Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-05-07
An 0ld-Pashioned Faith Cure Which
Healed the Sin. smitten and Devil
Bitten Israelites.
lis Typi6sd in the Gross Of Jesus Christ,
Upon Which All Men May Look
and Be Saved,
The Man Who Stops to Ask What Snakes
Are Made for, Anyhow, Likely
to Get Left.

uoWn upon - sea OF upturned faces,
and serious, earnest faces they were,
too, with attention and concern clear
ly impressed upon each, Itisremark.
able to zee how little levity or light
mindedness there is observable among |
the huge congregations that nightly |
crowd the tabernacle far beyond its
capacity.
The evangelist took his text from
John iii, IA, l5: "And as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness even
so must the son OF Man be lifted up
that whatsoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have eternal
life." Hesaid that he wished to speak
to the unsaved especially. This pas
sage, he said, is one OF the simplest In
the Bible. 1t is the whole gospel in a
nutshell. He referred to the Lord
sending the fiery serpent among the
people OF Israel and TO the serpent Of
brass set upon a pole by Moses In order
to cure the people II they would look
upon 1t. There are three salient facts
In this episode. First, the people were
bitten; second, the remedy was
DIdLch CIDcnt etb uDOn u uOl6 DY
Gods command; third, the condition
OF cure was that the people would
look upon this braZen serpent. There
are three parallel facts to these In the
plan OF salvation. First, you are sim
sick,
sIE-SMITTEN, DEVIL BITTEN
sinners; second, the remedy for you Is
Jesus Christ crucified; third, looking
| IaatlG (fhriot nnd haltaxt,,.x
Is the condition of your
remedy. First, that we
are sin.sick, sin-smitten sinners, Is
evident. We have the Bible TO prove
It, In the garden of Eden Eve said
"the serpent tempted me and l did
eat.n The record Gays "Adam begot a
son In his own likeness" Again It
says, "the very imagination of their
thought is evil" Again, "all we like
sheep have gone astray." You talk
about your morality, God talks about
your iniquity. The second fact In the
story of the serpents and the Israeites
is that serpent of brass was set up on
a pole by Gods command az n
remedy for the snake-bitten Is-
raelItes. The parallel fact IL
that the remedy for you, sin.sick and
devil-bitten siDner,is Jesus Christ cru
Gifted. The Bible says this numbers
OF times. Some man may say that he
don't understand this remedy, and
that he won't receive it. Suppose
some Of the snake.bltten Israelites had
said to Moses that they didn't under
stand how brazen serpent could cure
him and that he wouldn't look on 1t.
Moses would have told him that
whether he understood IL or not Ii
cured those who looked at Ii and
those who did not look at IL died
THIS Is ust your case exactly
Christ crucified is your remedy and
you have only to look on him and be
lieve. Every man from the beginning
of the world who has accepted tina
remedy has been saved, and every mar
who has rejected 1t has been damned
Not one exception either way. Why
quibble and bubble about this rem
edy? You can't fix up remedy To-
yourself. The third parallel fact to Tia,
: third fact in the story of the snake bit
, ten Israelites Is, that to look OH ant
believe In Jesus Christ crucified Is tn,
condition on which you can be saved
Don't wait till you get bitten yourself
but look on the crucified Savior q
! once as the snake-bitten and sicl
IsIaelites were commanded to look OF
the brazen serpent. One OF the snake
bitten Israelites may have told Nose
that he was looking at his swollen foo
to see how IL was. That didn't do an,
, good. Don't look at yourself to re
a how you are, but lsok away, look oil
the cross, look on Jesus Christ cruel
fled and be healed. Some other II
1 raelite may have told Moses that IA
a WAS going to try poultice first. Now
don't you try 10 poultice yourself,
QUIT THAT PoULTICING BUSINESS.
Lay that all aside aud look on th
Lord Jesus Trust him as the drown
ing man would trust the saving rope
Another Israelite may have toll
9 Moses that ne would not look upon Tia
y brazen serpent until he found out whs
. God made snakes for, and why he IL
y them bite people. Moses would hav
,, told him that was none OF his bushes
y and to quit spe culating on snakeologs
D Don't you speculate about the devil ,br
u accept Jesus Christ. Nobody goes
he'll for what Adam did. No man /
the camp died because he was suak'
10 bitten, but because he rejected God
II remedy for snake bites. SO you di
because you reject the Savior, not b.
cause AuAM hluneu. AuolueI lsIuc
ito nearly dead from the snake BIT
" may have turned his languid eyes h
~ wards the brazen serpent and instaI
y taneously, then and there, he WI
"a cured. IL you believe on the Lord jest
he you will be saved instantaneous,
Is before you go out of this tabernacle
IL The Bible says "He that believeth O
n me hath eternal life" You are cave
is Immediately. Do not put off lookin
upon Jesus Christ crUcified. IL WI
important that the snake.bitten i
rAelite should look upon the brRze
serpent as soon as he was bitten, 4
: the longer he put II of the duller b
u vision got until finally he could NJ
zee at all, and then he could not
=, cured. He might feel the brszen Be
=, pent, he might rub II ar
~ press ii to him, but 1t would be no US
To look npon il was the condition OF
cure. By putting of looking upC
the Lord Jesus your moral yision b
In comes impaired, until at last thlS
veil of skepticism falls over aud !