Good morning. If you would open
your Bibles with me to John 3, verse 14. John 3, verse 14. A little background to what's going
on here. Here our Lord is illustrating
the gospel Nicodemus, Nicodemus was a ruler among the Jews. He was a religious Pharisee.
And the Lord says in verse 14, he says, and as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so much the son of man be
lifted up. There is no better picture of
Christ in the Old Testament than the one we're about to look at
this morning for the Lord himself. Use this as an illustration to
show Nicodemus the gospel. And if we were to learn the ways
of mercy and of life, then we'd pay close attention to this account. So now turn with me to Numbers
21. Numbers 21. And we'll start reading here
in verse 4. It says, And they journeyed from
Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea to compass the land of Edom.
And the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the
way. And the people spake against
Moses and against God and against Moses, saying, Wherefore have
you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For
there is no bread, neither is there any water, And our soul
loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents
among the people, and they bit the people. And much people of
Israel died. Therefore, the people came unto
Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the
Lord and against thee. Pray unto the Lord that he may
take away the fiery serpents from us. And Moses prayed for
the people. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall
come to pass that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon
it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass,
and he put it upon a pole, and it came to pass that if a serpent
had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."
There are three things from our text that I would like us to
see here this morning. The first one being the condition
of the people. That being all of us who are
sinners. The second thing, God provided a remedy. And that remedy
was Christ crucified. And then the third thing is God's
commandment, which is to look and live. So back to verse four,
the condition of the people. It says, And they journeyed from
Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to compass the land of Edom and
the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. This journey around this land
of Edom, it was a long way. The way was rough. It was rocky. It was dirty. It was filthy.
The road was rough and uneven. And the people, they were much
discouraged because of this way. And us in this life, don't we
feel so discouraged sometimes because of the way? The people
of Israel, they desired an easier way, and we all desire an easier
way. Isaiah 53, verse 6 says, all
we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way. This way that they went, it was
God's way. It was the way that the Lord had directed them, the
way that he chose for them in his providence and his wisdom.
But they murmured against it and grumbled against it, and
they were discouraged by it. Look here at verse 5. It says,
And the people spake against God and against Moses, saying,
Wherefore, have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the
wilderness? For there is no bread, neither
is there any water, and our soul loatheth this light bread. I
look this word loatheth up. It means to grow weary of, to
sever oneself from. They grew weary. of Christ, the
living bread, and they sought to sever himself from him. And Lord, keep us from this,
says they complained about the bread and the water for 40 years. That rock followed them through
the wilderness and provided them with water. What an amazing thing
to see, what an amazing thing to behold. It followed them around. The Lord says, the scriptures
say that rock was Christ. And the manna, a picture of Christ,
God's gift of life. The Lord said, I am the living
bread which came down from heaven. I am that bread of life. And
they not only spoke against God, but they spoke against Moses,
his servant, and they spoke against God's provisions and God's ways.
And likewise, how many you know, how many in today's religion,
but how many of us are content with Christ, the bread of life
and the water of life, and how often Do we grumble and murmur
and complain? John 1 verse 11 says, He came
unto His own, and His own received Him not. Luke 19 verse 14 says,
We will not have this man reign over us. John 5 verse 40 says,
And you will not come to Me that you might have life. And this
picture of us, it blackens further because of our guilt, because
of our murmuring and complaining comes God's judgment. Look here
at verse 6. It says, And the Lord sent fiery
serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and much
people of Israel died. Here we see God's judgment. Because
of their sin, because of their murmuring and complaining, God
sends fiery serpents among the people. And Matthew Henry's commentary
says, These serpents were called fiery either because of their
color, their rage or from the effects of their bite that immediately
inflamed the body and sent it into a high fever. And it said
that high fever caused the people to have this unquenchable thirst,
this desire for water. The Israelites, they complained
about the water that God had given them and for which God
sends them upon this thirst that no water could quench. The people
who were bitten, they were dying or they'd already died. And likewise,
we have that same poison of sin flowing through our veins. Ezekiel
18, verse 4 says, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. James 1, 15 says, and sin, when
it is finished, bringeth forth death. Way back in the garden,
man rebelled against God, man sinned against God, man murmured
against God. And through that, death came
upon the whole human race. Romans 5 verse 12 says, Wherefore,
as by one man, sin entered into the world and death by sin. And
so death passed upon all men for all have sinned. Now, back
home, me and Dad, we live by cemetery up on the hill by our
house. For 22 years, I've lived by the
cemetery and my people, he's buried up there. And from time
to time, I'll walk up there and I'll walk to his grave. And this
might come as a shock to you all, but in the 22 years I've
lived by this cemetery, not one person has ever got up out of
one of those graves and lived. That's because everyone up there
is dead. And that's all of us by nature. Dead. A dead man can do nothing. Turn with me to Romans 3. Romans 3, and we'll look at verses
10 through 19. It says, as it is written, there
is none righteous. No, not one. There is none that
understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become
unprofitable. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. Who is it that doeth good? No,
not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher.
With their tongues they have used deceit, the poison of asps
is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness, destruction and misery are in their ways, and
the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God
before their eyes. Now we know that what thing soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before
God." So our condition murmuring, complaining, dead, dying, guilty
before an almighty God. But aren't we thankful for this
second point? Turn back to Numbers 21 with
me. Look here at verse 6. Verses
6 through 8. Second point, God provided a
remedy. A picture of Christ our Redeemer.
Verse 6, it says, And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the
people, and they bit the people. And much people of Israel died.
Therefore the people came unto Moses and said, We have sinned,
for we have spoken against the Lord and against thee. Pray unto
the Lord that he may take away the serpents from us. And Moses
prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall
come to pass that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon
it, shall live." This starts out with, the Lord said unto
Moses, God provided this remedy. Israel couldn't provide this
remedy. They were on the ground, dead, dying. They could do nothing
about their condition. This remedy, it was exactly what
the Lord told Nicodemus about. As the serpent was lifted up
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
God said, make a serpent of brass exactly like the one that bit
the people. And I looked this word brass
up and it means metal, copper, but it also means filthiness. Kind of keep that in mind as
we go through this. The serpent of brass, it had no venom. It
had no strength of evil. It could not kill. The Serpent
of Brass was to be lifted up on a pole so that it might be
seen from all parts of the camp. And whosoever looked at this
Serpent of Brass shall live. There was only one remedy. It
wasn't the Serpent of Brass plus anything else. It was look and
live. And as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up.
So so what does that tell us? Just like this serpent in the
wilderness, God provided the remedy. God Almighty came down
here and the like to some in Philippians two, verse seven
says, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him
the form of a servant. and was made in the likeness
of men. He was made sin, filthiness,
just like that serpent of brass. Romans 8, verse 3 says, God sending
his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh. Second Corinthians 5, verse 21
says, for he hath made him sin for us. Just as the serpent,
our Lord Jesus Christ, was lifted up on a pole He was nailed to
the cross and lifted up to die. Turn with me to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53, and we'll start here
in verse 4. It says, Surely He hath borne our
griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes
we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all. There's only one remedy, Christ
alone. John 14, verse six says this,
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the father,
but by me. First Timothy two says this,
for there is one God and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus. Acts four, verse 12 says neither
is there salvation found in any other. For there is none other
name under heaven whereby we must be saved. So up to this
point, God provided the remedy, the Lord Jesus Christ, he was
made sin. He was lifted up on the pole
and in him we see sin, death, hell, everything that afflicts
us slain in Christ. And there's only one remedy.
It's Christ alone. So now back back to our text,
the numbers 21. Numbers 21, my third point, the
commandment, look and live. Look here at verse eight. And
the Lord said unto Moses, make thee a fiery serpent and set
it upon a pole and it shall come to pass that everyone that is
bitten when he looked upon it shall live. When he looked upon
it, not when he straightens up, not when he gets his act together,
Not when he regrets all these things that he's done. Not when
he figures out if he's one of God's elect. When he looketh
upon it, shall live. Look unto me and be ye saved,
all ye ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else. Why is that so hard to understand?
What a simple commandment. We think by nature, surely there's
something else we got to do. Surely there's something I got
to do in this equation. These people of Israel, as they
lay there on the ground, they were probably some who didn't
look because they didn't believe the commandment. They thought,
here I am, bitten by the serpent. My friends, my family, they're
all dying. They're already dead around me.
And you mean to tell me all I've got to do is look? Us by nature. We go about to establish our
own righteousness. Henry Henry said this, he said,
man needs to quit trying and crying and lying and buying and
just look. It makes me think of Naaman the
leper. God said Naaman was a was a mighty man and valor. And but
he was a leper. And and he traveled to Elijah
with his horses and his chariots and his with a letter from the
king and 10 talents of silver and 6,000 pieces of gold, 10
changes of raiment, thinking he could do something about cleansing
his leprosy. And it says when he came to the
place, Elisha wouldn't even come out and meet him. He sent a servant
out that said, wash and be clean. What another simple commandment?
Wash and be clean. Let's turn over there real quick.
2 Kings 5, starting in verse 10. Second Kings 5 verse 10. And Elisha sent a messenger unto
him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall
come again unto thee, and thou shalt be clean. He says, But
Naaman was wroth, and he went away and said, Behold, I thought
he will surely come out unto me and stand and call upon the
name of the Lord and strike his hand over the place and recover
the leper. Are not a banner and far, far
rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? May
I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned and went away in
a rage. And his servants came near and
spake unto him and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do
some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? That's all
of us by nation. We want to do some great thing.
We feel like we deserve a little recognition in this. Says, how
much rather than when he saith unto thee, wash and be clean? Says, then went he down and dipped
himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the
man of God, and his flesh came again. like under the flesh of
a little child, and he was clean. Spurgeon said this, he said,
The best state in all the world for washing is for a man to be
filthy. The best state in all the world
to obtain help from a doctor is to be deathly sick. The best
state in all the world for asking alms is to be a beggar. Do not
try to patch up those rags, nor improve your character or to
make yourself better before you look. And I've been thinking
throughout the week, what is it to look? The scripture says,
whosoever looketh shall be healed. So I looked this word up. Looketh. Whosoever looketh. First definition
is pretty obvious. It's to see. I stand up here,
I look, I see all of you. Second definition it gave was
to stare. I get a little uncomfortable
when I get stared at for a long time. We've got a dog, a Weimer
on her, name's Lady. And she's the most attention
cravings dog that you've ever seen. And anytime I make a noise,
anytime I'm moving around the house, anytime I go outside,
that dog's just staring at me. It don't matter where I am, what
I'm doing, it just follows me around with his eyes. And eventually
I start to feel a little uncomfortable. I start to feel bad for that
dog. and maybe I'll go get some food, or maybe I'll just walk
over and I'll pet it. And we could learn something
from that old dog. We're to stare. Stare at God
lifted up. Not have our eyes on anything
else, but constantly watching Him. The next definition it gave
was to lean on. Lean on Christ. The next one
was to behold. behold the Lamb of God, which
takes away the sin of the world, to consider, to take heed, to
pay attention, to be near. But it is good for me to draw
near unto God, to enjoy, enjoy and live. Doesn't that sound
nice? And the last definition it gave
was to joyfully look, to rejoice and look, We live by looking,
not by working, not by giving, not by anything that we do. Look is that woman with the issue
of blood who crept up to the Savior, touched the hem of his
garment, and was immediately made clean. Look is Stephen,
who stood calmly before those who would stone him, saying,
I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the
right hand of God. Look is Peter. Oh, Peter, you
walked out on that water to meet the Lord, took his eyes off off
the Lord, and he began to think. Look, as Peter, who cried, Lord,
save me. Look, as the thief on the cross
who cried, Lord, remember me. Look, as Job sitting in the dust,
covered with sores and wounds, saying, though he slay me, yet
will I trust him. Looking is that trembling voice,
Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. Looking is the quiet
cry of the publican who went up into the temple to pray, who
wouldn't even so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven, but
smote upon his breath, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. Looking is the cheer of the confident
soul, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect,
It's God that justifies. Who is he that condemneth? Yea,
it's Christ that died. Yea, rather, that is risen again,
who is ever at the right hand of God, also making intercession
for us. Looking is life. How blessed
the gift. It is health, strength, joy,
power, beauty, and peace. Yet looking is a gift of God's
divine grace. If you would have assurance,
we must cease to not look on ourselves, But look to God, look
unto Him. You must look to Christ alone.
And in closing here, I've got an article by Don Fortner. And
Don said, throughout the Bible, the act of faith by which we
receive eternal life is referred to as a look. Like the children
of Israel bitten by the fiery serpent, they look under the
brazen serpent for life. And in the same manner, we must
look to the Lord Jesus Christ. And Don gave three points. He
said, number one, salvation begins with a look. Isaiah 45 verse
22 says, look unto me and be you saved all the ends of the
earth. For I am God and there is none
else. Look away from ourselves. Look
away in anything that we would trust in this flesh. Look to
God. Don's second point, he said,
salvation is maintained by a look. Hebrews 12, verse 2 says, looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Looking
is not a one time deal. We constantly look, we stare,
staring at God. And Dodd's third point was salvation
will end in a look. Revelation 22, verse four says,
and they shall see his face. If you hope to see his face in
glory, look to the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the gospel? Christ died for our sins, according
to the scriptures. It's the gospel of the serpent
lifted up. Have you been made aware of your sin, of the fiery
bite of that serpent? Do you feel sin's guilt? Do you
feel separation from God and feel helpless to do anything
about it? If you do, then look and live. Look to Christ alone and live. I hope that's been a help.