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Spirit Empowered Life - Immersed Series
40 Plays24 days ago
In this sermon, Ridley Barron preached about the importance of gratitude and trust in God's provision. Drawing from the story of the Israelites in Numbers 21, he examined how spiritual arrogance can lead to an ungrateful heart and a distorted view of God's promises. Barron emphasized the significance of maintaining a humble heart and the necessity of confession in our relationship with God. He highlighted the broader biblical narrative, connecting the Old Testament account to the New Testament message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Barron encouraged listeners to embrace the simplicity of looking to Jesus for salvation, underscoring God's love and the gift of eternal life. Ending with a call to action, he urged believers to uplift Jesus in their communities so others might also come to experience God's grace and healing.
Timestamps:
00:00 Eyes Opened to Gratitude
03:07 "Gratitude and Journey Reflections"
09:21 "Exploring Spiritual Arrogance"
10:44 Divine Perspective on Entitlement
16:23 Teaching Through Consequences
18:23 Eternal Consequence of the Soul
20:49 Ongoing Repentance and Relationships
24:02 "Sin, Naming, and Divine Remedy"
29:42 Bible's Interconnected Storylines
30:30 "Born Again: Nicodemus's Inquiry"
35:46 Look and Believe in Christ
39:17 "Engaging Others in Faith Outreach"
41:55 Prioritize Sharing Jesus' Message
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Transcript
Mission Trip to Reynosa, Mexico
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey, many of you know before I became a church planter, I served as a student pastor for about 15 years. And one of the last, in fact it was the last trip that I took my student ministry on before I stepped into church planting, I took about 85 students and adults from my church up in Williamson County, kind of picture that in your head, to Reynosa, Mexico, where we slept on the ground inside of a compound surrounded by barbed wire fence.
00:00:30
Speaker
um I told the parents before when we were doing the pre-meeting trips, prepare your kids. This going to be different than anything else they've done. We did a mission trip every year, but they were all stateside.
00:00:41
Speaker
And although we were in some difficult places, it was nothing compared to where we were going to be that week. Every night, my kids were kept awake as they were sleeping in tents because there were gunshots all around the compound that we were in. There was no running water, no hot water. So whatever shower you took was a gravity-fed cold water system.
00:00:59
Speaker
And we had pit latrines for bathrooms. So picture Williamson County girls using pit latrines in bathrooms. um It was an interesting experience. um Every time I would do one of these mission trips with my kids, we would come back and kind of give a ah report to the church. We'd have you know stories and slides, and kids would share some of their testimonies.
00:01:19
Speaker
I held my breath for an entire week waiting to to hear what the kids were going to say to our church when they had that opportunity to do that. But one of the things I remember most about that trip ah was was some of the girls that came to me during the week, like the second or third day, going...
00:01:34
Speaker
I promise you i am never going to complain about having to wear my sister's hand-me-downs ever again. i'm never going to have to complain, ever going to complain about sharing the bathroom with my siblings
Biblical Lessons on Gratitude and Patience
00:01:45
Speaker
ever again. I promise I will never do that.
00:01:47
Speaker
Their eyes were open, their hearts were open to the reality that they lived in probably one of the wealthiest, but not probably, the wealthiest place in the world, and that most of the world lives a very different reality than what we live in.
00:01:59
Speaker
I think about that trip every time i read some of the stories that we're in in our chronological reading right now because so much of it is about a people who have become ungrateful for a God who provides for them.
00:02:14
Speaker
um As you read the story today, we're going to be in Numbers chapter 21. It's an interesting story right in the middle of the wandering in the wilderness. But it's interesting because it comes on the heel of another victory where God has obviously defeated their enemies for them.
00:02:29
Speaker
It comes on the heels of some stories about God providing water and food and all these things for him. And yet what we see is a bunch of people who just have a really ungrateful heart. I'm going to jump ahead in the sermon we're going to read beginning in verse four it's about six verses a day but i just want to remind us we can get this same way with god ah we we can get the same heart the same approach to the way we come to god by forgetting how thankful we should be for the fact that we do live where we live. And, you know, one of the things that we have to be grateful for is every single morning we wake up, there's breath in our lungs.
00:03:08
Speaker
We just can't take that for granted. And many people face the challenges of physical issues, financial issues, provisions and resources, those kinds of things. We have been given much by God, and so we have to constantly check our hearts about how we take those things for granted and what what kind of stance that leads us in our heart towards the God who is leading us on our journey. So Numbers chapter 21 verse 4, it says, Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom.
00:03:41
Speaker
But the people became impatient because of the journey. So as they're moving towards the end of the second leg of their journey, um...
00:03:52
Speaker
they they are approaching Edom. Now, if you remember in your reading, if you've been reading along with us, Edom is actually their distant relatives. They are Esau's descendants, whereas Israel is Jacob's descendants.
00:04:03
Speaker
And so they come to them and say, can we just cut through your land? We promise we'll pay for whatever we eat. We won't get off the road. We'll be a as unobtrusive as we can be, you know, that kind of thing. And Edom says, no, you're not coming through us.
00:04:15
Speaker
And so they have to go around the country of ah edom the territory of Edom to get to where they're going, which means a longer journey.
Impatience and Spiritual Growth
00:04:23
Speaker
Remember the last time you had to take a detour with your kids on a trip?
00:04:27
Speaker
Try doing it with two million babies. And this is what they're having to deal with, right? um So they they take this trip, they take this journey around, and they become impatient.
00:04:39
Speaker
In the journey. Again. i think we see images of ourself here. We become so impatient with God. We pray a prayer. we We do a couple of things we think that ought to get God's attention. And say hey I'm over here. Come take care of this issue for me. And what we find is that because God doesn't respond immediately. We become impatient with him.
00:04:58
Speaker
Just a minute ago. We had a beautiful passage read in Galatians chapter 5, the fruit of the Spirit. Let me remind you, first of all, that it's not the fruits of the Spirit, even though there are nine there. It's one fruit. It all comes from one Spirit.
00:05:13
Speaker
The nine different ways it expresses itself are all part of the one fruit. So the more you grow as a believer and a follower of Jesus Christ, that fruit grows. becomes more fruitful, more mature, and you begin to see all those things. So you can't go, well, I'm good with the love, joy, and peace part, but the patience, kindness, gentleness I'm not good at. Well, no, that's not the way it works.
00:05:32
Speaker
You're either growing or you're not. And you're growing in all of them or you're not. And so as you're growing as a believer, you become more patient. You become more patient with people around you. You become definitely more patient and waiting for God's timing in things.
00:05:49
Speaker
As I have grown a believer, I have become more patient. I don't get mad at people who have 17 items in the 15 item express lane anymore. i don't yell at people in traffic when they cut me off as much I'm working on it.
00:06:06
Speaker
But as I'm growing a believer, as you're growing a believer, we're on this journey where God's trying to remake us into the image of his very son. And so the fruit of the Spirit is the growth of those things in our lives as we see all of that maturing us.
00:06:19
Speaker
So last week as we as we got to this point in the story, what happened is they got to the edge of the promised land one time. You remember we were there. They sent in the 12 spies, one from each tribe.
00:06:29
Speaker
Ten of them came back with a negative or a evil report. And the reason we decided it was an evil report is because any time you twist God's words to say something they don't or you deny that God's promises are real, that's an evil thing.
00:06:43
Speaker
And so God had clearly promised in the promised land. Joshua and Caleb were the only two spies who came back and said, hey, we we need to take this. He's already promised it to us. It's not a question of if. It's a question of when will we take it, you know?
00:06:57
Speaker
And so God comes back to him and says, listen, if you're going to believe the other 10 spies and you're not going to go in and take ah possession of the land, then I will grant you your wish. You'll never see that land. Your kids will. And so he sends them back out into the wilderness. And where we pick up the story today, we're in the first month of the 39th year of their journey.
00:07:17
Speaker
And they become impatient with God. Now look at what they do. Immediately it says, the people spoke against God and Moses. Why have you led us up to die in the wilderness?
00:07:29
Speaker
We've heard this before, but I want you to be very cautious. This is a word of warning for all of us. Be very careful about what you say about God and to God. Because these words where they say, why did you bring us here to die, is literally accusing God of murder.
00:07:46
Speaker
Think about that. You brought us here for the purpose that we would die? Surely not. Well, no. Obviously not. God's provided for them in countless ways.
Confession, Repentance, and God's Solutions
00:07:56
Speaker
But when we become impatient with God's plan, we lose our perspective on what he's up to.
00:08:02
Speaker
ok And that's true in our lives. When we try to rush God's plan for us, we think we think thoughts that aren't even true about God. We think thoughts about God that don't even relate well to the character that we know exists there. We even distort His promises because we lose patience with His plan.
00:08:22
Speaker
So let me continue to read. It says, There is no bread or water. Well, you've been reading the story, right? Haven't you seen the water come from a rock? Haven't you seen manna falling from the sky, quail being delivered to them?
00:08:35
Speaker
This is just a crazy thing for them to even suggest. We detest this wretched food. Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died.
00:08:49
Speaker
The people then came to Moses and said, We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us. And Moses interceded for the people.
00:09:01
Speaker
Then the Lord said to Moses, make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover. So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole.
00:09:13
Speaker
Whenever someone was bitten and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.
00:09:22
Speaker
A lot of things I want to talk about here. This is kind of an odd story in the middle of this journey. Why did God take six verses to tell us about what happened here? Why did he handle this this way? What was the cause of it?
00:09:32
Speaker
And what was the result of it? And I think those are legitimate questions I want to take a look at. First of all, i want you to understand something. Spiritual arrogance leads to leads us to question God's provision. Spiritual arrogance. Now, what do I mean by spiritual arrogance?
00:09:46
Speaker
Spiritual arrogance is a very subtle change in our approach to God, but it's best described by an attitude that says, God, you owe me. You owe me. Now, it's real easy to fall into that trap because we try to perform for God.
00:10:03
Speaker
God, I've been to church 10 straight weeks. You owe me. God, I've been serving in the nursery for years. You really owe me. I have given my tithe. i have done whatever. I had a conversation with a guy just the other day who said, man, my wife and i have been praying about it, and we've really decided to tithe. You're pastor snarky.
00:10:21
Speaker
You know that? I wanted to go, well, congratulations. You finally decided to agree on God's plan. you know That's the way it's always been. He said, but we've decided it's really good, and we we think that if we do this, he will bless us.
00:10:36
Speaker
Now, it's a very subtle thing. The truth is God will bless you and even God promises he will bless you. But that's not the reason you do it. And that's a subtle difference, but that's a little bit of arrogance that says if I do this, then you will owe me something.
00:10:52
Speaker
You will owe me something. And I think what God says to us is, you know what? I don't owe you a doggone thing. I don't know if God uses the word doggone. That's a southern term, but he is a southern God, right?
00:11:04
Speaker
um I know that just, okay. um But yeah, you know, I think God sometimes looks at us and goes, what what's what's the deal here? Why are you approaching me this way?
00:11:16
Speaker
You got up this morning, didn't wonder where your food was coming from. You got up this morning, had lots of clothes to choose from. Most of us, too many. You got here this morning, you didn't have to walk.
00:11:28
Speaker
I mean, just like think about the freedoms you possess as a human being, specifically as an American human being. And yet these people had this arrogance. ah Excuse me.
00:11:40
Speaker
They complain against God and Moses, and they approach him with this these false assumptions, these false projections. Man, it's been hard, and we deserve better, and surely you have forgotten us. We're tired of manna. We're tired of how you're handling things.
00:11:57
Speaker
We think our plan would be better. And we read those stories, and again, we get kind of upset with these people and go, what are you thinking? But we are the same way in our approach to God many times. We lost our humility. We've lost our proper understanding of the perspective we should have.
00:12:14
Speaker
And let's be honest. The real issue in this story is not God's provision. It's actually the condition of the hearts of these people. It's the condition of our hearts. You see, our hearts are no better. They're corrupt. They're broken. They're constantly in need of healing and mending.
00:12:31
Speaker
They're constantly in need of grace and mercy. And when we reject God's provision, we actually are rejecting the provider himself. It's much like your children who come to you and ask for something and you give them and they go, oh, I don't want that. And you you're hurt because in that relationship, you realize they're ah they're rejecting your provision for them, but they're also rejecting you in a sense.
00:12:55
Speaker
And this is the way we approach God. Let's be honest. In this moment, in this story, nothing is going to satisfy their hearts. He could have provided them chicken and waffles. And that would have not not satisfied them at this moment. It's a problem with their hearts.
00:13:12
Speaker
They had grown bored with God's miracles. They had forgotten his deliverance over and over again. They didn't recognize his protection that had gotten them this far. Ultimately, the problem with their hearts is this.
00:13:27
Speaker
Now here's a place where we have to stop and check our own hearts. Ultimately, the problem was they didn't trust God's word. They didn't trust God's word. Because God had promised them over and over and over again, if you'll just follow me, if you'll just trust me, I'll take care of all these things for you.
00:13:45
Speaker
I'll be right here with you all the way to the point where you you're in your promised land and you've occupied it the way you should. You've just got to trust me. And yet they didn't trust his word. And just like the Hebrew people, we forget many times the way God has guided us.
00:14:01
Speaker
He's provided for us. He's protected us. Every single one of us in this room, if we were honest, would have hundreds of thousands of things that we need to thank God for today. And I would argue probably hundreds of thousands more that we don't know that he did for us.
00:14:17
Speaker
Ways that he protected us. Do you realize one of the greatest acts of faith there is in human history is to get on I-65?
00:14:28
Speaker
And to drive by Brentwood moms who are driving SUVs while they have their phone in one hand and their makeup brush in the other. And to realize that at any given second, that car could go one foot right or left and suddenly all of your lives are changed.
00:14:45
Speaker
We joke about it, but it's true. Every time you ride down Horton Highway, there are cars that pass you headed the other direction. God's provision is that most of the time those cars arrive very safely.
00:14:56
Speaker
And for whatever reason, in some situations, God chooses to act differently. So if you get home tomorrow night after work safely, pull in the driveway and take a second and thank God.
00:15:08
Speaker
You walk into your house, take a second to thank God that you're not sleeping in the cold, that you have food on your your table, clothes in your closet, and a family to greet you.
00:15:21
Speaker
Second thing, there is always consequences to our sin. Always consequences to our sin. For the Hebrew people, we see it first when they didn't trust God to go into the promised land and they were forced to wander for 38 years. you imagine?
00:15:38
Speaker
thirty eight years can you imagine But here in the story today, we see another consequence. Because they have questioned God yet again and have been ungrateful for what he's done and have chosen not to obey him, they're now being attacked by snakes, poisonous, venomous snakes.
00:15:55
Speaker
Later on, God will actually use the enemies of the Hebrew people to punish them because of the consequences of their choices and their disobedience. There are always consequences to sinful choices no matter how good our reasons are in our head.
00:16:10
Speaker
So hear this. When you disobey, don't be shocked that God disciplines. Don't be shocked that God disciplines. When my children were growing up, they made poor choices. There were always consequences for their choices.
00:16:23
Speaker
There's never been a day that I didn't love my children, but there had to be consequences. Why? Because how else were they going to learn to develop a character that I wanted to be developed in them?
00:16:36
Speaker
How else would they learn that we don't accept lying in our household? How else would they learn that you have a respect for authority and you treat people the same way you want to be treated? The only way to do that was to have consequences.
00:16:49
Speaker
And sometimes those consequences remained even when they came and said, Dad, I'm sorry. Why? Because if you take away the consequences, very seldom is the lesson learned.
00:17:02
Speaker
And truth be told, many of us, the only reason we apologize is because we're trying to avoid those consequences. It's not out of true repentance. It's not because we really feel bad. It's because we're scared of what the other hand might bring once we've made those choices.
00:17:18
Speaker
So there are always consequences. Scholars believe that this snake was what is known as the carpet viper. It's about a three or four foot snake. It's a sidewinder that lives over in that area. Very aggressive snake. Not not a passive one. A very aggressive snake.
00:17:32
Speaker
Every bite that it takes has 70 milligrams of poison in it. It only takes five to kill a man.
00:17:41
Speaker
And to this point in the journey, God has protected them from these kinds of problems. And he's only used these kinds of trials when consequences were necessary to teach his children a lesson.
00:17:53
Speaker
And on this particular occasion, God chooses to remove his protection and to release his judgment. Their bad choice will lead to their consequence.
00:18:04
Speaker
So let me remind you of a verse in Scripture, Romans 6.23. For the wages of sin is death. Now, that's shortened version, shortened way of saying this.
Sin, Salvation, and the Bronze Serpent
00:18:16
Speaker
Your bad choices, your wrong choices, they have consequences. And the ultimate consequence for all of us as human beings because we're fallen and broken people is this.
00:18:29
Speaker
Your soul will spend eternity in hell without God. There's this myth that's making its way in circles, even in Christian circles, that the soul somehow just stops existing if you don't get to go to heaven. That's not true.
00:18:43
Speaker
Jesus himself was very clear to say, you'll spend eternity somewhere. The question for you is where? And only you can decide that. The wages of sin is death.
00:18:56
Speaker
But the thing I want you to hear this morning that's really, really important that everybody in this room hears this this morning is we never remain hopeless in our sin. We never remain hopeless in our sin. Let's go back to Romans 6.23 for a second because it doesn't stop there.
00:19:12
Speaker
The wages of sin is death, but what? The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's good news.
00:19:23
Speaker
That's the gospel. Yes, you have a choice, but your choice comes with some really amazing polar opposite results. You either die and spend eternity in a reality where you could have known God and been in relationship with him, but now you are forever without him.
00:19:40
Speaker
Or you can spend eternity in the presence of the one who's given his all for you. And man, it's going to be a sweet eternity. I woke up this morning, walked into the bathroom, looked at my wife, and I said, I love you very dearly, and when I die, I will miss you, but I can't wait until I step into heaven because my body's so tired.
00:19:59
Speaker
I spent three hours cleaning logs out of my yard yesterday from a tree that fell down. I'm feeling like I need heaven today.
00:20:07
Speaker
But that's a reality, right? Vast difference between what our result will be based on our choices. Look at Romans 21.7.
00:20:18
Speaker
I mean, not Romans, excuse me, back in Numbers. Numbers 21.7. It says, The people then came to Moses and said, We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. This sentence is a perfect example of what we call confession.
00:20:35
Speaker
Confession. And can I just tell you that the only way to enter into relationship with God is starting with confession? Confession is a simple word that very much simply means this. I agree with you, God, that I have done wrong.
00:20:49
Speaker
I agree that my choices are bad. I confess to you that I have sinned and I need repentance. But can I just also caution you as believers that too often we fall in the trap of believing that that's a once and it's over kind of thing?
00:21:07
Speaker
You confess your sin, you acknowledge you need to repent, you repent and you give Jesus your life and everything's great. But the problem is you wake up the next morning and you're still living life on this broken planet.
00:21:20
Speaker
And so confession becomes a necessary part of our normal routine so that we can maintain a good relationship with Him. Not that our relationship can be removed or taken away, but just like my relationship with my wife, it needs constant attention.
00:21:36
Speaker
17 years ago, she and I made a commitment before God. We made vows. In God's eyes, she and I are married until the very end. But every single day, I get up and i have to recommit myself to that relationship. I have to give focus to that relationship.
00:21:52
Speaker
And, transparently, I have to come back many times and say, but baby, I was wrong. You didn't get the attention that you deserved.
00:22:04
Speaker
You didn't get the compassion I should have given you. I wasn't paying attention when you were talking to me. I forgot to do what you asked me to do. All kinds of confessions that have to take place.
00:22:14
Speaker
Not because my relationship with her is ever going to end, but because it always needs maintenance from my side of things and from hers as well.
00:22:27
Speaker
God's always paying attention to you. God is always loving you. God is always tending to you and caring to you. But you and I need to come back to him and maintain the relationship by having an attitude of confession.
00:22:40
Speaker
We overlook this gift. And when we sin, we want to blame others for our choices. We live in a world that doesn't take responsibility for its poor choices. It's always got something to do with somebody else or some situation, some circumstance.
00:22:55
Speaker
If only I had grown up in a normal home. If only I'd had a good dad. If only my boss would treat me right. If only my husband would do what I ask him to do. Or my wife would get off my back. If only, if only, if only.
00:23:07
Speaker
And can I just remind you two things that are critically important here. Number one, you will stand before God to answer for your behavior alone.
00:23:18
Speaker
Nobody else in your history or your future or your present life will stand next to you to answer for choices you make. And everything you need to overcome the consequences of your past is found in Christ Jesus.
00:23:35
Speaker
Everything.
00:23:42
Speaker
So, if you're still breathing, there's still time. To take responsibility for your choices.
00:23:52
Speaker
Take responsibility for your sin. Let's not call it anything else. It's not mistakes. It's not poor choices. It's sin. And sometimes when we diminish the name, we remove that from our vernacular, what happens is we we soften the blow of what sin feels like.
00:24:12
Speaker
Or even worse, we try to re-describe sin and compromise it and say, well, that used to be a sin or that's no longer a sin or that may be a sin for you but your reality is different from my reality and that's not the case either.
00:24:26
Speaker
And in this story, we are offered this incredibly surprising remedy. God says, take a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. We're going to talk more about that in just a second.
00:24:40
Speaker
But I want you to notice something really, really important here.
00:24:45
Speaker
God did not answer their prayers the way they wanted him to answer their prayers. Notice their plea was, God, will you take away the snakes? He didn't take away the snakes. He gave a remedy for the snakes.
00:24:58
Speaker
There's a difference. today Today, we have this. You may have seen it. It's on ambulances, it's on first aid things, it's at hospitals.
00:25:11
Speaker
Even the world recognizes the story, they just don't know where it comes from. And it's all about healing. Of course, in the medical world, it's about physical healing. But for us, it's about healing from the worst possible sickness there is, one that has touched all of humanity.
00:25:30
Speaker
To be sure, we are thrown off by this story.
00:25:35
Speaker
First of all, because of this, Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments, didn't God clearly say in the second commandment, don't make any graven image?
00:25:45
Speaker
So why this? Well, let's be clear. God's solution was not to worship the image. It was just to look at it. Just look at it. Nothing else.
00:25:56
Speaker
Just look at the image and you will be saved. And then there's this whole thing about snakes, Why snakes? I mean, didn't Genesis 3 say that Satan showed up as a snake?
00:26:09
Speaker
And doesn't Revelation 20 say at the end time that Satan will be a snake? Just to be clear, snakes and I have no affinity for one another. The only good snake is a dead snake.
00:26:23
Speaker
About 10 years ago, my family was invited by one of our church members of where we were attending church at the time. Said, hey, we've got a river river cabin. We'd love for y'all to go down for the weekend during the summer and enjoy it one weekend. So we took advantage of that. We went down. My kids were fired up. Had a beautiful dock that went right down to the edge of the river there.
00:26:40
Speaker
So they had like a river trampoline kind of thing you could play on. It was a hot day. We were all just swimming having a great time. Middle of the afternoon, my son decides to swim over to the dock and get up on the dock. So he gets up on the dock.
00:26:52
Speaker
He turns around, and I hear him over my shoulder go, ooh. I turn, and I look at him say, what? He goes, it's a snake. And I said, don't be joking around. He said, no, Dad, it's a snake. And there was like this three, three-and-a-half-foot moccasin floating in the water.
00:27:10
Speaker
Okay? Now, not only was he floating in the water, he was between me and the dock. which is not a very good place to be at this point. So my wife and my middle daughter and I are floating in the middle of the river.
00:27:21
Speaker
My other two daughters are on the river trampoline down there. And I thought, okay, I got to be the dad. I got to do something here. My kids are freaking out. Four counties have been alarmed by the screaming of my children at this point.
00:27:33
Speaker
What do I do? So I started swimming towards the dock. And as I got closer to the dock, snakes between us and the dock, the snake disappears under the water. Okay, being the godly man that I am, I did the only thing I knew to do at that point, and I literally began out loud going, Oh God of heaven and earth, creator of all things, you have control over every animal, including the snakes.
00:28:00
Speaker
Because now two or three of them have popped up between me and the dock. no And I am freaking out.
00:28:09
Speaker
Well, I'll shorten the story for you because i went home for a little bit. I would inch forward, they would disappear again. Apparently they were having a reunion under our dock, I don't know. ah finally made it to the dock, reeled my daughters in off the trampoline, got my my other a daughter and Lisa out from the middle of the river,
00:28:28
Speaker
I swore then, God, I will never, ever complain about anything you ever asked me to do again as long as it doesn't involve snakes.
00:28:39
Speaker
um To this day, my family refers to it as our river revival.
00:28:48
Speaker
yeah Why this very odd way of providing a remedy? Well, for one thing For one thing, it underlines the importance of never reading the Old Testament without reading the New Testament.
00:29:07
Speaker
Because the book, the Bible, the 66 books are all connected together. Do we have the slide? Okay. There it is. Awesome. Look at this slide, okay? You're going, that's a really cool Disney effect. It's not Disney.
00:29:23
Speaker
Years ago, ah student by the name of Chris Harrison and a German Lutheran pest pastor got together and decided to create this image. okay Along the bottom are the 1189 chapters of Scripture.
00:29:39
Speaker
Each one of those lines represents a chapter. And every one of the rays of light that you see are the connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Now, I'm not going to ask you to sit there and count. You're going to have word for it. There are 63,779 Old Testament connections to the New Testament.
00:30:02
Speaker
You see, what what the story emphasizes is the story's not complete without Jesus.
00:30:10
Speaker
You can't understand Numbers 21 without John chapter 3. Now, for those of you who are students of the Bible, immediately you picked up on the fact that it's John chapter 3.
Salvation Through Faith, Not Performance
00:30:21
Speaker
It's one of the most famous chapters there is in Scripture because of a story where a Pharisee by the name of Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night.
00:30:30
Speaker
Now, Nick, as we will call him, Nick being a Pharisee is very familiar with the Torah, so he's very familiar with this story. He knows it better than you and I. In fact, he knows all 613 commandments from the Torah, including the 248 do's and the 365 don'ts that they have compiled out of the Ten Commandments.
00:30:55
Speaker
He comes to Jesus at night, and he has one question for Jesus. What must I do to be saved?
00:31:06
Speaker
My prayer for you this morning is that that's a question you know the answer to. That you've already settled this issue. But for those who don't here this morning, hear Jesus' words to Nicodemus.
00:31:19
Speaker
You must be born again.
00:31:23
Speaker
And Nicodemus rightly asked, what do you what do you mean be born again? Can a man enter back into his mother's womb? And Jesus says, no. There's a water birth, and then there's a spiritual birth that comes.
00:31:36
Speaker
And in order to receive that, you've got to be perfect. You've got to do everything just right. You've got to obey every single law. you You know I'm not telling the truth.
00:31:49
Speaker
Let's go to John 3, 14 and hear the story again. John 3, 14, Jesus says, Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.
00:32:02
Speaker
Verse 15, he says, So that everyone who does what? Who believes in him may have eternal life. This has nothing to do with your performance. And this was earth-shattering for Nicodemus. Why?
00:32:15
Speaker
Because that is all that Nicodemus had ever known. I have to obey the laws. have to get them right. And Jesus says, here's the shocking news. You can't.
00:32:27
Speaker
You can't possibly. And you need me. Verse 16, most of you know, but it's in a different translation. So look at it this way. For God loved the world in this way.
00:32:38
Speaker
He gave us one and only son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. And sometimes I get sad because we remember 16 and we forget that 17 follows.
00:32:51
Speaker
For God did not send a son in the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Guys, Jesus' existence is not so that you can feel guiltier about what you do or don't do.
00:33:04
Speaker
It's not so that you feel condemned in your current situation. He has come to reel you in off the river to keep you from the snake. He's come to say, i know that the wages of sin and death. That's the way the judgment has been set up. That's the way the courtroom of God works.
00:33:22
Speaker
I've come so that you don't have to face that. You don't have to experience that. I've come so that you can have eternal life that is in my Father. And all you have to do is believe.
00:33:35
Speaker
That's the good news. That's what we call the gospel. And oh, by the way, the world's going to throw other options at you. They're going to tell you, well, if you just do enough of this, or if you just worship this thing, if you just try this alternative.
00:33:52
Speaker
And Jesus knew that. He foresaw that. And that's why in John 14, verse 6, he says, I am the way, the truth, the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.
00:34:10
Speaker
I am the answer. Now this seems foolish to those who do not believe. For the Jews, the cross was a curse. For the Gentiles, it was the most horrible way there was to die.
00:34:26
Speaker
They wouldn't even talk about it in polite company with their friends or their neighbors. And yet this is the way that Jesus chose. This is the remedy he has given.
00:34:41
Speaker
Why such a bizarre solution? Because God was saying, I don't want you to think it's about you. I don't want you to think it's about your performance. I just simply want you to look and live.
00:34:56
Speaker
What happened to that bronze servant? Well, God was clear. It was not to be an idol. I just want you to look at it. It was kept as a testimony to the Hebrew people, to the Israelites for many years to come.
00:35:09
Speaker
And in 2 Kings, about 700 years later, we find the bronze serpent again. This time, it's being worshipped by the Israelites.
00:35:19
Speaker
So King Hezekiah, as part of a revival in the nation, has it destroyed.
00:35:25
Speaker
It's a subtle warning for you and I because you and I can fall really easily into the trap of worshipping good things instead of worshipping the one thing. I would even argue that many of us fall in the trap of worshiping the cross instead of the Savior who went to the cross.
00:35:43
Speaker
And that's a dangerous thing. it's It's wrong to worship religion. It's wrong to worship icons. It's wrong to worship things beyond the person, the reality of God the Father, Son, and Spirit.
00:35:58
Speaker
To worship the one who said, I will give all I have because what you have is not enough. So what must we do?
00:36:11
Speaker
Number one, we have to look in order to live. If you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, if he's not your Savior and Lord today, you just need to simply look to what Jesus Christ has done and live.
00:36:26
Speaker
God gave Jesus who was born, lived a perfect life, died a horrible death, and was resurrected on your behalf. There's nothing else you need to do.
00:36:38
Speaker
Just simply look and believe.
00:36:42
Speaker
Number two, you have to realize just how much God loves you. And if you don't hear anything else today, can you just hear that? God loves you.
00:36:55
Speaker
I want to invite you this morning to put your name in that verse. For God so loved Ridley. For God so loved Lisa.
00:37:08
Speaker
For God so loved me. He gave his life. Now for most of you in this room, you're here because you have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
00:37:20
Speaker
He is your Lord and Savior. And for those of us who have already looked to the cross and looked to Jesus for salvation, we have one job left to do. And that is to lift up Jesus so the rest of the world may see.
00:37:35
Speaker
To invite our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers to look and to live. Because the Bible is very clear on one thing. There is one remedy.
00:37:47
Speaker
His name is Jesus. And every person, man, woman, boy or girl... who turns from their sin, who repents and looks to Jesus, will find everlasting life.
00:38:00
Speaker
Will you pray with me this morning?
Call to Action and Prayer
00:38:10
Speaker
Before I pray, I just want to ask one quick question, just so I know how to pray. If there's anybody here in the room today who would just say, hey, I'm not sure that I have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
00:38:22
Speaker
Or that you know for a fact you've never taken that step of faith to put your confidence in Him for your salvation. Anybody here today who would not say that you are saved by Jesus Christ, while everybody else has their heads bowed, their eyes closed, i just invite you to raise your hand very quickly so that I can pray for you specifically.
00:38:45
Speaker
Anybody at all that would say, I just don't know that I have a relationship with Him.
00:38:57
Speaker
Okay, before we pray, then I need you to look at me.
00:39:01
Speaker
Y'all are obeying very well. Y'all are in unison, your heads. That was great.
00:39:11
Speaker
Two services now. Not one person has raised their hand.
00:39:17
Speaker
Not one person has any doubt at all about their relationship with Jesus Christ. And on the surface, that looks really good.
00:39:27
Speaker
But my question is, are we doing enough to find the ones who don't know? We've got empty seats all around us. Are we bold enough to ask our neighbor?
00:39:38
Speaker
Do we care enough to ask our coworker? Do we love the world enough to lift Jesus up so others can see him?
00:39:49
Speaker
I said this to you just recently. In the next few weeks as we get ready for Easter, more people, and any other time of the year, more people will be looking to attend somewhere.
00:40:03
Speaker
Right now, for whatever reason in our country, there are more people looking for answers than ever before. Survey after survey keeps confirming this.
00:40:14
Speaker
They've been bitten.
00:40:17
Speaker
Bitten by the sin snake, if you will. Their eternity is certain.
00:40:29
Speaker
It's an eternity without God.
00:40:34
Speaker
So if you sit here today and you're confident in relationship with Jesus Christ, I'm going to invite you in the next few seconds to just pray specifically for that one or two or maybe even a group of people you know who need Jesus.
00:40:49
Speaker
If nothing else, you can pray for the Bondo people of India that Jesus would be introduced to them. But I'm pretty sure everybody in this room has at least one face that can come to mind where you would say, I'm pretty sure they don't know Jesus as their Savior.
00:41:05
Speaker
So let's pray. Father God, we give our lives to you. Over and over, day by day, we start a day by saying we choose you again over and over to be obedient to you, to follow after you, to correct our lives in accordance with your will, to follow after your commands.
00:41:29
Speaker
But we need you desperately because we are imperfect people.
00:41:34
Speaker
And so this morning, help our hearts to be grateful. Grateful for all you have done to give us eternal life.
00:41:45
Speaker
But we also need to ask, Lord, that you give us a deeper concern for the world around us. We have important things going in life. That's true. We we all do. We're trying to be good parents, good spouses, good sons and daughters. We're trying to be good community members, good businessmen.
00:42:02
Speaker
We're trying to be great co-workers. so But there's nothing more important that we do than sharing Jesus with others.
00:42:11
Speaker
And so, Father, this morning, if we've turned our attention to an image Rather than turning our attention to you. If we've gotten our eyes off of Jesus. And gotten them on to other things that are important. But just aren't the main priority.
00:42:27
Speaker
Would you help redirect our focus back to you.
00:42:34
Speaker
This morning Father. We are so grateful for the cross of Jesus Christ. And for the Savior who laid his life down willingly for us. So that we may have salvation.
00:42:47
Speaker
Now help us to share that message with others.
00:42:52
Speaker
To teach others how to look and live in faith. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.