"I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure." My father in law I were talking the other day and he brought this funny saying about indecision. Every four years we are challenged to vote for president who, like all of us are not perfect. While voting for the president is important (as well as all the elected officials), it's most important to know that the Gospel of Jesus demands a decision. Jesus said in John 3:14-15, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." When Moses, lifed up the snake it was useless to those who didn't look. The same is true today, if you don't look to Jesus as the solution for your sins.
In Numbers 21:1-9, we see people who made a vow to the Lord and while the Lord was faithful, the people grew impatient with the long journey and spoke out against God and Moses. So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people and many were bitten and died. The people repented saying, "We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes." So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!”
So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!
And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.
John the Baptist tells his friends about Jesus, "Jesus testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands."
Here's the decision point, the choice you make:
John 3, Numbers 21
http://www.gotquestions.org/bronze-serpent.html
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| Photo from ntm.org (John 3:14-15, Numbers 21:8-9) |
- To the average person this would have sounded crazy, like a bad dream to move on and forget. Certainly not worth following through. However Moses had been walking witht the Lord for years and seen his power at work in the plagues of Egypt, in the provision of his people and what happens when he didn't follow the Lord's instructions. Moses experienced that God proves his trustworthy word in Israel’s exodus from Egypt
So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!
And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.
John the Baptist tells his friends about Jesus, "Jesus testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands."
Here's the decision point, the choice you make:
- Anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life.
- Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.
John 3, Numbers 21
http://www.gotquestions.org/bronze-serpent.html
