WEBVTT

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 Our Father and our Lord, we thank you for your word.

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 We thank you that it is powerful and effective

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 and it can change lives.

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 And so we ask now that by your spirit,

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 you'll open our hearts, our ears and our eyes

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 to see the message that you would so desire

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 for us to hear today.

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 In Jesus' name, amen.

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 Well, many of you would know that I love ballroom dancing.

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 It's a sport with a huge amount of skill needed.

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 It seems to me that once you get to a point

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 of thinking that you've just learned something,

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 then you get told that you sort of got a long way to go

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 and you need to learn some more.

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 And I make many, many mistakes in my ballroom dancing.

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 Some of them are very innocent mistakes.

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 Most of them are because I didn't listen to my teacher.

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 And so when he tells me to do something,

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 I am not listening or I think that just maybe

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 I can do it in a better way.

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 Well, the Israelites here also seem to be slow

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 at doing what they are told as well.

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 The difference is that it is almighty God

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 and not a dancing teacher who is setting their path.

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 And we have seen constantly the Israelites questioning God.

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 Here again in Numbers and once again,

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 we see the familiar pattern for the people of God

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 and an unexpected punishment

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 and an unexpected cure or solution.

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 The setting in brief is this.

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 It's the time of Israel's wanderings in the wilderness.

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 The Israelites were originally under the control of Pharaoh in Egypt

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 and through Moses, God moved Pharaoh's heart to let them go,

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 but not without many plagues, as we know to convince him.

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 God was leading his people to a new land

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 and all they had to do was to trust him

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 and to obey his leading.

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 God promised to be with them and to protect them.

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 All these wanderings took many years,

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 not because God got them lost,

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 because God wouldn't do that,

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 but because of fear and disobedience.

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 It wasn't just the people who were disobedient.

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 We saw that there were a priest disobedient.

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 We saw the priest's family disobedient.

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 We've even seen Moses and Aaron disobedient

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 and the punishment was that they would not enter the promised land.

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 And here in this passage that we've got to today,

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 just beforehand, we see that Aaron has died

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 and he has buried outside of the promised land

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 as God had forewarned.

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 And still, our reading shows that God continues

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 to give victory to these wayward people.

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 King Arad wanted to capture the Israelites along the road

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 as they passed through the city,

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 but this king didn't count on the Israelites

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 calling out to their great God to help them.

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 In verse two, we see,

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 then Israel made this vow to the Lord.

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 If you will deliver these people into our hands,

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 we will totally destroy their cities.

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 So what is the Lord's response to these people?

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 Because if I was God,

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 which I know, you know, sort of long way from it,

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 I think I'd be sick of these people by now.

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 I would be saying,

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 listen, I've actually helped you characters long enough,

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 but that is not what God does.

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 We read in verse three,

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 the Lord listened to Israel's plea

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 and gave them the Canaanites over to them.

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 They completely destroyed them and their towns,

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 so the place was named Hormah,

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 which means destruction.

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 Now, God had shown himself to the Israelites again

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 in giving them victory,

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 and yet straight after this encounter,

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 we see Moses continuing on his chosen route

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 and he's leading the people further east

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 and up around Edom.

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 Now, I was trying to follow this on a map

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 and it's a great exercise

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 if you want to go home and do it,

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 but, you know, it is in the opposite direction

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 to where God is wanting to take the people.

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 It's down south and then over to the east

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 and then up and around Edom.

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 It's a long way out of where they should be heading.

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 And I ask myself, why?

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 Why would they be doing this?

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 Why all this wandering in the desert?

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 Well, because they refused to trust God's leading.

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 They had been led right to the border

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 of the promised land,

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 but they were afraid to enter.

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 They were frightened of the size

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 and the number of those already in the land

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 and they did not believe

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 that God would help them conquer the land

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 and that he had chosen for them.

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 And so they went in another direction.

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 And worse still, they started to complain.

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 Now, does this scenario remind you of anyone?

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 Because it does mean

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 I can easily complain about my lot in life

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 after I have chosen to do things my way

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 and not trust God.

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 And I'm sure that I am not alone.

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 But here the Israelites picked the wrong person to criticise.

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 In verse five, it says,

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 they spoke against God and against Moses and said,

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 why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the desert?

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 There is no bread, there is no water,

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 and we detest this miserable food.

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 The sin of the Israelites was to criticise God.

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 Their spirits were not faithful to God.

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 They refused to trust God's love and care.

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 They forgot the miracles that God had done for them.

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 In short, they were so focused on themselves

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 and what they thought was best

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 that they began to grumble

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 and speak words that weren't,

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 words that were harsh.

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 It's bad enough to do this to another person.

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 But these desert wanderers directed their words

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 directly to God himself.

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 And the consequence of speaking to God in that fashion

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 came upon them immediately.

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 Verse six says,

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 Now, isn't this strange?

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 They were just accusing God and Moses

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 of bringing them there to die.

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 And so it shouldn't surprise them

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 that they were in fact dying from these snake bites.

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 It's exactly what they had actually said would happen.

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 So God was only giving them

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 what they claimed would happen anyway.

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 It sure seems clear that the Lord was trying to send

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 a pretty big message to these people.

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 He wanted to show them that their rebellion

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 was causing them to suffer.

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 Many of them were going to go to their early graves

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 because of their sin.

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 But God was also sending a message here

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 that had to do with the snakes.

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 Do you remember the way that sin entered into the world?

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 It entered into the Garden of Eden.

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 The first sin was a sin of rebellion.

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 A disobedience of God that was ushered in

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 into the world by Satan

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 in the form of a serpent.

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 And it brought death.

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 And now the rebellious, God-criticising,

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 desert-wandering people

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 were again being sent to early graves

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 through the work of some more serpents.

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 And third, the message is greater

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 because it will point them to a cure

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 which we will look at shortly.

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 And so the people in the middle of experiencing agony

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 and near death recognised their sin.

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 They called to God and said,

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 we sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you.

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 Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.

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 Now, my first thought is very suspicious

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 of their confession.

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 But that might have something to do with my heart

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 more than the hearts of the people of God.

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 But we see here that they had at least the presence of mind

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 to know that they had first sinned against God.

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 Whenever we sin in any way, to whatever degree,

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 we must understand that whoever else is involved

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 and whatever the hurt we cause anyone else,

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 we have sinned first against the Lord.

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 He is really the only one whose offence at sin is pure

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 because he is perfectly holy.

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 And if you ever find yourself in the position

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 of having to go and seek another person's forgiveness

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 for a wrong that you have done them,

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 remember that you have first offended holiness

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 and own it and confess it to almighty God.

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 Now, this is what true repentance is.

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 We can criticise them for their ungratefulness

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 and their rejection of God's goodness,

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 but let's be careful to stop and ask ourselves.

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 Whether any actions or attitudes of our own,

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 even in recent days, have come out of unbelief

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 or in ingratitude and forgetfulness of God

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 and his goodness to us.

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 And God, in his mercy, heard the people

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 and provided a way for them to be saved from death.

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 Now, God's answer to the problem here was rather odd.

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 At least I think it was rather odd.

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 At least on the surface, it was odd too.

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 God told Moses to make a snake and put it up on a pole.

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 Anyone who is bitten can look at it and then he would live.

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 And sure enough, verse nine tells us

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 that Moses indeed made a bronze snake,

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 put it on a pole,

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 and then when anyone who was bitten by a snake

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 looked at this bronze snake, lived.

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 I find that totally amazing.

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 Totally amazing.

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 So, it's important for us to understand

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 what is happening here

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 because on the surface, I just think it's weird.

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 But let me give you five short points.

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 Notice that God did not remove the snakes from the camp

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 as they had requested.

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 The consequences of sin remained with the Israelites.

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 They were still bitten.

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 They still felt the pain and the poison.

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 The snakes are a type of sin

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 and when we became believers in Christ,

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 sin didn't die completely.

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 Sin is very much alive.

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 And we too experience the consequences of our own sin.

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 Sure, we might seek forgiveness,

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 but that might not mean

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 that a particular relationship is restored automatically.

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 It might not mean that you are treated any better at work.

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 It might not be that you trust another person

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 as easily as what you would have done

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 before the sin was committed.

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 If trust is broken,

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 relationship needs to be built again.

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 And so, there's always consequences.

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 Even though there may be forgiveness that is given,

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 we still have to work through consequences.

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 So, sin and consequences are alive and well.

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 The second thing is that the snake on the pole

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 is not preventative.

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 It is for the bitten people.

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 Verse 8 tells us it's for anyone who has been bitten.

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 The poison of sin is in them

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 and without divine intervention,

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 they will die.

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 What we need to do is acknowledge

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 that sin is present in us.

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 Only when we see the problem

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 for what it is and accept the remedy,

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 we will be healed.

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 Thirdly, the snakes in the camp are from the Lord.

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 It's not by accident.

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 He sent them there.

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 The wrath of God is on this people

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 for their sin of ingratitude

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 and grumbling and rebellion.

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 God's wrath is real and it is deadly.

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 It was real and deadly back then in the Old Testament

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 and it is real and deadly today.

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 And the means that God chooses to rescue people

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 from his own curse

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 is a picture of the curse itself.

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 That is, the snakes,

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 which were the curse to the people,

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 was what they had to look at on the pole.

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 And all they had to do

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 in order to be saved from God's wrath

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 is to look at his provision hanging on a pole.

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 Now, fast forward 1,500 years,

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 about,

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 Jesus applied this very well-known event

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 to his own lifting up on the cross.

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 He said in the passage that we read in John 3,

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 just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert,

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 so the Son of Man must be lifted up

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 that everyone who believes in him

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 may have eternal life.

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 Now, if Jesus had not told this story to Nicodemus,

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 I, for one,

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 would not have thought

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 Moses having a bronze snake on a pole

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 was about Jesus.

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 I might be very slow,

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 but I don't think that was an easy fit.

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 But we're on the other side of Jesus

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 and we have the full benefit

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 of him explaining what this really meant.

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 So listen and take note

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 because it should be easier for us.

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 We know that Jesus read the Old Testament

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 believing that it was pointing to him all along.

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 There were pointers and types

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 and foreshadowings

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 everywhere throughout the Old Testament.

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 But we might expect him to skip this story

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 and use another one of those pointers.

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 But Jesus goes out of his way

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 to help Nicodemus

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 by sharing with him

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 the comparison of the Son of Man

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 to a snake.

00:16:31.420 --> 00:16:34.100
 Let me give you another five short things

00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:35.100
 about Jesus here.

00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:38.399
 Jesus identifies himself

00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:41.540
 with the term Son of Man.

00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:43.960
 In John chapter 9,

00:16:44.779 --> 00:16:46.820
 verse 35, if you're interested,

00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:48.279
 Jesus speaks to a man

00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:51.259
 who has been healed from blindness.

00:16:52.460 --> 00:16:53.600
 And he asks him,

00:16:54.019 --> 00:16:55.899
 do you believe in the Son of Man?

00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:59.019
 Who is he, sir, the man asks.

00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:01.899
 Tell me so that I may believe in him.

00:17:01.899 --> 00:17:03.179
 And Jesus said,

00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:04.839
 you have now seen him.

00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:08.799
 In fact, he is the one speaking with you.

00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:11.900
 So when Jesus speaks of the Son of Man

00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:13.240
 being lifted up,

00:17:13.339 --> 00:17:15.259
 he is talking about himself

00:17:15.259 --> 00:17:17.900
 and his own crucifixion.

00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:22.139
 Jesus also, in the place of the snake,

00:17:22.539 --> 00:17:23.980
 is a source of healing.

00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:27.119
 He is a source of rescue from sin

00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:29.019
 and the wrath of God.

00:17:29.019 --> 00:17:32.200
 He is a source of eternal life.

00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:34.319
 We are being told

00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:37.099
 he was the source back then

00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:39.500
 and it is still the same today.

00:17:40.139 --> 00:17:42.900
 Jesus is the only one

00:17:42.900 --> 00:17:45.940
 who can rescue any of us.

00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:50.799
 And Jesus is portrayed as a curse

00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:53.900
 as he takes the place of the snake.

00:17:54.339 --> 00:17:55.819
 This is what is so shocking.

00:17:56.879 --> 00:17:58.259
 The snakes were evil.

00:17:58.259 --> 00:18:00.400
 They were killing people.

00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:02.400
 The snake on the pole

00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:05.579
 is a picture of God's curse on the people.

00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:10.099
 Why the need to be portrayed as a curse?

00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:14.920
 Well, 2 Corinthians 5.21 says,

00:18:15.339 --> 00:18:18.039
 God made him who had no sin

00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:19.839
 to be sin for us

00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:21.180
 so that in him

00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:24.460
 we might become the righteousness of God.

00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:27.500
 Galatians 3.13 says,

00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:31.119
 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law

00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:34.880
 by becoming a curse for us.

00:18:35.579 --> 00:18:36.599
 For it is written,

00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:38.220
 cursed is everyone

00:18:38.220 --> 00:18:40.799
 who is hung on a tree.

00:18:42.099 --> 00:18:44.380
 In becoming a sin

00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:46.579
 and a curse for us,

00:18:47.059 --> 00:18:49.180
 he took ours away.

00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:53.420
 And Jesus gives eternal life

00:18:53.420 --> 00:18:54.539
 from the cross.

00:18:54.539 --> 00:18:58.039
 In our John passage with Nicodemus,

00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:00.980
 we see that whoever believes in him

00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:02.659
 may have eternal life.

00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:04.779
 When our sin

00:19:04.779 --> 00:19:07.519
 and God's wrath are taken away,

00:19:08.500 --> 00:19:11.319
 God is totally for us.

00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:14.379
 And if God is for us,

00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:16.159
 we will never die

00:19:16.159 --> 00:19:19.879
 but live with him forever in joy.

00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:24.840
 Jesus is the one we look to.

00:19:25.660 --> 00:19:28.220
 We look and we believe.

00:19:29.320 --> 00:19:30.500
 Verse 15 again,

00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:32.400
 everyone who believes in him

00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:34.460
 may have eternal life.

00:19:35.460 --> 00:19:36.140
 Everyone.

00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:37.820
 Not some.

00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:40.520
 Not a few.

00:19:41.260 --> 00:19:42.460
 But everyone.

00:19:42.460 --> 00:19:46.120
 So, what is it that we must do?

00:19:47.180 --> 00:19:48.559
 We must look

00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:49.840
 to the one

00:19:49.840 --> 00:19:51.340
 who has been lifted up.

00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:54.539
 This is so exciting

00:19:54.539 --> 00:19:57.400
 and you cannot pretend to look.

00:19:58.440 --> 00:19:59.900
 Many try to pretend.

00:20:00.660 --> 00:20:02.120
 They go through the motions.

00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:03.900
 And yet,

00:20:04.220 --> 00:20:06.180
 we will see it in each other

00:20:06.180 --> 00:20:08.960
 if we truly have eternal life.

00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:11.460
 Our lives will not be static.

00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:13.519
 There is joy

00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:14.759
 when we live for Jesus.

00:20:15.340 --> 00:20:16.240
 There is joy

00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:17.720
 when we see others

00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:19.600
 turn to Jesus.

00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:22.220
 Life is not static

00:20:22.220 --> 00:20:23.640
 and if you are feeling

00:20:23.640 --> 00:20:25.420
 that your life is static

00:20:25.420 --> 00:20:27.620
 in a spiritual sense,

00:20:28.100 --> 00:20:30.819
 then you need to look afresh

00:20:30.819 --> 00:20:32.319
 at Jesus today.

00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:36.039
 The passage in Numbers

00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:38.259
 reminds the wandering Israelites

00:20:38.259 --> 00:20:40.819
 of the profound depth

00:20:40.819 --> 00:20:42.079
 of their depravity

00:20:42.079 --> 00:20:44.259
 and of God's mercy and love.

00:20:45.500 --> 00:20:46.659
 The cross is there

00:20:46.659 --> 00:20:48.559
 to do the same for us.

00:20:49.500 --> 00:20:51.259
 We need to have the cross

00:20:51.259 --> 00:20:52.200
 in our midst.

00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:54.439
 It reminds us

00:20:54.439 --> 00:20:55.799
 that through the cross,

00:20:56.159 --> 00:20:58.279
 an instrument of execution,

00:20:59.399 --> 00:21:00.599
 our saviour

00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:03.719
 lived out his dying love for us

00:21:03.719 --> 00:21:05.399
 by dying on it

00:21:05.399 --> 00:21:08.059
 for our salvation.

00:21:09.159 --> 00:21:10.779
 Our sins were carried

00:21:10.779 --> 00:21:12.159
 to the cross by Jesus,

00:21:12.879 --> 00:21:14.759
 buried with him in the grave.

00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:17.319
 And his resurrection victory

00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:18.919
 assures us

00:21:18.919 --> 00:21:20.899
 of our eternal destiny

00:21:20.899 --> 00:21:22.139
 as God's children.

00:21:23.139 --> 00:21:24.980
 We just need to look,

00:21:26.019 --> 00:21:28.219
 not glance when it suits us,

00:21:28.220 --> 00:21:31.559
 but have our eyes fixed

00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:32.860
 on Jesus

00:21:32.860 --> 00:21:35.059
 at all times,

00:21:35.579 --> 00:21:37.100
 in all situations,

00:21:38.100 --> 00:21:38.680
 individually

00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:40.819
 and as a church.

00:21:41.339 --> 00:21:43.160
 We need to look.

00:21:44.620 --> 00:21:46.620
 A great way to finish

00:21:46.620 --> 00:21:48.019
 and illustrate this

00:21:48.019 --> 00:21:51.120
 is for me to read a story

00:21:51.120 --> 00:21:54.220
 of Charles Spurgeon's conversion

00:21:54.220 --> 00:21:57.059
 and it's in his own words.

00:21:57.900 --> 00:22:01.420
 The day is January 6, 1850.

00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:03.960
 Spurgeon is not quite

00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:05.660
 16 years of age.

00:22:07.339 --> 00:22:08.799
 I sometimes think

00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:09.559
 I might have been

00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:11.279
 in darkness and despair

00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:13.000
 until now,

00:22:13.100 --> 00:22:14.019
 had it not been

00:22:14.019 --> 00:22:15.480
 for the goodness of God

00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:17.400
 in sending a snowstorm

00:22:17.400 --> 00:22:18.500
 one Sunday morning

00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:19.940
 while I was going

00:22:19.940 --> 00:22:21.720
 to a certain place of worship.

00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:24.680
 When I could go no further,

00:22:24.839 --> 00:22:26.140
 I turned down a side street

00:22:26.140 --> 00:22:27.559
 and came to a primitive

00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:28.920
 Methodist chapel.

00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:31.380
 In that chapel,

00:22:31.799 --> 00:22:32.519
 there may have been

00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:34.059
 a dozen or 15 people.

00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:36.160
 The minister did not come

00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:36.799
 that morning.

00:22:37.819 --> 00:22:38.680
 He was snowed up,

00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:39.500
 I suppose.

00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:41.140
 At last,

00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:45.319
 a very thin-looking man,

00:22:45.620 --> 00:22:46.319
 a shoemaker

00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:47.559
 or a tailor

00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:48.880
 or something of that sort,

00:22:49.299 --> 00:22:50.440
 went up to the pulpit

00:22:50.440 --> 00:22:51.180
 to preach.

00:22:51.720 --> 00:22:52.900
 He was obliged

00:22:52.900 --> 00:22:54.400
 to stick to his text

00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:56.160
 for the simple reason

00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:58.059
 that he had little else

00:22:58.059 --> 00:22:58.680
 to say.

00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:01.420
 The text was,

00:23:02.380 --> 00:23:03.600
 Look unto me

00:23:03.600 --> 00:23:05.240
 and be ye saved

00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:06.720
 all the ends of the earth

00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:09.140
 from Isaiah 45, 22.

00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:11.299
 He did not even pronounce

00:23:11.299 --> 00:23:12.680
 the words rightly,

00:23:13.120 --> 00:23:14.380
 but that did not matter.

00:23:14.940 --> 00:23:15.920
 There was, I thought,

00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:17.039
 a glimpse of hope

00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:18.259
 for me in that text.

00:23:18.259 --> 00:23:20.980
 The preacher began thus,

00:23:21.220 --> 00:23:22.160
 My dear friends,

00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:24.759
 this is a very simple text indeed.

00:23:25.799 --> 00:23:27.460
 It is just look.

00:23:28.420 --> 00:23:29.059
 Now looking,

00:23:29.619 --> 00:23:30.039
 don't,

00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:30.940
 I can't do this.

00:23:31.160 --> 00:23:31.720
 Now looking,

00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:33.720
 don't take a great deal

00:23:33.720 --> 00:23:34.500
 of pain.

00:23:35.339 --> 00:23:36.920
 It ain't lifting your foot

00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:38.079
 or your finger.

00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:40.039
 It is just look.

00:23:40.039 --> 00:23:43.460
 Well, a man needn't go to college

00:23:43.460 --> 00:23:44.339
 to look.

00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:47.019
 You may be the biggest fool

00:23:47.019 --> 00:23:49.539
 and yet you can look.

00:23:50.339 --> 00:23:51.899
 A man needn't be worth

00:23:51.899 --> 00:23:53.039
 a thousand a year

00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:54.279
 to be able to look.

00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:56.059
 Anyone can look,

00:23:56.180 --> 00:23:57.980
 even a child can look.

00:23:57.980 --> 00:24:01.200
 But then the text says,

00:24:01.940 --> 00:24:03.000
 look unto me.

00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:06.200
 Many of ye are looking

00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:07.200
 to yourselves,

00:24:08.099 --> 00:24:10.160
 but it's no use looking there.

00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:12.779
 Ye will never find

00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:14.759
 any comfort in yourselves.

00:24:16.120 --> 00:24:17.740
 Some look to God the Father.

00:24:18.460 --> 00:24:20.279
 No, look to him by and by.

00:24:21.319 --> 00:24:22.940
 Jesus Christ says,

00:24:23.460 --> 00:24:24.400
 look unto me.

00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:26.660
 Some of ye say,

00:24:26.660 --> 00:24:27.779
 we must wait

00:24:27.779 --> 00:24:29.100
 for the Spirit's working.

00:24:29.980 --> 00:24:31.180
 You have no business

00:24:31.180 --> 00:24:32.360
 with that just now.

00:24:33.220 --> 00:24:34.060
 Look to Christ.

00:24:34.840 --> 00:24:36.120
 The text says,

00:24:36.660 --> 00:24:37.400
 look unto me.

00:24:38.180 --> 00:24:39.240
 Then the good man

00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:40.279
 followed up his text

00:24:40.279 --> 00:24:40.920
 in this way.

00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:42.620
 Look unto me.

00:24:43.180 --> 00:24:43.960
 I'm sweating

00:24:43.960 --> 00:24:45.540
 and great drops of blood.

00:24:46.140 --> 00:24:46.980
 Look unto me.

00:24:47.600 --> 00:24:49.940
 I am hanging on the cross.

00:24:51.180 --> 00:24:52.220
 Look unto me.

00:24:52.820 --> 00:24:54.860
 I am dead and buried.

00:24:54.859 --> 00:24:56.819
 Look unto me.

00:24:56.919 --> 00:24:58.019
 I rise again.

00:24:58.919 --> 00:24:59.879
 Look unto me.

00:24:59.979 --> 00:25:01.079
 I ascend to heaven.

00:25:02.359 --> 00:25:03.399
 Look unto me.

00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:04.279
 I am sitting

00:25:04.279 --> 00:25:06.399
 at the Father's right hand.

00:25:07.159 --> 00:25:08.179
 Oh, poor sinner.

00:25:09.079 --> 00:25:10.359
 Look unto me.

00:25:10.519 --> 00:25:11.879
 Look unto me.

00:25:13.299 --> 00:25:14.599
 When he had gone

00:25:14.599 --> 00:25:15.839
 to about that length

00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:18.240
 and managed to spin out

00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:20.259
 ten minutes or so,

00:25:20.679 --> 00:25:22.000
 he was at the end

00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:22.640
 of his tether.

00:25:23.579 --> 00:25:24.779
 Then he looked at me

00:25:24.779 --> 00:25:25.660
 under the gallery

00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:27.240
 and I dare say

00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:28.460
 with so few present

00:25:28.460 --> 00:25:29.359
 he knew me

00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:30.400
 to be a stranger.

00:25:31.460 --> 00:25:32.960
 Just fixing his eyes

00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:33.579
 on me

00:25:33.579 --> 00:25:35.039
 as if he knew

00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:36.440
 all my heart,

00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:37.920
 he said,

00:25:38.680 --> 00:25:39.539
 young man,

00:25:40.119 --> 00:25:40.920
 you look

00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:42.240
 very miserable.

00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:44.599
 Well,

00:25:44.779 --> 00:25:45.640
 I did,

00:25:46.059 --> 00:25:47.240
 but I had not been

00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:47.859
 accustomed

00:25:47.859 --> 00:25:49.419
 to have remarks

00:25:49.419 --> 00:25:50.559
 made from a pulpit

00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:52.279
 on my personal appearance

00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:52.719
 before.

00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:54.399
 However,

00:25:54.779 --> 00:25:56.099
 it was a good blow.

00:25:57.399 --> 00:25:58.500
 Struck right home.

00:25:58.899 --> 00:25:59.639
 He continued,

00:26:00.059 --> 00:26:01.819
 and you will always

00:26:01.819 --> 00:26:02.699
 be miserable,

00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:05.379
 miserable in life

00:26:05.379 --> 00:26:08.240
 and miserable in death

00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:11.679
 if you don't obey my text.

00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:14.380
 But if you obey now,

00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:15.880
 this moment,

00:26:16.340 --> 00:26:17.660
 you will be saved.

00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:20.500
 Then lifting up his hands,

00:26:20.580 --> 00:26:21.120
 he shouted,

00:26:21.320 --> 00:26:23.180
 as only a primitive Methodist

00:26:23.180 --> 00:26:23.860
 could do,

00:26:24.320 --> 00:26:25.380
 young man,

00:26:25.600 --> 00:26:27.200
 look to Jesus Christ.

00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:27.779
 Look,

00:26:27.980 --> 00:26:28.279
 look,

00:26:28.440 --> 00:26:28.980
 look.

00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:30.600
 You have nothing to do

00:26:30.600 --> 00:26:31.519
 but to look

00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:33.420
 and to live.

00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:35.880
 I saw at once

00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:37.880
 the way of salvation.

00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:40.100
 I know not

00:26:40.100 --> 00:26:41.480
 what else he said.

00:26:41.820 --> 00:26:42.960
 I did not take

00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:43.920
 much notice of it.

00:26:44.019 --> 00:26:45.220
 I was possessed

00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:47.320
 with that one thought.

00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:49.820
 Like as when

00:26:49.820 --> 00:26:51.140
 the brazen serpent

00:26:51.140 --> 00:26:52.680
 was lifted up,

00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:54.440
 the people only looked

00:26:54.440 --> 00:26:56.039
 and they were healed.

00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:58.299
 So it was with me.

00:26:59.120 --> 00:27:00.259
 I had been waiting

00:27:00.259 --> 00:27:01.779
 to do 50 things,

00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:02.720
 but when I heard

00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:03.900
 that word look,

00:27:04.620 --> 00:27:06.039
 what a charming word

00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:06.779
 it was to me.

00:27:07.259 --> 00:27:07.660
 Oh,

00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:08.680
 I looked

00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:10.940
 until I could have

00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:12.360
 almost looked

00:27:12.360 --> 00:27:13.580
 my eyes away.

00:27:15.180 --> 00:27:16.160
 There and then

00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:17.660
 the cloud

00:27:17.660 --> 00:27:18.500
 was gone.

00:27:18.900 --> 00:27:19.620
 The darkness

00:27:19.620 --> 00:27:20.559
 had rolled away

00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:21.759
 and at that moment

00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:22.920
 I saw the sun

00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:25.180
 and I could have

00:27:25.180 --> 00:27:26.360
 risen that instant

00:27:26.360 --> 00:27:27.180
 and sung

00:27:27.180 --> 00:27:28.019
 with the most

00:27:28.019 --> 00:27:28.940
 enthusiastic

00:27:28.940 --> 00:27:29.860
 of them

00:27:29.860 --> 00:27:31.360
 of the precious

00:27:31.360 --> 00:27:32.240
 blood of Christ

00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:34.080
 and the simple faith

00:27:34.080 --> 00:27:36.220
 which looks alone

00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:36.799
 to him.

00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:38.079
 and now

00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:39.119
 I can say,

00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:40.180
 e'er

00:27:40.180 --> 00:27:41.919
 since my faith

00:27:41.919 --> 00:27:43.139
 I saw the stream,

00:27:43.659 --> 00:27:44.319
 thy flowing

00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:45.440
 wounds supply,

00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:47.180
 redeeming love

00:27:47.180 --> 00:27:48.659
 has been my theme

00:27:48.659 --> 00:27:50.379
 and shall be

00:27:50.379 --> 00:27:51.519
 till I die.

00:27:52.460 --> 00:27:52.819
 Amen.

00:27:52.819 --> 00:27:54.259
 Amen.

00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:55.279
 Amen.

00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:56.200
 Amen.

00:27:56.200 --> 00:27:56.619
 Amen.

00:27:56.619 --> 00:27:56.720
 Amen.

00:28:04.279 --> 00:28:05.000
 Amen.

00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:09.859
 weapon