Sermon - Sam Husband | "Fiery Serpents and the Cross: Lessons in Faith and Redemption"

Welcome to the Avenue Community Church's podcast. We are a family of Christ

followers seeking shalom in Memphis.

We pray that you are encouraged by today's message. As you listen,

may the word of God shape you to be more like him.

My name is Sam. If you hadn't gotten the chance to meet me or I hadn't gotten

the chance to meet you, I'd love to after the service, come say hello.

But PT asked me to fill in this week and I'm honored and excited to do so.

But what I'd like to do, and I'll ask for forgiveness rather than permission,

is if we have any little ones, any grade school, elementary school,

anyone who's not ashamed to come up front.

And if you are, you can come with a friend or your parents.

And if it's just me, I'll sit here and read the story anyway.

Because I actually want your parents and the old folks in the room to get a

little glimpse of this story. It's called Don't Forget to Remember.

And this is really just gonna sum up the entire sermon.

So if you're not a good listener, you can just listen to this story and you

can pick up basically what the whole sermon was about.

Come on up, man. Anybody else who wants to come up?

If you're a kid at heart, like I am, you can come up.

But this was written by Ellie Holcomb, native Memphian.

And if you're a parent and you haven't discovered some of her music for your

little ones, I'm going to embarrass my kids a little bit, maybe, I don't know.

But I can't tell you how many times in the backseat they would be singing Ellie

Holcomb songs and praise God falling asleep to Ellie Holcomb in the backseat.

So if you haven't found that, you're welcome. Check out Ellie Holcomb on Spotify.

All right, my friends, I want y'all to look up here because I'm going to show you the pictures.

I'm going to have a seat and I'm going to read this book. It's called Don't Forget to Remember.

What do you think we're supposed to do when we read this book?

Are we supposed to remember something maybe?

That's what we're supposed to do. Remember. Don't forget to remember. Let's check it out.

Did you know that creation is talking to you wherever you go and whatever you do?

The earth will keep giving you clue after clue, so you won't forget to remember what is true.

Like every day when the sun rises high, the warmth that you feel is God's love by your side.

And just like the birds who keep humming their tune, remember God sings songs of joy over you.

When you catch the snowflakes that fall from the sky, each of them whisper, you're one of a kind.

You like that polar bear? Me too. And after the winter and cold are all through,

the flowers remind you God makes all things new.

When a colorful rainbow peeks out through the rain, don't forget to remember

God's love stays the same.

On glad days and sad days, God's near and He knows He can use any storm to make

good things and new things grow.

When you can't see the end of the ocean so blue, remember God's love never runs out on you.

And just like a sailboat that fills up with the wind, we feel most alive when

we're filled up with Him.

Don't forget to remember you're never alone, no matter if you're up high or down low.

And as sure as the sun will keep rising above, don't forget to remember that you're dearly loved.

So just like the stars won't forget how to shine, don't forget to remember that

all of the time, God's light will guide you wherever you go and your love from

the top of your head to the tip of your toes.

And even on days when you forget what is true, don't forget to remember God won't forget you.

All right, my friends, can we pray together? Thank y'all for listening so well. Let's pray.

Father in heaven, we pause now and just thank you that when Jesus taught us

to pray, he taught us that his father is now our father.

And so we are your beloved children. And just like these little ones,

Jesus, you taught us that the greatest in the kingdom are like these children.

They're totally dependent on their father.

So teach us whether we're young or we're old, that we need to be completely dependent upon you.

Lord, as we attempt to preach your word and hear it and apply it, we ask for your spirit.

I can't teach myself or others, but you can.

And so would you be our teacher? Would you lift our hearts?

Would you help us not to be homesick for Egypt, but to be homesick for Eden

and know that Jesus has provided the way?

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Thank y'all. Y'all can go back to your seat. I appreciate it.

If you have your Bibles open or on your phone, we're in Numbers 21.

And we're going to consider the passage along three lines of thought.

Bitterness, biting, and my two favorite words, but God.

So bitterness, biting, and then finally, but God. Now, bitterness,

just so you know, this is going to be the longest one.

And we're even going to look through the Old Testament in a few places and consider,

this theme over and over and over and over again, this pattern that is repeated,

the people of God grow impatient.

I know none of y'all struggle with that, right? The people of God forget.

The people of God grumble. The people of God complain.

The people of God speak out against his mediator and his leadership.

The people of God, man, they're a mess, but thank God that he loves messes.

So bitterness, God speaks to Moses. If you remember, Matt, a few weeks ago talked

about when God spoke to Moses and Moses does, for somebody who doesn't speak

too good, he does a lot of speaking.

God says, go. And he's like, but God, I don't talk too good.

I got a stutter and I don't know what to say. I'm slow of speech.

And y'all remember, God says, I made your mouth and I'll go with you and I'll teach you what to say.

And I'm going back here in Exodus to tell you that after the first encounter

that Moses had with Pharaoh, what did the people do?

They complained because their life actually got harder before it got better.

So you know what they wanted to do? They wanted God to judge Moses.

You've made us stink before Pharaoh, Moses. What are you doing?

And if I'm Moses, I'm like, I'm just doing what God told me to do.

Like, why are you hating on me?

And I'm just doing what God told me to do. And these people say, may God judge you.

Now, let me just stop right here and just say, what if the people got what they

wanted in that moment? What if God judged Moses?

They'd still be in Egypt in graves or unmarked graves.

They would still be stuck if they got what they wanted.

I just want you to understand this happens over and over again.

It's so natural for God's people to misinterpret their situation.

And I'm not trying to make light of the circumstances in the Old Testament of

these people, but they forgot what was true in their hardships,

and they rebelled repeatedly.

This is the nature of sin. You know, it's not just missing the mark.

Jeremiah says it's like a horse running swiftly into battle.

It's saying, God, I don't want your way. I'm going my own way.

Before we get to the bitterness in this passage, let me just highlight a few

other bitterness episodes, some lowlights, if you will.

Just three days after God split the Red Sea and they sang songs of deliverance,

you know what they did? They turned on Moses.

This water's bitter like their hearts. But God showed Moses some wood and he

said, toss it in there and he made it sweet. And they drank.

In the next chapter, chapter 16 of Exodus, the people complain about Moses.

They said, if only the Lord would have killed us back in Egypt.

Back in Egypt, at least we had some steak and taters.

They said we had meat and bread. Back in Egypt, back in Egypt, back in Egypt.

But now you've brought us out here to die. But you know what God did? He ran down manna.

In chapter 17, the people grumble against Moses and they demand water to drink.

Moses cries out to the Lord and says, they're about to stone me, God.

What's going on? But God told him to strike a rock and water gushed out.

And they drank and even their livestock.

Then you have Moses going up on the mountain, that whole 10 commandments episode.

He's gone 40 days and nights. You remember what the people do?

We don't know what's happened to this Moses.

Make us some gods who will lead us. Oops, they rebel again.

But God doesn't wipe them all out. Why? Because Moses mediates and prays on

their behalf for their pardon.

The book of Numbers that we're in now, it opens with all this tabernacle stuff,

the organization of Israel's camps, the Levites are appointed priests.

You have all this sacrifice offering and purity stuff.

And then one year after their rescue, you know what they're supposed to do?

They're to party with a purpose.

They're to celebrate the Passover, to remember that God remembers them and rescues

them. So they're throwing a party.

But finally, it's time to leave Sinai. It's time to journey on.

And on cue, they complain again about their hardships and about missing Egypt.

They say again, back there we had meat and onions and even garlic.

We remember the fish, they said. They had forgotten their heavenly father's

care for them, but they remember the fish.

They said, all we have is this manna.

Y'all, they're despising God's provision.

Oh, for some meat, we were better off in Egypt. That's what they say.

So Moses explains to them, you have not rejected me so much as you've rejected the Lord.

But you know what God does? Y'all want some meat?

Quail like dust everywhere. And at first they're excited. They start hammering that quail.

I don't know what they did to it, but they got into it.

But you know what happened? They ate it till they got sick of it.

And some of them died as they were eating it. And you know what they named the

place? graves of gluttony.

Then you'll know the story of Joshua and Caleb and the spies.

They go out, they spy the land of Canaan. They come back and they say, it is sweet.

It's flowing with milk and honey. Like they were Instagramming all their pics

of all the fruit and veggies and all the beauty.

But they come back and they say, but it's full of giants and they will smoke us.

And so they give a bad report and the people start weeping and wailing and rebelling again.

Joshua and Caleb give a good report and they said, no, no, no,

God is with us. Those folks will be like bread for us.

The problem that you're facing will be food for you because God is with us,

he's not with them. And you know what they wanted to do? They wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb.

They rebel and say it would be better to go back to Egypt.

Yet Moses again intercedes on their behalf. In keeping with your magnificent

unfailing love, he says, please pardon the sins of the people just as you have

forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.

Let me just pause here and say, Moses is a pretty doggone good mediator because

I'd have said peace. These folks, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

That's what I'd have said. But Moses says, have mercy. And God does.

Then there's this whole other crazy rebellion that ends with the ground swallowing the wicked.

Never a dull moment. A few chapters later, Moses' sister Miriam dies and there's

another water rebellion 4.0.

This one actually includes Moses and Aaron. God tells them to speak to the rock

this time, but he strikes it.

And God says, you didn't honor me as God is holy. You didn't trust me,

right? And so there's consequences to that.

The Africa Bible commentary puts it this way. Moses had not been told to strike

the rock, but to speak to it.

Moses, however, operated on the basis of earlier experiences,

and he ignored God's voice in a new situation.

So sometimes we're like that, right? We were like, God, you did it this way

in the past. Do it this way again.

God says, no, I'm going to do something new. I'm going to do it different.

And they're not okay with that.

God gets his people on the move once more. I promise we're about to get into

this passage, but I just got to let you know, this is where the people of God are.

And I'm going to bring it, I'm going to step on your shins or toes, whatever the saying is.

Because if you're like me, this is for you too.

God gets his people on the move once again, But the king of Edom refuses to

let them take a shortcut through his land.

Then Aaron dies. And to make things worse, a Canaanite king hears where the Israelites are.

And unprovoked, he comes out and attacks God's people and even takes some of them captive.

Moses is not having a bad day. Moses is having a bad years.

His sister dies. His brother dies. His people are getting attacked.

Some of them are taken hostage.

I mean, let me just say, We have an idolatry sometimes of the glory days.

Adam and Eve sinned. There's never been another glory day until Jesus was raised

from the dead. And when he returns, there'll be glory days.

But the church and God's people have always been crazy.

Cain and Abel were crazy. Pick a time in the Old Testament, it was crazy.

This is a hobby horse of mine. I just got to get it out every time it comes up.

The glory day, all right, I'm gonna stop there. The glory days are coming, okay?

But we're not going back in time unless we're trying to go back to Eden, but that's coming down.

The new heavens and the new earth, That's the glory days.

That's another sermon for PT later.

So you got to think about it. If you put yourself in the context of the Israelites,

they had seen the mighty arm of God rescue them, okay?

They had seen the sea split.

And now they're thinking, God can't get a stupid king over here to let us pass

through his land. That's what they're probably thinking.

That's what I'd have been thinking. God, you rescued us. You're doing all this

miraculous stuff. and now we got to take the long way?

Like, come on, God, wake up. What are we doing?

They grow impatient on their long journey and they speak out against God and

Moses. Look back at verse five.

And the people spoke against God and his mediator, Moses. Why have you brought us out in Egypt to die?

There's no food and no water and we loathe this worthless food. That's the ESV.

And notice like whenever you start complaining about God, you actually start missing the truth.

They say there's no food, and then two sentences later, they say, and we hate this food.

Even speaking the truth, right? So they're impatient, they grumble, they complain.

Let me pause and just say this. There's a huge difference in complaining about

God and complaining to God.

I don't have time to unpack all of that, but the Bible is full of places where

how long, David says, how long, oh Lord, will you forget me?

The Psalms say, my tears have been my food. My heart is breaking.

I feel like you've forgotten me, God. But you know what those are?

Those are complaining and groaning to God, not away from him and not about him.

That's a huge difference and distinction.

I mean, over a third of the Psalms are laments.

They're the blues, but they're prayers and songs to God, right?

We have a whole book called Lamentations.

We do well to lament to God, not about God.

But these folks are grumbling and complaining and lamenting about God and not to him.

And so we see what happens. Think about it this way.

Whenever you run to God with your lack of faith, that itself is an expression of faith.

And the Bible actually recommends that you do that.

Come to me if you're weary and heavy laden. Talk to me about it.

Let me know just how weary you are.

I got you. I'll give you rest.

Whatever your doubt, anxiety, fear, anger, frustration, And God knows it all.

C.S. Lewis says, don't should, don't bring to God what should be,

and you bring to God what's already there. He already knows it.

Run to God with it. Moses even does this in Numbers 11. He says,

God, they're too heavy. These people are too heavy for me.

I feel alone. I don't know what to do. He runs to God with it.

He doesn't go to Miriam and say, God is a, he's doing this.

He goes to God and he says, God is too heavy. And so God says, hey, pick out 70 people.

I'll pour my spirit on them. They'll be with you. I got an answer for that.

So whatever you're experiencing that's heavy, take it to the Lord, not away from Him.

If we were to look at Psalm 78, it's a long psalm. I'm not going to read it

all. We don't have time for that today, but maybe that's your homework.

You could do that this week. Look at Psalm 78.

Asaph says, hey, listen to me. Remember what I'm saying so that you don't forget the works of God.

And then the next line says, but keep His commandments. I want you to understand

in the Bible, whenever it says, remember God, there's also this other side of

the coin that says, follow him.

Remember him and trust him. Remember what he has done and obey his commandments.

It's two sides of the same coin. Not like their fathers, stubborn and rebellious,

their hearts were not steadfast. They grew unfaithful.

Verse 10, they didn't keep God's covenant, but refused to walk according to his law.

They forgot his works and the wondrous deeds that he had shown them.

And then there's a list, Like the pillar of fire and cloud, the splitting of

the sea, all the plagues, their freedom, water from rocks.

They sinned still more against Him, rebelling against the Most High God.

They tested Him in their hearts by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God.

Can God spread a table for us in the wilderness, they said. We don't have a

potluck. We can't have a table out here. God can't provide, they said.

But God rained down manna from heaven anyway.

In spite of all this, they still sinned. Despite His wonders, they did not believe.

They flattered God with their lips, but their heart was far from him.

In verse 40, it says how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and

grieved God in the desert.

They did not remember his power, how he had rescued them from Egypt.

But God, verse 55, led his people out like sheep. He guided them like a flock. He led them in safety.

He overwhelmed their enemies in the sea. He drove out the nations before them.

He saved them and he settled them. That's what God did.

Yet they tested, verse 56, yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High.

They provoked him to anger. So God allows them to go, you know the rest of the

story, God allows them to be captured, go into captivity.

And if it had been me, the game would have been over.

But then the Lord moved. And he chose David and Mount Zion.

This Psalm is a low light of all their failure. If you read it,

it's wildly depressing.

And yet it ends in hope. God chooses the place, Mount Zion, and the person,

David, of his provision.

And we know, we know what that means as we study the Bible, as we look in the New Testament.

We know that's Jesus, the true temple, the true place of worship.

We know that's the true shepherd king, the anointed one.

And so I just, I went through all of that. And that's the longest point.

I went through all of that to hopefully set the stage for this.

If you're like me, it's easy to point the finger at them and be like,

how ridiculous were these people?

How crazy is it that you can see God do all this miraculous,

wonderful, amazing things and

three days later, turn on, rebel against him over and over and over again.

But I got to tell you, that would be historically and theologically arrogant,

for you and I to look at those people and point the finger at them,

to think somehow we are better. Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 10.

All that stuff was written for your encouragement, for your instruction.

Don't be like them because he

knows you will be like them because he knows himself that he is like them.

And he says, take heed if you think you're better, if you think you stand, lest you fall.

Paul tells you all this stuff written, what we just covered,

was written for your instruction so that you don't think that you can stand

on your own because you're any different than those who've gone before you.

And neither am I. Before we look at the biting, I just want to say,

you know that you are growing in bitterness and you're on your own road to rebellion,

whenever you place your cravings over God's care.

The people were craving meat over God meeting with them.

You know you're on your own road to rebellion when your gratitude dries up,

when you can't find their thing to be thankful for.

We miss our onions and garlic.

The moment you look at your circumstances and interpret them as God doesn't

care, you're on the road to rebellion.

And I tell you, that's the bitterness, that's the bite of bitterness.

That's what it does. But let's look at this biting real quick, very briefly.

We've seen this pattern over and over again, you know, the hardships and what

that creates. But look at verse six.

Then the Lord sent fiery serpents. Where'd they come from?

The Lord made them and then he sent them. Reminds me of Jonah.

He sent the storm and he sent the fish. And then he sent Jonah back.

He sent some fiery serpents among the people.

And they bit the people so that many of the people, many of the Israelites died.

Not a whole lot of words, but a whole lot going on. This is the poison of seeking

to be in charge without God.

Y'all, that's what judgment actually is. I love the way C.S.

Lewis talks about it. That hell is simply being turned in on yourself forever away from God.

As PT is preaching through Romans and God's election, his sovereignty,

and showing mercy, and choosing some and not others.

The Bible is very clear about our hearts. That no one is righteous.

No, not one. No one seeks after God. No one tries their best.

Romans 3, or Isaiah, all we like sheep have gone astray and turned to our own way.

Jeremiah's, the heart is deceitful above all else and death's really wicked who can know it.

So here are the Israelites projecting that God is the one who brought them out here to die.

And because of their hard heartedness and unbelief, they're saying,

God's going to let our enemies kill us.

And now they're face to face with their enemies and it's themselves.

One commentator says it this way, They that cry without cause have justly been given cause to cry out.

They distrustfully concluded that they must die in the wilderness,

and God brought their unbelieving fears upon them, for many of them did die.

For in pride they lifted themselves up above God and His mediator.

Even in judgment, God is merciful. Watch this. Look at verse 7.

And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against

the Lord and against you. They come hat in hand.

And this is their I'm sorry moment. And they say, pray to the Lord that he takes away the serpents.

Once again, if I were Moses, I'd have said, you made your bed, bro.

Go take a nap. A long nap.

That's terrible. But I'm just being honest. That's what I probably would have

said. I'm drinking my lemonade. Y'all go do your thing.

But Moses blesses those who curse him. Does that sound familiar?

And Moses, the mediator, prays for this sin sick people. That's the biting of

judgment. Short, but not sweet.

Finally, let's look at, but God. This is the best and most. It's even crazier

than Moses praying for them.

Notice this. What did they not ask Moses to pray for?

What was their prayer? Hey, go pray that God would take away the snakes.

You know what they didn't ask God? They didn't ask Moses to pray for? Healing.

They just don't want it to get worse. God, make it stop. I mean,

it can't get any worse. Please don't let it get any worse.

Now, we're not told what Moses exactly prayed for. Possibly he prayed for healing,

but I just got to be honest, I'm not so sure.

They asked that the serpents, the instruments of God's judgment be taken away.

And I bet you anything, Moses prayed for those serpents to be taken away.

And we have precedent throughout the scripture to know that Moses prayed for

their pardon again and again. I bet he did that.

Because they knew that God is rich in mercy.

But God not only takes away the serpents, he takes away their sting.

He takes away their poisonous effect as well.

The text, notice this, the text doesn't even mention God getting rid of the

snakes. In fact, ironically, all we get is another snake.

It doesn't even bring up he got rid of the snakes because that's not the focus.

You know what the focus is?

Moses, get in there, make something, hold it up, let them look at it, they'll live.

The thing that is killing them, they're supposed to look at it to be healed,

you'd have been there. I want you to imagine. Moses, go pray for us.

Ask God to take it away. And the next thing you notice, Moses is making a fire.

They didn't have lighter fluid.

I don't know how long this took, but I'm doing this on purpose.

He's making a fire, Flint, something.

He's getting the fire going. And the people are struggling.

The people are suffering. They're in pain. Some of them are dying.

And Moses is making a fire.

And then he takes a clunk of bronze.

And I'm not a blacksmith, y'all. Just work with me. He heats it up.

This is not microwave popcorn.

This is heating metal to get hot enough to then hammer it.

I'm sure they heard something. And they're like, what's he doing? This hurt.

What's he doing? He's just doing what God told him to do. And the people are still struggling.

And he shapes it and he forms it, but he's not done. He's got to attach it to

a pole. I don't know how he did that. He welded it. I don't know.

But he gets it. And again, I don't know how long all that took,

like the sermon. I don't know how long it is.

But he attaches it and he brings it out and he lifts it up.

That's all he does. He did whatever God told him to do. That's what he does.

And finally, finally, God's merciful provision is presented. And what is it?

It's a snake. This is crazy. It's lifted up and all they had to do was look

at it to be healed, right?

That which cured them was shaped like that which wounded them.

Pages to the New Testament. Most famous passage in the New Testament is John

3, 16. What's the passage right before that?

Boom. My guy, you can't get one pass out. You can't do it. You can try, but you can't.

Jesus is talking to Nicodemus and Nicodemus is really there because he's really

trying to figure out who Jesus is and what's going on.

And Jesus is telling him the truth. He's unpacking a little bit.

He's teaching the teacher.

And he says, even as Moses lifted up that serpent in the wilderness,

so the Son of Man must be lifted up.

Jesus is making his own comparison about himself with what Moses was doing way back in Numbers 21.

So, I want you to see this. The greatest summary of the gospel right before

it, I would argue this is part of the greatest,

summary of the gospel, where Jesus

himself is talking about his own exaltation, his own being lifted up.

And it looks horrible, doesn't it?

Think of the woundedness. Beyond recognition, the blood, the torture,

the nastiness, the horror of Jesus being lifted up on the cross.

God in both instances is taking what is killing us and through his marvelous

wisdom and his mighty mercy, he's providing healing and salvation.

So whenever you look I mean, really look, truly look.

Whenever you really look at the cross, you see two things. You see horror and healing.

You see the horror of what has bitten you, the true poison and the penalty of sin. You see its cost.

You see its separation from God. It's not just breaking God's law,

it's breaking God's heart and therefore it's breaking you.

And number two, you see the beauty of what heals you. For by his wounds, you are healed.

See all your own mess, your lack of love for God and neighbor.

You see the cost, but you also see the overflow of God's love for his father and for you.

You see the love of the father that he would not spare his own son,

but deliver him up for you.

And so whenever you look at the cross, it always does two things.

It crushes your pride, but man, does it make you bold?

It says you're worse than And you think, but you're longed for and loved for

and rejoiced ever more than you ever know. It does both these things simultaneously.

2 Corinthians 5, 21, for God made Jesus, him who knew no sin,

to be sin, so that you and I might become the righteousness of God in him.

You see the horror and you see the healing.

But how is this effective? In both cases, it just takes a look. It's just a look, y'all.

It's to look up in faith. Hebrews 12, one and two says, since we're surrounded

by this great cloud of witnesses, let us run with perseverance,

the race God has set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus. Some translation says looking to Jesus.

And it's this present passive participle you're studying. I can't remember all this stuff.

I used to, no, but it's this active ongoing thing.

It's look and fixing your eye. It's keep looking, keep looking,

keep looking, keep looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith.

Now, look, if they had focused on their wounds, what are you doing, Moses?

And they're just looking at their wounds and they're panicking over their wounds.

And some of them, you know, might've Googled, some people like to do their own

research and they Googled some home remedies or they tried to go to the doctor,

they died. But if they looked, they lived.

Didn't matter if you were eight or 80. If you looked, you lived.

It didn't matter if you were on the front row. First, my family's sitting on

the front row today. First time, praise God.

Didn't matter if you're on the front row or back row. If you looked,

you lived. Didn't matter if you need Coke bottle glasses, lacy surgery,

if you've been crying and it was blurry.

Didn't matter. If you looked, you lived.

If you looked, you lived. Y'all, this is biblical. Remember, that's what faith does.

Faith looks to Jesus. Faith just looks to Jesus.

Even the blind can see through the eye of faith in God's provision.

Faith remembers that God actually remembers. And that's what biblical remembering is.

That's why I read the story to the little ones. And I hope you're listening.

For me. Because if something is truly important to you, let me just straight

through. Okay. This is real, the real life.

Tim, if Sarah T asked me, did you remember the dishes?

Was she asking me what color they were? If we have dishes?

She's asking, did I do the dishes, man?

And sometimes I have to be honest and be like, I did not do the dishes. She knows.

Or she asked me, we're rolling out of town. She goes, did you remember the alarm?

She's not asking, did I remember that we have one or do I know the code?

She's asking, did I do something about it? That's what biblical remembering is.

It's saying, don't forget to remember who God is.

And the moment you actually do that by his grace, you live accordingly.

You act on it, right? And so here's the deal.

Let me give you one silly illustration of this and one biblical to wrap it up.

So I don't know how many people saw 50 First Dates?

Anybody like, okay, you remember that? So I had so much game,

I needed Adam Sandler to help me back in the day, you know?

But don't laugh too hard because I got her.

That's right. That's right. That's right. What? Thank you, Lord.

Gratitude. Thank Thank you, Lord.

My, exactly. So here's what's silly about that movie. Adam Sandler, I mean, come on.

But this girl bumps her head, I think. It's been over 20 years since I've seen it, so just bear with me.

I'm trying to help. She bumps her head and forgets. She's got like amnesia or whatever they call it.

She forgets. And Adam Sandler, though, he is smitten with her beauty.

He's like, that's the one right there.

And hence the title of the movie. If you haven't seen it, the title gives it away.

50 First Dates. He asks her out every day because she don't know who he is because she forgot.

But her forgetting does not cause his heart to fail.

Her ignorance doesn't stop his faithfulness.

Her not knowing has nothing to do with his knowing.

He keeps pursuing her over and over again.

He keeps demonstrating his heart for her again and again.

He keeps winning back her affection. It's what he does.

It's a silly movie, but dadgummit, it's hitting on something for me.

Now, what about where Psalm 78 ended?

Psalm 78, in the middle of all their rebellion, in the middle of all their stupidity,

in the middle of all their lack of gratitude, it ends with Mount Zion and David.

Let me give you a picture of David and Goliath real quick. A story we all know,

or we've heard of before.

And I want to put this for you like, we typically hear, I dare to be like David

or have the faith of David. And I just gotta be honest, I want the faith of David.

I do, amen. This homeboy looked at this Philistine and said, who's this? Who's you?

You gonna talk to that bad guy like that? Uh-uh, God delivered me from the bear

and the lion. He'll deliver me for this uncircumcised Philistine.

I ain't worried about him.

Small, but my guy's big. You want some of this?

Y'all, he doesn't have a sword, but he looks at Goliath and says,

I'm gonna cut off your head because Goliath had a sword.

I want that kind of faith, bro. I do, but I've never been anointed king.

I haven't. And David, this is a one-on-one fight.

It's representational fighting. It's one-on-one. Saul should have gone because

he was the king, but he was scared.

You know who else is scared? The whole Philistine army shaking in their boots.

40 days, Goliath was like, bring me your best. Who you got?

You kill me, we'll all be your slaves.

But it works in reverse too. Everybody was frozen in fear.

So I'm just gonna tell you today, here's what biblical faith looks like.

Put yourself not in David's shoes, but put yourself in the Israelites' boots, shaking with fear.

The bible says that david stood over the headless goliath,

and when the philistines saw that their champion was dead,

they took off and you know what the israelite army that was shaking in their

boots did they it says three things they rose they shouted and they pursued.

They got up they shouted in victory and then they pursued their enemies and

wiped them all out that's what faith all the all the israelite army did was

eat their popcorn and look,

they looked at their champion who looked weak,

his weakness, he was strong because he said the battle belongs to the Lord.

Biblical faith says, I'm small, but God's big.

I can't fight this giant. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Uh-uh, that ain't me.

My champion has gone before me and defeated the enemies of sin and death and

everything that stood against me. I'm simply to look at him.

And then I can get up and shout for victory and pursue.

Biblical faith just says, look to Jesus, y'all.

Again, I would love to have this mighty bold faith, but I'm not gonna produce

that in myself and you're not either.

So remember that God remembers you and look to Jesus and look to Jesus.

Front row, back row, sides, look to Jesus and keep looking to Jesus.

Let me pray for us.

Father in heaven, we thank you for Jesus.

And we thank you that all of our rebellion did not keep him from pursuing us.

And we thank you that though he looked weak on a cross, his love was stronger than death.

We thank you, Lord, that you have provided for us.

Help us not to despise your provision, but give us hearts that overflow in gratitude.

Wipe away the bitterness, the grumbling, the complaining and help us to learn to groan to you.

Music.