Here we have

God setting this all up and Instead of saying like every other time

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

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

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

And you and here's what happens when other people do something really stupid. We go that was really stupid

When other people sin we go that's so sinful when other people complain against God and test him that was so bad

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

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

This is a high -handed rebellion, which all our testing of God is Spurning the grace of God slamming

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?

And here it gets worse and we loathe this worthless food God you gave us worthless food.

By the way, was it worthless food? It's only worthless if you saved up some of the food For the

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

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

You know what honestly when I took college I When I went to college With all the drugs and alcohol and all that stuff.

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

I remember and I knew I could use it right here And mark it in your life.

What does discouragement do and what does complaining do it begins to exaggerate doesn't it?

It begins to pick and to look for and to try to put a big magnifying glass in there

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

And I just wrote down a few of these things and I thought you know compared to what we deserve compared to how good

God is May we never be people who say that worthless husband

God you gave me that miserable wife you gave me That unbelieving spouse you gave me those miserable children.

You gave me This miserable house you gave me our didn't give me. Do you know what

God? Life was better before I got saved at least

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?

Only one time in my life When I received socks from my grandmother in 1971

For Christmas and didn't look happy. Oh, I only did that one time

Before again that oaf of a six -foot -four father This worthless food you've given me or maybe in your life

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

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

I would be happy and God is sovereign over everything and when we talk that way we're indicting

God Israel Sounds just like Corinth and if we're not careful could sound just like us

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

Moses you better do something about it Grab Aaron grab the the other leaders you better get something done and often

God does that when you read the Torah? The first five books of the Old Testament But you know at this time

God doesn't do that at all God said to the snakes kill him I often say to myself

Why would God kill Uzzah for touching the Ark? How could

God kill Nadab and Abihu for worshiping with strange fire? How could

God kill these people? When the real question is not how could God kill those people is how could

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

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

Supernaturally sent by God Divinely sent by God, and you know what really at the end of the day think about how good

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

Kerosene on the fire of the heart that will not be satisfied with the sovereign grace of God and so God interrupts them

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

What do you have to do to the dog? What does Caesar do? Right, this is the dog and you take your fingers

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

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

You say are you comparing us to dogs? No Laugh now yuck it up now

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

Lee and They obey and God made humans to worship and adore the eternal

Son of God And they stiff arm him so lest you think this is

God's Judgment alone it is simultaneously judgment and the goodness of God to stop this

To give him a little poke in the ribs as it were It gets the nation's attention, and you say well,

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

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

I remember one time a hornet hit me on the forehead dropped down to my

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

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

This isn't fiery because they look fire. It's because the effect of getting bit by one of these God sent snakes

It's hot this is where we get the word seraphim hot Hot angels as it were glowing

Sent from heaven the heaven gave the manna and now the snakes are given by the wilderness habit forming self -destructive

Complaining will be stopped by God ever been bitten by a snake.

What happened verse 7 And the people came to Moses and said oh, they're getting it.

Here's good news for a change. We have sinned and now the Confession becomes specific

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

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

This is our fault in particular. Please. We're not worthy to even pray an intercessor should pray for us

Now if you're not careful, you'll forget this Just next verse what's gonna happen

Moses is going to start making the serpent, but in the meantime people are still getting bit

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

Lord said to Moses make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole and everyone who is bitten when he sees it

Shall live Imagine the yelling what if your kids were bit by a poisonous snake some are already dying

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

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

And fashion this Object just how fast I wonder it must have

Moses worked make a fiery serpent aren't snakes unclean

Doesn't Leviticus say something about unclean make another snake Let's see. I got bit by a shark and then

I make a shark and put it up on a pole. Yeah, that'll work. I Got bit by a scorpion.

So you make a scorpion you put it up on a pole and everybody looks at it Hmm Salvation by looking at snakes.

Oh That bread is so detestable. You want detestable? It's up on a pole unclean animal so verse 9

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

Now this happens a lot in the Old Testament God sets up an object lesson

Naaman you want to get cleaned? I want you to go to the river and dunk yourself in a bunch of times what?

Yep, we're gonna have a vision. We're gonna have something that you must do personal responsibility and duty to respond in faith

Kind of seems dumb seems foolish Kind of seems as foolish as for the

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.

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discerning the sermon of the discerning I will thwart you got a sin problem.

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

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

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.

Who would not just go I'm just gonna look I Asked the same question you want your sins forgiven

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.

These snake bites are always fatal. I Looked up on the internet if you get by a spit by a snake.

What do you do? Stay calm get safely away from the snake. I thought that was pretty good advice

Call 9 -1 -1 are the emergency number in your area or for the Israelite 9 -1 -1 was

Moses pray for us Have the victim lie down with the affected limb lower than the heart

Treat for shock and preserve body heat remove rings bracelets boots the extremity will swell

Apply a light constricting band two inches above and below the bite get anti -venom

Do not cut the bite. Do not apply tourniquet. Do not suck out the venom by mouth Do not apply cold or ice packs

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

Milk thistle Echinacea Or the one that I thought was the hilarious one

Prunes Yeah, that'll do no matter what happened to these people who were bit they were gonna die

God sent this judgment for their sins and they deserved it anti -venom wouldn't have worked

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

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

Words that should help you because the issue is faith. It's not rationalization. It's not titration analysis

It's how do I figure this out? It's not prayer. It's the look of faith.

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

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

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

But what kind of faith do I have? Is it just knowledge is it just a center am I really trusting my life

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.

It was an exclusive look Exclusive You couldn't look at anything else and live

It was the only thing that would cure you the exclusivity of the bronze snake

And the exclusivity of Christ Jesus self -reformation won't work being good won't work being reformed won't work

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

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

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

Christ Jesus and the eternal counsels of God That son was the only one who could go be our sin bear and rescue us.

It's an exclusive look number two If you look it would be sufficient

This should encourage you a sufficient look well, you know what the first 2 ,000

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

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

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.

Okay, where's work to be done? sufficient every person 13 22

Hundreds thousands millions all those who had looked at Christ Jesus is his death valuable

Infinite for everyone Jew Gentile slave Greek man woman Sri Lankan or Norwegian today 2 ,000 years ago are in 2 ,000 years

It's efficient all who would look This kind of looking number three is efficient for everyone that looked it worked

For every single one there wasn't one person who said Moses. I look but my leg is still killing me.

It's fiery Number four, it's infallible

It's infallible. You don't have to look twice. You don't have to look a bunch of times

Just like looking to the Lord Jesus Christ with saving faith. I Look, but I wasn't healed.

No Number five personal dad.

You're the priest. Would you please look for me? Mom, would you look for me?

Pastor, will you look for me? Would you believe for me?

Kind of salvation by family. Nope Everyone here to go to heaven.

You must personally look by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. I can't do it for my kids

Priests can't do it for someone else SOS Johnson said can you not imagine some

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?

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

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

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

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?

You can look at my ankle here and see the swelling what connection has a brass serpent have to do with this

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

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

I can see how There might be some connection with that But looking at a pole and just looking at it.

I just imagine that those people that you saw healed are just some of those credulous fundamentalists

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

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

Supernatural, it's a supernatural remedy both for them and for us.

It's a supernatural remedy Nothing touched nothing was given no IVs.

No medicine Supernatural remedy, it's the same thing looking at the Lord Jesus Christ with faith.

It is a divine remedy Seven it's just It's just if you don't look and live

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?

And I'm not elect and God didn't choose me friends Justice will be there.

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.

It's the divine plan of God To look and live now when

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?

With from where am I reading and as Moses lifted up the serpent ill in the wilderness

So must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life

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

To look to the Lord Jesus Christ. So why do we preach the Lord Jesus Christ here because he's the only

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

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

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

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

The great news is we have forgiveness look why wouldn't you look let's go back to my kids

Question and we need to wrap it up Dad you've been bit by a snake and you're gonna die

Why wouldn't you look? You can just almost give kind of a fake look or something

Just kind of look over when they just be wheeling people in on stretchers bringing them over just look for God's sake look

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.

You won't look God Almighty I won't look because you told me to look why would you perish?

for sin Look to the Lord Jesus Christ and you will live

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

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

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

Maybe it's a member Maybe it's a visitor It was one of our kids

Anyone who has not looked to the Lord Jesus Christ with saving faith today. I pray that you would cause them to look

Father they're dead and sins. They can't look on their own grant them saving faith in Jesus name.