Welcome to Anchors Of Truth
from the 3ABN Worship Center.
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His Character
Counts with Hiram Rester.
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Hello friends and welcome
to the 3ABN Worship Center.
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Also known as the Thompsonville
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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Where, if
you've tuned in before,
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you know that
I'm the pastor here.
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But tonight I'm glad to
give the pulpit to someone
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whom God has called and
anointed to communicate the
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message about
the character of God.
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If you've tuned in for the
third time, this is the third of
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the meetings that Pastor
Hiram Rester has been able to
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present to us through the
series of the Anchors Of Truth.
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And the overall theme
has been and continues to be,
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His Character Counts.
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But tonight's
message is entitled,
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The Righteous Serpent.
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Very interesting topic.
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We know that God
will bless your heart.
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If you're tuning in
via television or radio,
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we pray that you'll
spend the next hour with us
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in the Word of God to
find the strength and power
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that is available only as we
partake of the bread of life.
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And I am encouraged that
God has prepared his manservant.
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But before we do
anything, we like to always
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go to the Lord in prayer.
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So bow your heads with us
as we invite God's presence
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to continue here tonight.
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Our gracious Father in heaven,
whenever the bread of life has
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been baked, the time
comes for it to be served.
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And Lord, tonight we
pray that our hearts will
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be the place where
that bread will be stored,
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our minds will be
the place where that
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bread will be activated.
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We also pray, Lord, a
blessing on your manservant,
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Pastor Hiram Rester, as
You've called him to uplift Your
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holy and precious name,
to represent Your character,
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to make You, not a
part of the message,
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but the central
theme of the message.
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And so, Lord, tonight through
the auspices and through the
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message titled,
The Righteous Serpent,
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we pray that Jesus
will be lifted up again
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as He was in the wilderness.
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And we do pray that as He
is lifted up, all men will be
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drawn to Him and find in Him
their hope and their salvation.
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So bless these
meetings, bless those who are
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watching and listening.
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And may Your
perfect will be accomplished
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for and through Your manservant.
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We pray in Jesus'
precious name, amen.
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Now tonight, I have the
distinct pleasure of not only
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introducing our speaker, which
you will hear right after the
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music for tonight, but
I've chosen the song which is,
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Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,
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for the fact that what
we're going to do tonight
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as he breaks the bread of
life, we know that he's going to
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turn our hearts
and our eyes to Jesus.
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In a world like ours today, the
answer is and continues to be
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not only the Word of
God, but the person of Jesus.
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So tonight, we pray that through
this message and this song
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we all turn our eyes upon Jesus.
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O soul, are you
weary and troubled?
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No light in the
darkness you see?
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Yet there's light
for a look at the Savior,
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and there's life
more abundant and free.
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Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
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look full in His wonderful face.
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And the things of earth
will grow strangely dim,
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in the light of
His glory and grace.
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His Word will not
fail you, for He promised;
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believe it and all will be well.
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Then go to a world that is dying
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with His perfect
salvation to tell.
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Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
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look full in His wonderful face.
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And the things of earth
will grow strangely dim,
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in the light of
His glory and grace,
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in the light of
God's glory and grace,
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in the light of His glory
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and grace.
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Thank you so much, Pastor John.
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Thank you for praying with
me before the program begins
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and having our
opening prayer here tonight.
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It's such a blessing to be with
you and to have the opportunity
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to share about
the character of God
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and point to the love of
our Savior, Jesus Christ.
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I would invite each of
you to open your Bibles today
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to the book of Genesis.
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The book of Genesis chapter
3, as we get into our topic
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this evening, The
Righteous Serpent.
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The Righteous
Serpent, Genesis chapter 3.
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I grew up on a small
farm in south Mississippi.
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And on this farm we had four
ponds that had fish in them.
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In fact, two of the ponds had
some pretty good bass in them.
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And at the end of the
work day sometimes, I would
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go down and go fishing.
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In fact, in one pond
down below the barn, I use to
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leave a little aluminum boat,
a little skiff there and go.
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And I would push out
in the boat and fish.
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Well, one day I went down and
went fishing there in the pond
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and I caught a few
bass on a plastic worm.
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And I, you know, took the
bass off and threw them back.
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But the worm, I guess, had
the smell of the fish on it.
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I didn't think anything of it.
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That evening, I left my fishing
pole with the plastic worm and
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hook on it there in the boat.
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And left the boat
pulled up on the bank there.
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And I knew I would be back the
very next evening to go fishing.
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So no problem,
leave it there. Right?
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So the next evening I went
jogging down, running down.
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I was ready to go
fishing, I was excited about it.
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I went running down
the hill to the pond and
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I grabbed the front of the
boat and pushed it right out.
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And as it was
going out in the water,
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I jumped on at the last minute.
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And so I'm
heading out into the pond.
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And I reach down and I
grab the fishing pole handle.
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And I pick it up quickly.
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But there's some resistance.
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But I didn't think anything,
I just pulled a little harder.
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And there was a snake
on the end of the pole.
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You see, what had happened,
apparently in the middle of
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the night the snake had
gotten over into the boat
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looking for the
smell of the fish, right?
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And that worm smelled like fish.
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And apparently, the snake
tried to eat the plastic worm
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and he got hooked on the
big bass hook in his mouth.
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Well, it was a hot summer day in
Mississippi in an aluminum boat.
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And so he
didn't survive the day.
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That cold blooded animal, his
blood wasn't running anymore.
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He was dead.
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But as I picked
him up... That big.
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It was a big water moccasin,
poisonous water moccasin.
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He swung right in my direction.
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I just about aborted the
fishing trip to go swimming.
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I almost jumped
right into the water.
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And then I got my composure.
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And I thought, "Okay, I need
to put on a new fishing lure.
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How do I get the hook
out of the snakes mouth?"
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Then I thought, "You know what?
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I'm not going to try to get the
hook out of the snakes mouth.
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I'm going to let
him have this hook.
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I'm going to cut it off."
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Then I thought, "Better yet,
I've got a snake on a string.
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This could be useful."
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And so I pulled off 15
to 20 foot of fishing line,
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and I cut that off.
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And that evening, I ended
my fishing trip a little early.
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And I headed up toward
the house where I expected
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my mother would be
out working in the yard,
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as she usually would.
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And I took that fishing line
and I tied it to my belt loop.
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And so the snake,
he was nice and limber,
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was, you know, doing this
behind me 15 to 20 foot back.
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And I went walking
right past my mother.
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And when the snake got up
close to being even with her,
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I said, "Mom,
watch out. A snake."
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And as she looked up at
it, I took a running step away.
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Which made the
snake lunge at her.
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Yea, she still hasn't
completely gotten over that one.
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She's watching
at home. Sorry, mom.
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You know, it
seems that most women...
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I shouldn't pick on women.
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Most people have a
natural fear of snakes.
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Even people that will tell you
they're not scared of snakes,
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if you end up with a snake
in close proximity to you and
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you didn't know it was there
and you look over and see it,
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your initial reaction is what?
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Jump back in most cases.
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You know, the
Bible speaks of an enmity
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between a woman and a snake.
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But here, it's
going beyond just women.
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It's actually
talking about God's people.
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But let's look at this prophecy.
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This prophecy is actually
the first prophecy in the Bible
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that foretells
the coming of Jesus.
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And we see it here together
in Genesis 3 and verse 15.
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It says, " And I
will put enmity..."
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Or animosity would be
another word you can use.
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"...between thee
and the woman..."
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Between the snake, the
serpent, and the woman.
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And it goes beyond just
that serpent and that woman.
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It's talking about an enmity
between Satan and God's people,
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or the church.
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"...and between
thy seed and her Seed."
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Her Seed would be who, according
to the book of Galatians?
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Jesus Christ.
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"...and It," the Seed of the
woman, "shall bruise thy head,
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and thou shalt
bruise His..." What?
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"...bruise His heel."
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This powerful prophecy
foretells Jesus' coming.
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Jesus would die on the
cross, a temporary wound,
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from which He would
be resurrected from.
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Hence, the symbolism of the
bruised heel; a temporary wound.
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But the bruised
head; that's a death blow.
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And at the cross, my friends,
Jesus delivered a death blow
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to Satan.
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Now I remember
another snake story.
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I've got lots of
Mississippi snake stories.
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It's not that
Mississippi is overrun
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and infested with snakes.
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They have their share,
but so do a lot of states.
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But we were out
in the woods a lot.
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And at certain times of the
year if you're out in the woods
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and you're around water, you
won't see a snake every time,
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but it's not uncommon to
see a snake from time to time.
00:13:35.51\00:13:38.89
Well, this one particular
snake story comes to mind
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of my dad and my grandfather.
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Now I was named
after my grandfather;
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Hiram Sollie Rester.
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He had a son,
Hiram Sollie Rester Jr.,
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who was killed in the service.
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And I am the oldest son of
Grandpa Rester's youngest son.
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I was born two months
before he died, and so I'm
00:14:02.11\00:14:04.73
Hiram Sollie Rester III,
but not directly you see.
00:14:04.76\00:14:08.98
And a story that took
place before I was born,
00:14:09.38\00:14:13.76
my dad took my grandpa, with
my name Hiram Sollie Rester,
00:14:13.79\00:14:18.46
his dad, fishing.
00:14:18.49\00:14:19.88
And they went
fishing on the creek.
00:14:20.47\00:14:22.71
And instead of fishing there
at the bridge where the road
00:14:23.61\00:14:26.97
went over the creek,
like a lot of people would do,
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they decided to walk.
00:14:29.41\00:14:31.45
Walk off where everybody
didn't fish all the time.
00:14:31.48\00:14:33.66
Maybe there would be
more fish there, right?
00:14:33.69\00:14:35.67
And as they get off into
the woods, my dad tells grandpa,
00:14:35.98\00:14:39.98
"Now look, if there are any
snakes, don't mess with them.
00:14:40.01\00:14:42.84
Because if you get bit, before
I get you hauled out of here,
00:14:43.03\00:14:46.50
we've walked so far from the
truck, you're liable to be dead.
00:14:46.53\00:14:49.13
Stay away from the snakes."
00:14:49.16\00:14:50.88
Because Grandpa Rester
had this deal, if he saw a
00:14:50.91\00:14:53.85
poisonous snake, he
was going to kill it.
00:14:53.88\00:14:56.84
And he typically with his boots,
he'd just stomp it on the head.
00:14:57.13\00:15:00.73
That seemed to work.
00:15:02.64\00:15:04.01
Well, they're fishing along and
there was this sandbar there.
00:15:04.24\00:15:08.13
And lo and behold, there
was a poisonous water moccasin
00:15:08.16\00:15:11.17
laying out
there, a snake, sunning.
00:15:11.20\00:15:13.97
Laying in the sun.
00:15:14.00\00:15:15.66
And my dad was watching grandpa,
"Stay away from that snake.
00:15:16.99\00:15:19.74
Now you just leave it alone
and it'll leave you alone."
00:15:19.77\00:15:22.12
No, my dad gets
a fish on the line.
00:15:22.63\00:15:24.47
And so he's not able to
give grandpa the daycare.
00:15:25.24\00:15:30.08
You know, to be watching
him. You know how that goes.
00:15:30.11\00:15:32.01
The kids eventually start
watching out after the parents.
00:15:32.29\00:15:34.89
Right?
00:15:34.92\00:15:36.29
And grandpa sees his moment.
00:15:36.32\00:15:37.82
Dad's got the fish on the
line, and so what does he do?
00:15:37.85\00:15:41.31
He eases over there
to where that snake is.
00:15:41.51\00:15:44.71
He's walking real soft
because the snake can feel the
00:15:44.74\00:15:47.60
vibrations in the ground.
00:15:47.63\00:15:49.00
Right? The sand.
00:15:49.03\00:15:50.40
And he steps up
beside the snake.
00:15:50.43\00:15:52.89
And he brings his big ole
foot up over the snakes head.
00:15:53.40\00:15:57.12
And then... boom.
00:15:57.15\00:15:59.28
Only one problem.
00:16:00.82\00:16:02.19
Had it been a harder
surface, it would no doubt have
00:16:02.22\00:16:06.57
immediately killed the snake.
00:16:06.60\00:16:09.00
But it was a sand
bar, maybe even a mud bar.
00:16:09.63\00:16:12.90
And so the snake gets
squished down into the sand,
00:16:13.73\00:16:17.16
into the dirt.
00:16:17.19\00:16:18.56
And he's not dead yet.
00:16:18.59\00:16:19.96
So what do you suppose he does?
00:16:19.99\00:16:21.37
Well, his head is
caught under grandpa's boot.
00:16:21.40\00:16:24.28
And so his tail begins to
wrap up around grandpa's leg.
00:16:24.31\00:16:30.58
So grandpa is like, "I've
got the better deal here."
00:16:33.37\00:16:35.92
He keeps on fishing.
00:16:35.95\00:16:37.32
There's a snake wrapped up
around his leg, but I mean,
00:16:38.52\00:16:41.09
the snake can't do nothing.
00:16:41.12\00:16:42.49
He's standing on his
head, so he's fishing.
00:16:42.52\00:16:44.01
My dad looks
over, "Hey pa, you know,
00:16:44.04\00:16:46.63
looks like that
snake has got you."
00:16:46.66\00:16:48.06
He goes, "No, we've
got each other, it's okay."
00:16:48.09\00:16:50.38
And so they did,
they had each other.
00:16:50.88\00:16:52.66
Grandpa stood there like
he was putting out one of his
00:16:52.69\00:16:55.14
old cigarettes or something.
00:16:55.17\00:16:56.85
He kept doing his boot like this
back and forth, back and forth.
00:16:56.88\00:17:00.53
And finally after a little
while, that snake began to,
00:17:00.56\00:17:04.93
you know, I guess he
passed out, died, whatever.
00:17:05.60\00:17:08.47
His tail begins to fall down.
00:17:08.50\00:17:10.97
And grandpa
realizes the snake is loose.
00:17:11.00\00:17:13.59
He just kicks it off out in
the water and keeps on fishing.
00:17:13.62\00:17:17.08
I heard that story.
00:17:19.47\00:17:20.84
And then re-reading the book
of Genesis, I saw this prophecy
00:17:20.87\00:17:25.74
of the bruised head
and the bruised heel.
00:17:25.77\00:17:30.20
And I thought of that
story where grandpa had stomped
00:17:30.23\00:17:32.53
on that snakes head.
00:17:32.56\00:17:34.14
But you know something?
00:17:34.17\00:17:35.54
And though Jesus delivered
that permanent death blow
00:17:35.57\00:17:38.71
at the cross, Satan still has
a tight tail hold, if you will,
00:17:38.74\00:17:45.03
on this world.
00:17:45.06\00:17:46.43
His tail's still wrapped around,
so to speak metaphorically.
00:17:46.46\00:17:49.72
He hasn't let go yet, though the
death blow has been delivered.
00:17:49.75\00:17:53.19
Yes or no?
00:17:53.22\00:17:54.59
And he's holding on.
00:17:54.62\00:17:55.99
But, my friends, Jesus is
returning very soon and he
00:17:56.02\00:17:58.98
will be kicked loose.
00:17:59.01\00:18:00.38
And it will be
permanent, my friends.
00:18:00.41\00:18:02.49
Praise the Lord for that.
00:18:02.52\00:18:05.15
As we look into
these powerful prophecies,
00:18:05.18\00:18:08.66
last evening we
looked into Genesis and the
00:18:08.69\00:18:11.78
historical
aspects of this chapter.
00:18:11.81\00:18:14.48
How sin entered the world.
00:18:14.51\00:18:16.42
How Satan in the form of
a serpent had encouraged Eve
00:18:16.45\00:18:22.26
to question God, to
question God's word,
00:18:22.29\00:18:25.21
and to see God differently.
00:18:25.24\00:18:27.80
And how that influenced
sin coming into this world,
00:18:27.83\00:18:32.22
with man having a marred
picture of what God is like.
00:18:32.25\00:18:36.39
And how that marred
picture continued to grow
00:18:36.42\00:18:39.86
after sin came into the
world, as now fear and shame
00:18:39.89\00:18:44.98
and condemnation
caused man to hide from God.
00:18:45.01\00:18:49.69
And to project that feeling of
fear and shame and condemnation
00:18:49.72\00:18:53.79
they had as coming from God.
00:18:53.82\00:18:57.01
Even though it was coming from
within with the change of nature
00:18:57.90\00:19:02.70
that came as man
entered into sin.
00:19:02.73\00:19:06.62
And we talked about how
Jesus, in John 3 verse 17,
00:19:06.65\00:19:12.03
that He did not come
to condemn the world.
00:19:12.06\00:19:14.32
We mentioned briefly the
woman caught in adultery,
00:19:14.35\00:19:16.83
and He says,
"Neither do I..." What?
00:19:16.86\00:19:18.69
"...condemn thee.
00:19:18.72\00:19:20.09
Go and sin no more."
00:19:20.12\00:19:22.90
And we went through some
of these things last evening.
00:19:22.93\00:19:25.64
But here in Genesis
3 and verse 15, we find
00:19:25.67\00:19:29.64
the promise of
the coming Messiah.
00:19:29.67\00:19:32.59
And it uses the symbol of
the serpent and the Seed of
00:19:32.62\00:19:37.92
the woman, and
enmity between them.
00:19:37.95\00:19:41.59
An animosity between them.
00:19:41.62\00:19:45.44
Now this is a powerful prophecy.
00:19:45.71\00:19:48.46
But let's talk about
the symbol of a snake
00:19:48.49\00:19:50.64
here for just a minute.
00:19:50.67\00:19:52.04
Now, snakes are
used or seen in different
00:19:52.07\00:19:56.43
capacities in the world today.
00:19:56.46\00:19:58.40
You find that some people
in some parts of the world
00:19:58.76\00:20:02.96
will kill and
eat snakes for food.
00:20:03.72\00:20:05.63
Yeah.
00:20:05.66\00:20:07.03
You find some people will keep
snakes around as deterrents.
00:20:07.06\00:20:10.90
In fact, I remember a story
of a fellow in Mississippi.
00:20:11.59\00:20:14.62
Back in the days before they
got strict with the DUI laws,
00:20:15.61\00:20:20.17
the drinking and
driving laws, there was a guy
00:20:20.20\00:20:22.99
years and years and years
ago, long before I was born,
00:20:23.02\00:20:25.84
in south Mississippi,
that he got tired of the cops
00:20:25.87\00:20:28.79
stopping him and
taking his beer away.
00:20:28.82\00:20:31.20
So he kept two
rattle snakes in his car.
00:20:31.23\00:20:33.98
And the first time the cop, you
know, started searching his car
00:20:34.01\00:20:36.99
and found the snakes in there,
they didn't bother him anymore.
00:20:37.02\00:20:39.67
And so he just
kept snakes in his car,
00:20:39.70\00:20:41.95
and the law
enforcement left him alone.
00:20:41.98\00:20:44.59
So that was a deterrent, right?
00:20:44.62\00:20:46.42
But other people
keep snakes as pets.
00:20:46.66\00:20:50.29
Right?
00:20:50.32\00:20:51.69
Lots of different uses,
we see, for snakes out there.
00:20:51.72\00:20:54.55
There are some for
medicinal purposes.
00:20:54.58\00:20:56.95
Of course,
anti-venom often comes from
00:20:56.98\00:20:59.54
the harvesting the
venom of snakes, etc.
00:20:59.57\00:21:02.53
Now of course, if I
come in contact with a snake,
00:21:02.56\00:21:05.94
I use to think there are
mainly only two types of snakes.
00:21:05.97\00:21:09.51
Dead and alive. Right?
00:21:10.39\00:21:12.55
And if I came
across one that was alive,
00:21:12.58\00:21:14.91
there was a good
chance he may become dead.
00:21:14.94\00:21:17.76
But I only try to
kill poisonous snakes.
00:21:17.79\00:21:20.52
But you know, if it's
a non-poisonous snake,
00:21:20.62\00:21:25.59
we're not going to kill it
unless it becomes a nuisance.
00:21:26.16\00:21:29.42
For instance, last week on
my parents place in Mississippi,
00:21:29.45\00:21:33.94
there was a...
00:21:33.97\00:21:35.34
Some people call them
chicken snakes down there.
00:21:35.37\00:21:37.34
Other people
call them rat snakes.
00:21:37.37\00:21:38.74
It's a non-poisonous snake.
00:21:38.77\00:21:40.44
And it got into the chicken pen.
00:21:40.47\00:21:42.57
And it had killed and
eaten four of the biddies,
00:21:43.37\00:21:47.70
the little chickens.
00:21:47.73\00:21:49.13
And so my dad killed it.
00:21:50.19\00:21:52.19
He had to go in and get it
out, the snake was trapped.
00:21:52.22\00:21:55.53
You see, it had went
through the chicken wire,
00:21:56.13\00:21:59.20
which is about this big around.
00:21:59.23\00:22:00.69
He could crawl through it.
00:22:00.72\00:22:02.09
But once he had
eaten the biddies,
00:22:02.36\00:22:04.56
he couldn't get back out.
00:22:04.59\00:22:07.55
Because now he's got
this big lump, right?
00:22:07.58\00:22:10.85
And so anyway, put
that one out of his misery.
00:22:10.88\00:22:14.37
But also today,
something interesting happened.
00:22:14.40\00:22:17.86
I went on a walk this
morning with a couple of friends
00:22:17.89\00:22:21.88
of mine from Springfield,
my church, who had come over;
00:22:21.91\00:22:24.77
Dale and Zach.
00:22:24.80\00:22:27.30
And we went out walking
this morning here around 3ABN.
00:22:27.33\00:22:31.54
And walking down the
road, guess what we came up on.
00:22:31.57\00:22:35.41
Yea, so it's not just
Mississippi who has snakes.
00:22:36.22\00:22:39.21
Here we are in southern
Illinois and there was a snake.
00:22:39.24\00:22:42.41
Yea, they're putting up
a picture of it right now.
00:22:42.44\00:22:46.11
You remember, they
come two major ways.
00:22:46.14\00:22:49.43
How is that? Dead and alive.
00:22:49.46\00:22:51.38
This one had been
run over in the road.
00:22:51.41\00:22:53.72
It was dead.
00:22:53.75\00:22:55.76
We tried to
take a picture of it.
00:22:55.79\00:22:57.29
We ended up having to
move it out of the road
00:22:57.32\00:22:58.97
because it was so close
to the color of the pavement
00:22:59.00\00:23:01.80
we couldn't get a good picture.
00:23:01.83\00:23:03.21
We moved it over onto the clay.
00:23:03.24\00:23:04.96
And so I called
up someone from 3ABN.
00:23:04.99\00:23:07.87
I said, "I want to use that
as a sermon illustration tonight
00:23:07.90\00:23:10.36
since I'm preaching
on the righteous serpent.
00:23:10.39\00:23:12.58
And I found a dead
snake this morning.
00:23:12.61\00:23:14.27
Wow, you know, coincidence.
00:23:14.30\00:23:15.77
Wow, let's put that together."
00:23:15.80\00:23:17.41
And so I was on
the phone with Dee.
00:23:17.44\00:23:19.86
If you're around
3ABN, you know Dee.
00:23:19.89\00:23:22.62
Dee Hilderbrand, right?
00:23:22.65\00:23:24.02
And I was talking to Dee
about helping make that happen.
00:23:24.05\00:23:27.42
And she said, "You know,
when you said last night that
00:23:27.45\00:23:29.76
most ladies are
afraid of snakes..."
00:23:29.79\00:23:31.50
I mean, she then
went on to talk about
00:23:31.53\00:23:33.92
how afraid of snakes she was.
00:23:33.95\00:23:35.40
And wanted to make sure
that I had not left that snake
00:23:35.60\00:23:38.77
in the road where she
might go walking sometime
00:23:38.80\00:23:42.58
and accidentally walk up on it.
00:23:42.61\00:23:44.34
So, Dee, it's not in the
road, and you can go walking.
00:23:44.37\00:23:49.09
Don't worry about that.
00:23:49.12\00:23:50.49
I know that will bring
you some peace of mind.
00:23:50.52\00:23:52.74
It's just right there in
the bushes ready to jump out.
00:23:52.77\00:23:55.72
No, it's dead. It's gone.
00:23:55.75\00:23:58.07
It's not going to do that.
00:23:58.10\00:23:59.50
But at this point, my friends,
we think about the fact that
00:23:59.53\00:24:03.50
a serpent, there's a fear
that most people have of snakes.
00:24:03.53\00:24:07.51
And the Bible, from Genesis
to the book of Revelation,
00:24:07.54\00:24:13.39
uses serpents, uses snakes,
as a symbol of sin and Satan.
00:24:13.42\00:24:22.64
But I came across a
verse many years ago.
00:24:22.67\00:24:25.33
I was reading along and all of
a sudden, an apparent dichotomy
00:24:25.36\00:24:29.79
jumped out at me.
00:24:29.82\00:24:31.19
And I said, "Wow, what is this?"
00:24:31.22\00:24:33.21
I read across a verse
where it was applying the symbol
00:24:33.24\00:24:38.79
of a serpent, of
a snake, to Jesus.
00:24:38.82\00:24:43.87
And I said, "Wow,
how could this be?"
00:24:44.59\00:24:46.47
In fact, it was Jesus
Himself making the application.
00:24:46.50\00:24:50.12
But a serpent, from Genesis
to Revelation, is a symbol of
00:24:50.15\00:24:53.83
sin and Satan.
00:24:53.86\00:24:55.75
But here, it very
clearly was a symbol for Jesus.
00:24:55.78\00:24:59.35
Look with me in John chapter 3,
and let's look there together.
00:24:59.38\00:25:02.88
John chapter 3, we'll see
that here in the New Testament.
00:25:02.91\00:25:07.50
John chapter 3.
00:25:07.53\00:25:09.20
And you know, how
could a serpent, a snake,
00:25:09.23\00:25:13.40
be used as a symbol for Jesus?
00:25:13.43\00:25:15.30
Jesus never sinned.
00:25:15.33\00:25:16.86
He was never tainted with sin.
00:25:16.89\00:25:18.60
He never entered into sin.
00:25:18.63\00:25:20.43
He was the pure and spotless,
the perfect Lamb of God.
00:25:20.46\00:25:28.08
And a serpent.
00:25:29.28\00:25:30.65
You say, "Well,
you can't say that."
00:25:31.38\00:25:32.75
Well the Bible
does. That's the point.
00:25:32.78\00:25:34.25
It says that there's a
serpent that represents Jesus.
00:25:34.28\00:25:37.71
How could that be?
00:25:37.74\00:25:39.11
He was sinless, He was
spotless, He was perfect.
00:25:39.14\00:25:41.31
Yes, and a serpent.
00:25:41.34\00:25:42.98
Say, "What?"
00:25:43.84\00:25:45.21
It's hard to swallow.
00:25:45.24\00:25:46.61
It's hard to wrap
your mind around, right?
00:25:46.64\00:25:48.41
You say, "Well, hold on.
You can't apply that to Jesus."
00:25:48.44\00:25:51.53
Well, Jesus did.
00:25:51.56\00:25:52.93
And that's what
jumped out at me.
00:25:52.96\00:25:55.22
I'm reading along
from Genesis to Revelation.
00:25:55.25\00:25:57.82
Generally, almost always,
you read about a serpent in the
00:25:57.85\00:26:00.84
Bible as a symbol, and
it represents sin or Satan.
00:26:00.87\00:26:05.03
And here, it applies to Jesus.
00:26:05.06\00:26:06.83
And it was messing with my head.
00:26:06.86\00:26:08.76
Maybe it will
mess with your head.
00:26:08.79\00:26:10.16
I don't know.
00:26:10.19\00:26:11.56
But then I learned
that God has an answer.
00:26:11.59\00:26:13.48
And He shows that to us.
00:26:13.51\00:26:14.95
But look here in
John 3 and verse 14.
00:26:14.98\00:26:17.35
"And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness,
00:26:17.38\00:26:21.49
even so must the Son of man,"
that's Jesus, "be lifted up."
00:26:21.52\00:26:26.43
So, as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness,
00:26:27.75\00:26:31.75
Jesus must be lifted up.
00:26:31.78\00:26:33.42
He's saying, "That
serpent represented Me
00:26:33.45\00:26:37.00
and My death on the cross."
00:26:37.03\00:26:39.87
Wow.
00:26:40.47\00:26:41.84
And it says in verse 15,
"That whosoever believeth in Him
00:26:41.87\00:26:44.59
should not perish, but
have everlasting life."
00:26:44.62\00:26:48.96
You see, the serpent that was
put on the pole and lifted up
00:26:48.99\00:26:51.99
in the wilderness, those that
looked and believed, my friends,
00:26:52.02\00:26:55.69
when they saw that
serpent they would not perish,
00:26:55.72\00:26:58.87
they did not die.
00:26:58.90\00:27:00.64
And so, this is used
as a symbol of Jesus.
00:27:01.04\00:27:05.09
Jesus applies it to Himself.
00:27:05.12\00:27:08.26
Now what would this mean
and what would this tell us,
00:27:08.29\00:27:11.66
this symbol, this rather unique
symbol in Scripture of Jesus,
00:27:11.69\00:27:16.04
tell us about the
character of our God?
00:27:16.07\00:27:20.34
You say, "Well, there's nothing
sinister there, is there?
00:27:21.23\00:27:23.52
No, certainly not.
00:27:23.55\00:27:24.95
God is infinitely good
and perfect and selfless,
00:27:24.98\00:27:29.68
and focused on
others, my friends.
00:27:29.71\00:27:32.21
But there are some
powerful aspects, we shall see.
00:27:32.24\00:27:36.15
Let's first go and look
at the story that's being
00:27:36.18\00:27:39.20
referenced here, the account
of Israel in the wilderness.
00:27:39.23\00:27:42.52
You see, it was the exodus.
00:27:42.55\00:27:43.92
Go with me though to
the book of Numbers, okay.
00:27:43.95\00:27:45.82
If you're thinking about what
the book of Numbers is about,
00:27:45.85\00:27:48.70
it's real simple
and it kind of rhymes.
00:27:48.73\00:27:50.54
Numbers wanders.
00:27:50.57\00:27:52.21
The book of
Numbers is all about Israel
00:27:52.24\00:27:54.07
wandering in the wilderness.
00:27:54.10\00:27:55.47
So, Numbers wanders.
00:27:55.50\00:27:56.87
And you'll remember
what Numbers is about.
00:27:56.90\00:27:58.67
So they're
wandering in the wilderness.
00:27:58.70\00:28:00.07
They've been led out of Egypt.
00:28:00.10\00:28:02.38
Which is a symbol of
sin in the Bible, okay?
00:28:02.41\00:28:04.83
And they're wandering in
the wilderness waiting to
00:28:04.86\00:28:07.64
enter into the
Promised Land one day.
00:28:07.67\00:28:11.80
And we look at it, they
had been cared for by God.
00:28:11.83\00:28:16.01
God was showing His love
to them and He had supplied
00:28:16.31\00:28:19.23
every need that they had.
00:28:19.26\00:28:21.31
And He was supplying.
00:28:21.34\00:28:22.71
Their clothes
weren't wearing out.
00:28:22.74\00:28:24.87
Their feet weren't
swelling when they walked.
00:28:24.90\00:28:27.37
He was providing them food,
He was providing them water.
00:28:27.40\00:28:30.49
And what did they start doing?
00:28:30.52\00:28:32.33
They started
grumbling and complaining.
00:28:32.36\00:28:35.13
We read about it here in
Numbers chapter 21 verse 4.
00:28:36.87\00:28:41.13
"And they journeyed from Mount
Hor by the way of the Red Sea,
00:28:41.55\00:28:44.88
to compass the land of Edom.
00:28:44.91\00:28:46.65
And the soul of the
people was much discouraged
00:28:46.68\00:28:49.15
because of the way."
00:28:49.18\00:28:50.55
It was harder than maybe
they thought it was going to be.
00:28:50.58\00:28:53.21
Or maybe the scenery
wasn't as nice as they wanted.
00:28:53.24\00:28:55.96
They were discouraged.
00:28:55.99\00:28:57.50
Verse 5, "And the people
spake against God..." Uh-ho.
00:28:57.53\00:29:01.99
"...and against Moses..."
00:29:02.02\00:29:04.46
God had sent Moses to pastor
and to shepherd His people,
00:29:04.49\00:29:07.81
and now they're
complaining about Moses as well.
00:29:07.84\00:29:10.45
"Wherefore have ye
brought us up out of Egypt
00:29:10.48\00:29:13.78
to die in the wilderness?
00:29:13.81\00:29:15.62
For there is no bread,
neither is there any water.
00:29:15.65\00:29:18.50
And our soul
loatheth this light bread."
00:29:18.53\00:29:21.27
The light bread;
they're referring to the manna
00:29:21.30\00:29:23.38
that God was
providing every day.
00:29:23.41\00:29:25.26
They're saying there's no
bread, while God is giving it
00:29:25.29\00:29:27.55
to them every single day.
00:29:27.58\00:29:29.51
Now, God has delivered
them from slavery, from bondage.
00:29:30.32\00:29:35.46
He had parted the Red
Sea to bring them out.
00:29:35.49\00:29:39.30
And now they're complaining.
00:29:40.77\00:29:42.45
He was providing them
their daily portion of food,
00:29:42.48\00:29:45.82
He was showing His
love, His compassion,
00:29:45.85\00:29:49.26
that He cared for them.
00:29:49.29\00:29:50.97
And they're murmuring
and they're complaining.
00:29:51.00\00:29:54.53
And ultimately, that murmuring
and complaining caused the
00:29:55.03\00:29:58.21
protection of God to be removed.
00:29:58.24\00:30:00.28
Verse 6, "And the Lord sent
fiery serpents among the people,
00:30:00.31\00:30:03.65
and they bit the people;
and much people of Israel died."
00:30:03.68\00:30:08.34
You see, it was a snake
infested area, no doubt,
00:30:08.37\00:30:11.06
where they were going through.
00:30:11.09\00:30:12.87
But God had been protecting
them from that as well,
00:30:12.90\00:30:15.77
and they did not know it.
00:30:15.80\00:30:17.17
But now, they're rebellion
against God caused God's
00:30:17.58\00:30:22.25
protection not to
be able to cover them.
00:30:22.28\00:30:25.69
Now, all of a sudden, this area,
this snake infested region,
00:30:25.72\00:30:31.28
they are being plagued
with venomous serpents.
00:30:31.31\00:30:35.36
And so, now they're
desperate and dying.
00:30:36.71\00:30:38.79
These fiery serpents
had a sting that was deadly.
00:30:38.82\00:30:42.64
Not a sting, rather
a bite that was deadly.
00:30:42.67\00:30:45.95
Venomous
serpents, poisonous snakes.
00:30:45.98\00:30:48.84
And then as they
realized what was happening,
00:30:49.29\00:30:52.98
that they were dying
from these snake bites,
00:30:53.01\00:30:56.83
they turn and they
say, "Moses, we messed up.
00:30:56.86\00:30:59.72
We're sorry.
00:30:59.82\00:31:01.19
We complained about God
and we complained about you.
00:31:01.22\00:31:04.03
Please, Moses, go to God
on our behalf and come up with
00:31:04.06\00:31:07.85
something to save us.
00:31:07.88\00:31:09.25
Please, we're dying here."
00:31:09.28\00:31:11.80
And so that's what happened.
00:31:12.11\00:31:14.18
We read about it
there in verse 9.
00:31:14.21\00:31:17.55
Actually verse 8, "And
the Lord said unto Moses,
00:31:17.58\00:31:21.30
'Make thee a fiery
serpent and set it upon a pole.
00:31:21.33\00:31:24.58
And it shall come to pass
that every one that is bitten,
00:31:24.61\00:31:27.47
when he looketh
upon it, shall...'" What?
00:31:27.50\00:31:31.42
"...shall live."
00:31:31.78\00:31:33.44
Okay, "And Moses made a serpent
of brass and put it upon a pole.
00:31:34.38\00:31:38.27
And it came to pass that if
a serpent had bitten any man,"
00:31:38.30\00:31:41.55
anyone, "when he beheld the
serpent of brass, he..." What?
00:31:41.58\00:31:46.08
"...he lived."
00:31:46.37\00:31:47.79
Okay.
00:31:47.82\00:31:49.19
Simple, look and live...
00:31:49.36\00:31:52.06
...or perish.
00:31:53.57\00:31:54.94
Now, not to look was to perish.
00:31:56.37\00:31:59.42
How does this apply, or does
it have really any application
00:31:59.45\00:32:02.86
or any value for us today?
00:32:02.89\00:32:05.01
I believe that it does.
00:32:05.04\00:32:06.41
Look with me, would you,
in the New Testament, just to
00:32:06.44\00:32:09.51
see how this applies to us,
in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.
00:32:09.54\00:32:13.31
1 Corinthians
chapter 10 and verse 9.
00:32:13.34\00:32:15.51
We're going to look at
it here together today.
00:32:15.54\00:32:17.57
1 Corinthians
chapter 10 and verse 9.
00:32:17.60\00:32:21.72
We see it in the Word of God,
1 Corinthians 10 and verse 9.
00:32:21.75\00:32:27.78
"Neither let us tempt Christ,
as some of them also tempted,
00:32:28.41\00:32:33.82
and were destroyed of..." What?
00:32:33.85\00:32:36.92
"...serpents."
00:32:37.47\00:32:38.84
"Neither murmur ye, as
some of them also murmured,
00:32:39.13\00:32:42.02
and were
destroyed of the destroyer.
00:32:42.05\00:32:44.24
Now all these things
happened unto them for examples:
00:32:44.45\00:32:47.72
and they are written for
our admonition, upon whom the
00:32:47.75\00:32:52.37
ends of the world are come."
00:32:52.40\00:32:56.59
An example for those
of us that are living
00:32:57.30\00:33:01.30
in the time of the end.
00:33:01.33\00:33:02.99
These things
happened to them for examples.
00:33:03.99\00:33:05.90
They were complaining,
they were tempting Christ.
00:33:05.93\00:33:08.45
They were literally saying that
though God had delivered them,
00:33:08.48\00:33:12.39
"You brought us out here for
us to die in the wilderness."
00:33:12.42\00:33:15.51
Oh my.
00:33:16.06\00:33:17.51
Egypt, the symbol of
sin, they had been delivered.
00:33:19.68\00:33:22.83
We are walking, as it were,
in the wilderness of this earth.
00:33:24.12\00:33:28.11
If we claim to be
following Jesus, delivered from
00:33:29.08\00:33:32.32
bondage, from
Egypt, delivered from sin,
00:33:32.35\00:33:35.72
waiting by God's grace to enter
the heavenly Promised Land.
00:33:36.13\00:33:40.91
And so this applies to us.
00:33:42.22\00:33:44.44
Let us not do as they did.
00:33:44.47\00:33:47.40
It's an example
for us, the Bible says.
00:33:47.43\00:33:50.97
Now, God's
goodness had been forgotten.
00:33:52.56\00:33:56.14
God had given them token
after token of His goodness,
00:33:56.86\00:34:00.24
of His love, of His
mercy, but they had forgotten.
00:34:00.27\00:34:04.08
Let us not forget.
00:34:04.11\00:34:05.51
Let us be thankful.
00:34:05.84\00:34:07.43
Let us see what God
has done so wonderfully for
00:34:07.46\00:34:12.44
each of us in our life.
00:34:12.47\00:34:14.37
Well if we forget God's goodness
and we don't keep our eyes
00:34:16.94\00:34:21.15
on Jesus, then we're
going to fall into sin.
00:34:21.18\00:34:24.72
That is, we're going to
be bitten by the serpents.
00:34:24.75\00:34:29.36
That's right.
00:34:30.52\00:34:31.89
The serpent is a symbol of sin.
00:34:31.92\00:34:35.26
And we must look and live.
00:34:35.86\00:34:37.74
"As Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness,
00:34:37.77\00:34:40.65
even so must the Son of man be
lifted up," John 3 and verse 14.
00:34:40.68\00:34:46.49
Now, why would a snake
be used to represent Jesus?
00:34:46.89\00:34:51.99
And what would this
say about God's character?
00:34:52.02\00:34:55.31
And why did they even
need a brass serpent on a pole.
00:34:55.34\00:35:02.03
Well the same question, at least
as the last question there,
00:35:03.19\00:35:07.26
is then, why would we
need Jesus on the cross?
00:35:07.29\00:35:12.78
The reason is because
we have all been bitten.
00:35:12.81\00:35:17.29
Romans 3 and verse
23, "All have sinned and
00:35:17.83\00:35:22.03
come short of the glory of God."
00:35:22.06\00:35:24.39
We've been bitten with the
sting, with the bite of sin.
00:35:24.42\00:35:29.24
And Romans 6:23, "For
the wages of sin is..." What?
00:35:29.27\00:35:34.50
"...death."
00:35:34.53\00:35:35.90
We've been bitten.
00:35:35.93\00:35:37.30
And what was going to
happen after you're bitten?
00:35:37.33\00:35:38.89
You would die.
00:35:38.92\00:35:41.00
But as we move ahead, as
we look ahead, we find in
00:35:41.03\00:35:45.79
Romans 6:23, "But the
gift of God is eternal life
00:35:45.82\00:35:51.19
through Jesus Christ, our Lord."
00:35:51.22\00:35:54.93
Now as the Word of God
speaks to the issues at hand,
00:35:55.37\00:36:01.31
I want to take a
moment and contrast
00:36:01.61\00:36:05.09
two opposing characters or
sets of character attributes.
00:36:05.12\00:36:11.34
And that is between
Christ, the righteous serpent,
00:36:11.76\00:36:16.61
and Satan, the
unrighteous serpent.
00:36:17.73\00:36:22.79
Is it fair to
call Satan a serpent?
00:36:23.93\00:36:25.63
Does the Bible call
him a serpent, yes or no?
00:36:25.66\00:36:27.92
Yes. Is he unrighteous?
00:36:28.35\00:36:30.98
Did Jesus apply the symbol of
a serpent to Himself, yes or no?
00:36:31.88\00:36:36.10
Well I would have to say
He is the righteous serpent.
00:36:36.55\00:36:39.24
Okay?
00:36:40.06\00:36:41.43
Two sets of
character attributes.
00:36:42.07\00:36:45.10
Satan is constantly
trying to superimpose upon God
00:36:45.84\00:36:53.38
his own character attributes.
00:36:54.01\00:36:56.35
He would have Eve believe that
God was trying to keep her down,
00:36:57.20\00:37:06.89
and keep Himself up
by keeping her down.
00:37:06.92\00:37:09.13
"God knows if you eat of
that fruit, you'll be like Him.
00:37:09.16\00:37:11.73
He's trying to keep you
down here and Himself up here."
00:37:11.76\00:37:14.06
In other words, that God
is selfish and self-centered,
00:37:14.92\00:37:20.13
and trying to keep Himself up.
00:37:20.16\00:37:22.77
But that's actually
the attributes of Satan.
00:37:24.73\00:37:29.60
He is
self-centered, he is selfish.
00:37:30.07\00:37:32.52
And 2 Thessalonians chapter
2 verses 3 and 4 speaks of
00:37:32.55\00:37:37.85
the antichrist beast
power, that it would seek to
00:37:37.88\00:37:40.76
exalt itself above God.
00:37:40.79\00:37:42.94
Now the root of that
goes back to Satan himself.
00:37:43.15\00:37:46.33
Isaiah chapter 14:12-14,
where it says, "How art thou
00:37:46.36\00:37:50.42
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer...
00:37:50.45\00:37:51.82
How art thou cut
down to the ground,
00:37:51.85\00:37:53.22
which didst weaken the nations.
00:37:53.25\00:37:54.62
For thou said in thine heart,
'I will ascend into heaven.
00:37:54.65\00:37:56.53
I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God.'"
00:37:56.56\00:38:00.16
He is full of self exaltation.
00:38:00.19\00:38:03.41
He is self-centered.
00:38:05.12\00:38:06.84
And yet, he wants us
to think God is that way.
00:38:07.24\00:38:10.56
No.
00:38:10.59\00:38:11.96
He has applied his
own attributes to God
00:38:11.99\00:38:14.84
and tried to get the
world to think that...
00:38:14.87\00:38:17.20
Well, he's got the
world deceived in many ways
00:38:17.23\00:38:20.65
that he doesn't exist.
00:38:20.68\00:38:22.05
But for those that do believe
in him, do believe he exists,
00:38:22.08\00:38:25.28
he wants them to think that
he has the attributes of God.
00:38:25.31\00:38:29.73
That he wants to give
you freedom, that he wants...
00:38:29.76\00:38:32.76
You know, and all of this stuff.
00:38:32.79\00:38:34.25
Now as we dig into
this, we find the attributes
00:38:34.28\00:38:39.77
of the righteous
serpent; of Jesus.
00:38:39.80\00:38:42.75
And what
attributes do we find of Him?
00:38:42.78\00:38:45.49
While Satan was trying
to exalt himself higher,
00:38:45.52\00:38:48.93
the One who could go no higher
00:38:49.13\00:38:51.75
humbled Himself.
00:38:54.08\00:38:55.71
He did.
00:38:56.93\00:38:58.30
Isaiah chapter 53 is
a great example of that.
00:38:58.33\00:39:01.77
Let's look there just briefly.
00:39:01.80\00:39:03.17
And then we'll go to
another favorite passage of mine
00:39:03.20\00:39:05.17
in Philippians chapter 2, okay.
00:39:05.20\00:39:06.92
We look here in
Isaiah chapter 53.
00:39:06.95\00:39:10.30
Isaiah chapter 53 here.
00:39:10.33\00:39:12.50
We see it together
in the Word of God.
00:39:12.90\00:39:15.50
We look here, Isaiah 53
and we see it in verse 3.
00:39:15.53\00:39:19.93
"He is despised
and rejected of men;
00:39:19.96\00:39:21.92
a Man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief.
00:39:21.95\00:39:23.88
And we hid, as it
were, our faces from Him.
00:39:23.91\00:39:26.49
He was despised,
and we esteemed Him not.
00:39:26.52\00:39:28.63
Surely He hath borne our
griefs, and carried our sorrows.
00:39:28.66\00:39:32.45
Yet we did esteem Him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted.
00:39:32.48\00:39:36.51
But He was wounded
for our transgressions,
00:39:36.54\00:39:39.62
He was bruised
for our iniquities.
00:39:39.65\00:39:41.97
The chastisement of
our peace was upon Him;
00:39:42.00\00:39:44.69
and with His
stripes we are healed.
00:39:44.72\00:39:48.17
All we like sheep
have gone astray."
00:39:48.53\00:39:50.81
We have followed after the
character attributes of Satan.
00:39:51.36\00:39:55.38
We have gone astray.
00:39:55.58\00:39:57.75
We've done it our way.
00:39:58.25\00:39:59.71
Here in America,
most folks are...
00:40:00.21\00:40:01.88
Well I should say, North
America and the United States.
00:40:02.20\00:40:05.60
I realize there are other folks
that, you know, South America.
00:40:05.63\00:40:09.29
They claim to be
Americans as well.
00:40:09.32\00:40:11.12
And rightfully so.
00:40:11.15\00:40:12.52
Here in North America,
here in the U.S., most of us
00:40:12.55\00:40:15.16
are familiar with a
song by Frank Sinatra,
00:40:15.19\00:40:18.03
or at least he sang
it; I Did It... How?
00:40:18.06\00:40:20.86
...My Way.
00:40:21.30\00:40:22.67
And that's what Satan
encourages us all to do.
00:40:22.70\00:40:24.44
I did it my way;
that self-centered view.
00:40:24.47\00:40:27.06
My friends.
00:40:28.20\00:40:29.57
But God did what?
00:40:29.60\00:40:30.97
What was Jesus' answer
to us doing it our way?
00:40:31.00\00:40:33.63
"All we like
sheep have gone astray;
00:40:33.66\00:40:35.50
we have turned
every one to his own way.
00:40:35.53\00:40:39.27
And the Lord hath laid on
Him the iniquity of us all."
00:40:40.05\00:40:43.72
God took upon Him, Jesus
took upon Himself our iniquity.
00:40:43.93\00:40:48.33
"The Lord hath laid on
Him the iniquity of us all."
00:40:48.76\00:40:51.72
And so Jesus says,
"I pay your penalty."
00:40:51.75\00:40:54.61
Go with me to
Philippians 2, would you.
00:40:54.64\00:40:56.36
The book of
Philippians chapter 2.
00:40:56.39\00:40:58.21
We're going to see, He
came and He offered Himself.
00:40:58.24\00:41:01.78
The One in heaven,
whom it would seemed could
00:41:01.81\00:41:03.68
be exalted no higher.
00:41:03.71\00:41:05.59
He didn't try to exalt Himself
00:41:05.62\00:41:07.27
He humbled
Himself. He came down.
00:41:07.30\00:41:09.80
He said, "I'm
going to go to them.
00:41:09.83\00:41:11.69
I'm going to reach out to them.
00:41:11.72\00:41:13.16
They have went away.
00:41:13.19\00:41:14.56
And they may not even realize
their sinful and lost condition.
00:41:14.59\00:41:18.24
They may not realize
they have been bitten
00:41:18.27\00:41:20.38
with the serpent of sin.
00:41:20.41\00:41:21.99
But I'm going to go to them.
00:41:22.02\00:41:23.88
And I'm going to take
the penalty upon Myself."
00:41:24.49\00:41:27.77
And so we see it here
in Philippians chapter 2.
00:41:27.80\00:41:32.87
Philippians
chapter 2 and verse 5.
00:41:32.90\00:41:36.84
And it says here,
Philippians 2 and verse 5,
00:41:36.87\00:41:39.68
"Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus.
00:41:39.71\00:41:44.31
Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be
00:41:44.34\00:41:47.07
equal with God: but made
Himself of no reputation,
00:41:47.27\00:41:50.96
and took upon Him
the form of a servant,
00:41:50.99\00:41:54.71
and was made in
the likeness of men."
00:41:54.74\00:41:58.25
So here is the God of
heaven, Jesus, the second Person
00:41:59.02\00:42:03.71
of the Godhead, who does what?
00:42:03.74\00:42:07.93
He says, "I'm
going to humble Myself."
00:42:08.32\00:42:10.86
He's made in the
likeness of men, the God-man.
00:42:10.89\00:42:14.17
"And being found in fashion
as a man, He humbled Himself,
00:42:14.20\00:42:18.07
and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross.
00:42:18.10\00:42:24.28
Wherefore God," God the Father,
"also hath highly..." What?
00:42:24.48\00:42:28.31
"...exalted Him..."
00:42:28.74\00:42:30.36
He didn't seek to exalt Himself.
00:42:30.39\00:42:32.22
He humbled Himself, even
to the death of the cross.
00:42:32.25\00:42:34.71
Wherefore, the one whom it would
seem could be exalted no higher,
00:42:34.74\00:42:38.36
God the Father now
exalts higher and higher
00:42:38.39\00:42:41.15
because of His sacrifice and the
love He has shown for others.
00:42:41.18\00:42:46.69
His selfless and
others centered love.
00:42:46.72\00:42:50.63
That's what we see.
00:42:51.13\00:42:52.53
It's powerful, my
friends. Oh, it is.
00:42:52.83\00:42:55.47
Satan's purpose is to
obscure the character of God.
00:42:55.50\00:42:58.71
Also to obscure the incarnation.
00:42:58.91\00:43:01.42
There are two lies out
there about the incarnation.
00:43:01.45\00:43:04.39
I'm sure there are more
than two, but two main ones.
00:43:04.42\00:43:06.43
One, that He was not fully God.
00:43:06.46\00:43:08.72
And two, that He
was not fully man.
00:43:09.08\00:43:11.31
Now I'm not going to bog down
into the details of that one.
00:43:12.25\00:43:15.08
But, my friends,
I'm going to tell you.
00:43:15.11\00:43:16.96
He was the God-man.
00:43:16.99\00:43:19.22
Fully God, but fully man.
00:43:19.25\00:43:22.53
And as we look here,
there are certain things that
00:43:22.85\00:43:26.41
Jesus would
accomplish for the human race.
00:43:26.44\00:43:29.76
One, He would
live a sinless life.
00:43:29.79\00:43:32.96
And two, He would
assume man's guilt.
00:43:33.28\00:43:37.86
"He hath laid on Him
the iniquity of us all."
00:43:37.89\00:43:44.24
That's right.
00:43:44.59\00:43:46.04
My friends, we have
all sinned and come short
00:43:46.07\00:43:48.49
of the glory of God.
00:43:48.52\00:43:49.89
We all need the
forgiveness of Jesus.
00:43:49.92\00:43:52.98
We need a Savior.
00:43:53.01\00:43:54.75
Look with me in Ephesians.
00:43:54.78\00:43:57.28
The book of Ephesians.
00:43:57.31\00:43:58.79
We're in Philippians, go
through Colossians to Ephesians.
00:43:58.82\00:44:02.40
Ephesians chapter 2.
00:44:02.43\00:44:04.23
And we see here...
00:44:06.17\00:44:07.54
Nope, I went the wrong
way. It's the other way.
00:44:07.57\00:44:09.57
Anyway, go to Ephesians.
00:44:10.52\00:44:12.47
I've got it mixed up in my
head, tonight, right up here.
00:44:12.50\00:44:15.90
But let's look at
it, Ephesians chapter 2.
00:44:15.93\00:44:18.14
Ephesians 2 and verse 8.
00:44:18.17\00:44:20.62
And it says this,
Ephesians 2 and verse 8,
00:44:20.65\00:44:22.67
"For by grace are
ye saved through faith,
00:44:22.70\00:44:26.53
and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God.
00:44:26.56\00:44:29.79
Not of works, lest
any man should boast.
00:44:29.82\00:44:32.55
For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus
00:44:32.58\00:44:35.72
unto good works, which
God hath before ordained that
00:44:35.75\00:44:39.32
we should..." What?
00:44:39.35\00:44:41.02
"...walk in them."
00:44:41.05\00:44:43.99
Now this is a powerful passage.
00:44:44.48\00:44:46.21
An important passage as well.
00:44:46.24\00:44:48.16
You see, we're saved
by grace through faith,
00:44:48.47\00:44:51.78
and not of ourselves.
00:44:51.81\00:44:53.18
Those who were bitten by
the serpents in the wilderness,
00:44:53.21\00:44:56.18
those who had snake bites
as their arms or their leg
00:44:56.21\00:45:00.13
or their face where they
had been bitten was swelling,
00:45:00.16\00:45:03.41
and as the venom was
doing its work and bringing into
00:45:03.44\00:45:07.40
their life, could they do
anything to save themselves?
00:45:07.43\00:45:11.04
No they could not.
00:45:11.93\00:45:13.30
All they could do
was look and live.
00:45:14.75\00:45:17.66
It's an excellent example
of righteousness by faith.
00:45:18.70\00:45:21.90
Not of works, lest
any man should boast.
00:45:21.93\00:45:26.44
All they could do
was look and live.
00:45:26.47\00:45:30.16
You know, I was
raised in the Baptist church.
00:45:31.16\00:45:34.96
A lot of good Baptists
that love Jesus as much
00:45:35.52\00:45:37.85
as anybody, by the way.
00:45:37.88\00:45:39.65
But in the Baptist
church, I had a belief.
00:45:40.31\00:45:43.42
And not all
Baptists are this way.
00:45:43.45\00:45:45.65
But I had a belief with
the teaching of once saved
00:45:45.68\00:45:47.97
always saved, that
really what I did or did not do
00:45:48.00\00:45:51.44
didn't really matter.
00:45:51.47\00:45:52.84
And so I believed that we're
saved by grace through faith
00:45:52.96\00:45:55.94
apart from good works.
00:45:55.97\00:45:57.85
Which makes good works,
in some ways, irrelevant
00:45:58.24\00:46:01.56
as far as
salvation is concerned.
00:46:01.98\00:46:03.77
Well, then I came
into the Adventist church.
00:46:04.92\00:46:08.57
And I realized that a
lot of Adventists, maybe even
00:46:09.21\00:46:12.25
most Adventists, don't believe
it this way, but some do.
00:46:12.28\00:46:15.40
I did.
00:46:15.43\00:46:16.80
I came to the idea...
00:46:16.83\00:46:18.20
And I never would have
said it this way, but it's
00:46:18.23\00:46:20.61
what I believed in my heart.
00:46:20.64\00:46:22.12
That I was saved by grace
through faith and good works.
00:46:22.73\00:46:27.15
Think about that.
00:46:29.95\00:46:31.32
I kind of had it in my
mind that maybe I was forgiven,
00:46:31.41\00:46:34.85
and that ultimately
the forgiveness and the
00:46:34.88\00:46:38.18
grace of God covered
until the present, but now
00:46:38.21\00:46:41.45
present and forward I
had to be good enough.
00:46:41.48\00:46:44.70
There are a lot of
people in that boat still today.
00:46:48.43\00:46:50.91
By grace through faith.
00:46:51.70\00:46:53.11
Are we saved by grace
through faith and good works?
00:46:53.14\00:46:56.17
Is that what it says?
00:46:56.20\00:46:57.57
No, that's not what it says.
00:46:57.91\00:46:59.28
But that's where I was.
00:47:00.17\00:47:01.54
By the way, that is
a teaching that really,
00:47:01.57\00:47:04.43
that's a distinctive, really,
Catholic teaching of salvation.
00:47:04.46\00:47:09.08
That we're saved by grace
through faith and good works.
00:47:09.11\00:47:13.99
If there's anything, if
people a lot of times get scared
00:47:14.68\00:47:17.29
about teachings coming into the
church, maybe from the Vatican
00:47:17.32\00:47:21.56
or something, that is
one that is a bigger one
00:47:21.59\00:47:24.36
than anything else.
00:47:24.39\00:47:25.76
Anything else that
I've heard people point to;
00:47:25.79\00:47:27.29
that folks are saved by grace
through faith and good works.
00:47:27.32\00:47:31.03
You know why?
00:47:31.54\00:47:32.91
Because if people think
that they're being good enough
00:47:32.94\00:47:36.16
for God's acceptance, then they
can't see the pure beautiful
00:47:36.19\00:47:40.80
character of God.
00:47:40.83\00:47:42.47
They're too absorbed
with themselves and working
00:47:43.07\00:47:45.78
their own way to heaven.
00:47:45.81\00:47:47.30
And they can't be a good
witness for others because
00:47:47.74\00:47:51.03
they don't have something
worth sharing with others.
00:47:51.06\00:47:53.60
It's not like the world
is waiting to be miserable
00:47:55.77\00:47:57.93
like they are.
00:47:57.96\00:47:59.33
No, they don't have
anything worth giving away.
00:48:00.40\00:48:03.04
Because they don't
have anything that's free.
00:48:03.42\00:48:05.69
They haven't accepted the gift.
00:48:05.72\00:48:07.58
Well, my friends,
there's another option.
00:48:08.42\00:48:10.66
We're saved by
grace through faith
00:48:12.48\00:48:15.06
unto good works.
00:48:15.85\00:48:17.62
Which makes good
works inevitable.
00:48:18.72\00:48:21.63
The purpose of good
works is not to save me.
00:48:22.58\00:48:25.47
No, I'm saved by
grace through faith
00:48:26.03\00:48:28.40
through Jesus Christ alone.
00:48:28.43\00:48:30.17
I have a freedom.
00:48:30.59\00:48:31.96
And because I've been
given a gift, my heart wants to
00:48:31.99\00:48:35.97
respond to the
love of God and say,
00:48:36.00\00:48:37.90
"What an awesome and loving God.
00:48:37.93\00:48:39.30
I want to be more like Him.
00:48:39.33\00:48:40.88
I want to serve Him because
of what He has done for me,
00:48:40.91\00:48:44.52
not be good enough
so I can stay saved."
00:48:44.55\00:48:47.56
There is a night
and day difference.
00:48:49.06\00:48:51.16
And I'm hoping out
there somewhere around the
00:48:51.19\00:48:53.09
world today there's somebody
watching, and your going,
00:48:53.12\00:48:55.89
"Oh, I see it and now I'm free.
00:48:55.92\00:48:59.28
I'm free to love God and to
follow Him because I want to,
00:48:59.86\00:49:04.44
and not because I have to
be good enough to be saved."
00:49:04.47\00:49:08.60
Because, my friends, you
can't work your way to heaven.
00:49:09.50\00:49:12.93
But did you know that
it's actually possible
00:49:13.13\00:49:15.45
to work other
people's way to heaven?
00:49:15.48\00:49:17.40
You say, "Uh-ho."
Now I've lost you.
00:49:19.48\00:49:21.44
No, listen to me.
00:49:21.71\00:49:23.08
Matthew chapter 5 and verse 16.
00:49:23.11\00:49:26.04
It says we're to do good
works so that others might
00:49:26.07\00:49:31.67
see them, and glorify our
Father which is in heaven.
00:49:31.70\00:49:34.69
Yes or no?
00:49:34.72\00:49:36.09
You can't work your way to
heaven, but if you're following
00:49:36.39\00:49:39.23
Jesus and you're saved
by grace through faith,
00:49:39.26\00:49:42.02
and you have freedom but
you're choosing willfully and
00:49:42.05\00:49:45.22
lovingly to follow Jesus, and
I see the change in your life,
00:49:45.25\00:49:48.99
it can affect my life
and bring me to Jesus too.
00:49:49.02\00:49:53.55
Yes or no?
00:49:53.58\00:49:54.95
So you can't work
your way to heaven,
00:49:54.98\00:49:56.35
but you might end up working
someone else's way to heaven
00:49:56.38\00:49:58.26
if they see your good works.
00:49:58.29\00:50:01.81
Free and wonderful
works through Jesus.
00:50:01.84\00:50:05.19
And they respond, "I
want what that person has."
00:50:05.22\00:50:08.23
And they glorify our
Father which is in heaven.
00:50:08.85\00:50:11.80
No, you're not technically
working their way to heaven.
00:50:11.83\00:50:14.02
Let me clear that up.
00:50:14.05\00:50:15.42
But your works
become a testimony to them.
00:50:15.45\00:50:18.82
Praise God.
00:50:18.85\00:50:20.22
Now as we look here,
those in the wilderness.
00:50:20.25\00:50:22.56
They couldn't do
anything to save themselves
00:50:22.59\00:50:25.89
from that snake.
00:50:25.92\00:50:27.29
And we are in
the same condition.
00:50:27.32\00:50:29.41
All have sinned and come
short of the glory of God.
00:50:29.44\00:50:31.49
I've been bitten
and you've been bitten.
00:50:31.52\00:50:33.08
My friends, if those in
the wilderness could have said,
00:50:33.78\00:50:35.97
"I don't believe it.
I've got to do something.
00:50:36.00\00:50:38.45
Give me penance.
00:50:38.48\00:50:39.88
Let me whip myself.
00:50:39.91\00:50:41.89
Let me eat healthier until I..."
00:50:42.62\00:50:46.85
No.
00:50:48.35\00:50:49.72
Should we eat
healthier? Sure we should.
00:50:50.04\00:50:51.64
But it has nothing to do...
00:50:51.67\00:50:53.04
You're not going to
eat your way to heaven.
00:50:53.07\00:50:54.44
You're going to
respond to a gift from Jesus.
00:50:56.24\00:50:59.10
You know, "Let me take
this off or put this on."
00:50:59.13\00:51:02.26
No.
00:51:02.29\00:51:03.66
It was, look and live.
00:51:03.69\00:51:06.31
To not look was to perish.
00:51:06.58\00:51:09.75
That's it, my
friends. Free in Jesus.
00:51:10.11\00:51:13.20
They could have reasoned,
"It doesn't make sense,"
00:51:13.23\00:51:15.65
and not looked, and
they would have died.
00:51:15.68\00:51:17.61
They could have
said, "I demand a logical
00:51:17.64\00:51:20.23
scientific explanation,"
and they would have
00:51:20.26\00:51:23.20
died in the wilderness.
00:51:23.23\00:51:24.81
But that serpent on the pole;
they looked and they lived.
00:51:25.60\00:51:29.36
My friends, Jesus, the one
who could be exalted no higher,
00:51:29.39\00:51:32.73
humbled Himself
and He came down.
00:51:32.76\00:51:34.47
And so, why is the
serpent a symbol for Jesus?
00:51:34.50\00:51:39.61
My friends, go with me to
Romans chapter 8 and verse 3.
00:51:39.64\00:51:43.57
Romans chapter 8 and verse 3.
00:51:43.60\00:51:46.92
Romans 8 and
verse 3, here today.
00:51:47.17\00:51:49.91
And it says this,
Romans 8 and verse 3,
00:51:49.94\00:51:52.96
"For what the law could
not do, in that it was weak
00:51:53.71\00:51:57.01
through the flesh, God sending
His own Son in the likeness of
00:51:57.04\00:52:01.57
sinful flesh, and for sin,
condemned sin in the flesh."
00:52:01.60\00:52:05.82
My friends, there's your
answer to the righteous serpent.
00:52:05.85\00:52:09.19
Conundrum.
00:52:09.39\00:52:10.76
How could a serpent, a
snake, represent Jesus?
00:52:11.16\00:52:15.05
Because He was made in
the likeness of sinful flesh,
00:52:15.08\00:52:20.85
and for sin, and He
condemns sin in the flesh.
00:52:20.88\00:52:24.52
He lived a sinless
life, never tainted with sin.
00:52:24.55\00:52:28.23
Go with me to 2
Corinthians chapter 5
00:52:28.26\00:52:30.82
to get another
explanation of it, okay?
00:52:30.85\00:52:33.26
2 Corinthians
chapter 5 and verse 20.
00:52:33.29\00:52:37.30
2 Corinthians
chapter 5 and verse 20.
00:52:37.70\00:52:41.52
And it says here, "Now then
we are ambassadors for Christ,
00:52:41.55\00:52:47.11
as though God did
beseech you by us: we pray you
00:52:47.14\00:52:50.17
in Christ's stead, be
ye reconciled to God."
00:52:50.20\00:52:55.24
Verse 21, "For He," God
the Father, "hath made Him,"
00:52:56.51\00:53:02.02
that's my Jesus,
"to be sin for us."
00:53:02.05\00:53:05.90
Notice in the King James,
the words "to be" are supplied.
00:53:05.93\00:53:09.16
"Made Him sin for us."
00:53:09.19\00:53:11.87
Not the active sin, but
placed the weight of my sin
00:53:12.50\00:53:15.77
and your sin upon Him.
00:53:15.80\00:53:17.30
Notice it points that
out, "who knew no sin."
00:53:17.33\00:53:20.15
He was sinless, He was not
tainted with sin in any way.
00:53:20.18\00:53:25.05
The spotless Lamb of God.
00:53:25.08\00:53:27.44
"...that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him.
00:53:28.97\00:53:32.51
Jesus, who knew no sin,
was made to be sin for us.
00:53:32.54\00:53:37.87
He was made in the
likeness of sinful flesh.
00:53:37.90\00:53:40.41
Hence, the symbol of a serpent.
00:53:40.44\00:53:42.45
Throughout the Bible,
the symbol of a serpent
00:53:42.48\00:53:45.11
would be used to
represent Satan and or sin.
00:53:45.14\00:53:50.94
So how could a snake lifted
up on a pole represent Jesus?
00:53:51.41\00:53:59.40
Because He who knew no
sin was made to be... What?
00:54:00.01\00:54:05.49
...sin for us.
00:54:05.82\00:54:08.76
The weight of my sin and
your sin and the sin of the
00:54:09.15\00:54:12.77
whole world came upon
our Savior on the cross.
00:54:12.80\00:54:15.98
He lived a
perfect and sinless life.
00:54:16.01\00:54:18.11
Have I made that
clear? Yes or no?
00:54:18.51\00:54:20.84
I hope so.
00:54:21.07\00:54:22.44
But the weight of the sin
of the world came upon Jesus.
00:54:22.47\00:54:25.83
And remember
Isaiah 53, we read that.
00:54:25.86\00:54:28.85
"He hath laid on Him
the iniquity of..." Who?
00:54:28.88\00:54:33.61
"...us all."
00:54:34.02\00:54:35.39
Thus the serpent, a
symbol of sin, representing
00:54:35.42\00:54:37.58
Jesus on the cross.
00:54:37.61\00:54:38.98
Because as He died on
the cross, my sin was there.
00:54:39.01\00:54:42.49
And He died for
my sin and your sin
00:54:42.52\00:54:45.43
and the sin of the whole world.
00:54:45.46\00:54:46.83
Praise God.
00:54:46.86\00:54:48.23
Go with me now,
would you, to John 3.
00:54:48.26\00:54:50.04
Let's see it come together.
00:54:50.07\00:54:51.71
And looking at this, a
pure gospel message, it's so
00:54:51.74\00:54:55.23
important if you're
going to think about how
00:54:55.26\00:54:56.76
His character counts.
00:54:56.79\00:54:58.16
Because until you are free
to understand that we're saved
00:54:58.19\00:55:01.03
by grace through
faith unto good works,
00:55:01.06\00:55:03.83
that we're saved by
grace through faith in
00:55:03.86\00:55:06.18
Jesus Christ alone, that
all we can do is look and live
00:55:06.21\00:55:09.49
because we've been
bitten by the serpent.
00:55:09.52\00:55:11.82
We have to look to Jesus.
00:55:11.85\00:55:14.35
We've been bitten by sin.
00:55:14.38\00:55:15.96
All we can do is look and
live, we can't save ourselves.
00:55:15.99\00:55:19.42
But Jesus saves
us. He forgives us.
00:55:19.45\00:55:23.13
My friends, until
we come to that point,
00:55:23.16\00:55:24.96
we can't be free to love.
00:55:24.99\00:55:27.24
If you're fearfully trying
to work your way to heaven,
00:55:29.00\00:55:31.98
you can't be free
to love and follow God.
00:55:32.01\00:55:35.35
Oh my, our time
is counting down.
00:55:35.38\00:55:37.04
So John chapter 3, and
it says here in verse 14.
00:55:37.07\00:55:40.21
John chapter 3 and
verse 14, let me find it here.
00:55:40.24\00:55:43.79
"And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness,
00:55:43.82\00:55:46.57
even so must the Son of man,"
that's Jesus, "be lifted up."
00:55:46.60\00:55:50.17
So as Moses
lifted up that snake,
00:55:50.20\00:55:52.17
so Jesus must be lifted up.
00:55:52.20\00:55:54.33
You remember in John 12:32,
He said, "If I be lifted up,
00:55:54.36\00:55:57.85
I will draw all men to Me."
00:55:57.88\00:55:59.56
And it's in the context
of His death on the cross.
00:55:59.59\00:56:02.09
Oh yes, verse 15, "That
whosoever believeth in him
00:56:02.12\00:56:05.08
should not perish,
but have eternal life."
00:56:05.11\00:56:07.89
Just as those would have
perished on earth had they
00:56:07.92\00:56:09.98
not looked at the
bronze brazen serpent,
00:56:10.01\00:56:12.79
the bronze or brass serpent,
so my friends, unless we
00:56:12.82\00:56:15.92
look at Jesus, we
focus on Him and let Him
00:56:15.95\00:56:19.37
change us, we can't be saved.
00:56:19.40\00:56:21.19
It's all about Jesus.
00:56:21.22\00:56:22.59
Now notice the next verse.
00:56:22.62\00:56:24.22
This is what the
context is, is it not?
00:56:24.25\00:56:26.34
"For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son,
00:56:26.64\00:56:29.82
that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish,
00:56:29.85\00:56:32.46
but should have
everlasting life."
00:56:32.49\00:56:36.14
My friends, the righteous
serpent; it's very simple.
00:56:36.93\00:56:39.43
He who knew no
sin, that's my Jesus,
00:56:39.63\00:56:43.38
was made to be sin for us.
00:56:44.01\00:56:45.70
He took upon Himself
our sin on the cross.
00:56:45.73\00:56:49.44
And He died for you and
me, that we might receive
00:56:49.64\00:56:53.12
the free gift of
salvation by His grace.
00:56:53.15\00:56:57.90
We don't deserve it.
00:56:58.10\00:56:59.53
And we can't be
good enough for it.
00:56:59.83\00:57:02.25
But as we accept that gift,
we, in gratitude, can follow Him
00:57:02.28\00:57:07.24
and uplift Him and
share that love with others,
00:57:07.27\00:57:11.42
with a lost and dying world.
00:57:11.45\00:57:13.76
My friends, I
encourage you to do that.
00:57:13.99\00:57:16.36
To make Him your Savior,
00:57:16.39\00:57:18.29
to accept Him into
your heart and life,
00:57:18.32\00:57:22.32
and determine by
His grace to be with Him
00:57:22.35\00:57:25.72
in the kingdom of heaven.
00:57:25.75\00:57:27.12
Is that your desire today?
00:57:27.15\00:57:29.09