THE LIFTING UP OF CHRIST--PART 1--NUMBERS 21:4-9; JOHN 3:14,15

THE LIFTING UP OF CHRIST
PART 1

NUMBERS 21:4-9; JOHN 3:14,15

Introduction:

This message will be in two parts: the First dealing with the “Nature of Sin,” it's destructive and deadly nature.

The second part of the message will deal with the remedy provided for the problem of sin. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has paid the price with His life to redeem man from his sins.

Now consider…

I. THE NATURE OF SIN – DISTRUCTIVE AND DEADLY

A. The GUILT OF SIN is like the BITE of a serpent, Jeremiah 8:17, “For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.”

1. The POISON OF SIN permeates with just ONE BITE, James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

a. The CASE of Adam and Eve, Genesis 2:16-17, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17- But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

b. Man brought SIN into  the world by his disobedience, Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

c. Man brought DEATH by his sin, 1 Corinthians 15:21, “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.”

2. That ONE SIN poisons the whole system of man, Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

a. The sin of Solomon, 2 Kings 23:13, “And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.”

1) Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, the moon goddess of the Phoenicians, Judges 10:6, “And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.”

2) Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, the destroyer, subduer, or fish-god, the god of the Moabites, Jeremiah 48:7, “For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together.”

3) Milcom or Moloch, the abomination of the children of Ammon, this god became Chemosh among the Moabites.

2. The sin of mankind in general – a heart problem, Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

a. Man walks after the imagination of his evil heart, Jeremiah 16:12, “And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:”

b. GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great before the flood, Genesis 6:5, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

B. The POWER of the CORRUPTION OF SIN is like the POISON of a SNAKE that is SPREAD OUT:

1. First Satan is SUBTLE:

a. He is CRAFTY, SLY, WILY and TRICKY, 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14-And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”

b. He is SKILLFUL, 2 Thessalonians 2:9, “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,”

2. Then Satan is AGGRESSIVE, WITHOUT RESPECT for whom he attacks:

a. Judas Iscariot, Luke 22:2, “Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.”

a. Peter, Luke 22:30, “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:”

3. Then he is terrifying:

b. GREAT SIN is the RESULT of his INFLUENCE, 1 John 3:12, “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.”

c. GREAT PERIL RESULTS from his influence to DESTROY the EFFECT of the TRUTH, Matthew 13:19, “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.”

d. His influence brings man to the LOWEST LEVEL of DEPRAVITY, Psalm 9:15, “The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.”

4. Then his influence is destructive:

a. The SIN of ADULTERY is one example, Proverbs 6:32, “But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.”

b. The HYPOCRITE is another, Proverbs 11:9,“An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.”

CONCLUSION

In this message we have seen how Satan and his influence in our lives is so destructive. In the next message we will see how the Lord Jesus Christ has remedied the problem by His death on the Cross of Calvary.