When The Snake Bites Your Hand, Shake It Off, And Minister To Others.

SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! WHEN THE SNAKE BITES YOUR HAND!

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

I do this in two parts.

I. GOD’S PLAN LEAVES GOD’S MAN VULNERABLE AND TRUSTING GOD FOR THE FAITH OF OBEDIENCE.

CAN YOU HEAR THE CHANT OF PEOPLE TODAY?

They are chanting : WHERE IS THE GOD OF ELIJAH?

GOD’S CHANT IS MUCH DIFFERENT: WHERE ARE THE ELIJAH’S OF GOD?

A. We are all on a journey.

Our spiritual life is much more than a destination, our journey is a process.

B. God speaks clearly to Moses and Aaron about the ISSUE OF THE HEART in ministry. God says, to be a good leader, you must learn to trust God’s promises.

Exodus 4:3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

4 And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

C. THERE IS MUCH CONFUSION TODAY BECAUSE OF SOME TELEVISION SHOW OFF’S --- BUT ANY PERSON THAT HANDLES POISONOUS SNAKES WILL TELL YOU, YOU ONLY PICK UP A SNAKE WITH A STICK AND HOLD DOWN THE SNAKE’S HEAD

AND THEN PICK UP THE SNAKE WITH YOUR FINGERS BEHIND THE SNAKES HEAD.

D. God has a real life lesson, we can only approach spiritual snakes by trusting in HIS PLAN.

E. Today we have a tendency within the church to approach spiritual battles by our feelings and our thinking.

F. On this journey we travel we must rise above

our feelings and human reasoning and step to the realm of Faith!

II. REACH DEEPER THAN FEELINGS AND HUMAN REASONING.

WE HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM, PEOPLE ARE DYING, THEIR CHOICES AND THEIR WORDS HAVE BAITED SPIRITUAL TRAPS, AND PEOPLE ARE DYING.

A. We walk in perilous times, we need a DIVINE PLAN to reach to those that are dying with no hope.

Not only are God’s people looking at hopelessness, they have been walking in DRY TIMES.

Numbers 21:6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

B. The people see the error of their choices and repent. But the people are still dying.

Numbers 21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he

take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

C. God had a plan of DELIVERANCE.

God’s plan was beyond reasoning and feelings.

God’s plan made little sense to those that were operating in the flesh.

Numbers 21:8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he

looketh upon it, shall live.

D. God honors obedience, and those that looked to the symbol of the problem received GOD’S DIVINE PLAN and solution.

Numbers 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent

of brass, he lived.

E. GOD HAS A PLAN FOR THE SERPENT THAT DECEIVED ADAM AND EVE. IT IS THE CROSS AND AN EMPTY GRAVE.

III. WE CAN NOT UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF TODAY’S LESSON WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF THE HAND IN MINISTRY. WE BATTLE WITH OUR HANDS AND EYES:

Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy

whole body should be cast into hell.

Mark 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

A. IN THE BIBLE WE SEE THE HAND AND THE EYES AS A TYPE.

THE EYE:

We speak of an evil eye, the focus and intent of the eye can be a lure away from God’s plan.

If the eye is full of lust and adultery --- so is the heart.

Then the Bible warns of EYE-SERVICE ...

B. THE HAND IS A TYPE IN THE BIBLE.

The hand is a symbol of human action and reaction to the things of God.