1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,920 Your Bibles to the Book of Number, or you can type in your 2 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:10,320 device the Book of Numbers, chapter 23, Numbers 23. 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,920 And this morning we're going to be in verses 13 to 26. 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,680 We have started a series of numbers several months ago and 5 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:22,160 we've made to a smaller series on the prophet Balaam. 6 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,760 And so this morning we're going to be continuing that study of 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,520 Balaam. And last week we looked at his 8 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,280 first Oracle, and this morning we're going to be looking at his 9 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:35,040 second Oracle. So Numbers 23, let's read the 10 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:36,200 text. The title of the sermon this 11 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:40,840 morning is this. God doesn't lie or change his 12 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,640 mind. So let's read the text, open us 13 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,080 on a word of prayer, and then we'll jump into the sermon this 14 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:48,640 morning. Numbers 23, beginning in verse 15 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:53,320 13. And Balak said to him, Please 16 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,680 come with me to another place from which you may see them. 17 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:00,920 You shall see only a fraction of them, and shall not see them 18 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:03,880 all. Then curse them for me from 19 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:06,320 there. And he took him to the field of 20 00:01:06,320 --> 00:01:10,520 Zophene, to the top of Pisgah, and built 7 altars, and offered 21 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:15,200 a bull and a ram on each altar. Balaam said to Balak, Stand here 22 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,120 beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over 23 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,560 there. And the Lord met Balaam and put 24 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,560 a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus you 25 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,560 shall speak. And he came to him, and behold, 26 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,640 he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the Princess of 27 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:34,200 Moab with him. And Balak said to him, What has 28 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,600 the Lord spoken? And Balaam took up his discourse 29 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:43,680 and said, Rise Balak, and hear, Give ear to me, O son of Zippor. 30 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:50,720 God is not man that he should lie, or a son of man that he 31 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:54,520 should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do 32 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,920 it, or has He spoken, and will he not fulfill it? 33 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:00,840 Behold, I received a command to bless. 34 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,280 He has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. 35 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,000 He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble 36 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,120 in Israel. The Lord their God is with them, 37 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:13,600 and the shout of a king is among them. 38 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,720 God brings them out of Egypt, and it's for them like the horns 39 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:20,720 of the wild ox. For there is no enchantment 40 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,120 against Jacob, no divination against Israel. 41 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,160 Now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, what has God 42 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:31,480 wrought? Behold a people as a lion rises 43 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,880 as a lion it lifts itself. It does not lie down until it 44 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,440 has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain. 45 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,400 And Balak said to Balaam, Do not curse them at all, and do not 46 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,760 bless them at all. But Balaam answered, Balak, did 47 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:54,320 I not tell you all that the Lord says that I must do? 48 00:02:55,240 --> 00:03:01,880 If you will pray with me, Father, I pray that as we 49 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:06,720 continue to look at the Book of Numbers and as we continue to 50 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:13,560 look at the prophet Balaam and his prophecies over the people 51 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:19,480 of Israel, God, would you help us to see and to hear the words 52 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:24,040 this morning that He says that you are not a man that you 53 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:28,160 should lie, nor son of man, that you should change your mind. 54 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,320 You are a God who does what he says. 55 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:37,240 Help us to not just merely hear these words this morning, God, 56 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:40,360 but to allow them to change us in the way that we view you and 57 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:44,960 see you, to know that we can trust you, that we can always 58 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,720 trust you. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen. 59 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:56,560 If you are going to date someone, if you are going to 60 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:01,680 marry someone, if you're going to live with someone, if you're 61 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,880 going to be friends with someone, if you're going to 62 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:09,000 attend church with someone, or in other words, if you're going 63 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:13,240 to be in a relationship of some form with another person. 64 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:19,279 There are two universal truths that we should be aware of #1 65 00:04:20,399 --> 00:04:26,200 all people lie and #2 all people change their minds. 66 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:31,080 It may be an emotional lie, It may be a mental lie. 67 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:37,000 Maybe 1/2 truth or a deception or an exaggeration or a 68 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:43,600 misleading or the wrong facts. But the truth is, all people 69 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:49,720 lie, one way or the other. And all people change their 70 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,160 minds. We change perspectives, we 71 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:56,920 change opinions, we change preferences, we change our 72 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,040 commitments, We might even change our promises. 73 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:11,000 All people lie and all people change their minds, which is why 74 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:17,880 it is a great, great comfort that God is not a man that he 75 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:24,440 should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. 76 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:27,360 That's what the sermon is about this morning. 77 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:30,120 I want to start by giving the context. 78 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:32,760 If you have not been with us in the past few weeks, we've been 79 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,280 doing a study on the Book of Numbers and specifically Balaam. 80 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:37,800 And let me give the context. So we're all brought up to 81 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,680 speed, and then I'll jump into our text this morning. 82 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:45,680 So here's the context. Balak is the king of Moab, and 83 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,760 he has hired Balaam, a Pagan diviner, to curse Israel. 84 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:54,640 Balaam has told that he can only say what the Lord tells him to 85 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:57,160 say. But Balak's kind of ignores 86 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:03,440 these instructions and says, you know, just just try. 87 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:05,760 And so Balaam begins his discourse. 88 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:07,160 And that's what we looked at last week. 89 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:12,160 But rather than curse Israel, Balaam actually blesses Israel. 90 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:16,160 And Balak at the end of this says, what have you done to me? 91 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:21,040 I hired you, curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but 92 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:25,320 bless them. And Balaam tells them, I already 93 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,960 told you, I already told you, I can only say what the Lord tells 94 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,240 me to say. And that's where we left off 95 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:33,520 last week. So we're going to pick up in the 96 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,280 second Oracle this morning looking at verse 13. 97 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:40,760 If you'll look at verse 13 with me said to him, please come with 98 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,720 me to another place from which you may see them. 99 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:50,120 You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. 100 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:54,240 Then curse them for me from there. 101 00:06:54,840 --> 00:06:58,680 So in the first Oracle, Balaam went to this bare height. 102 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:01,280 He's kind of overlooking the people of Israel. 103 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,400 He talks about seeing Israel from the top of the crags and 104 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:09,560 from the the hills and Balak and and it doesn't work according to 105 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,320 Balak. And so Balak gets this idea. 106 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:18,400 He's like, maybe if we change location, maybe if we go to a 107 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:22,960 different location, Balaam will be able to curse them from that 108 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,120 location. Maybe it's a location problem. 109 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:28,760 So Balak takes them to a new location and he says you only 110 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,160 see a fraction of them. And he repeats his instructions 111 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:36,360 to Balaam. He says curse them for me from 112 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:40,280 there from the new location. Now what? 113 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:45,520 Balak failed to understand that God is not a local deity. 114 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:52,080 Our God is not a local deity because our God is omnipresent, 115 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,840 which means he exists everywhere. 116 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,080 Location doesn't matter. God testifies in the book of 117 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:01,320 Jeremiah. Am IA God at hand? 118 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,040 Am I not a God? Also far away? 119 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:09,000 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him, 120 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:13,720 declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? 121 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,000 Declares the Lord? Jeremiah 2323 to 24. 122 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,640 In other words, God's omnipresence matters. 123 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:23,800 Something an attribute of God that may not give a whole lot of 124 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,920 thought to, but God's omnipresence matters. 125 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:30,920 Here's why I've talked to many Christians throughout the years 126 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:36,240 who suggest that maybe a change of scenery will make things 127 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:38,919 different. Their life's not going the way 128 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:43,120 that they want, and they think maybe a change of scenery will 129 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:46,160 make things different. Maybe if we change cities, maybe 130 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:49,920 if we change jobs, maybe if we change churches, maybe if we 131 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:54,680 change schools, maybe if we change relationships, maybe it 132 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:59,760 will change things. And the answer is maybe. 133 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:08,160 But here's what it won't change. It won't change the Lord, and it 134 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,480 won't change God's will for your life. 135 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:17,000 God's will is to bless Israel no matter where Balaam curses them 136 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,160 or attempts to curse them from. It doesn't matter where he 137 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:23,760 attempts to prophecy from. Or here's another way to think 138 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:25,880 about it. Some Christians will be 139 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:30,240 righteous in one place. They'll be righteous in setting, 140 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:34,440 but then they will make allowance for their sin in 141 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,720 another. We can have this cognitive 142 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,080 dissonance where we think that the Lord sees me here, the Lord 143 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,920 sees me in church, the Lord sees me in small group, the Lord sees 144 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:47,960 me when I'm around other Christians, but he doesn't see 145 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:53,800 me when I'm over here. Brothers and sisters, God sees 146 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,080 not only in Jerusalem, He also sees in Sodom and Gomorrah. 147 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:02,760 Just as much the psalmist writes, Where shall I go from 148 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:05,160 your spirit? Where shall I flee from your 149 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:08,400 presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are 150 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,160 there. If I make my bed and she'll 151 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:17,680 behold you are there. Where can Balaam make this 152 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:21,240 prophecy and the Lord not be there? 153 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:29,400 God's omnipresence matters. Look at verses 14 to 15 and he 154 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:36,520 come to the field of to the top bull and a ram on each altar. 155 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:40,560 Balaam said to Balak, stand here beside your burnt offering 156 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:46,440 there. So Balak takes him to a field on 157 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:50,640 top of mount Pisgah on top of this mount and they repeat the 158 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:54,800 same process as before. He builds 7 altars and he offers 159 00:10:54,800 --> 00:11:00,720 a bull and a ram on each altar. So Balak has now invested in 14 160 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:06,720 altars, 14 bulls and 14 Rams. In other words, he is willing to 161 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:11,320 spare no expense to make sure this curse happens. 162 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:13,680 And Balaam gives him the same instructions. 163 00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:18,920 He says stand here beside your burnt offering while I go over 164 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:21,720 there. But notice the difference, he 165 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:25,040 says, while I meet the Lord over there. 166 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:27,520 Now that's different than what we saw last week, isn't it? 167 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:33,600 Earlier last week, Balaam said perhaps the Lord will meet with 168 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,800 me over there. But now there's no perhaps. 169 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:41,440 In other words, Balaam expects God to meet with him. 170 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,760 He expects it. What does that mean for us? 171 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:51,560 It means this, the more we encounter God, the more we 172 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:58,720 expect to hear from God. The more we encounter God, the 173 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:02,320 more we expect to hear from God. It's kind of like learning a 174 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:04,280 language. All right. 175 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:08,760 My wife asked me, since our boys are home schooled and, and we 176 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:10,760 have to like, you know, she takes care of their education. 177 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:14,000 She asked me, she said, what language do you want our boys to 178 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:15,320 learn? Required to take a foreign 179 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:17,480 language and like, what language do you want them to learn? 180 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:22,760 And I was like, English, I'd like for them to be masters in 181 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:28,200 English, but if it's absolutely necessary for them to learn a 182 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:32,800 language, the easiest possible one may be Spanish. 183 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:40,800 She asked if Chinese would be an option and I was like, no, no, 184 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:44,400 can't just learn Chinese casually. 185 00:12:45,560 --> 00:12:48,640 You either have to have parents who speak it or you have to be 186 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:51,880 immersed in the culture. You cannot learn Chinese 187 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:58,360 casually. The same is true with hearing 188 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:03,920 from God. You can't just hear from God 189 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:08,800 casually. You have to be immersed in it. 190 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:15,640 The more you are immersed in it, the more you will hear, the more 191 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:20,280 you will understand, the more you will expect God to speak to 192 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:26,040 you. If you only casually listen to 193 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,480 the Lord, if you are not immersed in this, you will know 194 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:34,720 as you will understand as much as I understand Chinese, which 195 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:39,760 is not much at all. Look at verse 16 to 17. 196 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,800 And the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, 197 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:46,720 Return to Balak and you shall speak. 198 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,600 And he came to and behold, he was standing beside his burnt 199 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:51,960 offering, and the Princess of Moab with him. 200 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:55,680 And Balak said to him, What has the Lord spoken? 201 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,640 Now God does exactly what he did before the Lord met Balaam. 202 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,680 He put a word in his mouth and he gave him instructions to 203 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:06,880 speak it. Now what I find in interesting 204 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:12,480 that God didn't put the same word in Balaam's mouth. 205 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:16,480 He put a new word in Balaam's mouth. 206 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:20,320 All four of these oracles are different. 207 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:22,720 They're all different. You could argue that. 208 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:25,880 Why not just give them one prophecy to bless them and just 209 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:27,240 keep repeating over and over again. 210 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:29,280 God doesn't do that. They're all different. 211 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:34,000 God gave Balaam a new word every time. 212 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:39,120 Brothers and sisters, let me exhort you to ask the Lord to 213 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:46,080 give you a new word in Psalm 40. In a place of hopelessness and 214 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:51,560 despair, the psalmist writes, He put a new song in my mouth 215 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:55,040 multiple times. The psalmist exhorts us, Oh, 216 00:14:55,040 --> 00:15:01,640 sing to the Lord a new song. And in the same vein, ask the 217 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:06,760 Lord to give you a new word, a new word. 218 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,680 There's a reason why the phrase Christian says exists. 219 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:14,360 You ever heard that phrase right? 220 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:16,640 That's a Christian cliche. There's a reason why that 221 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:17,800 exists. Here's why. 222 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,560 Because Christians are often guilty of attempting to draw 223 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:31,160 fresh water from stagnant wells when God is willing to lead us 224 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:36,760 to living wells. The reason? 225 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:41,440 We read books, Christian books and articles and devotionals, 226 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:46,080 not to the Word of God. The reason we listen to sermons, 227 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:48,080 the reason you're listening right now, the reason we listen 228 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:52,560 to podcast, is because we don't want to keep repeating the same 229 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:56,520 prophecies, the same exhortations, the same rebukes, 230 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:01,560 and the same encouragements. We want God to put a new word in 231 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:07,160 our mouth, not only a word. Last week we talked about God, 232 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:10,520 please put a word in my mouth. But now we are saying, Lord, put 233 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:14,960 a new word in my mouth. I don't want to always keep 234 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:21,920 giving the same word. I want a new word and don't and 235 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:25,440 don't hear me saying that like like this only one word. 236 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:30,200 But the way that we apply this, the way that we use this can be 237 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:33,160 new and fresh, or it can be old and stagnant. 238 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,600 Balaam returns to Balak and the scene is exactly the same as 239 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:42,760 before. He's standing beside the burnt 240 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:44,720 offering with the Princess of Moab with him. 241 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:47,600 Except this time Balak asked Balaam. 242 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:51,920 He says what is the Lord spoken? Now did you notice that he 243 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:56,280 doesn't say has the Lord spoken? He just says what has the Lord 244 00:16:56,280 --> 00:17:00,160 spoken? In other words, even Balak that 245 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:05,920 Balaam would hear from God, even this Pagan king expects that God 246 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:09,160 would speak to him. You almost get the sense that 247 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,800 Balak wants to know. He's like, can you tell me what 248 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:14,560 you're going to say before you say it? 249 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:17,680 I, I made that mistake the first time and now I'd like to know 250 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:19,800 ahead of time what you're going to say before you say it. 251 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:23,520 But Balaam doesn't doesn't give him a preview. 252 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:28,600 Now before we move on to verse 18, I want to point out 253 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:32,800 something. Why does God allow Balaam to 254 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,080 keep approaching him like this? Do you think about that? 255 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:40,480 Balaam approached God the first time. 256 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:44,480 God said don't go with them. Balaam approached him the second 257 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,120 time. God said you can go but only say 258 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:49,920 what I tell you to say. Balaam approached the third 259 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,400 time. God gave him a prophecy to 260 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,160 bless. Now Balaam is approaching God a 261 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,760 fourth time. Why doesn't God say to Balaam 262 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:07,320 enough, enough of the charade? Because as Isaiah says, the Lord 263 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:12,560 is the everlasting God. He does not faint or grow weary. 264 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:19,120 The fact that there are 4 oracles testifies to the 265 00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:26,800 patience of our God. God is patient with Balaam, 266 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:35,680 patient even with Balak, which means this for us as his sons 267 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,360 and daughters. We should never think that we 268 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:45,880 are bothering God. I understand that some of us, 269 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:48,040 you know, you may have grown up in a family where if you 270 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:50,960 approach your parents, you all like not only did you something, 271 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:52,880 you always felt like you were bothering them. 272 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:01,480 We are never bothering God, ever. 273 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:10,880 You can come to Him 100 times a day and ask Him, and He is not 274 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:15,400 weary of it. He does not grow weary. 275 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:27,600 Look at verse 18 and Balaam took up his discourse and said, rise, 276 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:32,280 Balak in here, give ear to me, O son of Zippor. 277 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:36,280 So Balaam begins his second discourse and I want to draw 278 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:38,200 your attention. You know, we might just skip 279 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,960 over verse 18, but I don't want to do that because it's AI want 280 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:48,920 to be verbs that Balaam exhorts Balak with #1 he says rise. 281 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:52,080 Now that word rise there probably means pay attention in 282 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:56,280 this context, you could translate it as pay attention 2 283 00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:04,560 here and three give ear exhorts. Balak pay attention and listen. 284 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:10,160 Now that's important because up until this point Balak has not 285 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,800 been paying attention. He hasn't been listening. 286 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,040 It's very right because he. Balaam has told him over and 287 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:18,840 over again, I can only say what the Lord says. 288 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:19,760 I can only say what the Lord says. 289 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:21,600 And Balak's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you can say. 290 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,360 Like if you want to get paid, you're going to say what I say. 291 00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:27,120 It's very clear that Balak is not listening. 292 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:31,840 And so Balaam tells them, he says, Balak, pay attention and 293 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:34,840 listen. One of the most important 294 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:39,680 disciplines that we can perform in the Christian walk is to pay 295 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:45,640 attention and listen, let me give an analogy. 296 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:48,680 I mentioned before, I think I mentioned last week and maybe a 297 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:50,840 few weeks before that, I mentioned last week that we just 298 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:57,000 started working out at the gym. My one of my boys basketball 299 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,800 coach is actually one of the here this morning, one of the 300 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:03,040 boys basketball coach came to me and he's like, has Joe ever 301 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:05,720 worked out before? And I was like, I get yeah, OK, 302 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:08,600 I got it. Like note taking, we'll get a 303 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:10,520 gym membership, we'll start working out. 304 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:15,320 So we started working out. We started working out. 305 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:21,000 And it can be easy when you go to the gym to just like, want to 306 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,320 just jump in, just go in there and, you know, just start 307 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:25,480 working out. I see that all the time. 308 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,760 Yeah, I see like a new guy come in and he puts like 40 fives on 309 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,120 and you're like, you're not going to be able to do that. 310 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:35,360 There's so many machines, there's so many devices. 311 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:37,600 There's so many weights. There's so many muscles to work 312 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:39,120 on. You're like, I have so much to 313 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:40,240 do. You look in the mirror. 314 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:42,520 I got a lot of work to do here, right? 315 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,680 I best get started. Let me just jump in and go at 316 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:47,600 it. But perhaps the best thing we 317 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:56,040 can do first is to pay attention and listen to, actually pay 318 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,760 attention to somebody who's teaching us what to do or what 319 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,560 not to do. Because if we don't, we will 320 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:08,360 either hurt ourselves or we'll look like a fool, or we'll just 321 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:14,680 waste our time. Friends, it is important to read 322 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,360 our Bible. It's important to pray. 323 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:21,080 It's important to attend church. It's important to give. 324 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:25,480 It's important to worship and evangelize and fast and meditate 325 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:28,200 and journal. All of these are important. 326 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:33,400 But none of these matter if we don't 1st pay attention and 327 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:42,560 listen. Does God have your undivided 328 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:47,160 attention? Does He have it? 329 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:56,640 Look at verse 19. God is not a man that he should 330 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,840 lie or a son of man that He should change his mind. 331 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:04,760 Has he said not do it? Or has He spoken and will he not 332 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:09,320 fulfill it? Verse 19 is one of the most 333 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:10,840 famous verses in the book of Numbers. 334 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:13,000 It might be the most famous from the book of Numbers. 335 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:15,800 Balaam makes 4 statements about God here. 336 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:17,000 I want to look at them one at a time. 337 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,920 Because this is one of the most pivotal verses, if not the most 338 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:23,960 pivotal in the book of Numbers. I want to look at them one at a 339 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:26,160 time. I'll give the negative version 340 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:30,480 of it as as the narrator get as as as Balaam gives, and I'll 341 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:32,040 give the affirmative version of it. 342 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:37,040 So here they are, one at a time. For one, God is not a man or a 343 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:41,720 son of man. Or in other words, God is God. 344 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,840 God is God. He is not a man, He is God. 345 00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:51,880 Another way to think about this God is not like us. 346 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:55,120 Praise God that he is not like us. 347 00:23:56,280 --> 00:24:00,600 We are made in God's image, but God is not made in our image, 348 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:08,600 which means that God's anger is not like ours, His forgiveness 349 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:12,800 is not like ours. God's justice is not like ours. 350 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:19,520 God's patience is not like ours. Sometimes we can highlight how 351 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,800 different things are right. You know, cats and dogs are very 352 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:26,840 different, men and women are very different, cultures are 353 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:30,280 very different. But none of these differences 354 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:35,840 are anywhere near as significant as the difference between God 355 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:47,120 and man. God is not like us two. 356 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:51,360 God is not a liar. Or in other words, God is 357 00:24:51,360 --> 00:24:58,800 truthful. God never lies, which means he 358 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,680 can always be trusted. Always. 359 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:05,400 Here's why I find this so comforting. 360 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:10,880 One of the reasons that I despise by I despise buying 361 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:14,840 anything like other than like food, and only because I have to 362 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:21,760 I despise buying anything is because I suffer from extreme 363 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:27,080 analysis paralysis. Like extreme like, I can just 364 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:29,000 need a new pencil sharpener, right? 365 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:30,840 Lauren can tell me we need a pencil sharpener. 366 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:34,440 I'll spend an hour researching what is the best pencil 367 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,560 sharpener? What's the highest reviewed? 368 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:41,200 What's the budget version like? I can't buy pencil sharpener 369 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,160 without having analysis paralysis. 370 00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:46,720 I have to know that I made the best possible decision on this 371 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:50,680 pencil sharpener and therefore I hate buying anything. 372 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:54,800 Do you know what's at the centre of my analysis paralysis? 373 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:57,880 What's at the centre of it? Trust. 374 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:04,280 I don't know who to trust. We recently bought a new 375 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:07,280 mattress. We've been our mattress is 17 376 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:09,040 years old. That's old. 377 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:11,040 We recently bought a new mattress. 378 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:15,880 I spent hours and hours researching mattresses. 379 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:18,240 Hours. Why? 380 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:20,520 Because I didn't know who to trust. 381 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:25,000 I didn't know who to trust. I even went to Mattress Firm and 382 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:29,160 then somebody told me that they were a front and I was like, 383 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:38,120 yeah, I probably can't do stuff. Friend and and no offence if you 384 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:40,920 like Mattress Firm and I I I don't know that they're front. 385 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:47,640 Here's why this is comforting friend. 386 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:55,160 You can always trust God. In other words, I don't need to 387 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,400 get online and try to figure out what are the reviews of God. 388 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:01,480 I don't care what the reviews of God are online and some of them 389 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:05,240 are pretty harsh. I don't care what anecdotal 390 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:08,440 evidence you may have heard about God and you go talk to 391 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:11,080 people like what is your anecdotal evidence of your 392 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:13,000 experience with God? I don't care. 393 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:19,800 The word of God says you can trust God every single time 394 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:27,320 because he never lies, ever. He will tell you the truth every 395 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:34,960 single time without fail, and you can always trust it #3 God 396 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:38,000 is not capricious, which is another way of saying God is 397 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,560 unchanging. God is not capricious, or in 398 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:42,920 other words, saying God is unchanging. 399 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:45,600 I preached a whole sermon on this topic over a decade ago. 400 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:48,880 The title of the sermon was Does God Change His Mind in the book 401 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:51,360 of Jonah? I won't rehash that sermon, but 402 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:56,480 here's why this matters. Balak thinks that God might 403 00:27:56,480 --> 00:28:00,080 change his mind. That's what he's doing, right? 404 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:03,960 In other words, Balaam has told him that God's going to bless 405 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:05,880 them. And Balak thinks, well, maybe 406 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:09,080 he'll change his mind. Now, why does Balak think this? 407 00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:12,880 Because his understanding of the gods is that all gods change 408 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:16,240 their mind. Go to any culture, to any 409 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:18,920 foreign God, and all gods change their mind. 410 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:21,120 That's what they do. The gods are fickle. 411 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:23,960 Gods are capricious. Yeah. 412 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,120 I mean, you see that just look mythology, right? 413 00:28:26,120 --> 00:28:29,520 One day Zeus is angry, Bolt. Another day, he's happy 414 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:33,280 Blessing, right? The gods are fickle. 415 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:36,920 They change their minds. So why would the Israelite God 416 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:41,280 any different? But the reality is, he is 417 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:44,400 different. He is not capricious. 418 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:50,560 He is not fickle. Our God is unchanging. 419 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:53,920 Now we call this attribute immutability. 420 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:56,800 If you ever heard that firm immutability, that's the 421 00:28:56,800 --> 00:28:58,880 attribute. God doesn't change. 422 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:02,520 Malachi 36 for I the Lord do not change. 423 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,120 He was 13-8. Jesus Christ says the same 424 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:10,000 yesterday, today, and forever. For Samuel 1529, the prophet 425 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,280 Samuel actually repeats the same words. 426 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:16,760 The glory of Israel will not lie or change his mind, for he is 427 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:21,040 not a man that he should change his mind. 428 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:26,480 Now here's why this is such good news. 429 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:33,680 Because God provides stability in an unstable world. 430 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:40,920 God provides stability in an unstable world. 431 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:47,760 I remember asking my mom years ago, years ago, why she married 432 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:50,920 my dad because they are so different. 433 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,800 I mean they're so so different. And I was like why did you marry 434 00:29:55,800 --> 00:30:03,040 dad when my mom was lost? Not a Christian. 435 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:04,840 She was previously married 2 times. 436 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:09,320 Both marriages were pretty bad and were pretty rough. 437 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:16,120 And she told me, she said I chose your dad because he 438 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:22,280 provided stability. Her world was unstable. 439 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:33,240 He provided stability for her. That's what God does for all of 440 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:39,800 us in Christ. He provides stability in an 441 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:45,000 unstable world that we wait every morning that God is the 442 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:50,280 same as yesterday and 10 years ago and 1000 years ago. 443 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,400 Can you imagine if God did change his mind? 444 00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:58,560 Think about that. Can you imagine if our God 445 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:02,160 changed his mind? How impossible would it be to 446 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:06,840 wake up every day with any stability at all? 447 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:11,640 Like what if one day God said, you know what? 448 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:15,120 I'm getting kind of tired of that. 449 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:20,000 I'm tired of forgiving him. I'm tired of his excuses. 450 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:24,560 I'm, I'm just going to take him out of the book of life. 451 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:31,880 You know, I thought he was a good choice, but turns out, you 452 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:33,160 know, I'm just kind of really tired of him. 453 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:35,240 I'm just going to take him out. Can you imagine if we had to 454 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:41,360 live like that? We wake up every day with 455 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:46,560 tremendous comfort and stability because we know that God will 456 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:56,840 not change His mind. God is not a son of man that He 457 00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:58,600 should change His mind. Amen. 458 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:06,440 Amen #4 God is faithful. Balaam says that God is 459 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,240 faithful. He does what he says, He 460 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:14,320 fulfills His Word. God has a 100% track record and 461 00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:20,360 He always will. I have several family members, 462 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:24,320 both my side of the family and my wife's side of the family who 463 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:29,280 owns small businesses. Do you know what they are? 464 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:30,840 And the businesses are very different. 465 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:34,200 Like 1 is a tuxedo shop, another one is like APT right? 466 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,520 They all various. 1 is a dog grooming business. 467 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:42,440 Do you know what they all say is their number one problem with 468 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,280 their small business? They all say the same thing. 469 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:47,240 You know what they say is their number one problem with their 470 00:32:47,240 --> 00:33:01,440 small. Hire somebody and they are 471 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,640 inconsistent at best. Sometimes they don't even show 472 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:08,840 up for work. In other words, faithfulness is 473 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:12,840 a rare quality these days where if somebody says that they will 474 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:16,200 do something, they will do it all. 475 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:25,240 Know that a friend, our God is faithful. 476 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:33,080 He will never flake out. He will never fail to never drop 477 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:36,360 the ball. He will never be a no show. 478 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:41,160 He will never bail. He will never ghost us. 479 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:45,760 He will never break his promises. 480 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:53,560 Our God is faithful. Look at verse 20. 481 00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:57,720 Behold, I've received the command to bless. 482 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:01,080 He has blessed and I cannot revoke it. 483 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:06,680 Balaam has already exhorted Balaam and listen now he exhorts 484 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:12,199 him. He says, behold, see, I have 485 00:34:12,199 --> 00:34:15,840 received a command to bless. Balaam says I have received, 486 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:19,360 which means again a reminder. God's commands are a gift. 487 00:34:19,639 --> 00:34:22,400 He says I've received a command to what? 488 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,880 To bless. And notice what Balaam says he 489 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:28,880 has blessed. I've received a command to 490 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,239 bless. But here's the thing, he already 491 00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:35,320 has blessed, meaning that this people that you're trying to 492 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:38,960 curse Balak, they don't exist in a neutral state. 493 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:42,280 It's not as though like they're just neutral, you know, and 494 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:43,840 let's determine what their fate is. 495 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:48,159 They are already blessed. God told Abraham, I will make a 496 00:34:48,159 --> 00:34:51,920 great nation of you and I will bless you and make your name 497 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:54,960 great. And Balaam says I cannot revoke 498 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:57,560 it. I can't revoke the blessing. 499 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:02,520 I can't turn it back. God's blessing has a no return 500 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:06,280 policy. There's no undo button for God's 501 00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:11,520 blessing, Paul writes. The gifts and the calling of God 502 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:16,680 are irrevocable. You may have seen that word 503 00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:19,880 irrevocable before. If you ever set up a trust, if 504 00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:21,960 you have, you know if you set up a trust for your kids or your 505 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:25,120 grandkids, you can make it revocable or irrevocable. 506 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:28,240 There's advantages to both. You can see Eric Liu, He'll 507 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:30,280 provide information for you. I'm just kidding. 508 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:34,000 I'm volunteering. There are revocable trust and 509 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:38,200 there's irrevocable trust. Irrevocable trusts are very 510 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:41,600 difficult to terminate. It's really only possible with a 511 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:47,200 court order. Thankfully for us, God is the 512 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:53,680 judge. He has set up an irrevocable 513 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:59,880 trust to bless His children, to bless His people, and He is the 514 00:35:59,880 --> 00:36:04,120 highest court and therefore it cannot be terminated. 515 00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:09,960 It can't be undone. Look at verse 21 to 22. 516 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:15,200 He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble 517 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:17,640 in Israel. The Lord their God is with them, 518 00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:19,320 and the shout of the king is among them. 519 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:24,680 God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of a 520 00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:29,200 wild ox. The first lines in verse 21 521 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:30,640 they're translated quite differently. 522 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:36,880 I think the idea here is that God has no 'cause or plans to 523 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:40,040 curse His people. The NET Bible has an interesting 524 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:42,120 translation. The NET Bible translates this as 525 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:45,520 He has not looked on iniquity in Jacob. 526 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:47,320 That's an interesting translation. 527 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:51,040 In other words, God has not looked on their iniquity and 528 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:53,760 He's not held it against them. Now, here's why this is 529 00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:56,000 important. God's people were surely 530 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,600 sinners. We've seen that in the book of 531 00:36:58,600 --> 00:36:59,600 Numbers. I mean, you read the book of 532 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:01,920 Numbers. Good grief, they were sinners 533 00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:05,960 and they were deserving of God's curse. 534 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:09,600 I think this is perhaps what Balak is, is hoping for. 535 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:13,360 I think Balak is thinking that like, what man, these people, 536 00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:16,200 they're, they're pretty sinful. Maybe their God will curse them. 537 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:18,880 Maybe he's fed up with them and he'll curse them. 538 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:22,840 But Balaam says God has not planned disaster for them. 539 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,840 He has not planned disaster curses for them. 540 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:29,120 Remember what God said to his people in Jeremiah 2911. 541 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:35,720 For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord plans 542 00:37:35,720 --> 00:37:46,280 for welfare and not for evil. Brother and sister, God does not 543 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:53,480 have bad plans for us. I think sometimes we feel that 544 00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:56,560 he does. I think sometimes we might even 545 00:37:56,560 --> 00:37:58,240 subconsciously think that he does. 546 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:02,960 Like why? Why is God's plans for my life 547 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:07,600 bad? Maybe God's plan is just for me 548 00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:09,080 to suffer. Maybe that's just His plan. 549 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:13,480 It's for me to. I don't think God's ever going 550 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:19,080 to give me what I want. Trust, family. 551 00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:25,160 God's plans for us are not bad. They're not even neutral. 552 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:35,440 His plans for us are good. There are two explicit reasons 553 00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:39,520 that Balaam states why God has not planned misfortune or 554 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:41,440 trouble for his people. They're in the text. 555 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:45,120 Look at them. Number one, God is with them and 556 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:49,800 #2 God is for them. Let's take this one at a time. 557 00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:55,240 God is with them. One could argue that this is the 558 00:38:55,240 --> 00:38:59,280 theme of the Bible. The cross is the central focus 559 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:03,120 of the Bible. But the purpose of the cross is 560 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:05,720 what? So that we would be with God? 561 00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:11,120 One could argue that the theme of this book is God making a way 562 00:39:11,240 --> 00:39:16,560 for us to be with him. Balaam says that the shout of a 563 00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:21,760 king is among them, meaning the people rejoice, shout over their 564 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:24,680 king that is among them. Now we see this most clearly 565 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:28,440 when Jesus rise into Jerusalem, the people shout, Hosanna, 566 00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:32,320 blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king 567 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:34,600 of Israel. John 1213. 568 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:41,680 God is with us and #2 God is for us. 569 00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:44,880 He is for them. Notice that he says He is for 570 00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:48,200 them like the horns of a wild ox. 571 00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:52,280 Don't you love poetic metaphors? Or I guess this is a this would 572 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:56,760 be assembly I guess, not a yes, this will be a simile. 573 00:39:56,920 --> 00:39:58,560 See This is why you need to master English. 574 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:01,000 This is a simile, not a metaphor. 575 00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:10,600 If you have ever seen a wild ox, how large and powerful this 576 00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:14,680 animal is, I saw on YouTube. You probably saw the video too 577 00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:17,480 at some point, but I saw on YouTube one time a lion trying 578 00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:21,480 to attack a wild ox and another ox comes over. 579 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,480 And literally just tosses this lion up in the air. 580 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:26,240 It goes like 20 feet up in the air. 581 00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:30,320 It just picks the lion up with its horns and the lion goes like 582 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:37,920 flying and then it runs off. The Bible says that our enemy is 583 00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:42,920 a prowling lion seeking someone to devour. 584 00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:52,920 But our God has the strength of a wild ox, and He won't let this 585 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:58,520 lion touch us. He is for US. 586 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:04,720 Brothers and sisters, God is with you. 587 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:13,360 God is for you. One of my favorite things to do 588 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:16,320 is to watch my sons play basketball. 589 00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:23,480 I cheer for them, I root for them. 590 00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:26,040 Doesn't mean I don't see their mistakes. 591 00:41:26,040 --> 00:41:33,840 I see their mistakes. Got to go left, can't always go 592 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:40,240 right. I see their mistakes, I see 593 00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:44,560 their sin, I see when they argue with the ref. 594 00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:50,800 But I will never cheer against them. 595 00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:59,720 I will always be for them. That is how it is with our God. 596 00:42:02,160 --> 00:42:11,120 Balak is trying to get God to cheer for Moab and God says not 597 00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:16,960 a chance. I am for Team Israel. 598 00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:23,480 God is with us, He is for us at all times. 599 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:31,360 Look at verse 23 to 24. For there is no enchantment 600 00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:34,440 against Jacob, no divination against Israel. 601 00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:37,600 Now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, what has God 602 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:39,520 wrought? Behold a people. 603 00:42:39,720 --> 00:42:43,000 As a lioness it rises up, and as a lion it lists itself. 604 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:46,440 It does not lie down until it's devoured to pray and drunk. 605 00:42:46,440 --> 00:42:50,200 The blood of the Balaam testifies there is no 606 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:53,040 enchantment against Israel. In other words, there's no 607 00:42:53,040 --> 00:42:56,520 sorcery, there's no magic, there's no curse, there's no 608 00:42:56,520 --> 00:42:59,720 omen. You see, the elders of Moab had 609 00:42:59,720 --> 00:43:02,000 departed with fees for divination. 610 00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:04,920 But Balaam says there is no divination. 611 00:43:05,920 --> 00:43:07,760 There's no divination against Israel. 612 00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:10,640 And now it shall be said among the people. 613 00:43:10,760 --> 00:43:16,080 What has God wrought or the net Bible translates? 614 00:43:16,080 --> 00:43:20,240 I like this translation. Look at what God has done. 615 00:43:20,840 --> 00:43:25,280 That's what that means. Look at what God has done. 616 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:30,040 In other words, when people see Israel, when they look out at 617 00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:32,240 this nation, they don't see a people who are cursed. 618 00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:38,440 They see a people that makes them say look at what their God 619 00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:44,800 has done. You see the difference between 620 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:48,680 social media's definition of blessed and the Bible's 621 00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:53,440 definition of blessed is the end goal or the purpose. 622 00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:57,800 If you get on social media, you'll see people all the time 623 00:43:57,800 --> 00:44:02,240 saying blessed, right? And they have a big house, 624 00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:05,400 blessed. New car, blessed. 625 00:44:06,880 --> 00:44:09,080 You're in Hawaii sitting on the beach drinking a Mai Tai. 626 00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:15,520 Blessed. But what is the end goal of 627 00:44:15,520 --> 00:44:19,120 that? What is the purpose of that? 628 00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:25,320 To be blessed. The goal of being blessed is to 629 00:44:25,320 --> 00:44:28,600 be blessed. The end. 630 00:44:29,480 --> 00:44:31,880 That's the goal. That's the purpose. 631 00:44:32,120 --> 00:44:36,280 But what is the Christian's goal of being blessed? 632 00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:40,520 What is the Christian's purpose of being blessed? 633 00:44:40,760 --> 00:44:48,000 Here it is that people would say, look at what God has done, 634 00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:56,000 God always blesses us that his blessing would turn into praise. 635 00:44:58,240 --> 00:45:01,160 And Balaam concludes his Oracle with the image of a lion and a 636 00:45:01,160 --> 00:45:03,920 lioness for Israel, which probably conveys their power, 637 00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:05,920 their strength, and even royalty. 638 00:45:06,040 --> 00:45:11,120 That God takes his strength and he gives it to his people last, 639 00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:16,920 which is Balaam's way of telling Balak essentially you are a 640 00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:19,880 zebra picking a fight with a pack of lions. 641 00:45:22,840 --> 00:45:27,720 Last section look at verse 2526. And Balak said to Balaam, do not 642 00:45:27,720 --> 00:45:30,200 curse them at all, do not bless them at all. 643 00:45:30,360 --> 00:45:34,600 But Balaam answered Balak, did I not tell you all that the Lord 644 00:45:34,600 --> 00:45:39,080 says that I must do? Initially Balak asked the 645 00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:41,720 question, what have you done to me? 646 00:45:42,480 --> 00:45:45,960 I think you may have misunderstood the terms of your 647 00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:49,560 contract. But now Balak tells Balaam, 648 00:45:50,200 --> 00:45:54,000 listen, don't curse them at all. Don't bless them at all. 649 00:45:54,240 --> 00:45:56,160 In fact, don't say anything at all. 650 00:45:56,400 --> 00:46:00,040 Just just keep silent. Stop prophesying, stop all 651 00:46:00,040 --> 00:46:03,360 prophesying. But Balaam says, did I not tell 652 00:46:03,360 --> 00:46:07,000 you? You can see why Balaam's initial 653 00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:09,920 exhortation, pay attention and listen was important. 654 00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:15,680 He's like, I've been telling you, I told you that all that 655 00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:17,800 the Lord gives me, I have to say it. 656 00:46:19,240 --> 00:46:24,080 Meaning you have moved from desiring me to curse to desiring 657 00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:26,760 me to be silent. And he's telling I can't be 658 00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:29,280 silent. Now that you've brought me here, 659 00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:32,360 now that the Lord has approved this mission, I cannot be 660 00:46:32,360 --> 00:46:35,480 silent. I must speak what God commands 661 00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:40,040 me to speak. Brother and sister, silence is 662 00:46:40,040 --> 00:46:45,960 not an option for us. Baylor gives Balaam instructions 663 00:46:45,960 --> 00:46:50,800 to stop speaking. You ever been given a version of 664 00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:53,360 stop speaking? Maybe the world or maybe even 665 00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:56,120 your own family members will give us instructions to say, 666 00:46:56,400 --> 00:46:58,560 don't talk to me about this anymore. 667 00:46:58,560 --> 00:47:01,760 I don't want to hear about this anymore. 668 00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:07,640 And I understand that's a fine line of how to deal with that. 669 00:47:07,640 --> 00:47:11,120 But let me challenge you. Our response must be some 670 00:47:11,120 --> 00:47:15,960 version of what Balaam says. All that the Lord says that I 671 00:47:16,160 --> 00:47:23,760 must do, I cannot be silent. Let's pray.