Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Good morning.
[00:00:06] Good morning.
[00:00:08] I say it every week, but 8:15 is way nicer and smaller. And so they shout good morning.
[00:00:16] Good morning. 9:45.
[00:00:18] Good morning. You just won the game. It's officially next week. I'm going to tell them that they beat 8:15. So, hey, if I have not met you, my name is Michael Fueling, I'm the lead pastor here at the village church and I'm excited. Open up your Bibles with to the book of Numbers. And before we get into numbers 21, I want to take just a few minutes and I would love to increase our biblical literacy. Okay, so the Bible is filled with events that are true stories and they are real and they were important on their own. But God's people would end up finding out later on, sometimes centuries or millennia later, that these stories were actually designed by the mag, your author, to be foreshadows of something even more real and important that was going to happen in the future. So let me give you a couple examples. You have for example, the Passover event. So in the Passover event, there is an angel that would pass over the homes in Egypt whose door posts were covered with blood. But if they weren't covered with blood, then the firstborn child would die. And this would be an act of judgment for not taking God seriously and protecting your family. So that was a real historical event. But then we fast forward. Actually it was an event that was a foreshadow to Jesus Christ whose blood would protect us and cover us from God's judgment. And so a real event at Passover. But it was simply a foreshadowing to something even greater and bigger. The blood of Jesus that covers us from our sins. Or you have, in the Old Testament, you have the day of atonement. Once a year, a high priest would go into the holy of holies and they would bring blood and they would atone for the sins of the people of Israel. And that was real and it was important and it was necessary. And then centuries and millennia later, we find out that actually, even though it was real, it was a foreshadow to the great high priest. Pop quiz. His name is Jesus. Good. I'm telling you, village church, it'll be the Bible and Jesus every single week for the most part. Okay, 99% of the time. So it's a foreshadow to the ultimate high priest, the only great high priest whose name is Jesus, who offered the once for all forever sacrifice for sins on on the cross. And so we could go on and on. There are roughly ish 40 times in the New Testament where it identifies that Old Testament events were foreshadowing something happening in the New Testament. And those are explicit. But some scholars estimate that there are up to 300 implicit and explicit foreshadowing events and symbols in the Old Testament that find their culmination usually in Jesus and the Gospel. In and in the New Testament, you understand foreshadowing if you had an English class. But the Bible doesn't quite use the word foreshadowing. It uses actually a different set of words that are close. And so it uses these concepts they call substance and shadow. And so the foreshadowing event would be called the shadow, and the future event would be called the substance. So, for example, in Passover, this would be called the shadow, or we call it foreshadowing, but it would be called the shadow. And the substance, substance is going to be the blood of Christ. Now, the substance is casting the shadow on Passover. But what is Passover ultimately about Jesus? Again, guys, the answer's always gonna be Jesus. Good.
[00:03:47] So when an author uses foreshadowing or substance and shadow, here's what you know.
[00:03:56] It means that you know that that author put a lot of work into that manuscript.
[00:04:02] You may not know this. Some people think when you read, like, fiction books that are mesmerizing, that the author is just a genius and they started writing and the whole thing just evolved as they thought. That is not actually how the best literature is written. Typically, the best literature is written with the end in mind. They plot out the arc and the pattern of the story. The story is broken up into chapters. And then what happens is then they write and they fill in kind of all of the blanks in the chapters. But really, they know exactly where the story's going before they actually start filling in all of the details. This is how almost every single fiction novel is written. And so here's what you find when you look to the Bible and you look to God, the author of what we call history.
[00:04:47] Before creation began, God predestined or predetermined, all of the major chapters of human history.
[00:04:56] And here, let me just give you a handful of these chapters so you can kind of know what we're talking about. These are predestined chapters of human history, and it's number one, Adam and Eve, they had no. They were going to be created. They were going to be in a garden. It was going to unfold the way it did. We have the creation and preservation of the nation of Israel. We have the giving and the details of the Old Testament law, the preservation of the nation of Israel. I mean, goodness gracious, did the demonic realm want to destroy this nation? And whether they were in exile or in their land, God preserved his people all the way through the birth of Jesus, which was a predestined event. There's nothing that Satan could have done to stop the incarnation or the birth of Jesus. We have the death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus. We have the creation of the church, the second Coming, the final judgment, the new heavens and the new earth. And it doesn't matter what hell tries to throw at God. All of these things did and will happen. Absolutely. They are unchangeable. They are part of the arc of history that will happen one day. And when we are in one of the final chapters, waiting for the second Coming, the Judgment, and the new heavens and the new earth. And I cannot wait for this chapter to close and for the next one to begin. But let me kind of summarize all of this. God has a sovereign master plan for our world that is unfolding throughout history before our very own eyes.
[00:06:22] And when we look back at the quantity of foreshadowing, we realize something really encouraging. When the world feels chaotic, we realize that God has always known what he was doing every single step of the way. He has always had a plan. He is the master author of history. And no matter what evil is perpetrated on humanity within these chapters, these chapters will be completed and will fulfill all the purposes for which God has predestined them. Now we have some context in our mind with foreshadowing and the master plan of God and how God writes the story of not just scripture, but history. And so numbers, chapter 21, we're going to be in verse four. And so these six verses, they tell a true story. It's a real story. It happened. But by the time we get to the end of this message, you're going to realize, if not in the middle, that this story was actually about something far bigger. And so by the end, I want to show you what this is really about. Numbers, chapter 21, verse 4.
[00:07:29] From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea to go, and this is important, around the land of Edom. So Israel, they are on their way to the promised Land. And the most direct path to get to the promised land is through Edom. Now, would you say that Israel and Edom have a good relationship?
[00:07:49] Nope, it's pretty hostile. And so they try to negotiate. Let us just go right through, because you're going to save us 120, 20 or so miles if we have to go around you. And Edom is like, you're not coming through here. And if you even try to step in this ground, we will kill all of you now. So they have to now take a little detour 120 miles around. Edom, verse four goes on.
[00:08:12] And the people became impatient on the way.
[00:08:18] The Hebrew word for impatience, it's actually, I think it's a pretty interesting word. It refers to exhaustion of the soul.
[00:08:27] And I think it's actually pretty challenging to communicate the level of soul exhaustion that this promised land generation is experiencing.
[00:08:37] So their entire life has been hijacked by the sin of their parents. And they've been wandering and wandering and they are so stinking close.
[00:08:48] And they're counting on Moses and the leadership to negotiate with their extended family Edom just to go through. And they're unable to negotiate. And they are at their very wit's end. It's like you're so close you can taste it. And now you have to take a million plus people, travel by land through dangerous territory, sorry, by foot and go 120 miles out of the way. Now for fun, when you're tired and when you're soul exhausted, when you're emotional, tank isn't just empty, but it's like got cracks in it. So that anytime anything does fill it up, it all just leaks out, okay.
[00:09:25] And something irritating happens. It could be a question that you're just like, I'm done answering questions. It could be something that happens that is incredibly inconvenient. Maybe you're in a rush. You have to be somewhere and you drop something and it breaks and you have to clean it up, otherwise the dog or the cat are gonna step on it. You know what I mean? Like you're just at your absolute wit end. What is your go to sin of exasperation?
[00:09:48] Are you a yeller? By the way, don't tell anybody that. Just keep.
[00:09:53] Are you a complainer?
[00:09:56] Do you isolate? Do you criticize? Here's mine. Do you eat?
[00:10:03] We know.
[00:10:05] Verse 5, verse 5 tells us Israel's go to sin when they're exasperated and the people spoke and this is important, here's the word against God and against Moses. And here's their against him, them saying, why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water and we loathe this worthless food.
[00:10:37] Let me say explicitly what this narrative is describing for you.
[00:10:45] Israel's generational sin was an Oppositional, spiritual. It was an oppositional spirit against good leadership.
[00:10:54] When they didn't get what they wanted, or more usually, what they demanded, they went against.
[00:11:05] Now, I want to unpack this for you, because if you're newer to this, I need you to see it. And even if you're familiar with this, I want you to see the scope of this.
[00:11:13] There are two generations. The first generation is called the Wilderness Generation. They are all dead by numbers 21. And this is the generation that rebelled against God. Rebelled against God, rebelled against God. And God's like, you're not going into the Promised Land because all of you are rebellious and complainers. And so the Wilderness generation, they're dead. We're gonna call this the Promised Land generation because these are the sons and grandsons and grandchildren of the. Of the. Of the Wilderness generation, and they are now going to go inherit the promised land.
[00:11:43] But I want you to see the Wilderness generation, their parents and grandparents. I want you to see the sin pattern in their life. Now, I'm gonna read a lot of scripture, and I'm gonna read it fast, and you can absolutely keep up.
[00:11:56] And I want you to watch this with me, okay? Exodus 15:24. This is all the Wilderness generation. This is not the Promised Land generation, okay? And the people grumbled. What's that word?
[00:12:07] Against Moses saying, what shall we drink? Exodus 16. The Lord has heard your grumbling. What is it against him? Your grumbling is not against us, but against the Lord.
[00:12:19] Exodus 17.
[00:12:21] But the people thirsted there for water. And the people grumbled against Moses and said, why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst? Numbers chapter 11. And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes. And when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled. Numbers chapter 11, verse 20. You have rejected the Lord who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, why did we come out of Egypt? Numbers Chapter 12.
[00:12:47] Miriam and Aaron spoke, what?
[00:12:49] Against Moses because of the cushite woman. Numbers. Chapter 14. And the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, would that we had died in the land of Egypt, or that we had died in this wilderness. Numbers 14:27. How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. Number 16.
[00:13:14] They assembled themselves together. What's that word again? Against Moses and against Aaron. Numbers 16:41. But on the next day, all the congregation of the people grumbled against Moses. And Aaron saying, you have killed the people of the Lord. Ladies and gentlemen, the Wilderness Generation. Do you see why God killed all of them?
[00:13:37] Okay, does your parents sin?
[00:13:42] Need to be your destiny?
[00:13:45] Please, just give me a hearty no. Everybody, no.
[00:13:49] Unfortunately, most children don't just repeat the sin of their parents. They amplify them.
[00:13:58] Now I want to read to you the very first story told not about the Wilderness generation, but their children and grandchildren. The Promised Land Generation.
[00:14:08] And one verse, Numbers chapter 20, verse 2. This is from last week, says there was no water for the congregation and they assembled themselves together. What's that word?
[00:14:21] Against Moses and against Aaron.
[00:14:26] Now Back to Numbers 21, Verse 5. This is the second story that we are reading about the Promised Land generation. And it says the people spoke against God and against Moses.
[00:14:42] I need you to hear this.
[00:14:45] If God doesn't intervene in this Promised Land generation now, these people will become worse than their parents.
[00:14:58] Just.
[00:14:59] I'll show this to you on the screen. I want you to jump with me to one New Testament verse. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 5, says, My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him, for the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives.
[00:15:20] Sometimes the Lord disciplines you hard now to prevent the monster inside of you from coming to life later.
[00:15:31] Numbers chapter 21, verse 6, the Lord's discipline of the Promised Land generation.
[00:15:37] Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people so that many people of Israel died.
[00:15:49] Why fiery serpents?
[00:15:53] God here is making an unmistakable theological point that every single one of these Israelites certainly received.
[00:16:00] If you live by the way of the serpent, you will die by the way of the serpent.
[00:16:07] The word serpent, it doesn't really come up much in the Torah. So when it does come up, in these moments, they understand very clearly why the Lord has allowed this specific serpent to go after them. Now, there are moments as an adult child when you realize you have become your parents.
[00:16:32] Some of them are very funny.
[00:16:34] Some of them are very sad.
[00:16:37] And usually when you're in an argument with your wife or your kids or maybe even your grandkids, you find yourself just doing things and saying things that you're pretty ashamed of. And I want to come back to what we said earlier, Vilshirsch, does your parents sin need to be your destiny?
[00:16:53] It doesn't.
[00:16:55] In verse seven, something new, something unexpected happens. It's interesting because it's something that did not and has not happened at all with the wilderness Generation. And it's also something that has not happened yet with the Promised Land generation. So this is a brand new experience. If you're a reader of the Torah and you're going through everything, what happens in verse seven is brand new and it's beautiful. And finally, for once in Numbers, it goes positive. All right?
[00:17:25] And the people came to Moses and said, we have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you.
[00:17:39] Pray to the Lord that he take away the serpents from us. So Moses parade for the people.
[00:17:49] Something in this experience caused them to, as a generation, realize that they were not okay with the Lord, that they had objectively sinned against God, that they were guilty before God of the very sins that destroyed their lives as children that their parent committed.
[00:18:15] And there is one way to break generational sin patterns. And by the way, there's only one way to break any sin pattern, and it is through repentance. So what I want to do is I want to actually, I want to dig into this passage quite a bit here, and I want to show you this five things about genuinely repentant people.
[00:18:31] Number one, genuinely repentant people confess their own sin.
[00:18:39] They shine light on the dark places.
[00:18:43] Ugly things grow in the dark, and beautiful things grow in the light. And so they know this, and they don't just shine light on it. And I want you to catch this, because what truly, genuinely repentant people do is they are willing to name their sin with biblical vocabulary.
[00:19:01] Unrepentant people try to mute their sin by lessening the severity of the language.
[00:19:07] But sometimes we need to look at our sin and use the vocabulary that the Bible gives us and call it what it is.
[00:19:14] It's lying.
[00:19:16] It's vengeance.
[00:19:18] This was malice.
[00:19:20] And what happens when you use biblical words is it forces you to face the actual severity of what's going on in your sin habit and pattern. And so we find is that genuinely repentant people, they're willing to confess their sin, and they're willing to call it what God calls it. Number two, genuinely repentant people confess their own sin to whom they sinned against. I want you to notice, with Israel, who did they apologize to? First, they acknowledged that they first sinned against God, and then second, they sinned against Moses. Repentant people are quick to apologize. They recognize their sin, they give it a biblical name, they call it what God calls it, and then they move to immediately taking extreme ownership of the people that they have sinned against. Genuinely repentant people do not allow discipline to Jade them. This is important because when we sin, there are consequences. And sometimes God will discipline us in different ways. And genuinely repentant people say, I did the crime, I have to do the time, I did the thing. Now I have to take responsibility for the punishment that happens here. And so this is really important. People who are not genuinely repentant, when they get in trouble, they get upset at God or the people who are executing judgment, they say, how dare you? It's too harsh, it's too severe. And at some point a genuinely repentant person says, I take responsibility for what I did and I submit to whatever next steps need to happen. Genuinely repentant people, number four, they look only to God to forgive and ultimately save them.
[00:20:55] And so this generation of Israelites, they understood that BAAL had no power to heal them from these snakes. Molech, the child sacrifice God of the Canaanites, had no power to relieve them from the power of these venomous snakes. It was only ever Yahweh.
[00:21:13] Genuinely repentant people, number five, make the immediate changes required this generation's repentance. It's confirmed when they immediately confess and then they reaffirm Moses spiritual leadership in their life.
[00:21:30] When you're wrong, usually there are things, immediate next steps that you can take to make things right. And I just appreciate that this generation of Israelites, they did those things. Now, whenever you get caught or in trouble or exposed, you probably don't know the full scope of it. But what you are able to control and what you do know is if you are truly repentant, you take the next steps to make those things right.
[00:21:54] In verse 8, the Lord finally responds. The Lord said to Moses, make a fiery serpent, set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten when he sees it shall live.
[00:22:06] So Moses made a bronze serpent, he set it on a pole, and if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. Okay. Have you ever seen this logo before?
[00:22:19] Interesting. Pay attention to this. It's a snake on a pole. This is called the Star of Life. It is the international symbol for EMS emergency medical services. But do you know actually where this came from?
[00:22:33] It comes from the rod of Asclepius in 4th to 5th century BC.
[00:22:41] No apparently biblical connection to it whatsoever. Isn't that weird that the rod of Asclepius is almost identical to numbers? Chapter 21. This is a little inference, but take it for what it is. It's almost like the devil who is in charge of these demonic and pagan religions and mythology likes to take God's symbols and reassign them for other purposes. I don't know. Just a thought.
[00:23:03] Let me bring this image, numbers 21, together for you.
[00:23:07] The bronze serpent represented the original serpent, the devil, with all of his sin and all of his guilt. And this guilty serpent is put on a wood pole as a declaration that it has been judged, found guilty, given the death penalty and hung on a pole for all to see.
[00:23:32] And so when you looked at this judged and declared guilty serpent on a pole, you are making a declaration.
[00:23:40] You're making a declaration that you participated in this serpent's sin and that the venom of this serpent runs through your spiritual veins.
[00:23:53] You are making a declaration that you and that snake have something in common and whatever comes from that snake is death. And that death is now coursing through your what's striking to me about numbers 21 and the request they make. They make the request to Moses, can you ask the Lord to take these fiery serpents away from us? And God doesn't take them away from them. Actually, they have to. As long as they're in this land, they're going to have to coexist with these fiery snakes. God doesn't take away the snakes. He doesn't take away the annoyance, he doesn't take away the irritation. But he does provide healing when they are bitten by it so that when they get exposed to the venom of the snake that courses through their blood, that doesn't have to have the final word or final say, but healing. And Yahweh gets the final word over their life. Now for fun.
[00:24:42] Also, this is an interesting place because even in this location where they are wandering, there are still vipers and snakes that are poisonous in that land. In fact, most people think that. But almost for certain, this is the saw scaled viper and even one of their juvenile vipers, when it injects, you injects about 12 milligrams of venom, enough to kill two adults. And so it's interesting because even there, if you go to this land, they are still around. In fact, this particular species is responsible for the majority of snake bites and deaths in the world. Wow.
[00:25:20] I want to share with you as we close two. So what's I want to show you in these two. So what's how the New Testament takes this text and applies it. And I want to show you the ultimate thing that this story foreshadows.
[00:25:35] Here's the first so what?
[00:25:37] Do not test Jesus.
[00:25:41] First Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 9. Here's how the apostle Paul applies this to the Christian Church in Corinth.
[00:25:48] He says we must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents.
[00:25:59] And so what does it mean for a New Testament Christian to test Christ or to test Jesus? And I want to give you the most, I think, baseline application of this.
[00:26:13] It is when you fight against God, when you don't get your way.
[00:26:21] It is when he doesn't dance for you or perform for you or answer your prayer in the way that you demanded it. And in response you get angry with him and you say, how could you? If you loved me, you would. You shake your fist at him. I have expectations of you. Your job is to make me happy, healthy and wealthy. We don't say it, but it's what we feel.
[00:26:40] God does not want to be tested, demanded, manipulated or forced to do something.
[00:26:46] And so you bring your request to God and you trust his good, kind, sovereign heart. And there is this. You've heard me talk about this. And it's another opportunity to address this. You're going to hear some people saying, get angry at God, yell at God. When you're angry, God can take it. And God's not insecure. God absolutely can handle it. My just suggestion is I wouldn't do.
[00:27:10] Didn't go well for anyone in the Old Testament. And apparently once you start doing it, it becomes a habit and pattern. It doesn't seem to be a pressure release valve. It seems to be a justification for accusing your God of not being good. I just have not found it to be healthy for anybody or building confidence and trust in the good kind character of our God.
[00:27:30] Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians 10:10, and he says, nor don't put them to the test, nor grumble as some of them did. And they were destroyed by the destroyer. This is one of those verses that people just read over in the Old Testament especially, there seems to be an angel or group of angels who were called the destroyer or the destroyers. And so we go all the way back to the Passover where one of these or multiple of these angels, these destroyer angels, were sent to judge and take the life, as we said earlier, of the firstborn families whose houses weren't covered by blood. And it explicitly says this was the destroyer. Jewish tradition, as they look at the Korah's Rebellion, all the Jewish interpreters, for the most part, they say this was a destroying angel that came in and took the lives of the rebels at Korah's rebellion.
[00:28:24] I want you to see this because I think this is striking. Psalm 78:49 says that God let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation and distress.
[00:28:33] A company of destroying angels.
[00:28:37] And for fun you can debate in your community group at lunch today. Were these demonic angels, if you will, that God gave them leash and leeway to do his will? Or were these good angels who were doing good things because judgment is righteous and true? You can debate that all you want, but here's what we do know. There are destroying angels throughout the Old Testament. And I don't know about you, but I don't wanna face em. I'm just not interested like so I'm gonna really go out of my way. God, I'm not gonna test you by pushing back every time I don't like what you do. And I'm really gonna watch that I don't grumble against you and the good leaders you put into my life because apparently you don't like that either. And so I don't want serpents and I don't want the destroyers either way. God, I want to do whatever shows you and my children and the people around me that my God is God good. And I don't care what happens in this world. I trust him and I have the utmost confidence in his goodness and in his character. So grumblers, testers, proceed at your own risk. I encourage you not to do it.
[00:29:35] So at number two, you have to have the correct medication, medicine for your sickness.
[00:29:42] Okay. I know the vast majority of you are familiar with John 3:16. For God's loved the world that he gave his only son, et cetera. You know it, most people don't know is that the context for that verse is the fiery serpent.
[00:29:56] And so I want to read to you John 3:14, just two verses earlier. And I actually want to show you the context of this. John 3:14.
[00:30:06] As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of man must be lifted up.
[00:30:16] Wait a minute, you're telling me that this real true event happened, but the reason God did it that way, like God could have healed the Israelites in the wilderness there any way he wanted, but he did it this way because this was actually a foreshadow to something even bigger and greater and more powerful that was going to happen centuries later. As Moses lifted up the serpent of the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. That whoever believes in him sees him. They had to see this. Our job is to believe may have eternal life. And now we get to John 3:16.
[00:30:48] For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son who was put on a tree and judged as guilty, that whoever believes in him, looks to him, should not perish, but have eternal life.
[00:31:02] And the context here is that, listen, believers, Nicodemus, who he's talking to directly in John chapter three, you have the serpent's venom coursing through your spiritual veins. And there is only one antidote to this, and it is the blood of Jesus and his resurrection. And you need to look at him and you need to believe in him, that he is your God. In his resurrection and his death on the cross, there is no antidote except for looking to Jesus. The venom of the devil is in your blood. The sin is in your blood. It is killing you. It is destroyed, destroying you. You are dying spiritually. And the only way to reverse this is to come to Christ, to look to him and to believe in his life, death and resurrection, period. That is it. There's no other option. No guru can help you. Being good enough won't help you. Going to church won't even help you. The only way to reverse the effects of the devil's venom, sin in your veins is to look to Christ and experience transformation, forgiveness through him, period. That's it. What's striking is that the book of John doesn't actually stop here. This fiery serpent, this bronze snake on a pole, looking to it becomes actually a theme for salvation in the Book of John. I want to show you just two of these. John 6, 40.
[00:32:15] Jesus says, this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life. And he says, I will raise him up on the last day, not for judgment, but for salvation.
[00:32:28] Or John 12:32. And I, Jesus says, when I am lifted up from the earth, he is put on the pole of judgment.
[00:32:36] I will draw all people to myself.
[00:32:41] The prescription, the only way to get the venom of sin out of your blood and to experience healing is Christ. There is no other way. And so this is awesome news. The majority of you, it's church. You're here. It's Sunday morning. You're here because you have confessed and repented. You have believed that you were a sinner. You have called on the name of Jesus. He has healed you from the venom of sin. He is transforming your life not as fast as your spouse, your kids or parents want, but he, doggone it, is transforming you more and more into the image of Jesus. But there are some of you here who you thought when you walked into these doors that if you were good enough, you were going to go to heaven. That if you went to church, you were going to go to heaven. And I just have awesome news for you. You don't have to wonder if you're good enough. You need to look to Christ, his death and resurrection, and believe in him. And his desire is to give you forgiveness and full assurance that your salvation is real as you look to the only antidote for sin, which is the death and resurrection of Jesus. And so if you're here and you have never ever come to Christ, I have the absolute greatest news for you today, now, heck, next week, next year, if Jesus doesn't come back, if you don't die, you can anytime talk to him and say, I'm sorry, forgive me. Heal me of this venom in my spiritual veins. Heal me, help me, save me. I believe Jesus, that you died for my sins. I believe you're raised from the dead, you can call on him anytime, confess him as your God and your belief in him and you will be saved. If that is a decision that you make today, come talk to somebody, you know, somebody you came to church with one of us up front. I could not think of a better way to celebrate Sunday than to rejoice with you that today your sins are forgiven and to encourage you as you figure out how to take a next step and follow Jesus. Amen. Village church Amen. Let's pray together.
[00:34:43] Father, I want to thank you that there is a remedy. There is an anti venom. I am profoundly grateful. So many of us are here today because we have received your free gift, salvation and healing through the blood and the resurrection of Jesus. So Lord, we just love you and we are filled with gratitude. Lord, if there is anyone who is not trusted in you yet, that has not looked to Jesus, judged on the cross for us in our place, God, would you show them the beauty and the truth that he is their God and He is their only savior. Lord, would you draw more and more to faith in Christ? We pray all of this and we do this in the awesome name of Jesus. Amen. Amen.
