And before he ever made the world,
his people were on his mind. Before we'd ever sinned, he provided
the Savior. Christ, in the purpose of God,
was a Lamb crucified before the foundation of the world. Open
your Bibles, please, to Numbers, Chapter 21. Numbers, Chapter
21. I want to talk to you this morning
about the brazen serpent, the brazen serpent here in Numbers
21 and the Lord Jesus Christ as set forth in the New Testament. I'm not going to read all these
verses, but at your own leisure, you can read them and get the
full story. But as it often happens in verse
four, And Israel journeyed from Mount
Hor by the way of the Red Sea to accomplish the land of Edom,
and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the
way. And the soul of this people was
often, often, very often much discouraged in their murmur against
Moses and their murmur against God. And the people speak against
God, against Moses. 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 souls despise, loathe, hate
this manna that falls from heaven, which is a type of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our souls, our souls, lo, this
light bright. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the
people, and they bit the people. And much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to
Moses, as they often did. and said, We have sinned, for
we have spoken against the Lord and against thee. Pray to the
Lord that he might take away the serpents from us. And Moses
prayed for the people, and the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee
a fiery serpent, set it upon a pole, It shall come to pass
that everyone that's bitten, when he looketh upon it, he shall
live. That's God's remedy for their
sin on that occasion in that time. But the story isn't over
yet. Turn now to John chapter three.
John chapter three. And I'm also only going to read
three or four verses here. to conserve time. John chapter
three, Nicodemus had come out to talk
to the Lord. He was curious about many things,
wanted to ask him some questions and get some answers. And of
course, the Lord struck him out in the very heart of his need.
But get on down here in the conversation between Nicodemus and our Lord. And it says here in verse 14,
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, as we just
read, even so, must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have eternal life. here in John chapter 3. He came
out to our Lord after hearing him and he had a lot of questions
on his mind. Nicodemus was one of the rulers
of the Jews. He was somebody among the Jews,
well reputed, highly reputed. He came out to our Lord curious
about many things. Who in the world is this Jesus
anyway? Stirring up such a Such a commotion
throughout history of, who is he? Who is he? Where did he come
from? What is he? And so he came to
ask him. And he came to find out something
about his mighty works. How could he do those works?
He said, I know you can't do those things which you do, except
God be with you. But I want some more answers.
I want some more understanding. And he wanted to talk to him,
no doubt, about the way he spoke with such authority. The people
came back and sent out by the Jewish leaders to listen to him
and see what he was saying and how he was talking and so forth.
And they came back and said, this man spoke as no man ever
spake. He spake as one having authority.
He never said, go to the Lord, look to the Lord. He said, come
to me. That would cause me to think when a Jew, this man looks
like other men, and you say, come to me. I'll give you life,
come to me, look to me, believe on me." And so Nicodemus, he
was curious, and I think more than curious, he came to the
Lord Jesus Christ and he wanted to know something about the kingdom
he spoke of. All the Jewish people were interested
in the kingdom. They had a distorted and perverted
idea of what it would be, but they were indeed interested in
the kingdom. Let someone mention the kingdom
and their ears picked up. They were all interested. And
our Lord, knowing his heart, put his finger on the very, very
greatest need that he had, the greatest need all of us have,
all sinners. And he said, you must be born
again, except a man be born again. He'll never enter, never see,
never enjoy the kingdom of God. You want to know about the kingdom?
This is what our Lord told him. Except a man be born again, he'll
never see it. Never enter it. Never enjoy it.
The Kingdom of God. And because this is the problem,
man by nature, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. Never
be anything but flesh. And the flesh never changes.
God gives us a new nature. He gives us the Holy Spirit.
But the flesh, the old nature, never changes. And He said that
which is born of the flesh is flesh. It's flesh by nature,
born of the flesh. And in the flesh, Paul said,
there's no good thing, nothing in the eyes of God. We know when
a little child is born, mama looks at him, grandma looks at
him and says, what a sweet, pretty, innocent little thing. But he's
not. He's just like all the rest of us. He has the same root,
same nature. And that nature is S-I-N with
capital letters. Capital letters. And the flesh,
the Bible says, is enmity. Enmity against God. Not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Cannot be. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. Nicodemus, you must be born again. You must have
a new birth, a new nature, a new life. The flesh cannot inherit
the Kingdom of God. Sinners must be born again. And
Nicodemus, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter
the second time into his mother's womb? And our Lord said in verse 8,
no, it's a sovereign, mysterious act. You want to know about the
new birth? We don't have anything to do
with it at all. Nothing. It's a work of God. James 1.18, of His own will. Begettius, through this Word
of Truth. John Chapter 3, Verse 8, The
wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear the sound of it, but
you can't tell where it came from, where it's going. Even
so, is every soul that's born of God, born of the Spirit of
God? It's a sovereign, mysterious
act of God, of His own will. Begettius, but the Word of Truth. John 1, verse 13. Being born. I said, we don't
have anything to do with it. He said, being born. Not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. Born of I had no more to do with my second
birth, my spiritual birth, than I had to do with my fleshly birth.
And that's absolutely nothing. Nothing at all. And both of them were great mysteries
in their own way. How can these things be? Christ
said, are you a teacher in Israel? You don't know these things?
You're a great teacher of Israel. Ruler of Israel. You don't understand
these things. If you don't understand these
things, how can I tell you spiritual things? Why should I tell you
spiritual things if you don't understand earthly things? Nicodemus, there's a spiritual
message here. Look back at Moses. There's a
spiritual message there. There's a lesson there for you,
Nicodemus. Back in Moses' day, there's a message of grace and
life That's a message of Christ in the gospel, Christ crucified,
Christ suffering for sinners. That's the mystery of the new
birth. And we learn that there's life
for dying sinners in a look. at the crucified Son of Man,
Son of God, the God-Man. Life in the Lord. Isaiah said,
Look unto me, and be ye saved. All ye ends of the earth, for
I am God, and there is none else. Only God can forgive sins. There
is no place else to look. Look unto me, says God through
the prophet Isaiah. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
Those who look may live. Those who look in faith and obedience,
they live. They don't die. Though snake-bitten,
though weedful of sin, we don't die. He that liveth and believeth
in me, he never dies. Never dies. Those men were bitten by fiery,
deadly serpents. They were dying. Huge multitude
of people. And God sent serpents among them.
Sent snakes among them. And the snakes were biting and
doing their work. And the people were, those bitten
were dying. They had just fallen over dead.
Deadly serpents. And then they cried out unto
the Lord. Moses, Moses, you intercede for us. We need help from the
Lord. We've sinned against the Lord. We've sinned against you.
We want forgiveness. Get these deadly serpents away
from us. We're dying. We're dying. God told Moses to make a serpent
of brass, put it on a pole, And I think perhaps he walked out
into the middle of that crowd, holding that pole as high as
he could, and said, everyone that looks shall live. Everyone that believes what I
say, say, look and live. The act of faith, obedience and
faith. If he believes God and looks,
he lives. And it's the same way today.
People that look to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith live. There's life in a look. Spurgeon
used to preach over and over, there's life in a look. Look
unto me, all ye into the earth and be ye saved. Mighty strange
and mysterious thing, but oh, what a wonderful thing it was
when you began to understand what happened. These fiery serpents
were amongst them. Fiery serpents were killing them,
bringing forth death. And the fiery serpent of brass
that Moses made was held up before the people as a cure, as a remedy,
as a way of life, escape death, a way of life. What does it mean? Well, brass in the Scripture
signifies judgment. And it shows the fiery serpent
under the judgment and wrath of God. The fiery serpent came under
the judgment and wrath of God. And those who looked to the remedy
lived. Those who looked to the serpent of brass lived. They
never died. God has ordained a way of life. And we're full of sin. Like a
serpent, it's killing me. But yonder on the pole, I see
that God has judged that old serpent and his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and punished sin in him, that
sinners may go free. that sinners may look and live. Now let's translate this into
Jesus Christ, just a few statements about the Lord Jesus Christ.
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, be lifted
up, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but
have everlasting life. Sin was the cause of their problems,
and sin we have in us. See, it's not a light thing.
It's not a small thing. It's death. Romans chapter 5
and verse 12, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into this
world, back down in the garden of Eden, Adam our father, as
by one man sin entered into this world, and death for sin, and
death passed upon all men for all have sinned. We've been bitten. We're dying. We've been bitten. We're dying. Do you see that? There's only
one escape, to have a substitute. Someone to suffer in our place.
Die in our place. Satisfy God for us. Put away
this sin from us. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ
lifted up on the cross. Lifted up on the cross. Sin's
the cause of their problems. Sin's the cause of our problems.
The Bible teaches that by nature our minds, as I said a moment
ago, are enmity against God. Our minds are not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can they be. It's just an impossibility. We are contrary by nature to
everything that God is. God's holy, we're sin. God's
light, we're darkness. God's pure, we're corrupt. We're
contrary by nature, we're contrary to everything that God is. Mind's
enmity against God. I've heard people talk about
old sinners numerous times. Well, he did a lot of bad things.
He had a good heart. No, that's the worst part of
it. That's why he did those bad things. The Bible says concerning you
and concerning me, the heart is desperately wicked, incurably
wicked. And that's a medical term. You
can't cure it. You can't fix it. You can't make
it right. But God in the new covenant,
the covenant of grace and salvation, He gives a new heart. He gives
a new heart. Hearts are desperately wicked,
incurably wicked, not subject to the law of God. very religious, might believe
in God, things about God. But God's judgment and God's
verdict is death. The soul that sinneth shall die. The wages of sin is death. And we've been bitten a long
time ago, and we're dying. There's only one cure. As Moses
lifted up the serpent and the willow, even so, God had lifted
up his Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, should
not die, but have everlasting life. These men despised the
heavenly manner. And that manner was Jesus Christ
in the picture. They despised it. And that's all of us by nature.
The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them.
1 Corinthians 2.14. That's what we are by nature.
I'm talking about me. And I'm talking about you. For by one man sin came to us. People today, they want to hear
about being saved, but they don't want to hear that salvation is
all of God's sovereign free grace. They want something to do, something
to experience, something to feel. Something of their own to add
to it. They won't take it as God gives
it. And that's the only way you can
have it. Sovereign and free. Sovereign and free. Don't tell
me Christ alone, faith alone, that's salvation. But I tell
you that, that's what it is. For by grace are you saved through
faith. And that faith is not of yourself.
It is a gift of God. God gave me faith to believe
in His Son. Because I didn't have it. I was a sinner by nature. I was
an enemy of God. How could I embrace His Son in
love? God gave me faith, a new heart, a new nature. The world cries, the religious
world, give us something besides this light bread, our souls are
sick of it, hearing salvation by grace and grace alone, Christ
and Christ alone. Give me some ordinances to keep.
Give us some religious rituals and ceremonies that make us feel
good. And it seems to do just that to a lot of folks. Give
me some rules and regulations. And a lot of folks seem to love
rules and regulations. That puts them on the inside
and everybody else on the outside, you see. So we've been bitten by sin,
and that bite is unto death. And is there a remedy? Yes, there
is. We've seen it. We've read it.
We've looked at it. We've talked about it. That remedy
is the Lord Jesus Christ. But man is such a deceived wretch
that very few realize the consequences of the serpent's deadly bite.
Only by the grace of God and an act of God will any man ever
realized passing through this world what sin is. Christ saved
a publican one day, and later that publican had a big feast
and invited a lot of other publicans to his house, and the religious
leaders, they were curious about that, upset about that. This
man, why does he eat and drink with sinners? And he knew what
they said, and he spoke to them on this wise, he said, They that are whole, well, they
don't need a physician, but they are sick. He said, I didn't come
into this world to call righteous folks to life. I came into this
world to call sinners. And he told those religious leaders
and teachers and scholars, You go learn what that means, and
I'll have mercy on you. They had been leaders and teachers,
religious leaders and teachers and scholars and preachers. They
didn't know what it was to be a sinner. They talked about sin,
this and that's a sin, but they didn't know what it was to be
a sinner. Sin's not just what we do. Sin's what we are. Sin's an inward problem. Only
God can cure it. Can the leopard change his spots?
Can't do it. Eat the oak in the color of his
skin? Can't do it. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. Deadly sin. Life-bringing and death-bringing
snakebites will die. Yes, there's a remedy. Yes, there's
a remedy. But some don't realize the consequences
of sin, and lately they look for a remedy in the wrong place.
Some just ignore it. And they say, well, if my neighbor
makes it, I will too. I'm good as he is. I've heard
that numerous times. I'm just good as he is. Perhaps
you are. Perhaps you are. But our Lord, they used to say
that about the scribes and pharisees. If only two men go to heaven,
one will be a scribe and the other will be a pharisee. One
writes a law and the other exemplifies it in his life. Christ came on
the scene. He said, Accept your righteousness.
Exceed the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees. Gather
into the kingdom of God. Did they understand him? No,
they didn't understand him. He walked right in the face of
our chief religious leaders and he said, what an awful thing, but what
a truth. They stood before him in their
self-righteousness. And he looked them square in
the eye and he said, the publicans and the harlots enter the kingdom
of God before you. But we've done all these things. And these other things we've
not done. We've been holy. We've been righteous.
He said, Accept your righteousness, exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees. And I'll tell you again, the
publicans and harlots enter the kingdom of God ahead of you. Some just try to ignore the facts.
Some put it off to a future time to learn more about it, they
think. And some go to quack doctors for Band-Aids and cleansing creams
that don't work. And these quack doctors, they
preach baptisms Join the church and reform your life. Be more religious. It's like taking a gumdrop for
cancer. There's only one cure for what's
wrong with us. You must be born again. And if
you're ever born again, you'll know what sin is. God will show
it to you. And if you're ever born again,
you'll know what sin is. He'll show you his Son, and you'll
believe on Him. You'll see Him lifted up. God
will show you. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whosoever looks in the leaves shall be saved. Those who come to realize their
problem, there is wonderful news. Look at their fiery serpent of
sin and death being dealt with in the Son of
God. Look yonder at Calvary. See that
man on the middle cross, the center cross? He's suffering. Not only at the
hands of men, he is suffering at the hands of God. God made
his very soul to be an offering for sin. He is suffering hell
itself, the curse of God, the absence of God, that those who believe might
go free. He has become a serpent for us. God made him to be, in regular
Bible language, God made him to be sin for us. He who knew
no sin that we might, we sinners, snake-bitten sinners, might be
made the righteousness of And he has made unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. He is that brazen
serpent. God made him to be sin for us. Peter said he bore our sins in
his own body on that tree. Peter said again he suffered
the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. And
that's the only way a man can ever get to God. by His stripes, we're healed. And I repeat again, as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him shall
not perish, but have eternal life. Think about that picture
back there in the wilderness. Great, great, great multitude
of people, and the snakes have come in among them. God brought
them in, and they're being bitten, and they're dying. And Moses,
in compassion, with the loudest voice, lifts up that serpent
as high as he can, walks out into the midst of the people
crying, Look! Look and live! Look and live! And here and there and over yonder,
they were looking and living. Thank you. They never died. Looking
and living. And that's what I say. Look to
the Lord Jesus Christ. Look and live. Look and live. You know what I see when I look? I see Christ as my substitute,
suffering what I should have suffered. I see Christ as my substitute,
earning throughout the days and years of His life a perfect righteousness
before God. God said, this is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. And that well pleasing passed
on to me through faith in His name. Now God looks at me And
he says, I'm well pleased. I see him in Christ. Trusting
Christ. Believing my son. Loving my son. With one hand, old Moses walked
out into the middle of that crowd. He holds up that serpent as high
as he can. That's what the preacher is supposed
to do, hold up Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The Apostle Paul
said, God forbid that I preach anything but Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. He was yelling, look, look, look,
look! and live. One man said long ago, he said
there were those up close to Moses, he was walking in amongst
them. Those up close, they heard it real plain. And the ones that looked lived.
Only those who looked in faith lived. Then there were those
way back on the outside, that congregation. And it was very
faint. They couldn't see it clearly.
But those who heard and looked, they lived. The message is simple and plain.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Thou shalt be saved, even me,
even you. God bless these words to every
heart. Come, David.