Jesus Christ, that bronze serpent

In this exhortation, the speaker explores the concept of faith and what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. They refer to the story of the bronze serpent in Numbers chapter 21, where looking at the serpent on a pole was the condition for being healed of poison. They draw parallels between this story and the idea of looking unto Jesus and following Him in the New Testament. The speaker emphasizes that faith is not just a superficial belief, but a wholehearted commitment to follow Jesus. They conclude that to believe in Christ is to follow Him obediently and faithfully. Welcome to our weekly exhortation. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for your time. My name is Gila Miwona, Servant of God, Servant of Jesus Christ. In our today's exhortation, we were wondering, if the bronze serpent represented Jesus Christ according to Numbers chapter 21, what does faith imply for us, Christians? The way of salvation is accessible only to the person who believes in God. It is written, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Our question is, what is to believe? What does this imply for each person who comes to Jesus? First of all, we must recognize that this statement is incomplete without explaining what to believe means. We will first look at the context in which John chapter 3 verse 16 is used. For this purpose, please let's read John chapter 3 verse 14 to 15. There it is written, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Hallelujah. I should point out that this word in John chapter 3 verse 14 to 15 refers to the book of Numbers chapter 21 verse 4 to 9. This passage is the key that will help us understand correctly what Jesus is referring to when He speaks of the word, believe, in John chapter 3 verse 18. In fact, in Numbers chapter 21 verse 4 to 9, we read that the Israelites had just left Egypt and found themselves in the middle of the desert. As you know, God provided them with food daily, but unfortunately, the Israelites began to complain about the food God was giving them. They were saying, We hate this food. We are tired of eating manna. Why did God bring us out of Egypt into the wilderness? Those are the questions they were asking themselves. You can find this in Numbers chapter 11 verse 5. So following the complaint of the Israelites, the judgment of God will come upon the nation. The judgment of God will come upon them. These judgments appear in the form of serpents. God sent fiery serpents among the people of Israel as they were dying from the poison of the serpents as a result of their talking bad about God. God asked Moses to make a bronze serpent which he will place on a pole so that whoever looks at this bronze serpent hanged on the pole will be saved. Praise the Lord. Friend, this is my question. How were people saved in Numbers chapter 21? How? Of course, it's by looking at the bronze serpent, isn't it? Now how can we be saved in John chapter 3? By believing in God, in the Lord Jesus, right? In fact, the Hebrew word for look found in the book of Numbers chapter 41 refers to a very attentive and watchful eyes. So the condition for being healed of the poison depended on how the sick person looked at the bronze serpent. The New Testament reports the same attitude for us believers today. The Greek word that points to this way of staring at something is found in Hebrew chapter 12 verse 2. Let's read it. There it is written, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. Hallelujah. Notice this word, looking into Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Fixing our eyes unto Jesus, that's what it means. So this verse is talking about to look unto Jesus, to set our eyes upon him. So we are not talking about a glance at Jesus, but a constant and full attention on the person of Christ. We can conclude from all these that God does not save us by a quick glance at Jesus, nor by a superficial belief in Jesus. The faith that saves us is a faith that appeals to our whole person, our heart, our soul, our will, and our thoughts. Praise the Lord. Friend, what we would like to say is that faith is not limited to accepting the reality of the incarnation and resurrection of Christ. Because, you see, the Christian is not alone in believing this. The devil also believes in it. Satan never denied that Jesus died for our sins and that God raised him from the dead. Satan certainly believes it. But, is he saved? Is Satan saved? Certainly not. And why not? Well, because he never wanted to follow Jesus. See, that's the point. Please take note of this word, to follow, to follow Jesus. Friend, faith is about following Jesus. Hallelujah. You know, to believe means to follow Jesus. By accepting Jesus as Savior, we commit ourselves to follow Him. Remember, to get out of slavery in Egypt, the entire Jewish nation had to follow Moses. The Hebrew people had to threaten Moses. Just as looking at the serpent that Moses lifted up in the desert saved the people who died of poison, anyone who walks in the footsteps of the Son of Man will also have eternal life. Praise the Lord. Now, you get the parallel. The saving faith in John chapter 3 is the faith that motivated you to believe in Jesus Christ and trust His word. Apostle John said this, The redeemed among men, you and I, are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Revelation chapter 14 verse 4. Let's understand this. To have faith is to be faithful to follow the Lamb of God in wholehearted obedience and consecration for Christ. Friend, as far as Christianity is concerned, it is not enough to believe strongly in God's saving word. One must bear witness to it. The disciple must follow his master. It is a commandment of God that cannot be ignored. You give the healing and grace our hearts always hunger for. Oh, our hearts always hunger for. We can conclude by saying that God does not save us by a quick glance at Jesus, not by a superficial belief in Jesus. God saves us when we devote all our attention to Him. There is no other acceptable attitude. If we want to be where Jesus is, we absolutely must follow Him. This is an unavoidable condition. Didn't Jesus say, take up your cross and follow me? Follow me, He says. Follow me. Hallelujah. Furthermore, when we read in Acts chapter 16 verse 31, there it is written, Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. We must understand the meaning of the word believe. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ implies an act of obedience, that of following Him where Jesus wants to lead Him. The disciple must follow his master. It is a commandment of God that cannot be ignored. To be healed, the Israelites fix their eyes on the bronze serpents. Likewise, the Christian who comes to Jesus must fix his gaze attentively on Jesus with all his heart and all his mind, all his soul. Hallelujah. He must follow Jesus wherever he goes. It is this faith that John chapter 3 verse 16 speaks of. You see, it is not as simple as that. Friend, to believe in Christ, to have faith, means to follow Jesus. Praise the Lord. We have come to the end of this message. I hope you enjoyed it. I will see you next week, hopefully. Shalom.