Image by: Tom Haymes

Text: Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:14

Introduction

1. A sign board in the road with a cross reminds us that a hospital is near by
2. A van with a red cross on it is an ambulance
3. The “Red Cross” got its name because they use a red cross as their logo
4. Pharmacies carry a red cross in their sign boards
5. All these signs remind us that help is near by
6. Did you know there is a cross in the Bible too and this cross is special because behind it there’s a message from God
7. What is this message of the cross?

1. It’s a message of love

A. The Israelites sinned once again and God’s wrath burned against them

B. Yet God loved them that He got Moses to make a bronze snake and put it up on a pole; everyone who looked at it didn’t die but lived

C. (Explain: The bronze snake as a type of Christ)

D. Likewise God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin so that we shall not perish but have eternal life, (John 3:16)

E. Do you want to personally experience the love of God? Then come to Christ

2. It’s a message of healing

A. God healed everyone who walked up to the pole in faith and obedience

B. Anyone who refused to look at the bronze snake died

C. The Bible says that we are healed by Jesus’ stripes, (Isaiah 53:5)

D. Do you want to be healed today. Come to Jesus in faith and obedience

3. It’s a message of forgiveness

A. Israelites are known for putting God in to test which the Bible identifies as a sin very severe

B. Still God forgive them and provided a way (the bronze snake) and those who were sentenced to death had their sins pardoned

C. Likewise any one who believes in Jesus shall have their sins forgiven, (Romans 10:13)

4. Invitation

A. Admit you are a sinner: ”There is no one righteous, not even one … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:10,23. (See Romans 5:8; 6:23.)

B. Ask God’s forgiveness: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:13

C. Believe in Jesus: (put your trust in Him) as your only hope of salvation.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (See John 14:6.)

D. Receive Christ and become a child of God: “To all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12 (See Revelation 3:20.)

E. Confess that Jesus is your Lord: “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 (See verse 10.)