Living Above The Snakeline

LIVING ABOVE THE SNAKELINE

Luke 10:19

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. Did you hear about the man who was arrested for paying his check at a café with a counterfeit $10 bill?

2. He didn’t think it would be a problem…since they served him decaffeinated coffee with nondairy creamer and artificial sweetener!

3. Since everything in the cup was fake, he didn’t see why he couldn’t pay for it with fake money! (Aldo Cammarota)

B. THESIS

1. God has a place above sin, or else it was a false prayer to have us pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” Matt. 6:13.

2. God said to “Be ye holy as I am holy” 1 Pet. 1:16 and to “be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” Mt. 5:48. The world “perfect” is the Greek word “teleos.” It means “the goal or the end,” but can be translated in this context “mature.”

3. But it means that God’s GOAL for us is that we be transformed into the holy nature of His Son Jesus. Jesus, though human, was able to live above sin. So the possibility is there for us and though we fall short, we should attempt to live as He did.

C. TITLE: “Living Above the Snakeline.”

I. THE MINISTRY OF THE SERPENT

A. AFFLICTS THE DISOBEDIENT

1. The original snake/ serpent in the Garden of Eden which tempted Adam and Eve was actually Satan, a fallen angel, posing as a serpent (Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9; 20:2).

2. God is able to turn even the worst evil around for good. What use could God find for an evil, fallen angel? God limited his operation to afflicting those who break God’s Laws, God’s boundaries.

3. Eccles. 10:8 KJV says, “and whoso breaks a hedge (AMPC – “fence”), a serpent shall bite him.”

4. A hedge is a barrier God doesn’t want us to go beyond; inside it is an area of safety (Job 1:10). To go beyond it is a sin, a trespass, and dangerous – and God

causes automatic judgment to fall on those who break through His hedges.

5. Amos 5:9 & 9:3 point out that if people escape other forms of God’s judgment on sin, they will still find that serpents will bite them.

B. ESCAPE FROM THE SERPENT’S POISON

1. When the Israelites rebelled against Jehovah in Num. 21:6, fiery serpents – ones whose bite brought high fever and poison – bit them.

2. In Num. 21:7 they prayed for Moses to take away the serpents, and God gave them the Anti-Venom – Jesus Christ – in symbol as a serpent of brass nailed to a pole.

3. So the good news is, we can be healed of the poison we received while in disobedience to God. Faith and trust in Jesus Christ can heal of the judgment on sin, and Jesus’ nature inside us can reverse the fallen nature which triggered the judgment! Praise God!

II. GOD WANTS US TO WALK UPON THE HIGH PLACES OF THE EARTH!

A. THE REALTOR’S SIGN

1. A Real Estate office high in the Rocky Mountains had a sign outside a house advertizing, “Property for Sale Here, Up Above the Snakeline.” When asked what the sign meant, the realtor said, “Up here in the highlands, there’s an invisible line drawn by the hand of God Himself. Up here the air is thin; there’s not as much oxygen as there is down in the valleys. Consequently, you won’t find the crawling creatures of the valley. Up here you won’t find cockroaches, ants, flies, rats or mice; you can build a retirement cabin and have a cookout and there will be no mosquitoes. You can turn the kids loose and not be afraid of them being harmed by creatures like snakes.”

2. GOD WANTS US TO WALK UPON THE HIGH PLACES OF THE EARTH! David testified (Psalm 18:33), “He makes my feet like hinds feet, to tread upon the high places.”

B. ARE WE LIVING TOO LOW?

1. When you begin to see the spiritual parallel, you realize that God wants you and I to live above sin. Many of us are living too low: down in the valley.

2. It’s easy to tell by looking that some of us have been chewed on by the chiggers and the mosquitoes and you could tell stories of being bitten by snakes, squirrels or other rodents.

3. But we don’t have to live that way. Jesus wants to lead you to the high ground of victory and an overcoming life.

4. The Lord Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” Lk. 10:18-19.