We often shout that the Lord provides but what happens when we don’t like what He provides? How do we cope with feeling stuck between pain and paradise? We start by renewing our gratitude for the One who gives us exactly what we need, even when we don’t think it’ll work. Remember that God created the cure of salvation from the curse of humanity — and that cure is Jesus Christ. Look to the hills from whence comes your help and let Jesus’ light illuminate your path.
[Music]
i will get in this word i’m excited
about this word go to numbers chapter 21
verse 1 through 9 and there you will
find the text that we’re going to
explore tonight
and the interesting subject that we’re
going to use to
uh
to really diagnose and analyze this text
when the canaanite king of arad who
lived in the negev heard that israel was
coming
it’s our customs stand for the reading
of the word let’s do it all together
amen thank you for respecting that
when the canaanite king of arad who
lived in the negev heard that israel was
coming along the road to atharium
he attacked the israelites and captured
some of them
then israel made this vow to the lord if
you will deliver these people into our
hands we will totally destroy their
cities
the lord listened to israel’s plea and
gave the canaanites over to them they
completely destroyed them and their
towns so the place was named
horma
they traveled from mount hor along the
route to the red sea to go around edom
but the people watch this closely but
the people grew impatient on the way
are you impatient on the way
they spoke against god and against moses
maybe it’s out of their frustration but
they spoke
against god and against moses and said
why have you brought us up out of egypt
to die in the wilderness
there is no bread
there is no water
and we detest
this
miserable
food
[Music]
do you hate what god’s given you
do you hate god what god’s given you
because it’s not what you had in mind
do you hate who god’s given you
[Music]
got a little quiet there yeah yeah yeah
sometimes we pray for things and then
when god provides it we don’t have an
appetite for what god has given us
we only have an appetite for what we
expected and what we had in mind and
they spoke against god and they spoke
against moses and they complained about
not having any water and they complained
about not having any bread and even
though what they had eaten was better
than the bread they wanted
because what they had eaten sustained
even their clothes
even their shoes didn’t wear out
what they had eaten was stronger than
the bread they wanted
sometimes i’m glad god didn’t answer my
prayer
if god would have gave me what i wanted
i wouldn’t have made it what i threw up
what i made it through but when god gave
me what he wanted me to have i had to
learn to like it oh y’all don’t hear
what i’m saying
you have to be willing to make changes
but these people weren’t willing to make
change then the lord sent venomous
snakes among them
they bit the people and many israelites
died
the people came to moses and said we
sinned when we spoke against the lord
and against you
pray that the lord will take the snakes
away from us
so moses prayed for the people
the lord said to moses make a snake
wait lord we’re trying to get rid of
snakes
that’s what we’re praying about we’re
trying to get rid of the snakes
we want you to drive the snakes away and
you want me to make a snake
why would you have me make a snake
when i’m trying to escape
snakes
ah
i’m confused the lord said to moses make
a snake and put it upon a pole
and anyone who is bitten
can look at it
and live
so moses made a bronze snake
and put it on a pole
then when anyone was bitten by a snake
and looked at the bronze snake
they lived wait
god didn’t get rid of the snakes
because they said when anyone else is
bitten they can look on the snake you
made
and i thought we was trying to get rid
of the snakes
i want to talk tonight the mysterious
ministry of snakes
[Music]
the mysterious
ministry of snakes i know this is going
to be tough
i know it’s going to be hard because i
know y’all don’t like snakes
yeah i know it you don’t want to hear
nothing about snakes but you’re going to
hear about snakes tonight
because that’s what god gave me anoint
this word lord overshadow it with your
spirit
move in a supernatural way
endow us and enable us with the grace
that enables us to receive everything
that you have for us
in the name of jesus christ our lord we
pray all the people of god said amen
said amen
and said amen again
you may be seated in the presence of god
well the children of israel are
leaving egypt and going into the
wilderness trying to make it to the
promised land
now the wilderness as you know is a
desert place and for the most part is a
very dry place
that was not habitable by many
and those that were in the wilderness
were nomadic
groups and troops of people who moved
here are there and control different
regions that they had to pass through
on their way to their destiny it’s
amazing who all you have to pass through
on your way to your destiny
yeah all the different kinds of people
that you have to deal with to get to
where god wants you to go but they’re on
their way and they’re on their journey
and in the process of being on the
journey it is not just the heat
by day
or the cold by night
or the lack of water or resources or
cities to draw from that makes the
wilderness such a difficult place to get
through
it is not even the external wilderness
that is the primary wilderness that i
want you to understand tonight the
wilderness that they walked through was
treacherous and dangerous and difficult
and not accommodating for that mass
amount of people with children and women
and men to make it safely through to the
other side now the promised land was
ready for them it flowed with milk and
honey the promised land was amazing they
could build houses there and live there
and reclaim their territory and the
promised land was what they had in mind
when they left egypt but in between the
promised land is always
the wilderness
that nebulous indescript place that has
no zip code for which you cannot explain
through gps systems exactly where you
are
that that somewhere in between places
most of us spend most of our lives
somewhere
between
places
we’re not where we used to be
but we’re not where we’re gonna be
we are somewhere
between places
and when we are in somewhere in between
places we have to deal
with the wilderness walk
how do i walk with god in a wilderness
how do i walk with god in a place of
uncertainty and a place of discomfort
and a place that is full of foreign
people that i have encountered for the
first time seeing as i have been
cocooned in egypt for 400 years i call
egypt a cocoon because they went into
egypt a family and they came out a
nation
that god put them in egypt to gestate
the promise that he gave abraham
that ultimately they would become a
great nation and they grew a great
nation under tribulation
because tribulation often though the
enemy means it for evil it often makes
you greater
and you come into an awareness and a
deeper understanding and multiply in
fact the bible says it clearly in exodus
the more they afflicted them the more
they grew
so the way to grow is to endure
affliction
if the enemy were wise he would never
afflict you because instead of it
killing you and it caused you to grow
it made you stronger it made you more
prayerful it made you pay attention it
made you come to church in the middle of
the week it made you long on this
broadcast in the middle of the week and
quiet all the kids and cut down the tv
and shut down the noise because you’re
going through something where you need
to hear from god because you’re in a
wilderness but the wilderness is not
just about dry land and cold nights and
about inclement weather and the
wilderness is not just about the dryness
and the lack of food and the lack of
comfort and the lack of being at home
the wilderness is also
the the uncertainty that lives inside of
us when we know we are not there
the uncertainty that lives in our own
mind when we are not sure do we have
what it takes
to get there
the uncertainty that lives in our mind
when we can’t really describe where
there is but we are groping after it
hoping that we might find it because we
have concluded that anything is better
than backwards
some of us have made up our mind we
don’t know what heaven looks like but we
know that we’re not there yet
we know that we have not seen jesus yet
and we don’t know exactly what he looks
like and we argue amongst ourselves
about what he looks like what color he
was how long his hair was how he would
handle what would jesus do and we argue
about what would jesus do and none of us
know exactly what we’re talking about
because the jesus i know is
unpredictable
the jesus i know is unpredictable the
jesus i know is a rule breaker the jesus
i know is not particularly religious the
jesus i know did not fit in with the
priests the jesus i know was not
welcomed in the synagogue the jesus i
know was not appreciated amongst the
pharisees or the sadducees that jesus i
know hung out with wine members that
jesus i know you don’t have theology for
the jesus i know forgave a woman caught
in the act of adultery the jesus i know
ate on the sabbath day the jesus i know
healed people against the rules that
jesus i know was radical oh my god i
wish that they would come back that we
would serve a radical jesus and not a
religious one not one that we’ve been
taught not one that we’ve been induced
to believe because you don’t know god
until you know him in jesus
are you hearing what i’m saying and so
they are somewhere in between where they
are going
and somewhere in between where they were
and they’re out in this nebulous place
of not really understanding who they are
because they themselves have been slaves
for 400 years
and anytime you have been slaves for 400
years 10 generations of slavery has
washed most of the religious religious
faith out of them the theology out of
them the torah out of them their
understanding of scripture has been
dismissed from them and they’re
struggling to understand who god is they
see his glory fall on mount sinai
and they’re trying to understand that
they are sons and not slaves
but under pressure
under pressure under pressure we have a
tendency to revolt back to what is
familiar even if what is familiar is not
what we like under pressure we’ll go
back to it under pressure we’ll date
somebody again that we knew didn’t work
the first time under
uh y’all not gonna get with me un under
pressure
under pressure we’ll go back to things
that didn’t work for us the under
pressure the alcoholic will start
drinking again under pressure the drug
addict could go back to drugs again
under pressure people have a tendency to
go back to the familiar just because we
don’t like the ambiguity of being in
between in that ubiquitous place of not
quite being there yet but not being here
yet and not fully understanding what it
means to be a son how do you teach a
to be a son
yeah and they’re they’re dealing with
this and while they’re dealing with the
internal conflict
of not fully embracing what it meant to
be a son of god he delivered them like
they were his sons he fought pharaoh
like they were his sons he drove back
the enemy like they were his son he
released plagues like they were his sons
they walked through the red sea on dry
ground like they were his sons they came
up and danced like they were god’s sons
and daughters they shouted like they
were god’s sons and daughters but how
many of you know that you can shout and
still go home and worry
you can shout and still go home and be
restless you can shout and still go home
and be depressed in the moment you can
be excited because you see what was
chasing you was destroyed but then when
all of that calms down you still aren’t
sure because you are not there yet the
real wilderness i’m trying to see trying
to get you to see is not just around you
it is also within you
so you can sit in an air-conditioned car
and still be in a wilderness you can
drive a mercedes and still be in a
wilderness you can have a full-time job
and still be in a wilderness you can get
married and have two kids and still be
in a wilderness you can have more
degrees in a thermometer and still be in
the wilderness as long as you wrestle in
your mind because you are not certain as
to where you are and who you are and
most of your life you’ve been a slave
and now you’re trying to be a son but
how does the son of god act when you
have not seen any any influence that
reminded you of a son of god for
400 years
such is the case and while they are
struggling with their own identity and
their circumstances around them and the
environment in which god has placed them
in to prepare them for better while they
are struggling with all of that here
comes the canaanites to attack them
along the way
i wouldn’t mind going to god’s school if
everything else would be quiet while i’m
being educated
i wouldn’t mind being in transition if i
didn’t have problems while i was in
transition i would mind being in
transition if people didn’t die while i
was in transition i wouldn’t mind being
in transition if i didn’t have to
experience grief while i’m in transition
i wouldn’t mind having transition if i
didn’t discover a lump in my breast
while i’m in transition the enemy has a
way of catching you off guard catching
you not quite there yet catching you in
between places and attack you and he
attacked them before they got there and
let me tell you right now that the enemy
will not wait till you get there and you
get comfortable and you get your bags
unpacked and you become etched into the
fiber of a community called there the
enemy will attack you while you’re on
your way and everybody in here knows it
whether they admit it or not while you
are still trying to get yourself
together the enemy will attack you and
try to destroy you and knock you out and
if your faith is not strong in god you
will not be able to withstand the wows
of the
enemy and the bible said the bible the
bible said the bible said that they
became weary along the way
and i’m wondering tonight if there’s
anybody in the room or anybody online or
anybody that will watch this that is
weary along the way how long lord before
we get there
taking your children on vacation loading
up the car putting all the suitcases in
the trunk and a little bit of food in
the back and all they ask you is are we
there yet are we there yet are we there
how much longer do we have to go how
much longer do we have to go and like a
child sometimes i get down on my knees
and i must confess i myself have asked
god how long before
i get there this is taking longer than i
expected i thought i’d be married by now
i thought i’d have my house by now i
thought my business would be up by now i
thought i would have recorded by now i
thought i would have written my book by
now i thought i would have been
established by now but here i am in this
nebulous place called wilderness
internally and externally and now i got
to fight
while i’m worried
[Applause]
i don’t mind having to fight but i don’t
want to have to fight while i’m worried
i don’t want to fight while i’m trying
to balance on the beam of uncertainty i
don’t want to have to fight and
certainly not the canaanites and the
canaanites got in and killed some of
them
and the israelites were angry
and they said to god if you give us this
nation we will utterly destroy them
and he did
and he did
and they were still not there yet
have you ever got the victory
[Music]
only to remember that you’re still not
there yet
have you ever fought off whoever you had
to fight off or survive whatever you had
to survive and only not you couldn’t
even enjoy the victory because you still
had to wake up to the reality i’m still
not there yet i got you straight i gave
you a piece of my mind i put you in your
place i got you together but i still go
home to deal with the uncertainty of
having not arrived at the place that i
had in mind when i started to walk such
is the text
before us tonight
and the bible said that they
they railed against moses and they rail
against god because whenever we are
disappointed we look for somebody to
blame and it is always easier to blame
somebody else and to blame us
when you write the books that you read
you will always be the hero
nobody writes a book about themselves
and writes in that they were the victim
nobody comes in and lays down on the
couch and say i was wrong they will
always blame somebody else because we
always want to push away from us a
responsibility for being where we are so
they blame moses why
did you leave us in egypt
why did you bring us out here to die
there is no
food out here
there is no food out here what were you
thinking about to bring all these people
out here and now we have to walk by
faith and not by sight and our
provisions are gone and all we have is
this invisible god
who will not show his face to us if he
would show his face to me maybe i
wouldn’t feel like this but they are
frustrated
they say there’s no food and there’s no
water and we loathe this bread this
manna
this stuff that falls from heaven is
tasteless
it does not taste good where god has me
i want to talk to somebody tonight that
where god has you doesn’t taste good
it’s not that god didn’t sustain you but
it doesn’t
taste good it’s not that you’re not
making it but it doesn’t taste good it
doesn’t appeal to your appetite it is
not what you had in mind it hadn’t it’s
not the life you would have fixed for
yourself and yes you are still here but
it does not
taste good
manna they said what is it what is this
that god has given me it’s keeping me
but it’s not satisfying me
to be kept by jesus that’s what my
grandmother used to say oh to be kept by
him oh sometimes being kept doesn’t
taste good
the mana wouldn’t even let their shoes
wear out but it didn’t taste good
they
they had on the same clothes they had
when they left egypt not a thread was
worn on their garments but it didn’t
taste good we’ve got to learn how to be
grateful beyond how things taste
yeah
we got to be grateful based on results
this is working for me type on the line
this is working for me
yeah i don’t know whether you like it or
not but it’s working for me i don’t know
whether you like me or not but i don’t
care it’s working for me i don’t know
whether you like what i got on or not
but i don’t care it’s working for me you
got to get to a perspective of does it
work for you and if it’s working for you
you got to tell your taste buds shut up
this may not be what i planned on but if
this is what god wants me to have lord i
thank you that it’s working for me i
thank you that i made it this far and
it’s working for me i thank you that you
sustained me and it’s working for me
it’s not what i wanted but it is working
for me to god be the glory and if you
can’t say that come on and let me take
you to the aids ward and the cancer ward
and the homeless places that show you
some real suffering because sometimes
you don’t have gratitude cause you got
too much
if you get down low enough you’ll learn
how to be grateful for little stuff but
in the absence of an example of worse
you won’t appreciate better because it
ain’t best
[Applause]
you didn’t hear what i said that was so
good
in the absence of something worse you
won’t appreciate something better
because you’re holding out for best and
when you get the best you’re going to
praise god but god is raising up a
generation of people that will praise
him for better they haven’t got the best
yet but they’re thinking right where
they are are you one of those people
that can be right in the middle of the
wilderness not exactly sure how to be
his son but you’re gonna stand right
here in your little tent and give god
the praise
the strange praise
of a nebulous place
the strange praise that comes from being
in between
the strange place of honoring god in
neutral i’m not in reverse and i’m not
in drive but i’m gonna put it in neutral
and still give you the praise i don’t
know how long i’ll have to be a neutral
but i’m gonna give you the glory right
where i am i will not be unthankful
because i have not arrived i will be
thankful right where i am see most times
our faith is always in front of us or
behind us look what the lord did or look
what the lord is going to do but nobody
is looking at what god is doing right
now did you know that god is doing
something in your life right now at this
present moment right at this time of
nothingness and blandness at this time
of incompleteness at the time that
you’re murmuring and complaining and
talking about the indecisiveness of the
world around you did you not know that
god is present right now
[Applause]
they failed to acknowledge god because
they were uncomfortable
they failed to acknowledge god because
they didn’t like the food
ain’t that pitiful
i don’t like the food
i don’t like the food so i want to go
back to being a slave
isn’t that a little stupid
i don’t know about you but i could eat
just about anything rather than to go
back to being a slave
yeah yeah yeah i could make do i could
make do i don’t like radishes but i
could eat them if i had to eat them yeah
yeah i don’t like radish i just don’t
like it i don’t like it i know what it
is but i can eat it
before i go back to being a slave
i i i mean i like being single but i can
live single before i go back to being a
slave i may not like the circumstance
that i’m in right now but i can put up
with it lord because when i think about
where you brought me from
at least this is better than that and i
thank you for this while i’m waiting on
the other
oh god i feel like i’m preaching already
and i haven’t even really got to my text
yet but i feel something going on in
this place
and they murmured against god
and they murmured against moses
and the bible says
that the lord sent circuits
it doesn’t say the devil sent them
it doesn’t say the witches said them
it doesn’t say some evil enemy release
them
instead it says that the lord
sent serpents
we never preach about the lord sending
serpents
because people don’t like to talk about
serpents they don’t like to look at
serpents and they don’t like to realize
the fact that sometimes god sends
trouble
sometimes god sends things to sting you
sometimes god sends sting to sense
things to wake you up sometimes god
sends things uh to to to chastise you
sometimes god says see and it’s not just
that the serpents came the bible is
clear the lord sent them
how do we explain in our theology
a snake sending god
i can do good with a man ascending god i
can do good with water coming out of a
rock but how do i explain a god
who works through the mysterious
methodology
of sinning snakes
and i i looked at it and i was amazed
and they said to moses
they said to moses we have sinned
against god i guess they did confess
because when you get bit bad enough
you’ll
confess have you ever had to deal with a
liar and they kept a lie going but if
you got them trapped deep enough they
would come out with the truth i’m amazed
that the people that are lie to you like
you’re stupid and you have to act like
you don’t know and all the while you
know that they’re lying to you all the
while liars just lying all the way and
all of a sudden they had to come clean
because when you get big bad enough
[Applause]
you come in and talk about well i wasn’t
going to tell you but we
you know you know i mean somebody knows
what i’m talking about i i wasn’t going
to bring this up but but but something
happened the other night there is a
snake bite that will make you tell the
truth there is a snake bite that’ll make
you come clean there is a snake bite
that’ll make you go to somebody you were
talking about and say i’ve been talking
about you and i’m sorry they weren’t
coming if they hadn’t been bitten but
there is a way that you can be bitten in
such a way that it’ll humble you down
and make you say
i i talked about you and i was wrong
yeah and the lord will get the truth out
of you if it has to send a snake bite
oh yeah be sure and type that the lord
will get the truth out of you if you
have to sit a snake bite
the lord will bring you to a place of
humility if he has to send a snake bite
the lord knows exactly what it takes to
bring you to your knees to make you
submit to make you humble to make you
cough up the truth to get you past your
pride and your arrogance and bring you
to a place of submission and yes the
bible said the lord sent serpents he
sent snakes
and and
and and it bit them and some died and
they came to moses under duress
they didn’t come to moses out of
conviction
they came to moses read the text they
came to moses out of duress
if there if there were no snakes here
they wouldn’t have done it
the people came to moses and said we
have sinned when we spoke against the
lord and against you
duh
we have did you know it’s a sin
to speak against god and who he sent
that’s why i have peace when you know
that god sent you you don’t have to
fight for yourself
because when you speak against somebody
that god sent you’re speaking against
god also it’s not that moses was so much
but god was using him and if god saw fit
to use him don’t speak against who god
chooses to use
so they said we have sin
against god and we have sinned against
you pray
that the lord will take the snakes away
from us pray
pray you have a relationship with god
that we don’t have we can talk to you
but we can’t talk to him we can talk
about him but we can’t talk to him and
so we have to come to you and ask you as
a mediator to pray for us
to pray that the lord will take the
snakes away from us
so moses prayed for the people wait a
minute to every leader you have to be
big enough to pray for people who hurt
you
you don’t have to graduate from yale you
don’t have to graduate from prison god
bless you if you did
but you do have to be big enough
to pray for people
who hurt you
job prayed for his friends that’s how he
got healed
moses is here praying for people who a
breath ago were talking about him like
he had a tail
but moses had the composite of
personality that made it possible for
him to be adaptable enough that he was
not
that he
no longer had a tendency to hold grudges
i want to ask tonight are you a person
who holds grudges
because that might be what’s holding you
up in the wilderness
you might be stuck in the wilderness
because you lack the dexterity and the
flexibility to end the adaptability to
be able to transition quick enough to
get over what you heard they said and be
able to function in the position you
have been given in spite of the feelings
you have been having
oh if you would eat that if you would
eat that i’m preaching it but you that
doesn’t mean you’re going to eat it but
if you would eat that that would save
marriages if you would eat that that
would save homes if you would eat that
that would save churches if you would
eat that that would save relationships
if you would eat that you could sleep
good tonight if you would eat that you
would have peace but we have a tendency
to hold a grudge so that we thought i’m
praying for you
you brought this on yourself you’re sure
to shut your
mouth you got this coming i bet you
won’t say nothing else
but moses does not use this as an
opportunity to seek revenge
he goes to god and he prays
and he prays for them
and he prays for people who heard him
and the lord said
and the lord said to moses
make a
snake that’s that’s create a godly
puzzle
because it is almost like god is deaf
because we are talking to you lord to
get rid of snakes
and at a time that we want the snakes to
go away
you have asked moses
to make one
whenever god asks you to do something
that doesn’t seem to make sense
that contradicts
the crisis that you’re in
there is something that he wants you to
learn
along the way
how can moses
make a snake
he is not a creator
and yet the one who could make a snake
has has moses
to make a snake
now god can make a steak
but moses is now being asked to make a
snake and the only way moses could make
a snake
was to make it out of brass
and the only way to make a snake out of
brass
was to melt it down
and beat it into shape
and as moses began to beat the brass
into the form of a snake
he does not know it yet he may even die
without knowing knowing it but every
time he beat the brass it was a picture
of what the father did the son
he was wounded for our transgressions
he was bruised for our iniquities the
chastisement of our peace was upon him
and with his stripes we’re here pipe it
on the line make a snake make a snake
make a snake make a snake mix neck moses
had to make a snake
and he couldn’t make a real one so he
made a brass one and brass is symbolic
of judgment
and when he started beating the brass it
is the execution of judgment on the
brass that turned into the form of a
snake
and put it up on a pole
he told him
he put it up on a pole
and when he put it on a pole
he said then when anyone
was bitten by a snake
they can look at the bronze snake
[Music]
and lil y’all didn’t get it
god said i’m not going to remove the
snakes
[Music]
i’m not going to remove the snakes
i’m just going to give the antidote
in the midst of the snakes
so that if anyone gets bitten
there is an escape from the poison
all they have to do
is look at
what bit them
y’all don’t hear what i’m saying
it seems like to me that it had to make
it make a lamb or or or make something
make an eagle make something that eats
snakes or make a hulk something that
would eat a snake no no no no no no he
said it’s gonna take a snake
for a snake
and he said make a snake and put it on a
stick and lift it up high
[Applause]
lift it up so high they have to look up
at it
and every person who looks up at it
shall live
oh god
have mercy
i’m not going to take you out of the
environment of snakes
but i’m going to give you power over
their bite
[Applause]
i’m gonna leave you in the world i’m
gonna leave you in the presence of enemy
i’m gonna leave you in the presence of
darkness but behold i give you power
and you will tread on serpents
you will walk on the thing that was
trying to walk on you
i’m going to leave you right here in the
presence of it you asked me to take away
the snakes and i told you no
i’m gonna have you make a snake
for a snake
and this texas seldom explored it’s
seldom talked about
but in reality this is a very important
text and when i read it so now i’m just
talking when i read it
i was really
amazed because
it made me think of a of a cartous
kind of
is a
emblem that is used amongst doctors for
medicine
you know the one with with the pole and
the snake wrapped around it
and i thought to myself
wonder if that’s where it came from
and so i started doing some research in
reality i found out there there are two
versions of the symbol and i’ve i found
out that a codocious is really
really a staff that was carried
by an olympian god
called hermes
so then that got me curious to find out
was hermes was this theology amongst
pagans living at the time of moses and i
found
that it was prevalent 1500 years
before moses
can i go on
it it’s it’s greek mythology that’s what
the doctor’s
emblem is it’s it’s a part of hermes
greek theology he was a messenger
between gods and humans
which explains the wings
and a guide to the underworld which
explains the staff
are you following
hermes was huge yeah hermes was used
also the patron of travelers which makes
his connection to medicine appropriate
because
doctors had to travel great distances by
foot in order to visit their patients
coliseus
so this emblem represented the traveling
of medicine from house to house making
house calls has nothing to do with the
text at all
and when i began to study it in one
version herme hermes was a myth he is
given he’s given the staff by apollo the
god of healing
and so down through tradition it became
an emblem
in another version he receives the staff
from zeus the king of the gods greek
mythology and it is entwined
with two white ribbons
later the story goes that the ribbons
were replaced by serpents
and that as the serpents climbed up the
pole
instead of fighting at the top
they found balance
and that became the emblem
and i thought wow
so here we are
with something completely unrelated to
medicine let me show you why i wanted it
to be related to medicine because often
the cure is made from the cause
y’all don’t hear what i’m saying
often the cure in medicine is made from
the cause
the antidote is made from the venom
if you get snakebite there’s an antidote
for it but it is made
from the venom
and though that’s that that codocious
did not start with the scripture the
principle of coliseus is applicable in
the text because they’re trying to get
away from something and god said make
one
let me show you something let me show it
to you somewhere else maybe you’ll see
it better from here he told elijah
elijah said i’m in a drought and a
famine and i’m in a seabed where there
is no water and god says to him dig
ditches in your valley
i told you there ain’t no water
in the valley i got
and you’re telling me to dig a ditch in
a ditch
because when i do decide to make it rain
i’m gonna make it rain beyond the
parameters of what you have in place
y’all don’t hear what i’m saying to you
y’all don’t hear what i’m saying
see see see see this this this this
this text
jesus was born about 4 a.d
moses lived in about
1628 bc
moses died 40 years later
so moses did not get his influence from
coliseus he got his
influence
from god
god told him
make a snake
put it on a pole
and raise it up
and moses didn’t know
that when he lifted up the pole
he was lifting up jesus
how to reach the masses
men of every birth
for an answer
jesus gave the key
he said if i
if i be lifted up
from the earth i’ll draw
all men unto me
lift him up
lift him up
till he speaks from eternity
he said if i
if i be lifted up
from the earth
i’ll draw me
unto me
[Music]
watch this
john 3 14 15
just as moses lifted up the snake in the
wilderness
so shall the son of man
[Applause]
be lifted up
so moses is in the old testament
casting a shadow
of the cross
[Applause]
[Laughter]
and the cure is made from the bite
we talk a lot about jesus being the lamb
and he is
but when we call him the lamb we’re
talking about the payment
when it said even as moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness it’s talking
about the penalty
we talk so much about the payment we
don’t talk about the penalty
you must understand the difference
between the payment which is the lamb of
god and the penalty which was he became
sin who knew no sin
that we might be the righteousness of
god
if he became sin who knew no sin
how did sin get here in the first place
oh
it came from the snake
sin came from the snake
so if he was lifted up as a lamb
y’all ain’t ready for me
if he was lifted up as a lamb it
wouldn’t cure what i was bitten by
even as moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness so shall the son of man
be lifted up he became sin who knew no
sin
it wasn’t that he committed sin he
became sin it wasn’t that he was an
adulterer he became adultery it wasn’t
that he was a murderer he became murder
he became sin
who knew no sin at this bible class come
on let’s go so so when he’s on the cross
he says eli eli
lama sabotage my god
my god why has i forsaken me
it’s because he’s become sin
so when the father looks down at the
stick
he doesn’t see the sun he sees the
serpent
[Applause]
he was wounded
for our transgressions
[Music]
y’all don’t hear what i’m saying
he he was bruised for our iniquities
why have you forsaken me because he is
not lifted up just as the lamb he is
lifted up as the serpent watch this you
need to understand this if you don’t
understand this you’re going to miss
something that god wants you to have
that jesus epitomized everything that
was contrary to god on the cross and god
executed judgment that should have went
to you
on him
so that you might be able to look on him
and live
talk to me somebody
[Applause]
talk to me somebody
talk to me somebody
type on the line he did it for me
he did it for me
he did it for me
cause i’ve been bitten he did it for me
cause i was swelling he did it for me
cause i had a fever he did it for me
because i was a mess he did it for me
because i was born in sin and shaping
and iniquity he did it for me because i
couldn’t cure myself he did it for me
because i couldn’t help myself he did it
for me because i grew up in the middle
of a generational curse he did it for me
and i can’t help it that my brother
didn’t look up or my sister didn’t look
or my auntie didn’t look up i looked up
and when i looked up and saw him i got
the healing the snakes are still there
but i got the healing people are dying
all around me but i got the healing
people are getting worse instead of
better but i got the healing come on
talk to me somebody i got the healing
not because of how strong i was but
because of where i looked to for help
talk to me
if you’re glad about it give him 30
seconds of praise
can i go deeper with this thing
let me go a little bit deeper with this
thing something’s about to happen i feel
glory coming in the room i feel glory
and i feel the spirit of revelation and
knowledge in him coming in the room i
feel healing coming in the room i feel
hell being frustrated in the room
because moses made a snake
somebody write down make a snake he made
a snake he made a snake the snakes are
slithering across the ground and god
says make a snake he made a snake but
the snake was beaten
the snake was beaten out of brass it was
beaten it was wrapped around and twisted
it borne our griefs and carried our
sorrows and wrapped around a stick jesus
was carrying the cross up golgotha’s
hill and it was as long as he was
carrying it nobody was redeemed but if
if he was lifted up he said i’ll draw
men unto me y’all don’t hear what i’m
saying come on come on come on let’s
let’s get in this word let’s get in this
word let’s get in this word let’s let
this word get into us you need this word
because the devil has the audacity to
tell you you’re not going to make it the
devil has the audacity to tell you i bet
you and you gonna die i bet your
grandmama i your mama and now i
bet you the devil is alive you might
have got them but you didn’t get me
because i looked up
and when i looked up i got delivered and
i got set free if there’s one person in
the room that’s been delivered i want
you to give god a praise right now just
to pray
[Applause]
[Music]
so what we have
what we have
is the light of god’s glory
shining
on the cross
and when the light hits the cross
it casts a shadow
[Applause]
on moses
watch this
and so when they started prophesying
about the cross
they draw a parallel between the cross
and moses and the serpents
because moses lifting up the serpent in
the wilderness is a type
of christ being lifted up and becoming
sin for us on the cross and look at how
similar the images are
y’all don’t hear what i’m saying
the images are similar and both of them
had to be lifted up
and both of them had to be looked to in
order to be redeemed do you hear what
i’m saying to you and and god set up the
situation
that put moses in a predicament that he
would have to present the cure
which was a cross
and when he lifted it up
it is god
teaching in the old testament what he
what he reveals in the new testament it
was concealed in the old testament it
was revealed in the new testament so
what you see in a shadow which is just a
tight in the old testament now becomes a
reality in the new testament somebody
take three minutes and just give god
glory
come on
come on
come on you’re gonna get there come on
you’re gonna get there
come on you’re gonna get there come on
you’re gonna get there
come on you’re gonna get there
come on you’re gonna get there
[Music]
[Applause]
as much stuff as you did you cannot
afford to sit there with your lips glued
together
and act like you don’t oh god of praise
i’m talking about your sin your mess
your disgrace your embarrassment and you
can’t sit there and give him a cute
little
praise like you don’t know what i’m
talking about because he was lifted up
for your transgression he was bruised
for your iniquities he did it for you
because there was no cure for what was
wrong for you but jesus took your place
[Applause]
[Music]
let’s go a little deeper let’s go a
little deeper come on i got to hear it
yeah i got about 15 minutes come on
let’s go let’s go to galatians chapter 3
verse 11 verse 14.
clearly no one who relies on the law is
justified before god because the
righteousness will will live
because the righteous will live by faith
so the law couldn’t do it the law is not
based on faith on the contrary it says
the person who does these things will
live by them come on
watch this close christ redeemed us
from the curse of the law
by becoming
a
curse for us oh wait a minute
oh wait a minute
he redeemed us from the curse of the law
by becoming
a curse for us
wait a minute he
he he redeemed us by becoming
what was against us
[Music]
moses healed them from the snakebite by
lifting up a snake
christ redeemed us from the curse of the
law by becoming a curse for us for it is
written
cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole
that’s why the bible says that they beat
him on the whipping post and josephus a
historian says that they beat him so
badly he should have died on the
whipping post but if he died on the
whipping post it would not have redeemed
us so he fought death off on the
whipping post and said no man takes my
life i lay it down and if i lay it down
i’ll pick it back up again
and they nailed him to the tree
and lifted it up because he had to be
lifted up to complete the story
and take on the curse for us
he redeemed us in order that the
blessing given to abraham might come to
the gentiles through jesus christ i’m
still in the word so that by faith we
might receive the promise of the spirit
he redeemed us so that even though we
were not legitimately an heir he adopted
us by taking our place on the cross and
paid the price that i might be delivered
he became a curse to break the curse
right on the line the curse is broken
right on the line the curse is broken
right in your notes the curse is broken
tell all your children the curse is
broken tell your daughter the curse is
broken tell your son the curse is broken
run outside and haul out the window the
curse is broken
tell hell the curse is broken
tell the witch the curse is broken tell
the warlock the curse is broken lay
hands on yourself and say the curse is
broken lay hands on the cancer and say
the curse is broken i feel an anointing
coming in this place i feel a release of
the holy ghost because somebody is crazy
enough
to take god at his word
and believe that the curse is broken
at the top of your lungs shout the curse
is broken
the curse is broken
and your son just broke loose
the curse is broken and your daughter
just broke loose the curse is broken
and your family just broke loose
the curse is broken
shouted out the curse is broken
[Applause]
can i go a little bit deeper
follow me back to genesis because i want
to show you how it all started
i showed you how it ended i showed you
what happened in the middle i want to
show you how it all started
in genesis chapter 3
verse 2 through 7.
play it for him don’t i don’t want to
read it play it for him
now the serpent was more subtle than any
beast of the field which the lord god
had made and he said unto the woman
yea
hath god said ye shall not eat of every
tree of the garden
and the woman said unto the serpent
we may eat of the fruit of the trees of
the garden but of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden
god hath said ye shall not eat of it
neither shall ye touch it lest ye die
and the serpent said unto the woman
you shall not surely die
forgot that know that in the day you eat
thereof
then your eyes shall be open
and ye shall be as gods
knowing good
[Music]
and that’s how it all started
[Applause]
through the slithering pacing moving
of a snake
moving through a promise
sin entered into the world
crawling on its belly
walked up to the woman and started
talking
and when he started talking to her
he disputed what god said
wait a minute he disputed what god said
and they cursed what god had done
sin has a continuity
that followed all through the scriptures
it came in by snake
to stand up against god’s word it moved
through the desert as a snake
to bite god’s people
it slid it all the way up to calvary and
when it got to calvary god said
i’m gonna make a snake for a snake and
they hung him high
and they stretched him wide
and when they did so
god put an antidote in the world for
whatever you’re into
whatever you’re into i gotta cure
whatever you i gotta cure
whatever’s got you out of sorts i gotta
cure whatever’s got you sick i’ve gotta
cure
whatever is making you swell
i’ve got a cure whatever is getting on
your nerves i got a cure whatever’s got
you on the verge of suicide i’ve got a
cure whatever’s got you sticking a
needle in your heart i’ve got a cure
whatever’s got you snorting cocaine i
got a cure
they hung him behind
and they stretched him wide
because he is secure
to whatever is ailing you
and i dare you to look on him tonight if
you look only him he’ll deliver you
if you look only him he’ll set you free
if you look only him he’ll heal your
body
if you look on him he’ll save your soul
i feel the power of the holy ghost in
this room
the spirit of god is in this place
if you look you can live
love somebody and say look and live
look and live
that’s why the devil doesn’t want you to
look
there are two things that the scriptures
ask you to do
one it asks you to look
and the other it asks you to live
and the devil doesn’t want you to live
so he doesn’t want you to look
so he keeps it with your head down
because as long as your head is down
you can’t look up
but i dare you tonight
to look up
because if you look up you’ll see your
salvation is drawing now
somebody take a moment and give god a
praise
[Applause]
one look
one look
one look
will set the captive free
one look will open up the prison doors
one look will break the yoke of sin one
look will make the chains fall one look
will open up the prison doors one look
will be a shield and a buckler one look
will cause your heart to sing one look
will make your feet start dancing one
look will give you peace in your mind
one look will give you joy in your soul
the devil don’t want you to look
because if you look
his bite can’t kill you
if you look his curse can’t destroy you
if you look
the gossip cannot kill you if you look
the witch cannot hex you
if you look
he’ll give you beauty for ashes
to all of joy for mourning
if you look
he’ll give you the garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness
look at your neighbor and say i dare you
to look
i dare you to look
i dare you to look
the mysterious ministry of snakes
is god just says
if you look
you can live
you’re so busy looking down
you’re so busy looking in
you so busy looking around
you’re not busy looking up
if you look up
you can live
look up
your salvation draws now
[Music]
you