<TITLE>03. Par 9-13</TITLE>L-9 When Charles G. Finney, to my way of thinking (and I'm just one), was one of the greatest ministers since Saint Paul. He claimed to have won a million souls to Christ. Dwight Moody in his day... Charles Finney was a--a lawyer, an educated man, and he was God's message to the world in his day, an educated man who got many hundreds of lawyers together. And you've read his biography, I'm sure, most all people who read those things, religious books. And it's a--it's a masterpiece.
Then along came Dwight Moody, which was a very illiterate, unlearned man. His grammar was very poor, but he was God's Message for that age. In each age God has a message.

L-10 And in the days when the children of Israel were journeying through the wilderness, God had a message of a brass serpent on a pole, provided for a compound reason: for forgiveness of sin and healing of their body from a snakebite, which their medical aids would not touch. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, which were very smart, shrewd, medical men. But his--his remedies did not help this certain snakebite. And we believe that to be true, because the Bible states it. And he lifted up a brass serpent, and the people had nothing to do but to look at that brass serpent and believe that it was God's compound cure for their sins, for refusing God's servant, and for complaining against him, and for the cure of the snakebite.

L-11 Jesus said, "As Moses was--lifted up the brass serpent, so must the Son of man," the same reason. And now, that serpent was God's provided way for healing for many, many years. And after the serpent, the people got to worshipping the image, the serpent, instead of what it stood for. And that brought the people under idolatry, so the prophet went in and took the serpent and destroyed it.
Later, when the people had need of Divine healing, God sent an Angel down to a pool. Now, the Scripture said that it was an Angel and was on the pool. And the first one stepping in, that had faith, got healed.

L-12 Now, the quotation of the Scripture here, claims that there were great multitudes of people who lay there, was lame, halt, blind, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters. And then when the first person got healed, all the virtue of the Angel that was on the water, His powers, went into the sick person. The waters ceased, and the Angel never come back for many days, at another season, perhaps another four, five, or six weeks. But the people waited patiently for the Angel.
And many of you clergymen setting here, no doubt has taken the history of it: how that the people would even fight with knives trying to run over each other to get to the pool to get in first. What a mass of humanity, suffering, that must have been.

L-13 And when along came the virgin born, Divine Son of God, and He was God's provided lamb, provided Sacrifice, Jehovah-jireh, the provided One... And as He was born and the people of that day, of His day, especially the religious people, did not believe Him, because He never come in a classical way that they expected Him. But He came humble, born in a manger, wrapped in swaddling's cloth. There was no singing at His birth, as there is a king's birth. Mortals, when a king is born, the people sing and have jubilee. But there was no king, no people to sing at this King's birth. But the Angels came down and sang to the shepherds, "in the city of David is born Christ the Saviour."


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