Worship Call 0623 the snake on the Pole
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Maybe it was when we stopped teaching about the Resurrection, when we find that we do not hear the Gospel being taught either. For they both go together. The Teaching of Jesus pertaining to the Gospel is backed up by the resurrection. If Jesus taught these things, the spiritual things then showed us earthly things that we could see and touch, see those things would bring credit upon the teacher and give us confidence that what he said about being born again holds weight.
John 3:11 (NASB95) — 11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.
The, “We” here is the testimony of Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit which is upon Him.
John speaks of the testimony in 1 John 5
1 John 1:5 (NASB95) — 5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
Preachers should be more inclined to pass on the testimony of Christ rather than stories simply to keep their audience entertained.
John 3:12 (NASB95) — 12 “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
and this is the very point. The wind would be the illustration that Jesus’ uses to present the Gospel to Nicodemus. But Nicodemus continued to be in the Dark as far as the entering into the Kingdom of God. this is the most important message that Nicodemus will ever hear. It is the most important message that any of us will ever hear. It is a message of life and death. Without the Gospel all the understanding of man and the world can never save one man.
John 3:14–15 (NASB95) — 14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
I love the Tanakh (Old Testament) I love the History of it. It gives us physical representations of spiritual realities. No we cannot see hear or touch the spiritual realm physically but we can grasp in view of the history of the Torah, the prophets and the writings. Here Jesus takes Nicodemus back to a familiar passage in the History of the Jews to give him a visual on what Jesus is about to teach.
The biggest guilt of the people was their grumbling against Moses which was actually against God. The Leader took much insult from the quarrelling people. The pastor the church leader who leads a congregation out of darkness will suffer the slings and arrows from the evil one.
Numbers 21:1–5 (NASB95) — 1 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, then he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2 So Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” 3 The Lord heard the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites; then they utterly destroyed them and their cities. Thus the name of the place was called Hormah. 4 Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. 5 The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”
I think of passages like these when I become myself discontented with life and circumstances. I tend to forget that the hand of God is upon me and my circumstances no matter what time of day and whatever the circumstances. My life whether I like the circumstances in time are desirable or anything less desirable is under God’s sovereign, Providential, and permissive will.
James 4:15 (NASB95) — 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
Acts 18:21 (NASB95) — 21 but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus.
Romans 1:10 (NASB95) — 10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.
The grumbling of the people will eventually follow them all the way to their deaths in the wilderness, for they failed in faith which left up barriers that they could not cross in their relationship with the master of their lives.
Numbers 21:6 (NASB95) — 6 The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 8314 שָׂרָף
שָׂרָף [saraph /saw·rawf/] n
Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 5175 נָחָשׁ
נָחָשׁ [nachash /naw·khawsh/] n
The Saw rawf is the same word that is used in the Hebrew for the Majestic beings in Heaven with 6 wings as described in Isaiah. In two places in the bible it is referred to fiery. could mean that the effects of the poison of the Snakes led to a very painful death.
Does not seem so nice from an all loving God, does it?
The Lord prunes his plant, Israel, though it probably was not just the instigators that recieved the judgment from God. From time to time God has to prune and remove that venom that is attached to the peoples attitude. we can either fear God knowing God is an awesome God or God can demonstrate who he is my the moving of his hand to bring about the terror of His majesty. Personally I’d rather not provoke a loving and patient God to anger. It takes much to do that and when man and his negative volition does provoke that anger then the people will see what the dreadful justice of God can do.
“Lord, thank for your Love demonstrated by so much including your patience with me. Here I am this morning very much alive to worship thee because you held back your wrath against me as a sinner. Lord, never let me not take for granted your very person which is full of love but at the same time can bring upon a wrath against those who stand opposed to you.”
Hebrews 12:4–8 (NASB95) — 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; 6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Numbers 21:7 (NASB95) — 7 So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.
Can you imagine. Many were dying. Young and old. These people had sinned against God to the point of provocation.
I have heard, from a Pastor who spoke of a man who came back to church after a time seeking forgiveness of the attacks that he made against the Pastor. Somehow God had made known to this man’s conscience the error of his ways.
The people of Israel, began to look at the situation. what led to this awful day. they finally began to take spiritual inventory and found themselves to on the wrong side of God’s person.
It would take much humility to go to the one whom you grumbled against. Sometimes it takes much to look someone humbly in the eye and say, I was wrong. I am sorry. I need your help, please help me.
I imagine there were some who said, “I’d rather die than to humble myself to another person.”
and dying they would.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 21
intercede with the LORD,
Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 6419 פָּלַל, פָּלַל
6419 פָּלַל, פָּלַל [palal /paw·lal/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 1776; GK 7136 and 7137; 84 occurrences; AV translates as “pray” 74 times, “made” three times, “judge” twice, “intreat” once, “judgment” once, “prayer” once, “supplication” once, and “thought” once. 1 to intervene, interpose, pray. 1A (Piel) to mediate, judge. 1B (Hithpael). 1B1 to intercede. 1B2 to pray.
Numbers 21:8–9 (NASB95) — 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” 9 And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.
The people had to follow the instruction and live. They may have not understood the meaning of why they did what they did, but looking back on the illustration that the Lord graciously provided gives Nicodemus and the disciple of God’s word an object lesson.
John 3:14 (NASB95) — 14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
We are all bitten by sin.
Romans 3:9–18 (NASB95) — 9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; 11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; 12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”; 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood, 16 Destruction and misery are in their paths, 17 And the path of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Romans 3:23 (NASB95) — 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 (NASB95) — 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The people in the wilderness could have asked the question
“what does a stupid bronze image of a snake have to do with anything? Its just mere superstition.”
But those that did lived and recovered.
there are those who ask, “What does a two thousand year old story about a jew named Jesus who died on a cross have anything to do with my eternal security?”
there was only one way to recovery in the time of Moses, and there is only way now in our time and that is what happened on the Cross when our substitute hung in our place and took our sin in his own body.
Sin makes a debt to God that has to be paid. where there is perfect justice there must be a penalty for breaking God’s law. You think that you are a pretty good guy? then you fail to judge yourself rightly.
the ten commandments serves the warrant for your criminal arrest.
Exodus 20:3–4 (NASB95) — 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
Do you place anything in your heart that you love more than God? You are Guilty of Idolatry
Exodus 20:7 (NASB95) — 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
Have you every taken God’s name loosely? Not only GD but OMG any other lose talk that treats God’s name loosely and without thought. Guilty of taking the Lords name in vein!
Exodus 20:8 (NASB95) — 8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Many would like to leave this out. and the very religious moves it to sunday and say that it is a sin to mow your lawn, but taking a day to set off for worship to God is the point. and not doing so in the bible the Lord calls it to be a sin. after all why is there only one commandment that you can break that is not a sin. do your own soul searching on that one.
Hebrews 4:9–12 (NASB95) — 9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
This is a faith issue
Romans 14:23 (NASB95) — 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
Exodus 20:12 (NASB95) — 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
the only commandment with a promise
Exodus 20:13 (NASB95) — 13 “You shall not murder.
Jesus said that if you hold contempt toward your brother you have already committed murder. Guilty!
Exodus 20:14 (NASB95) — 14 “You shall not commit adultery.
Look lustfully at someone who is not your spouse you are an adulterer. Guilty
Exodus 20:15 (NASB95) — 15 “You shall not steal.
taken anything that did not belong to you. Guilty
Exodus 20:16 (NASB95) — 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Lying. Guilty
Exodus 20:17 (NASB95) — 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
treasuring those things that do not belong to you. Guilty
How’s your score?
Maybe you do not realize the implication that you enter into this life universally lost because of Adam’s sin, but breaking any one of these commandments you are subject to the death penalty. Just one.
and if you break one, your broke them all.
James 2:10 (NASB95) — 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
In short we all have been bitten.