{"id":18786,"date":"2018-05-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-27T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/law-grace-008-at-whom-are-you-looking\/"},"modified":"2018-05-27T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-05-27T05:00:00","slug":"law-grace-008-at-whom-are-you-looking","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/law-grace-008-at-whom-are-you-looking\/","title":{"rendered":"Law & Grace 008: At Whom are you looking?"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[49],"series_event":[477],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[152],"class_list":["post-18786","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-numbers","series_event-law-grace","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-jim-mcgowan","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Law & Grace 008: At Whom are you looking?","sermon_date":"20180527","sermon_month":"5","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":5799,"sermon_slides":5798,"sermon_mp3":5800,"sermon_id":"527181042435","series_or_event":477,"service_type":[473],"speaker":152,"books_of_the_bible":49,"chapter_and_verse":"21:4-9","sermon_transcript":"Sugar Land Bible Church\n\nDr. Jim McGowan\n\nLaw & Grace 008: At Whom are you Looking?\n\n5-27-18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Numbers 20:4-9\n\n \n\nGood morning, it\u2019s wonderful to be here again with you today and I thank you for your presence, I thank you for listening to the voice of the Lord and showing up.\u00a0 And Father, I just thank\u00a0 You so much for what you\u2019re doing today in the midst of Your church.\u00a0 I pray for those that are here locally, Father, I pray for those that are viewing online, we pray that each might be blessed and encouraged and strengthened this morning.\u00a0 We pray, Father God, that You might uplifted and glorified in everything we say and do.\u00a0 In Jesus name, Amen.\n\nLet me start out this morning by letting you know that Dr. Woods is currently not here as you can see and recognize but he is actually at the Memorial Day Conference in Connecticut at North Stonington Bible Church and he\u2019s speaking seven times so if you would hold him up in prayer I know that he\u2019s speaking today and I think he\u2019s going to be speaking again tomorrow so I encourage you to please pray for him.\u00a0 He has Anne and Sarah with him, they\u2019re going to stretch it out and have a few days of vacation also so be praying for traveling mercies and just for a time of rest and relaxation after this seven speaking engagements here.\u00a0 Also I\u2019d like to mention to you that Pastor Woods, he said to me now be sure you tell everyone that if anyone needs the Daniel quiz that it\u2019s out on the table.\u00a0 He said to let you know that you\u2019re not getting off the hook today just because he\u2019s not here.\u00a0 So the Daniel quiz is there, he will be back in the pulpit next Sunday and he expects everyone to have their answers fully completed and I believe he said there will be a checking and grades taken. [Laughter]\u00a0 No, maybe he didn\u2019t actually say that.\n\nLet me also just mention the fact that obviously today is Memorial day and of course this is the day when we honor the men and women who have died while serving in our military and I find it interesting that this particular holiday had a different name but was started in 1868.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that amazing, right after the Civil War, and it was held on May 30th<\/sup> until 1970 when there was a federal proclamation, I guess, where they decided to move it to the last Monday of May, that started in 1971.\u00a0 So perhaps you know someone who has a family member, perhaps you have a family member that may have died serving in the military and we just want to stop and take a moment to recognize the \u00a0lives that were given.\u00a0 We would not be here doing what we\u2019re doing this morning if it were not for the freedoms that were purchased at the cost of our brothers and sisters and so we\u2019re very grateful for that.\u00a0 So praise the Lord!\u00a0 This morning we\u2019re going to continue on with our study on Law & Grace.\u00a0 This is going to be Session 8 and there\u2019s the outline for you.\n
    \n \t
  1. \n
      \n \t
    1. Review\n
        \n \t
      1. Purpose, Aim, and Objective<\/li>\n \t
      2. Session 7<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n \t
      3. At Whom are you looking? (Numbers 21:4-9)\n
          \n \t
        1. General Information<\/li>\n \t
        2. Comments & Commentary<\/li>\n \t
        3. Conclusion<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nWe always take a moment to review the purpose, aim and objective and again, just to remind you that the reason we\u2019re doing this is because Law and Grace are very, very distinct things, very distinct topics and we need to understand how they relate, the one to the other and it\u2019s especially important for us as New Testament believers.\u00a0 I\u2019ve given you this quote before so I won\u2019t read it again but the issue really comes down to the fact that much of Christendom, perhaps even the majority of Christendom today is operating under what C. I. Scofield would call a form of Galatianism.\u00a0 And of course we don\u2019t want to be like the Galatians.\n\nHere\u2019s a quote that I haven\u2019t given to you before but I would like to share with you.\u00a0 This is from William R. Newell.\u00a0 Newell was one of my favorite authors and he writes this: It is because Reformed theology has kept us Gentiles under the Law,\u2014if not as a means of righteousness, then as \u201ca rule of life,\u201d because of that all the trouble has arisen.\u201d\u00a0 He says, \u201cThe Law is no more a rule of life than it is a means of righteousness.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 He goes on and says, \u201cWalking in the Spirit has now taken the place of walking by ordinances. <\/em>God has another principle under which He has put his saints:\u201d and that is, \u201cYe are not under law, but, under grace!\u201d [(italics mine)\u00a0 Romans Verse-by-Verse <\/em>(p. 274). \u00a0Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library.]\n\nSo if we\u2019re truly under grace and if we\u2019re no longer under Law it\u2019s important for us to understand what that means and so what I\u2019m endeavoring to do in these sessions is to show you contrasts and comparisons to help us with that.\n\nSo this morning let\u2019s take a moment to discuss just briefly a review.\u00a0 Last time we talked about the passage in Numbers 20:1-13.\u00a0 You might want to go ahead and turn to Numbers 21:4-9, that\u2019s what we\u2019ll be covering this morning.\u00a0 But by way of review we talked about the event that took place there in 20:1-13 where you\u2019ll remember just very quickly that God told Moses to go and speak to the rock and he didn\u2019t do that and that caused some severe consequences.\u00a0 We had some principles that we pulled from those passages there.\u00a0 One was that wherever you are and wherever you go on earth you\u2019re always passing through.\n\nAnother one was that allowing our feelings and emotions to reinterpret God\u2019s Word is never a good idea and of course that\u2019s what Moses and Aaron did in that instance.\u00a0 We talked about the faith train and that it\u2019s very important to make sure that we have faith and emotions and feelings and circumstances in their proper order, that faith is the train and all the other things come after that.\u00a0 And we don\u2019t just put our faith blindly into something but we put our faith into the revealed facts that we find in the Scriptures.\n\nAnother principle that we talked about last time was that our best intentions just aren\u2019t good enough.\u00a0 Moses thought well, you know, I\u2019ll smite that rock two times, I know we got water the first time so maybe if I hit it the second time we\u2019ll get water also and that was a big mistake.\u00a0 And then another principle was that earthly disobedience now always has consequences.\u00a0 And of course we know from our study last time that what happened was because of Moses and Aaron\u2019s disobedience they were not allowed to enter the Promised Land, were they?\u00a0 Another principle was the fact that the Lord may bless people does not mean that everything that they are doing is right.\u00a0 Did water come out of the rock when he smote the rock the second time?\u00a0 It did, but that was not an endorse\u00adment that what Moses had done was right.\n\nAnd so we said that all of those things that we learned, all of those principles from those passages, as 1 Corinthians 10 says, are an example for us, and it\u2019s for our instructions.\u00a0 So that\u2019s one of the reasons why it\u2019s important for us to make sure that we do go to the Old Testament, we do study the Old Testament, we do understand these principles that God is setting forth, even as he deals with the children of Israel.\u00a0 And we also said that it\u2019s very important to keep in mind that we very seldom see what God is actually doing in our lives.\u00a0 We see the top of that iceberg but really what\u2019s going on, the real meat of what God is doing is happening below the surface.\u00a0 And that\u2019s our review.\u00a0 Was that quick enough for you.\u00a0 I want to be quick this morning.\u00a0 All right.\n\nAll right, so let\u2019s talk about Numbers 21:4-9 and I\u2019m going to have it on the screen here for you, if you have your Bibles you might want to read along with me.\u00a0 So in Numbers 21:4-9 it says, \u201cThen they\u201d this is the children of Israel, \u201cset out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. [5] The people\u201d then what? they \u201cspoke against God and Moses,\u201d and here\u2019s what they said, \u201cWhy have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.\u201d\u00a0 [6]\u00a0 The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. [7] So the people came to Moses and said, \u201cWe have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.\u201d And Moses interceded for the people. [8] Then the LORD said to Moses, \u201cMake a fiery serpent,<\/em> and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.\u201d [9] And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.\u201d\n\nAnd so there\u2019s sort of a pictorial representation of what we\u2019re going to study today and this issue of this bronze serpent.\u00a0 So let\u2019s start with some general information first of all.\u00a0 I have a map here for you.\u00a0 And so if you look at that map you\u2019ll see that we get a real picture here of this whole idea when we talk about how the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness.\u00a0 Here\u2019s kind of the idea of what\u2019s going on; this is the wilderness area and they\u2019re just continuing going back and forth, back and forth and here and there, never really getting out of the boundaries of this wilderness area.\u00a0 And they\u2019re doing this for how long was it?\u00a0 Forty years.\u00a0 Now imagine that, imagine God saying to you now I\u2019m going to move you, you\u2019re going to move when I tell you to move and the area that I\u2019m going to let\u00a0 you traverse is the Houston area.\u00a0 So today you\u2019re going to be in Stafford, tomorrow you\u2019re going to be in Sugarland, the next day you\u2019re going to be on the outskirts of eastern Houston and then we\u2019re going to take you over to the Woodlands and after you\u2019ve done that for three or four times you\u2019ve kind of seen everything, haven\u2019t you?\u00a0 And so you kind of get a picture for what\u2019s going on here.\u00a0 So here we go.\n\nSo we\u2019re looking at this passage this morning and we\u2019re presenting just a small idea, a glimpse of what\u2019s been happening for the last forty years and so you\u2019ll recall that starting in our last session and up to this session we\u2019re now at the end of this forty year time frame.\u00a0 We\u2019re just about at the point where we\u2019re going to transition on into the Promised Land.\u00a0 So that\u2019s something that\u2019s ahead for us.\n\nOne of the things we\u2019ll really notice about this passage is that it is a brief passage, right?\u00a0 And it\u2019s the shortest one that we\u2019ve addressed so far in this section, this is section eight.\u00a0 I would encourage you to go back and review previous sessions to try and get caught up if you haven\u2019t been watching or listening.\u00a0 The fact that this is a short passage doesn\u2019t in any way suggest that it\u2019s an unimportant passage.\u00a0 And so that\u2019s the reason why we want to watch and we\u2019re going to discover that this is a very pivotal passage for Israel and also for us as we contemplate it.\u00a0 So this is the last time, as far as we know, as far as we can see from Scripture, that the children of Israel gripe and complain.\u00a0 And I imagine that the reason for that is that based upon what we just read they probably decided that being bitten by snakes was probably not the best outcome when you gripe and complain.\u00a0 And so I think probably they came to the conclusion that maybe we need to find a different way to do things and so we don\u2019t see them griping and complaining any more after this point in time, which is kind of interesting.\n\nWe also notice that the manna that God had provided, which you notice how they refer to that?\u00a0 They said it was this miserable food.\u00a0 The manna that was provided, and you\u2019ll also see that the serpent, they both pictured Christ, and we\u2019ll be talking about that shortly, and that\u2019s one of the reasons why we say that this is, in fact, a pivotal passage.\u00a0 So let me start with some commentary here.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to attack this passage today as if it\u2019s a boxing event so there\u2019s going to be four rounds and we\u2019re in round number one right now.\u00a0 Do you like that picture?\u00a0 All right.\n\nSo round one, here we go.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what it says there, it says: [Numbers 21:4] \u201c\u2026the people became impatient because of the journey, the people spoke against God and Moses, [5] The people spoke against God and Moses, \u2018Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019ve already mentioned the fact that this was the last time they griped but in this particular instance how did this episode begin?\u00a0 The children of Israel, as we saw, they come to Moses and they\u2019re complaining.\u00a0 Notice that when they came to Moses they complained.\u00a0 Did you notice that?\u00a0 They said it was God\u2019s fault but it was also Moses\u2019 fault.\n\nSo they\u2019re complaining now both to God and to Moses about the conditions that they\u2019re experiencing.\u00a0 And interestingly the children of Israel (we\u2019ve mentioned this) have been traveling in the wilderness for some forty years almost and as I mentioned nothing\u2019s changed.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 Nothing\u2019s change, the scenery, you know, we\u2019ve been around this gorge multiple times, we\u2019ve been in this valley multiple times, we\u2019ve seen these sights over and over again and so I suppose that this idea of just repeating things over and over again kind of got down inside their souls.\u00a0 And so it\u2019s not surprising, or shouldn\u2019t be surprising to us that the complaints don\u2019t change very much either.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 Because if you\u2019re basing your joy on your circumstances and your circumstances aren\u2019t changing then\u00a0 you\u2019re griping and your complaining isn\u2019t going to change very much either.\n\nSo here they are, they come and they\u2019re complaining about what?\u00a0 Being hungry and thirsty.\u00a0 Now imagine\u2026 what did we talk about in the last session?\u00a0 They were complaining about being hungry and thirsty and God just miraculously provided for them.\u00a0 But I guess they\u2019ve forgotten that.\u00a0 It\u2019s a chapter later, who knows how long it\u2019s been, they\u2019ve forgotten that. We\u2019re not like that, are we?\n\nSo the main focus of the last great gripe here is in reference to the manna which they referred to again as \u201cthis miserable food.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Can\u2019t you just hear them, we\u2019re so sick of this miserable food.\u00a0 You remember how the manna worked, right?\u00a0 The children of Israel started their wondering in the wilderness and the manna would miraculously appear every morning and they would do what?\u00a0 They would go out, they didn\u2019t have to hunt for it, it was right there, step outside your tent, oh, manna, and they\u2019d just start picking it up, there was your food.\u00a0 They were instructed to collect as much as they needed for that day you remember.\u00a0 But you know, even at the very beginning what happened?\u00a0 They tested God didn\u2019t they?\u00a0 God said just get enough for one day but they didn\u2019t do that. \u00a0He said only get what you need for that day, but some people thought well, you know, I don\u2019t know if we can trust God really, you know, I mean, I know He brought\u00a0 us out of Egypt, we saw the plagues, I know He brought us through the Red Sea, man, that was awesome, I know that we got the Law on the top of Mount Sinai and that was amazing, God actually spoke to us.\n\nBut I don\u2019t know if we can really trust God, and after all, you just never know when you\u2019re going to need a little manna snack.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 Now that was a joke, there should have been something from the congregation.\u00a0 You never know when you need a little manna snack.\u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 Well, I\u2019m going to have to get better on the jokes, I can see that.\n\nSo imagine their surprise, right, when they reach into the bag, because they collected too much, and they\u2019re so excited, they want that midday snack and they pull out a seething, swarming, stinking, rotting handful of manna and worms.\u00a0 Mmmmm, yum, can\u2019t you just taste it?\u00a0 So that\u2019s our first encounter with this manna.\n\nNow you do remember that there was one exception that God made about the collecting of the manna and that was that before Sundown on Friday, which would start the Sabbath day, they were told to collect enough to get them through the Sabbath.\u00a0 And can you imagine that that very first time after they had collected too much and they had this worm manna and then the Sabbath and they go in and you know they\u2019ve got to be saying oh God, please, please, please, please no worms.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 And they reach down into the sack and oh, manna, thank goodness, because they get to eat that day.\u00a0 So that was the one exception.\u00a0 And by this time most of the children of Israel had grown up with a diet that consisted mostly of manna.\u00a0 So we kind of get this picture here.\n\nNow I love this, think about it; it\u2019s manna, manna, manna, manna, so they could have it grilled, they could have it baked, they could have it broiled, they could have it saut\u00e9ed, they could have it boiled, they could have it crispy, they could have it soft, they could have it soupy, they could have it in cakes, they could have it in pita or like a tortilla but no matter what, no matter how\u00a0 you dressed it up it was always manna.\u00a0 Yum!\u00a0 Imagine that.\u00a0 When someone said what\u2019s for breakfast? What\u2019s for lunch?\u00a0 How about dinner?\u00a0 The answer was always the same, would you like manna or manna?\n\nBy the way, it\u2019s probably important for us to mention the fact that what is it that the word \u201cmanna\u201d means and it literally means \u201cwhat is it?\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019ll never forget when my wife, who\u2019s teaching the pre-kindergarteners she would always come in and she would have very elaborate set ups for the kids and she would find ways to engage these little tiny children\u00a0 and one day she decided to do some\u00adthing about the story on the manna.\u00a0 So she had all this stuff set up and she had the Israelite camp and she had a stream and she had little pieces, I think it might have been donut holes, I\u2019m not sure what it was, all scattered all over the floor (or course in a sanitary way) and so guess what happened when the little kids come walking in the room?\u00a0 They got all excited and they looked at her and they said what is it?\u00a0 They had no idea that the lesson that day was about manna.\n\nIsn\u2019t that interesting how God does things.\u00a0 So \u201cwhat is it?\u201d\u00a0 They didn\u2019t know.\u00a0 But after several decades you can imagine how eating this manna began to wear on them.\u00a0 It might have tasted good in a limited exposure, right?\u00a0 Maybe the first time you picked it up, the Bible does say that it tasted like honey and coriander seeds, I like honey, that\u2019s not so bad.\u00a0 But imagine having that every day.\u00a0 So eventually they began to refer to this daily miracle (remember this was a miracle) as this miserable food.\n\nSo then we come to this slide, you might recall that Jesus referred to Himself in John as \u201cthe bread\u00a0 \u00a0of life\u201d in John chapter 6:35-51.\u00a0 And this is part of what we call the seven sayings of Christ.\u00a0 I have them listed there for you.\u00a0 [1] I AM the bread of life, 6:35, 48.\u00a0 [2] I AM the light of the world, 8:12; 9:5.\u00a0 [3] I AM the gate, 10:7.\u00a0\u00a0 [4] I AM the good shepherd, 10:11, 14.\u00a0 [5] I AM the resurrection and the life, 11:25.\u00a0 [6] I AM the way and the truth and the life, 14:6.\u00a0 [7] I AM the true vine, 15:1, 5.]\n\nAnd in each one of these one of these instances what is happening here is Jesus is actually asserting His deity.\u00a0 Literally in the Greek, and this is something you might want to write down, what Jesus is saying in these passages in John is He\u2019s saying I <\/u>being in fact God AM <\/u>the bread of life, the light of the world, the gate, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way, the truth and the life, and the true vine.\u00a0 And if you don\u2019t think that He\u2019s declaring His deity just go look at the response that He got when He made those statements.\n\nThere are some liberal theologians who like to take what Jesus is saying here and they want to say well, Jesus really wasn\u2019t declaring that He was deity; that\u2019s not what He was doing.\u00a0 In fact, they even strip Him of any claim to deity; they reject it.\u00a0 But I like what C. S. Lewis said and I\u2019ve got a little picture there with what\u2019s known as trilemma argument and here it is.\u00a0 He says: \u201cJesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord; Jesus cannot be, as some claim, a truly good person or someone who\u2019s life we should all emulate.\u00a0 Absolutely not because He Himself claimed equality with the Father.\u00a0 The resurrection firsthand eyewitness evidence along with the lives of those who have been forever changed demonstrates that Jesus was neither a liar nor a lunatic. Therefore He must be who He claimed to be and that is the God\/man, the Lord.\u201d\n\nI like what Chuck Colson said in this quote:\u00a0 Look at this.\u00a0 He says, \u201cI know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world \u2013 and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.\u201d\u00a0 So if the resurrection is true then we have to also conclude that Jesus deity is also true.\n\nHere\u2019s John 6:35-51, I\u2019m not going to read this to\u00a0 you but I do want to highlight a few points about this passage.\n\n[John 6:35, \u201cJesus said to them, \u201cI AM<\/u> the bread of life<\/u>; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. [36] \u00a0\u201cBut I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. [37] \u00a0\u201cAll that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. [38] \u00a0\u201cFor I have come down from heaven<\/u>, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. [39] \u00a0\u201cThis is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. [40] \u00a0\u201cFor this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.\u201d [41] Therefore the Jews<\/u> were grumbling about Him, because He said, \u2018I AM<\/u> the bread that came down out of heaven<\/u>.\u2019 [42] They were saying, \u201cIs not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, \u2018I have come down out of heaven\u2019? [43] Jesus answered and said to them, \u2018Do not grumble among yourselves. [44] \u00a0\u201cNo one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. \u00a0[45] \u00a0\u201cIt is written in the prophets, \u2018And they shall all be taught of God.\u2019 Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. [46] Not that anyone has seen the Father, \u2026 \u2026the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. [47] \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. [48] I AM<\/u> the bread of life<\/u>. [49] Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died\u00a0 .[50] This is the bread which comes down out of heaven<\/u>, so that one may eat of it and not die. [51] I AM<\/u> the living bread that came down out of heaven<\/u>; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.\u201d]\n\nThere are four times in this passage when Jesus declares \u201cI AM\u201d and we see that in verses 35-38 where He says \u201cI am the bread\u201d and He mentions that He\u2019s come down from heaven.\u00a0 Is there any confusion on that?\u00a0 Do you understand what He\u2019s saying here?\u00a0 He says \u201cI AM\u201d which is the very same expression that God used when He spoke to Moses and He\u2019s also adding emphasis to it because He\u2019s telling them I came down from heaven.\u00a0 There\u2019s no way that you can misunderstand what Jesus is saying here.\u00a0 So we see that here in this passage; we also see it in verse 42 where He says, \u201cI AM the bread that came down from heaven.\u201d\u00a0 Now in this case the Jews are quoting Him and as I mentioned before if you don\u2019t think Jesus is claiming deity just notice their response to what He says.\n\nAlso I might mention here it says \u201cthe Jews<\/u>,\u201d I have \u201cthe Jews<\/u>\u201d underlined there.\u00a0 Let me give you a little background information on that term.\u00a0 This is from Dr. Constable\u2019s notes and he says, \u201cIn John\u2019s Gospel he often used the term \u2018the Jews\u2019 to represent the Jews who opposed Jesus during His ministry.\u00a0 So we need to be very careful when we say \u201cthe Jews\u201d that we don\u2019t just throw a blanket over the whole nation of people and assume that they were all opposing Jesus.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the case.\u00a0 The truth of the matter is it was referring to the religious leaders predominantly.\u201d\n\nHe goes on to say that this term, the Jews, became something of a technical term as John used it.\u00a0 Again, in verse 48 we see Jesus saying \u201cI AM the bread of life,\u201d and again He says \u201cthat came down from heaven.\u201d\u00a0 And in verse 51, where He also says again, \u201cI AM the living bread that came down out of heaven,\u201d so there\u2019s no way that we can confuse this issue.\n\nAnother point that\u2019s pivotal in this passage as well as in the Numbers passage is that everyone, in verse 40\u2026 let me back up, look at verse 40, \u201c\u2026everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u201cWill have eternal life!\u201d\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that interesting.\u00a0 Think back of our passage we\u2019re studying today.\u00a0 In verse 49, towards the end of the passage Jesus makes this statement, \u201cYour fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.\u201d\u00a0 But he goes on to say in verse 50 that He \u201cis the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.\u201d\u00a0 Do you see any contrast there?\u00a0\u00a0 So we\u2019re saying here Jesus is the source of light and He made a significant contrast and comparison between the manna and Himself who is the bread of life.\n\nNotice what He says here.\u00a0 On the one hand those who ate the manna for forty years, what happened to them?\u00a0 They ultimately all died.\u00a0 They got miraculous manna and they still died.\u00a0 But on the other hand, Christ, who is the bread of life, said repeatedly (as we noted) that one who partakes of Him does not die and He equated eating of the bread of life with believing in Him.\u00a0 And that is the one and only condition for eternal life\u2026 BELIEF!\n\nSo that gets us to round number two; we\u2019re setting up the battle here, right?\u00a0 One of the things I want to do before I go any further is I want to make certain that I just warn all those who are suffering with ophidiophobia, just raise your hand if you\u2019re suffering with ophidiophobia.\u00a0 Well excellent, I don\u2019t have to worry about this then.\u00a0 What is that? \u00a0That\u2019s an abnormal fear of snakes.\u00a0 So do I need to ask again, does anybody have\u2026 nobody is going to admit anyway, right.\n\nSo the reason I\u2019m doing this is because I am going to show some pictures of real snakes and so if you suffer with ophidiophobia I would just ask you to avert your eyes for a few slides and what I\u2019ll do is when we get beyond that I\u2019ll tell you when you can look back up again.\u00a0 And again, my jokes are just falling flat today\u2026 it\u2019s terrible.\n\nOkay, so let\u2019s look at this.\u00a0 Here we go.\u00a0 There were serpents in the region in which the children of Israel were traversing in the wilderness.\u00a0 They were naturally occurring and obviously when you have that many people,\u00a0 upwards of two million people traveling you know they encountered snakes from time to time.\u00a0 And so no doubt the encountered some of these species, these in fact are species found in that region, so they had the horned vipers there, they had puff adders, they had carpet vipers, they had cobras and they also had black snakes.\u00a0 Five different kinds of poisonous snakes!\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t that sound like a fun forty years, right?\u00a0 Can you imagine waking up in the middle of the night and having a snake in your bed.\u00a0 Well, maybe that didn\u2019t happen, I think I saw that actually on a Rifleman episode where a rattlesnake called up in his sleeping bag, so sorry, that was non-biblical.\n\nLet\u2019s talk a little bit here about what was going on.\u00a0 So there\u2019s no way of knowing, of course, which of these naturally occurring varieties of snakes might have been used of God.\u00a0 We really don\u2019t know; the passage doesn\u2019t say .\u00a0 But one of the things the passage does say, which is fascinating to me, is that these particular serpents were sent specifically by God.\u00a0 And why?\u00a0 He was sending them against the children of Israel to judge them regarding their griping and complaining.\u00a0 So God sent these serpents on a special mission.\u00a0 The text doesn\u2019t specify so we have to sort of speculate a little bit here but it may be that the children of Israel that these serpents were more aggressive and instead of responding like you would normally expect a snake to respond if it were surprised, by fleeing off, perhaps these serpents actually sought out and pursued the children of Israel.\u00a0 We really don\u2019t know.\u00a0 There was something different about them though.\n\nOne of the things that was different was they\u2019re referred to as fiery, and the term fiery most likely refers to the burning sensation from their bite and the venom.\u00a0 But there are those theologians who have suggested that these snakes could possibly have had some kind of reddish spots on them that when the people saw them, and you can imagine if you saw a snake suddenly coming your way, in your fear\u00a0 you\u2026 you know, fear has a way of sort of changing\u00a0 your perspective on things\u2026 yikes, there\u2019s\u2026 that snake has fire on it.\u00a0 Regardless, it doesn\u2019t really matter, this issue is that the snakes weren\u2019t just painful when the bit someone, they were fatal\u2026 they were fatal!\u00a0\u00a0 Let me just let that slide sit there for a second.\u00a0 This is a little comic from Jeff Larson and he put the complaining Jews were literally snake bit in Numbers 21:6.\u00a0 He goes on and says \u201cand the first Snake Handler Church of the Old Testament is inspired.\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s true or not but that was kind of a funny representation.\n\nLet\u2019s talk a little bit about discipline then and now.\u00a0\u00a0 Although the children of Israel were under the Law and although we\u2019re under grace, the Lord, who of course loves us, still disciplines us.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t He?\u00a0 Why does God do that?\u00a0 Why does God discipline us?\u00a0 Well why do you discipline your children (if you have children)?\u00a0 Because you love them, of course.\u00a0 Although they were under the Law and we\u2019re under grace the Lord disciplines us because he loves us.\u00a0 There are two reasons why believers go through the difficulties that they do.\u00a0 One is explicit discipline having to do with disobedience and the other is not walking with the Lord\u2026 let me try that again, the first one is explicit discipline having to do with disobedience and not walking with the Lord, and the second reason is the experience of normal trials that the Lord may allow in the life of the believer who is, in fact, walking in fellowship with Him.\u00a0 So the point we want to bring out here is that God has a purpose for both: He has a purpose for trials and difficulties.\u00a0 And I would suggest to you that trials and difficulties are gifted purposefully to the believer and that\u2019s when we come to Hebrews 12:4-11.\u00a0 And I just have some highlighted portions of this passage.\n\n[Hebrews 12:4-11, \u201cYou have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; [5] \u00a0and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, \u201cMy son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him<\/u>; [6] \u00a0For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines<\/u>, And He scourges every son whom He receives.\u201d [7] \u00a0It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons<\/u>; for what son is there whom his<\/em> father does not discipline? [8] But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. [9] \u00a0Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? [10] For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us<\/em> for our good, so that we may share His holiness<\/u>. [11] All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, <\/u>afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness<\/u>.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019ll notice it says, \u201c\u201cMy son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him<\/u>; [6] \u00a0For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines<\/u>\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Why does He do that?\u00a0 Because God is dealing with you as with sons; God loves you; He deals with you as sons.\u00a0 The latter part of that section says that [10b] \u201cHe disciplines us<\/em> for our good, so that we may share His holiness<\/u>.\u201d\u00a0 Notice what are we going to share, \u201cwe may share His holiness.\u201d [11]\u00a0 \u201cAll discipline for the moment seems not to be to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, <\/u>afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness<\/u>.\u201d\n\nSo God loves us, He disciplines us because He wants us to share His holiness; discipline isn\u2019t joyful but guess what?\u00a0 We\u2019re being trained by it and it yields a fruit which is \u201cthe peaceful fruit of righteousness<\/u>.\u201d\u00a0 How wonderful that is.\u00a0 So it\u2019s important for believers to recognize that the Lord disciplines believers who are not walking in fellowship with Him but also that the Lord will allow trials in the life of believers who are walking in fellowship with Him.\u00a0 And it\u2019s all about God\u2019s conforming us to the image of Christ.\n\nSo we should not be surprised when trials and difficulties come into our lives.\u00a0 Discipline, as we said, is primarily directed at getting us to return to a consistent walk in fellowship with Him and other believers.\u00a0 And trials are used by God in the lives of those who are walking in fellowship with Him to induce growth and maturity.\u00a0 God indeed has a purpose for those.\n\nThat brings us to round three, verse 7,\u00a0 so when we get here one of the things we can note is that there are perhaps a number of different ways that the children of Israel could have responded to the serpents as they were being bitten, and they could have come to a different conclusion.\u00a0 But alas, and thankfully they responded appropriately, didn\u2019t they?\u00a0 And they came to the correct conclusion.\u00a0 So what did they do when they saw and encountered these snakes?\u00a0 They went to Moses a second time but this time they were not complaining.\n\nNotice what they said there, \u201cWe have sinned<\/u>, because we have spoken against the Lord and you.<\/u>\u201d\u00a0 [Numbers 21:7]\u00a0 Very good, children of Israel, you\u2019re getting the picture.\u00a0 So what happens here?\u00a0 They went to ask Moses to intercede with God for them and it\u2019s as if they were saying at this point in time we\u2019re getting the point Moses, God is judging us.\u00a0 They realized that they had done wrong and they also realized who to talk to about it.\u00a0 You know, at this point in time their situation is pretty serious, there wasn\u2019t any time to just sit down and hold a council and say you know, just exactly why do you thing, these snakes are coming and attacking us; can we get a little congregational input here.\u00a0 No, no, no, no, they understood what was going on and they went to the right person.\u00a0 So that was round three, that was a quick one, wasn\u2019t it?\n\nLet\u2019s look at verses 8 and 9.\u00a0 So what happens?\u00a0 They do the right thing and here\u2019s the response.\u00a0 \u201cThe LORD said to Moses, make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.\u201d\u00a0 So here\u2019s God\u2019s response.\u00a0 So what happens here?\u00a0 Let\u2019s notice, three points to consider.\n\nFirst of all, God told<\/u> Moses to set up a serpent on a standard so that anyone who had been bitten by one of the serpents would live.\u00a0\u00a0 A \u201cstandard\u201d what is a standard?\u00a0 It\u2019s merely a poll and it sometimes comes with a crossed piece or a platform, and that\u2019s generally how you see it as depicted in that picture.\u00a0 Point number two, notice that (I like this) Moses did<\/u> exactly as God said. \u00a0\u00a0Is that important?\u00a0 Well, let\u2019s see\u2026 hmmm, let\u2019s think about what happened in our last session together.\n\nYou will recall that God gave Moses three things to do and he didn\u2019t do them, did he?\u00a0 Well this time I think Moses got the picture so the bronze serpent was put up where everyone, notice, who wanted to could look at it and be saved from death.\u00a0 And what was the result?\u00a0 That would be point number three, the result was that anyone who had been bitten, if they wanted to, if they looked at the bronze serpent they did in fact live.\u00a0 And it\u2019s just as simple as that.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that interesting. \u00a0They didn\u2019t have to go to the local pharmacy for antibiotics.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t have to hold a council to talk about well, you know, what does God really mean when He says look at the serpent on staff there, I mean, hmmm!\u00a0 No, very simple directions, all you have to do is follow the directions and you\u2019ll live.\u00a0 And as we mentioned in the last session, you recall there were four things and Moses and Aaron didn\u2019t get it right but thankfully Moses gets it right this time.\n\nNow we could ask this question: Why didn\u2019t the Lord remove the serpent?\u00a0 Think about this for a second.\u00a0 In looking at this passage here did you notice that the Lord did not directly answer their request.\u00a0 What was the request?\u00a0 Moses, ask the Lord to remove the serpent.\u00a0 Did God do that?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 That\u2019s very interesting, isn\u2019t it.\u00a0 Well why not?\u00a0 The children of Israel came to Moses\u2026 Moses, ask God to take this serpent away.\u00a0 But God didn\u2019t take them away.\u00a0 Instead, notice what happened\u2014He provided a solution for those who were bitten.\u00a0 So why didn\u2019t the Lord just remove the serpent?\u00a0 I mean, certainly the Lord could have done that.\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 Very simply, I mean, He sent them, He sent them on a special mission, He could have said the mission is over.\n\nBut that\u2019s not what He did and there were a couple of reasons for that.\u00a0 First of all, by having Moses place a serpent on a standard the children of Israel had to act in faith in God\u2019s provision.\u00a0 If the serpent just went away the surface problem would have been solved, wouldn\u2019t it?\u00a0 But the real problem was under the surface.\u00a0 God wanted the children of Israel to acknowledge His provision and exercise and act out in faith for that provision.\u00a0 That\u2019s a really important point!\n\nThe Bible says \u201cwithout faith it is\u201d likely that\u00a0 you can please God\u2026 right?\u00a0 NO!\u00a0 He says it\u2019s impossible to please God.\u00a0 [Hebrews 11:6, \u201cAnd without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.\u201d]\n\nSo I have something that I\u2019d like you to consider this morning\u2014could it be that in our cries for removal of trials and difficulties we\u2019re not always getting God\u2019s best?\u00a0 Could it be that God may, in fact, answer our prayers by directing us to walk out our trials and difficulties by faith hand in hand with Him.\u00a0 It\u2019s something to think about.\n\nSecondly, by having Moses place the serpent on a standard it becomes an illustration that points everyone to Christ as God\u2019s what? One and only provision for eternal life.\u00a0 That\u2019s a very important point.\u00a0 In John 3:14-16 in His discussion with Nicodemus Jesus used the example of the serpent in the wilderness and He applied it to Himself.\u00a0 Now one thing, a little side note here is that we should take away from that is the fact that Jesus believed the Old Testament.\u00a0 He believed that this event really occurred, it wasn\u2019t just a made-up story.\n\nIf you look at John 3:14-15, verse 14 says, \u201c\u201cAs Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; [15] so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.\u201d\u00a0 Praise God for that.\u00a0 We\u2019ve said previously that everything that occurs in the Old Testament occurred as an example and it\u2019s for our instruction.\u00a0 So once again we see Jesus using this passage and we can take great information and understanding from it if we apply it in our lives.\u00a0 As the serpent was lifted up so Christ was lifted up, wasn\u2019t He.\u00a0 As the children of Israel, who were bitten, were saved physically by looking in faith at God\u2019s provision guess what?\u00a0 In the same manner people who have been bitten by sin are saved spiritually by looking in faith to God\u2019s provision in Christ!\u00a0 Christ, who is the One who died for our sins, the One who was buried and the One who rose again so that we might live eternally.\u00a0 And notice that this is an important distinction.\u00a0 They looked at the serpent on the staff up there and what happened?\u00a0 They died, they lived but they ultimately died, didn\u2019t they?\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 They lived, they got over the poisonous bite but at some point in time they died.\u00a0 But those that accept Christ, those that believe in Christ, that looked to Him will live for all eternity.\n\nIn the same way that the children of Israel could have said no, I don\u2019t think so, looking at that snake, you know, that\u2019s just not what I signed up for.\u00a0 Well, similarly, unbelievers today often say things like this: No, Christ\u2019s death isn\u2019t really that\u2026 nah, it\u2019s not what I asked for, I\u2019m not signed up for that.\u00a0 Have you ever talked to somebody like that?\u00a0 In the same way that the children of Israel could have said no, that\u2019s just too easy, right, I mean, come on, give me some\u00adthing to do, I want something a little more involved, I want something that allows me to have a part in the process, you know\u2026 it\u2019s just too simple.\u00a0 Likewise, unbelievers can and do say believing in Christ, is that all I have to do?\u00a0 That\u2019s just too easy, it\u2019s too simple.\u00a0 You know, this is such a big issue that certain theologians have just written volume after volume telling us that no, it\u2019s not just believe, it\u2019s believe plus three, four, five, eight ten other things\u00a0 you\u2019ve got to add on to that.\n\nAnd of course,\u00a0 you know in this church that we teach that it is faith, it is trust and confidence in Christ ALONE that saves people.\u00a0 By the way, have you ever\u00a0 heard anybody say God can\u2019t save me because I\u2019m just too bad?\u00a0 Have you ever heard anybody say that?\u00a0 I have!\u00a0 Let me give you something you can say to somebody when they say that to you.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what you say to them, you tell them that when Jesus was on the cross there was next to Him a man that was dying along with Him and this man next to Him was a thief.\u00a0 Right, we all know that.\u00a0 But guess what, he wasn\u2019t just an ordinary thief; he was a thief among thieves.\u00a0 He was one of the worst.\u00a0 He was, in fact, the worst of the worst because only those who were really, really considered the worst criminals were crucified.\n\nSo here he is, he\u2019s next to Jesus, and during the course of the crucifixion he begins to come to faith; he begins to realize that Jesus is who He says He is.\u00a0 And what does he say to Jesus?\u00a0 He say, you know, Lord, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 And what is Jesus\u2019 response to him at that point in time.\u00a0 He says, \u201cToday you will be with Me in Paradise.\u201d\u00a0 What was the only condition that that thief on that cross had to fulfill to have a promise from Christ that he would be with Him in Paradise?\u00a0 He only had to believe in Him!\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that wonderful.\u00a0 It\u2019s the same for you and I today.\n\nSomething to consider\u2026 some of the children of Israel might have said that they didn\u2019t have a problem.\u00a0 You know, it\u2019s not really all that bad, I don\u2019t really have a problem, sure, I got bit and it hurt but you know, it\u2019s not really all that bad\u2026 until they died.\u00a0 Similarly there are unbelievers today who tell themselves that they don\u2019t have a sin problem, it isn\u2019t all that bad\u2026 until they die.\u00a0 And once you die it\u2019s too late, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Absolutely!\u00a0 Unbelievers often tell themselves that they\u2019re not as bad as some (you\u2019ve heard this) and not as good as some, and as long as God grades on a curve I\u2019ll be just fine.\u00a0 Have you ever had anybody say that?\u00a0 I\u2019ve actually heard that.\u00a0 You know, I\u2019m not that bad, I mean, I\u2019m not a Hitler, right?\u00a0 I\u2019m no saint but I\u2019m not a Hitler, as if that were the determining factor.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 We know God doesn\u2019t grade on a curve, does He?\u00a0 Unbelievers often tell themselves that they\u2019re not as bad as some and not as good as some but as long as God grades on a curve I\u2019ll be just fine.\u00a0 Unbelievers often say\u2026 what else do they say? I don\u2019t really believe in that God stuff!\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 Aahhh, you know, that might work for them for a while, right, but guess what?\u00a0 They\u2019re going to die someday and then they\u2019re going to find out, and again it\u2019s too late.\n\nAnd you know, this was such an important thing, look what Jesus said there in John 8:24, I have that down there at the bottom of the screen, Jesus is talking to the religious leaders of His day.\u00a0 If anybody had a way into heaven it was them, right.\u00a0 \u00a0At least in their mind that was true.\u00a0 And what does Jesus say to them?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.\u201d\u00a0 [John 8:24, \u201cTherefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.\u201d]\n\nYou know, I love the statement I heard somebody one time and I thought it was really great; you know, atheists don\u2019t believe in God but you know what?\u00a0 God believes in atheists.\u00a0 He does and they\u2019re going to believe in Him one day also. \u00a0Have you noticed how important where you\u2019re looking is?\u00a0 It\u2019s always about looking in the Bible.\u00a0 The person who looks at God\u2019s provision through Christ in faith, the Bible declares, will be saved eternally.\u00a0 John 6:40, look at what it says here.\u00a0 Jesus says, \u201cFor this is the will of My Father, that everyone<\/u> who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s your promise.\u00a0 The one who believes is the one who has looked to Christ for salvation and they\u2019re transformed into Christ\u2019s image. The one who has believed in the salvation continues to look to Christ and to be changed into His image.\u00a0 Those who have been looking in faith will one day see Him face to face.\u00a0 That\u2019s you and I, right?\n\n1 John 3:2 says what, \u201c\u2026We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.\u201d\u00a0 Is anybody excited about seeing Jesus.\u00a0 Yeah, got to get at least one Amen.\u00a0 Okay, there\u2019s one!\u00a0 Thank you !\u00a0 All right.\u00a0 Stop and think about what we just read there.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.\u201d\u00a0 Wow!\u00a0 You know, we\u2019re going to have a new glorified body.\u00a0 Everybody goes yeah!\u00a0 So the issue is first looking to believe to be saved and looking in<\/u> belief to be changed and transformed.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what God is doing in\u00a0 your life today as a believer.\u00a0 He\u2019s asking you to behold Christ to His Word so that you will be changed and transformed.\u00a0 It\u2019s an issue of spiritual maturity and growth.\n\nThat brings us to our conclusion.\u00a0 So there\u2019s a contrast in Numbers 21:4-9.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been talking about comparing the serpent on the standard with Christ and we\u2019ve noted that there are certain similarities but we\u2019ve also noticed that there\u2019s some very sharp contrasts and one that we didn\u2019t mention that I should not overlook is the fact that the bronze serpent did not love the children of Israel.\u00a0 Hmmmm!\u00a0 In contrast to that, what does God\u2019s Word tell us?\u00a0 John 3:16 tells us that God so\u201d what? \u201cloved the world that He\u201d what? \u201cgave\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Galatians 2:20 tells us that Christ what?\u00a0 \u201cLoved,\u201d and what did He do?\u00a0 He \u201cgave.\u201d\u00a0 And we see that repeated there in Ephesians 5:2 and verse 25 on the screen. God loved and He gave.\u00a0 [Ephesians 5:2, \u201cand walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.\u201d\u00a0 Ephesians 5:25, \u201cHusbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.\u201d] God loved and He gave.\u00a0 Jesus loved and He gave.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the reason we\u2019re here today.\u00a0 Praise the Lord for that; isn\u2019t that wonderful!\u00a0 Unlike the serpent Christ loved and gave and that is why in Hebrews 12:1-2 it says, listen to this, \u201c\u2026for the joy set before Him He endured the cross, despising the shame\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 [Hebrews 12:1-2, \u201cTherefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, \u00a0[2] \u201cfixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.\u201d]\n\nWhy would Christ do such a thing?\u00a0 Why would He take the sins of the world upon Himself?\u00a0 Why would He suffer the agony of the pre crucifixion trials and this treatment, why would He do such a thing?\u00a0 There\u2019s a very simple answer to that\u2014because the love of God compelled Christ to do that and because He was compelled in His love He gave.\u00a0 Christ loved and He loved those He died for, every single one.\u00a0 Have you stopped and thought about that lately?\u00a0 That Christ didn\u2019t just die for the world\u2026 He died for YOU!\u00a0\u00a0 That He loves YOU!\u00a0 That He gave Himself for YOU!\u00a0\u00a0 Sometimes we find it difficult serving the Lord, we get tied up with all kind of things that are going on in our lives, you know those trials and difficulties we mentioned, and we get our focus on those, don\u2019t we.\u00a0 And then we find ourselves operating out of confusion. We find ourselves operating, really in a cloud sometimes, don\u2019t we?\u00a0 And I\u2019m convinced that if we would stop, just for a moment we would say wait, wait, wait, wait, who am I in Christ?\u00a0 What did Christ do for me?\u00a0 I think that would just bring us right out of that, what I call that spiritual funk that we get into sometimes.\n\nSo you\u2019re loved today and guess what, you\u2019re loved whether you feel loved or not.\u00a0 You know, we all like to have the accolades, the warm fuzzies from other people, don\u2019t we.\u00a0 I like them, you like them but the most important thing is for us to walk out of this building this morning when we leave knowing that God loves us individually, personally and wants to have intimate relationship with us.\u00a0 So guess what?\u00a0 You\u2019re the recipient, right now, this very moment, whether you believe it or feel it or not it\u2019s the truth, God\u2019s Word says it.\u00a0 You\u2019re a recipient of God\u2019s continual ongoing eternal love.\u00a0 Do you appreciate that this morning?\u00a0\u00a0 Are you reflecting on that? I encourage you, during the course of this upcoming week to just maybe make that your meditation for the week, I\u2019m going to meditate on the love of God for me.\u00a0 Let\u2019s pray.\n\nAbba, Father, I thank\u00a0 You for providing ample information in Your written Word that demonstrates the contract and comparisons that we see between the Law and grace.\u00a0 I would pray this morning that you would help us NOT to be seduced, as were the Galatians, back under the Law, which Your Word clearly says is a ministration of death and of person.\u00a0 Thank You, Father, for loving us and giving us Jesus, Your only begotten Son.\u00a0\u00a0 You tell us in Your Word that when we were still dead in trespasses and sins, while we were yet sinners, Christ died.\u00a0 He loved and He gave Himself to be our Savior. Thank\u00a0 You, Father, also for providing us with everything that pertains to life and godliness as we behold Christ and we\u2019re therefore conformed and\u00a0 transforming into Your dear Son.\u00a0 Finally, Father, as we sit here this morning as we reflect on Your great love for us we groan and we yearn in our spirits, as with all creation, for Christ\u2019s soon return at the rapture.\u00a0 And so, Father, we say \u201ceven so, come Lord Jesus!\u201d\u00a0 And we pray and ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and everyone said\u2026 Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t