A
Message by Pastor Michael Palmer
Given
to
May
2, 2010
As we go
through John, we have come to Jesus’ reference to an important event in the Old
Testament. We are going to read and
apply Numbers 21:4-9, and in doing so we are going to get the proper
perspective on this passage in John 3:14,15. So let’s take a look at Numbers 21. God had delivered the Hebrew people from
their oppression in
I. SINFUL REBELLION (vs. 5)
A.
They doubted God’s promises.
B.
They disdained God’s provision—Manna.
Manna is a picture of Jesus; came down from heaven; sweet.
World’s fare—is what they wanted.
C.
They despised God’s prophet—Moses.
When they fall out with God, they will fall out with you
(prophet). A man is known by the enemies
he keeps.
II. A SURE RETRIBUTION (vs. 6)
A.
It was a fitting retribution.
Some don’t like a God of judgment. God must punish sin. If guilty man is acquitted (set free), the
judge is condemned.
Illus: Supreme Court
would outlaw hell as cruel and unusual punishment (if they voted on it).
B.
It was a fiery judgment.
The serpents weren’t on fire, but their bite infected,
inflamed the body—fever coursed. It
wasn’t fun.
Appl:
It’s hard not to be a Christian.
Lost man takes more pains to go to hell than a Christian takes to go to heaven. It’s good to know Jesus. God does not like to make us squirm: the
rules are for our best, don’t hurt self.
Thou
shalt—therefore, happiness.
Psalm 84:11 “For the
Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing
will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
It was a fiery bite.
Don’t you feel sorry for me because I am a Christian. Need to feel sorry for those who suffer the
fatal fangs of Satan, sin, and death.
C.
It was a fatal judgment.
·
Romans
6:23 “the wages of sin is death”
·
Ezekiel
18:4 “the soul that sinneth,
it shall surely die”
·
James
1:15 (RSV) “The
desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full grown
brings forth death.”
·
L.S.D.
= lust, sin, death
III. A SAVING REMEDY (vss. 7,8)
God never leaves people without a remedy, even though God
does bring judgment.
A.
It was a symbolic remedy.
John 3:14-15 – How could a snake be a picture of
Jesus? Serpent was symbol of sin. Sin was being lifted up.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) “God made him who had no sin to
be sin, for us . . .”
Why was a serpent lifted up?
Because the Bible says, “Cursed is everyone that hangeth
upon a tree.” See Galatians 3:13;
Deuteronomy 21:23. It was a curse for
us. Jesus was pictured here. Sin was put on Jesus—Jesus hung on tree,
became curse for us. Serpent was
symbolic of Jesus’ action of taking my sin upon Him, taking my curse.
B.
It was a sufficient remedy.
Everyone who looks upon it shall live. Didn’t matter where bitten,
how much, etc. Doesn’t matter how
deep in sin you are, or how frivolous you may think your sin is, etc.—Jesus is
sufficient for you. To every slave,
sin-burdened man—Jesus is sufficient. I
don’t care what your problem is, I know what your
answer is—Jesus Christ. Remedy is Jesus.
C.
It was a simple remedy.
Not complicated—look and live. Ever heard a preacher you couldn’t
understand? Prof. Sounding Brass, Dr.
Tinkling Symbol? Great?!? Bible says about Jesus that the common people
heard him gladly. Children should
understand; should not garble it up. Simple gospel. Too
much scholarship and flesh on parade rather than anointed preachers preaching
the Word of God. This was a simple
remedy—God didn’t garble it up, we did!
We are called to be newsboys of the Good News, not editors of it. “Every one that looketh
shall live” – simple.
IV. THE SIMPLE REQUIREMENT (vss. 8-9)
Look and live.
Didn’t have to work for it, give for it, etc.
A.
Easy
“For by grace are ye saved through faith.” Didn’t have to pray for it, or wait for
it. All they had to do was look. Some complain that is “easy believism.” No. Anyone who looks to Jesus in faith is
saved. It was easy, but it was . . .
B.
Essential
People get confused here; they think that because
salvation is free that it is cheap. It
is free, but not cheap. Easy, but of great consequence.
Illus: Suppose I lived thousands of
years ago. See a man, say to him, “Sir,
you have been snake bitten, do you want the remedy?” He says, “No, I don’t think so; I admit I’ve
been snake bitten, but you’ve got members in your church bitten worse than I’m
bitten. I’m just as good as those folks
down there at the church.” I’ve been
waiting for a man to say, “I’m just as bad as those folks down there at
the church.” AMEN. A church is nothing but a society of sinners
who finally realized it. It’s the only
organization I know of that you have to profess to be bad before you can join
(except the Hell’s Angels). But men
won’t admit that (being bad); they just claim to be as good
or better than the next guy. How
foolish—a man with three snake bites thinks he is better than the man with four
snake bites. Ridiculous!
Talk to another
man, “Sir, you’ve been snake bitten.
There’s one hanging from your finger right now. Wouldn’t you like to be delivered?” He says, “Yes, but I don’t need you; I’ll
just shake off the snake, I’ll be all right.” I say, “But mister, you’ve got a
problem—you’ve got poison in your system, you need to be cured.” He says, “I’ll take care of it.”
Talk to men today
about being saved. They say, “Yeah, I
admit I drink a little, but I’m going to stop drinking.” What if he does, he will just go to hell
sober!
Appl:
Problem—not what man does, but what a man is. Not external, but internal. Poison in the system called sin. And the cure—though it may be easy—is
essential.
Illus: Talk to another man and ask,
“Don’t you want to be healed?” He says,
“Yes, but I’m waiting on the healing feeling!”
I’ve heard folks give testimonies about the feeling they got before
getting saved, etc. There is nothing in
the Bible about the healing feeling. But
I read a lot about faith in God. And
you’d better stop looking for a feeling and start exercising some faith.
Appl:
Not feeling, but faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Illus: Talk to another man and ask,
“Don’t you want to be healed?” He said,
“I don’t want to give up my snake!” I
said, “Are you crazy!” He said, “No this
thing has become attached to me and I’ve become attached to it.”
Appl:
Oh, friends, don’t you realize that the only things that God will ever
ask you to give up are the things that will hurt you. How silly it is to say, “Yes, I would like to
be healed, but I hate to give up my cancer.”
Appl:
Jesus Christ is not the best way to heaven, He
is the only way to heaven. Acts 4:12: “And
there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven
given among men by which we must be saved.”
C.
Elective
The simple requirement was elective—God gave them a choice. They didn’t have to look.
Illus: Imagine being there. Serpents everywhere. Shrieks throughout the
camp. Death is in the air. Mother and little boy
burying father. Digging out a shallow grave in the desert with sticks. Suddenly boy cries out, he is bitten. “Oh my God, Jimmy no,” the mother cries. She knocks the serpent away and takes little
Jimmy back to the tent. Already the
boy’s face is beginning to bloat.
Appl:
That’s the kind of witnessing I believe in; not only should we be
witnessing, we ought to be part of the evidence!
Illus: News goes out over the
camp. Shouts! Joy! Mother goes to son in tent and says, “Jimmy,
you don’t have to die, there’s a cure.
Not much time. All you have to do
is look at that shining serpent upon a pole.
Can’t explain it, but it works.”
Jimmy looks, is healed. New
life—he sits up, leaps, etc. Mother
says, “Thank you God that you made a way.”
Illus: Imagine another wife with
husband dying. She shared the good news
of cure with husband. He says, “I have
heard about the brass serpent theory. I
am not going to be drug into some nonsensical religion. I feel bad enough as it is. Don’t bug me.
Never bring up that subject again.”
He dies.
God gives you a choice.
1 Corinthians 1:18:
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but
unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” We don’t have to understand it; we can enjoy
it. I don’t understand all about how the
blood took away my sin, but I KNOW that Jesus saved a 13-year-old teenage boy
named Michael Palmer. Jesus took my
curse and set me free. He became a curse
for me . . . for you!
Can you imagine
anyone in that day knowing the cure and not sharing it? Anyone knowing the conditions, etc. and
having been healed would have to share the cure.
Appl:
Greatest sin of Christians today is the sin of silence. Sin of refusing to witness. When a Christian refuses to share the gospel,
he is raising a clenched fist of rebellion against God. A church that is not an evangelistic church
is in heresy! In revolt! It is a contradiction of terms.
Illus: What if a man found a cure for
cancer and didn’t tell anyone. What
ought to be done to him?
Appl:
If you know the condition of people in the world and you know Jesus, you
have a responsibility. Church needs to
develop a Holy Spirit inspired strategy to reach the community for Christ.
1)
Look
to Jesus.
2)
Lift
us Jesus. If we lift up Jesus, all will
be drawn to Him. If you can’t give your
faith away, you ought to give it up! No
substitute for lifting up the serpent in the wilderness. Jesus had to be lifted up so folks could see
Him.
Illus: I was told a story about an
old black man who lived along the
Appl:
Brethren, if you’ve been saved, you are going to say to your friends,
“Look my friend, look to Jesus now.”
Our job to look, our job to lift,
our job to love, share.
If Jesus became a hideous serpent for me, if he died a
gruesome death for me, “love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my
all.”
Andrew Murray said there are two classes of
Christians—soul winners and backsliders.
Let us pray.
(This is
a message by Adrian Rogers that I heard in 1974! I attended a Sunday School & Church
Conference at Elvis Marcum’s church in