1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:01,640 All right, good morning, church family. 2 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:06,560 If you would open your Bibles to the Book of Numbers, chapter 22. 3 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,560 We're continuing our study of the Book of Numbers and 4 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,760 continuing more specifically our study of Balaam. 5 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:18,680 We have started study on him two weeks ago and and we're going to 6 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:23,880 continue that this morning in verses 30 through 41. 7 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:26,560 The title of the sermon this morning is this. 8 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:32,119 Speak Every Word that God puts in our mouth. 9 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:35,160 So let's read the text. I'll open this in a word of 10 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:36,920 prayer, and then we'll jump into the sermon this morning. 11 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,280 Numbers 22, beginning in verse 30. 12 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:49,320 And the donkey said to Balaam, am I not your donkey on which 13 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,520 you have ridden all your life long to this day? 14 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:55,480 Is it my habit to treat you this way? 15 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:01,000 And he said no. Then the Lord opened the eyes of 16 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,040 Balaam, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way 17 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,360 with his drawn sword in his hand, And he bowed down and fell 18 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:09,800 on his face. And the Angel of the Lord said 19 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,080 to him, Why have you struck your donkey these three times? 20 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:17,280 Behold, I have come out to oppose you, because your way is 21 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:21,480 perverse before me. The donkey saw me and turned 22 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:23,600 aside before me these three times. 23 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:29,080 If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have 24 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:33,680 killed you and let her live. Then Balaam said to the Angel of 25 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:37,920 the Lord, I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in 26 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,480 the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in 27 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:45,160 your sight, I will turn back. And the Angel of the Lord said 28 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:52,360 to Balaam, Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell 29 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:54,400 you. So Balaam went on with the 30 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,320 Princess of Balaic. When Balak heard that Balaam had 31 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,520 come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, on the border 32 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,560 formed by the Arnon at the extremity of the border. 33 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:08,520 And Balak said to Balaam, Did I not send to you to call you? 34 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,920 Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you? 35 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,640 Balaam said to Balak. Behold, I have come to you. 36 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:21,480 Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? 37 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:28,680 The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak. 38 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:33,160 Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiryath, whose 39 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:35,680 oath. And Balak sacrificed oxen, his 40 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:37,800 sheep, and sent for Balaam and for the Princess who were with 41 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:39,680 them. And in the morning Balak took 42 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:43,760 Balaam and brought him up to Baymoth Baal, and from there he 43 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:48,480 saw a fraction of the people. He will pray with me. 44 00:02:54,160 --> 00:03:01,680 Father, I pray as the words that we just set sung in our our, our 45 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:06,600 last song. Lord, give us eyes to see. 46 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:17,240 Give us ears to hear. God, that is my single request 47 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,520 of you this morning. God, that you would give us eyes 48 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:22,800 to see and you would give us ears to hear. 49 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:31,800 I pray in Jesus name, Amen. A doctor's job is to tell you 50 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:37,560 about your health. Nobody likes to hear you're 51 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,280 overweight, or your blood pressure is too high, or you 52 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:46,040 need to stop smoking, or you need to get more exercise. 53 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:50,240 Nobody likes to hear these words from a doctor, but that's the 54 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:54,880 doctor's job. A lawyer's job is to tell you 55 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,240 about what is legal and what is not legal. 56 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:03,360 Nobody likes to hear that you can't do business this way, or 57 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:08,520 you can't take that loophole, or you need to read the fine print. 58 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:15,520 But that's the lawyer's job. A financial advisor's job is to 59 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,600 tell you where to invest and where not to invest, or how much 60 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,959 to spend, or how much to save, or what to do with your money. 61 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:27,240 Nobody likes to hear that you should not invest all your money 62 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:32,960 in this new startup that you are convinced is the next NVIDIA, or 63 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,920 that you need to scale back your spending, or you need to ramp up 64 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,440 your savings or whatever. Nobody wants to hear that. 65 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:45,040 But that is the financial advisor's job. 66 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:51,840 So what about us? What is our job? 67 00:04:55,320 --> 00:05:00,040 God has made all of us who are in Christ profits, and He has 68 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:07,240 put words into our mouth and we must speak them even if we 69 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:11,880 desire to say something else, even if we desire to say nothing 70 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:17,200 at all. We must speak every word that 71 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:21,080 God puts into our mouth. That's what the sermon is about 72 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,840 this morning. Speak every word that God puts 73 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:28,640 into your mouth. I want to give the context. 74 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:30,320 We're jumping into the middle of the story. 75 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:32,920 We're coming right to the end of the first part of Balaam's 76 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:34,320 story. And so I want to give the 77 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:36,520 context if you have not been with us the past two weeks, so 78 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:38,880 you know where we're at and where we're going. 79 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:41,880 Here's the context of our our text this morning. 80 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:47,560 The Israelite people are camping near the plains of Moab and the 81 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,560 Moabite King Balak sees this great horde of people camping 82 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,560 right outside his territory and he is scared. 83 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,800 He thinks they're going to come and attack him, so he decides to 84 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:02,600 go and hire a Pagan diviner named Balaam in an attempt to 85 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:07,120 weaken the forces of Israel. But God comes to Balaam at night 86 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,520 time and tells him do not go with the Moabites. 87 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:12,960 You may not curse them for they are blessed. 88 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:18,160 Now Balak won't take no for an answer, so he sends another 89 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:22,680 delegation to Balaam. And when they get there, rather 90 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:28,280 than tell them to go home, he says to them, all right, listen, 91 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:32,480 I'll go to the Lord tonight. I'll see what more he might say 92 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:36,000 to me. Now we would expect God to give 93 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,560 him the exact same answer. We'd expect God to say, well, I 94 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:41,000 already told you, don't go with them. 95 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:43,960 But to our surprise, that's not what God says. 96 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:49,520 God tells Balaam go with the men, but with one caveat. 97 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:55,360 Only do what I tell you. So in the morning, Balaam goes 98 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:58,080 with them. But as he's going along the way, 99 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:01,720 we discovered that God is angry with Balaam for going. 100 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:04,920 Now we're not. We're left confused as to why 101 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:07,400 God is angry. Didn't you just say to go? 102 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,800 But if you read the entire story, it becomes clear that 103 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:14,480 Balaam was not planning to obey God. 104 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:20,760 He was planning to get rich. So God decides to oppose Balaam. 105 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,680 He sends the Angel of the Lord with a sword in his hand to 106 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:29,160 stand in Balaam's way. Now as this Angel stands there, 107 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:33,800 Balaam doesn't see the Angel, but his donkey does. 108 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:37,560 The first time that the Angel stands there, the donkey sees 109 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:38,520 the Angel. He turns. 110 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,240 She turns into a field, which prompts Balaam to strike his 111 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,680 donkey. The second time, the donkey 112 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,480 tries to squeeze by against a wall, trying to go around the 113 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:52,360 Angel crushing Balaam's foot against the wall, prompting 114 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:54,440 Balaam to strike his donkey a second time. 115 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,160 The third time, there's nowhere to turn. 116 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:00,400 It's a narrow path. Can't turn to the right. 117 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:04,680 Can't donkey just lays down on the ground, prompting Balaam for 118 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:07,440 the third time to beat his donkey. 119 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:12,240 And then God does something really unexpected. 120 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:17,760 He opens the mouth of the donkey and she speaks to Balaam. 121 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:24,040 The donkey says, what have I done to you that you strike me 122 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:27,080 these three times? And Balaam speaks back to the 123 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:30,840 donkey, and he says, because you have made a fool of me. 124 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:35,520 If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right here, right 125 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:37,760 now. And that's where we left off 126 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:40,520 last week. So let's pick up on our text. 127 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:45,000 Let's start in verse 30. I'll be continuing with the 128 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,840 structure I've been using. I'll be weaving together 129 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,120 application exposition as we go through the text. 130 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:53,720 Let's look at verse 30. The donkey said to Balaam, am I 131 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:58,400 not your donkey on what you have ridden all your lifelong to this 132 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,280 day? Is it my habit to treat you this 133 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,480 way? And he said, no. 134 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:08,160 You know, what I find interesting is that not only did 135 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:13,040 the donkey speak to Balaam, but that the donkey had a logical, 136 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,000 rational conversation with Balaam. 137 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,640 It's not as though the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey 138 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:22,120 to just utter one word, right? That would be miraculous enough 139 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:27,440 where the donkey just says as it's getting beaten, stop or 140 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:32,680 look, you know, it's not. A donkey doesn't just say one 141 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:35,520 word. The the donkey has a logical 142 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:37,720 rational conversation with Balaam. 143 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:42,320 The Lord opened the donkey's mouth to ask Balaam 3 questions 144 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:46,280 and these are the type of questions that God ask. 145 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:51,200 It's as if God is speaking through this donkey. 146 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:55,440 That's how I read it, is that the donkey is simply a messenger 147 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:57,840 and God is speaking through the donkey. 148 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:03,640 One of the primary lessons that this story teaches us is this. 149 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:10,280 If God can speak through a donkey, what else is he speaking 150 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:15,440 through? If God can speak through a 151 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:20,840 donkey, what else is he speaking through in your life? 152 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:24,680 Now I know we can take this too far. 153 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:27,720 We can begin to interpret cloud formations as though God 154 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:31,160 speaking to us. We can take that too far, but we 155 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:34,000 can also fail to take it far enough. 156 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:41,720 In other words, where we failed to consider is God speaking to 157 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:46,960 me? You see, God used a donkey to 158 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:52,520 speak to Balaam. If that's true, what else might 159 00:10:52,520 --> 00:11:00,360 God be using to speak to you? Don't discredit the message 160 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:04,040 because of the messenger or the means. 161 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:09,480 Or sometimes, you know, we, we discredit the messenger or we 162 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:12,120 discredit the means and then we therefore we don't hear the 163 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:15,120 message. But listen to me, God used a 164 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:22,120 donkey to speak to Balaam. What might he be using to speak 165 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:27,080 to you? It's not as though like God only 166 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,800 speaks through pastors or that God only speaks through this 167 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,920 particular me. What might God be using to speak 168 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:37,440 to you? Last week we looked at the 169 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:39,600 donkey's first question. Now let's look at the second and 170 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,480 third question that he asked. She asked the second question 171 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:45,840 the donkey asks is, am I not your donkey on what you have 172 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,440 ridden all your life long? To this day? 173 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:52,720 It's interesting that the donkey is essentially appealing to her 174 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:56,760 relationship with Balaam. The donkey is is essentially 175 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:02,360 saying to Balaam, hey, I'm not an Uber, I'm not a Lyft. 176 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:08,240 I'm your donkey. How many years have I been with 177 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:12,600 you? I like what Shong prayed last 178 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:15,120 week. And when she prayed, she said 179 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:19,080 when someone is trying to deliver a message to us, help us 180 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:23,840 not to strike them. Isn't that so often so common? 181 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:27,760 What happens? We don't like the message. 182 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:29,920 Somebody comes to us. Maybe somebody who is eating 183 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:31,760 close to us comes to us and tells us something. 184 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:33,440 We don't like what they're saying. 185 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:39,120 And in those moments, we need to remember who the messenger is. 186 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:45,320 How many times does our spouse exhort us, maybe even rebuke us, 187 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:48,080 and we're angry with them for it? 188 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:52,680 We need to remember who the messenger is. 189 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,920 Is this not my spouse? They're not my enemy, They're my 190 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:00,800 spouse. How many times does a friend or 191 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:06,840 a housemate or a fellow church member exhort us, challenge us, 192 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:10,560 and we are angry with them for what they said to us? 193 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,520 And we need to remember who the messenger is. 194 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:19,760 This is my friend. This is my housemate. 195 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:28,480 This is my fellow brother and sister #3 the third question the 196 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:31,760 donkey asked. Is it my habit to treat you this 197 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:35,280 way? Is it my habit to treat you? 198 00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:38,600 The donkey is now appealing to Balaam's sensibilities. 199 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,520 It's interesting that the donkey is speaking more logically and 200 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:46,200 rationally than Balaam is. The donkey is essentially 201 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,920 asking, Balaam, can you put aside your anger and your pride 202 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:55,160 and your ambition and can you consider for just a minute right 203 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:56,640 now? I know you're kind of when we, 204 00:13:56,680 --> 00:13:59,120 you know, when we get into our emotions, whether it's 205 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:02,720 discouragement or anger, and that's all we can see right 206 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:05,160 then. But the donkey is saying, look, 207 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:08,360 can you put aside your anger for just a minute and can you 208 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:12,960 consider, is this my practice? Is it normal for me to treat you 209 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:18,680 this way, brother and sister? When we feel mistreated by God 210 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:22,000 and we often, whether we admit it or not, feel mistreated by 211 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,000 God, maybe we feel like God is not being fair to us. 212 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,760 It's not fair that this person got this promotion when I'm way 213 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,440 more qualified than them. It's not fair that this person 214 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,560 found a significant other when I'm far better looking and far 215 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:41,720 more intelligent than they are. Maybe we feel like God is not 216 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,880 being fair to us. Maybe we feel like God is even 217 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:48,160 being harsh to us or loving to us. 218 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:52,240 And in those moments when we feel that way, we need to step 219 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:57,480 outside our feelings and we need to ask ourselves, is this the 220 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:03,800 normal habit of God? Is it God's normal habit to 221 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:10,040 treat me this way? I think if we do that, I think 222 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,680 we will discover the same answer that Balaam had. 223 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:16,960 I love the simplicity of Balaam's answer. 224 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:23,440 I love it. He says no, no. 225 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:29,480 This is the first time that Balaam humbles himself and he 226 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:33,000 considers the reason of his donkey. 227 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:38,960 He says, no, it is not your habit to treat me this way. 228 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:46,400 And I think it is this answer that prompts God to to do what 229 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:48,600 He does next. Look at verse 31. 230 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:54,920 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel of 231 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,320 the Lord standing in the way with his drawn sword in his 232 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:03,000 hand, and he bowed down and fell on his face. 233 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:06,240 Now I want you to notice what the text didn't say. 234 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:10,280 The text doesn't say. Then Balaam saw the Angel of the 235 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:13,400 Lord. That's not what the text says it 236 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:18,200 says. Then the Lord opened the eyes of 237 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:21,760 Balaam and he saw the Angel of the Lord. 238 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:30,280 The Lord opened Balaam's eyes. When we think about the story of 239 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,880 Balaam, if you, you know, especially if you taught this to 240 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:37,600 kids, but even adults, if you ever asked what is the, the 241 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,560 miracle, the story, right? Almost everybody would say it's 242 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,120 the miracle of the donkey speaking. 243 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:49,560 But I submit to you that God opening the eyes of Balaam is no 244 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:52,520 less a miracle than God opening the mouth of a donkey. 245 00:16:56,520 --> 00:17:03,160 God must open our eyes to see what is unseen. 246 00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:14,040 Because Balaam looks at this road, this path to Moab, and you 247 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,040 know what he sees? All he sees is an open path. 248 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:23,960 That's all he sees, and yet there is an Angel standing in 249 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:28,359 his path with a drawn sword in his hand, ready to judge him, 250 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:34,080 and he can't see it. Why? 251 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:38,680 Because his spiritual eyes haven't been opened. 252 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:46,040 So many people look at this like maybe even here this morning. 253 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,120 I am well aware that not everybody who walked through 254 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:53,480 that door can see. There are blind people in this 255 00:17:53,480 --> 00:18:00,200 room. So many people look at this life 256 00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:02,240 and all they see is an open path. 257 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:10,160 An open path. And what they don't realize is 258 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:16,360 that on this path there is a Saviour hanging on a cross, 259 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:25,600 ready to receive them if they will come to Him, and ready to 260 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:35,800 judge them if they forsake Him. And the reality is, is that they 261 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:42,120 will never see Jesus if he doesn't open their eyes. 262 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:51,600 Brother and sister, praise God that when we were lost, when we 263 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:56,880 had hopelessly lost our way, that God came to us, opened our 264 00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:03,560 eyes to see on our path of life the risen Saviour, crucified and 265 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:10,080 risen from the dead. He showed us what we couldn't 266 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:17,880 see. Sometimes that site is even like 267 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,360 you've been in church all your life and what you see is you see 268 00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:27,560 church, you see social club, you see the Bible, you see religion, 269 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:32,000 you see baptism, you see friends, you see community, you 270 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:37,160 see fellowship, you see food, you you see a lot. 271 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,560 But what you don't see is Jesus Christ. 272 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:53,910 You don't see them because your eyes haven't been opened. 273 00:20:02,460 --> 00:20:06,900 Even as Christians, if you're here and you're like, hey, Matt, 274 00:20:06,900 --> 00:20:08,460 my eyes have been open, I see Jesus. 275 00:20:08,980 --> 00:20:17,140 OK? God has to continue to open our 276 00:20:17,140 --> 00:20:21,960 eyes to see what's unseen. They're called blind spots for a 277 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:26,360 reason, right? Do we not have blind spots? 278 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:34,480 We must pray every week of our life and ask God, God, open my 279 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:43,400 eyes to see what I don't see. Do you pray that? 280 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:48,360 Do you pray every week of your life? 281 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:53,680 God opened my eyes to see what I don't see. 282 00:21:00,220 --> 00:21:04,540 Now here's a question. Why did God open the eyes of the 283 00:21:04,540 --> 00:21:09,460 donkey three times and open the mouth of the donkey to ask three 284 00:21:09,460 --> 00:21:14,140 questions before he opened the eyes of Balaam once? 285 00:21:14,620 --> 00:21:20,480 Why did God do that? Here's what I'm going to subject 286 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:26,000 or submit to you. Because God had to get His 287 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:32,760 attention first. God had to humble him first 288 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:40,480 before He was ready to see it. You see, pride functions like 289 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:45,200 cataracts and God has to humble us before we can see. 290 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:52,360 God has to get our attention before we can see. 291 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:56,560 Let me give a fictitious example. 292 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:02,000 Suppose a wife test her husband. Her husband is in his office at 293 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:03,440 work. He works from home. 294 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:05,720 He's in his office. He's busy at work. 295 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:11,960 He's I don't, I don't know how you code like he, he's busy at 296 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:15,000 work. He's distracted in his work. 297 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:19,760 She comes into his office. She shows him a receipt. 298 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:22,800 She says, hey, this is what I got at the mall. 299 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:25,320 He's busy. He briefly looks at it. 300 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,800 OK, good. She leaves. 301 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,960 It was a $30,000 Louis Vuitton handbag. 302 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:44,320 He saw the receipt. He saw the receipt, but she 303 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:48,920 didn't have his attention. She didn't have his attention. 304 00:22:51,080 --> 00:23:01,040 God has to get our attention first before He can show us what 305 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:08,320 we need to see. Now when God opens the eyes of 306 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:12,000 Balaam, Balaam sees the Angel Lord standing in the way with a 307 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,720 drawn sword in his hand. God has his attention. 308 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:22,720 God has Balaam's attention now. And look at what Balaam does. 309 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:24,840 He bowed down and fell on his face. 310 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,400 This may have been the first and only time that Balaam bowed 311 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:31,600 before the Lord. I don't know, but maybe. 312 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:35,240 What does this tell us? It tells us that God doesn't 313 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:39,120 just open the eyes of the blind, He also opens the humility of 314 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:43,200 the proud. You ever had a moment where you 315 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:47,520 almost died? You ever had a moment where you 316 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:49,800 almost died because of your own choices? 317 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:52,080 I, I have, I'm maybe I'm the only one dumb enough to have 318 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,160 those moments. But you ever had a moment where 319 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:57,160 you almost died because of your stupidity? 320 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:04,960 You ever been engaged in secret sin and you almost got found out 321 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:09,240 like you were this close to getting found out? 322 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:14,040 You ever been about to make the biggest mistake of your life 323 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:18,600 like you were this close to making the biggest mistake of 324 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,560 your life? Those moments are humbling. 325 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:30,760 They're humbling. God doesn't just open our eyes, 326 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:37,040 He also opens our humility. Look at verse 32. 327 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,160 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, Why have you struck your 328 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:44,840 donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to 329 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:48,880 oppose you because your way is perverse before me. 330 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:51,280 The Angel Lord now speaks to Balaam. 331 00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:54,400 The donkey speaking career is over. 332 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:57,600 Now it's the angel's turn to speak. 333 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:02,760 And just like the donkey, the Angel asked Balaam a question. 334 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:05,400 The Angel asked the same question that the donkey asked. 335 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:08,640 Essentially, why have you struck your donkey these three times? 336 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:11,240 And then the Angel says something interesting. 337 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:15,720 The Angel says the word behold. You know what that word behold 338 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:17,520 means? It's an invitation. 339 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:20,000 It's an invitation to see. That's what it literally means. 340 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,520 It means look, it's it's, it's an invitation. 341 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:29,120 The Angel says, behold, look, I have come out to oppose you. 342 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:34,160 That word opposed is the same Hebrew word we looked at last 343 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:37,480 week. Satan sacks, same words. 344 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:39,960 Satan, same word as adversary in verse 22. 345 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:44,640 You ever felt like God was opposing you? 346 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:50,880 You ever felt that way? I just felt like God was just 347 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,320 opposing you. You see, we want God to be a 348 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:57,120 runway. It's like God, I want you to be 349 00:25:57,120 --> 00:25:58,400 a runway. I want to land this thing. 350 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:01,360 And so often he is the air traffic controller telling us to 351 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:07,200 just keep circling. You're like, why can I land this 352 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,280 thing? Can we close this deal? 353 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:14,280 Can we make this happen? God, can you please give me what 354 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:16,680 I want? And you feel like God is just 355 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,640 the air traffic controller that says keep circling, keep 356 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:27,480 circling. Why are you opposing me God from 357 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:31,800 landing this plane? Look at the reason the Angel 358 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:36,880 gives, because your way is perverse before me. 359 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,000 Now, I don't want to suggest that that's true for all of us. 360 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,880 That may not be the case at all. It was true for Balaam. 361 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:44,480 What does the word perverse mean? 362 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:46,480 This is the only time this Hebrew word is used. 363 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:51,240 Here's what it means. Morally reckless, IE to be 364 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:55,440 morally on a wrong or dangerous path of life as a figurative 365 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:59,760 extension of a travel down a steep dangerous path as a 366 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:03,760 senseless behaviour. It it, it's a figure like it 367 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:06,720 literally means to like travel down a steep path, right. 368 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:09,120 This you ever watch like these extreme people on YouTube? 369 00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:11,440 And like I watched one the other day, this mountain biker who was 370 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:13,280 like going down this like it was going like 60 oz. 371 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:15,680 I mean, it was just like, and I was just like that. 372 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:17,880 That's that's ridiculous. Like, like you're, you're, 373 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:23,680 you're flirting with death. Translations here Is is contrary 374 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:27,440 or reckless? Balaam is being reckless. 375 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:36,600 God has called us to be careful, not careless, not reckless. 376 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:40,440 Brothers and sisters, is there any area of your life where you 377 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:47,840 are being reckless? Is there Is there any area of 378 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:49,680 your life where you are being reckless? 379 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:51,440 What about reckless with your words? 380 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:56,200 Ever been reckless with your words? 381 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:59,240 The Bible says that the tongue is a sword. 382 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,040 Imagine if I walked in here with a real samurai sword. 383 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:03,640 Not, not, not something I got from Party City. 384 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:08,120 Imagine if I walked in here with a real samurai sword and I came 385 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:09,760 in here and I just started swinging around. 386 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:12,920 Like during the greeting time I was just swinging it around. 387 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:18,000 What would you think? That would be reckless, right? 388 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:24,960 Put that thing away, Pastor. Yeah. 389 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,680 How often are we reckless with this sword? 390 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:36,880 How often are we reckless with this sword that cuts far deeper. 391 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,560 Often. You see, we can be reckless with 392 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:41,720 anything. We can be reckless with our 393 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:43,640 driving. They call it reckless driving. 394 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,600 Reckless with our eating, Reckless with our drinking, 395 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,440 Reckless with our spending, Reckless with our scrolling. 396 00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:06,560 God loves his children, He loves us, and He will oppose us if we 397 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:14,600 are being reckless. If my son who is he doesn't have 398 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,440 his driver's license yet, but when he gets his driver's 399 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:18,920 license and I catch him recklessly driving, I will 400 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:27,320 oppose him. I will take your keys away if 401 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:32,600 you're reckless. God will oppose us if we are 402 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:40,240 being reckless. Verse 33 The donkey saw me and 403 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:42,200 turned aside before me these three times. 404 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:46,240 If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have 405 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:50,360 killed you and let her live. Verse 33 kind of just blows your 406 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:53,800 mind, doesn't it? The Angel essentially says the 407 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:58,680 only reason that you are alive is because of your donkey. 408 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:04,480 You wanted to kill your donkey, but it was your donkey that kept 409 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:08,840 you from getting killed. In other words, if you didn't 410 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:11,880 write, if you went walking instead of riding this donkey, 411 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:15,240 you'd be dead. Your donkey has preserved your 412 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:19,720 life, he says. If she had not turned aside from 413 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:21,360 me, surely did you guess the word? 414 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:25,000 Surely there surely meaning the Angel saying he would not have 415 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,680 hesitated to kill Balaam, wouldn't have thought about it, 416 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:31,320 wouldn't debated about it, would have killed Balaam right then 417 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:37,360 and there. As I mentioned last week, what 418 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:42,440 if the very thing that we wish would die in our life is the 419 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:44,760 very thing that is keeping us spiritually alive? 420 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:54,680 What if the very thing that we wish would die just go away in 421 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:57,080 our life? What if that is the very thing 422 00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:58,960 that is keeping us spiritually alive? 423 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:05,760 If you've ever read the story of Jonny Erickson Tata, she became 424 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:09,680 a quadruple quadriplegic at the age of 17 from a diving 425 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:15,160 accident. In her early years, she prayed 426 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:17,400 and prayed and prayed for healing. 427 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,200 She actually did everything. She would go to these, you know, 428 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,200 healing ministries. She did everything she could to 429 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:29,000 be healed. Early on, all she wanted was her 430 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:33,920 paralysis to die. She wanted her paralysis to die, 431 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:42,560 but God's answer to her was no. And here is what she said to 432 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:49,200 that No answer. No answer to my request for a 433 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:54,680 miraculous physical healing has meant purged sin, a love for the 434 00:31:54,680 --> 00:32:00,280 lost, increased compassion, stretched hope, an appetite for 435 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:05,160 grace, an increase of faith, a happy longing for heaven, a 436 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:09,680 desire to serve, a delight in prayer, and a hunger for His 437 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:12,920 Word. Oh, bless the stern 438 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,760 schoolmaster. That is my wheelchair. 439 00:32:25,140 --> 00:32:30,260 What if the wheelchair, just like Balaam's donkey, is the 440 00:32:30,380 --> 00:32:35,020 only thing that is keeping her spiritually alive? 441 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:48,000 Brother and sister, what if the thing that you dislike most 442 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:51,720 about your life right now? If I were to ask you that 443 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:54,680 question, what do you dislike most about your life? 444 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:58,040 What if the thing that you dislike most about your life is 445 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:01,040 the very thing that is keeping you alive spiritually? 446 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:09,960 Look at verse 34. Then Balaam said to the Angel of 447 00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:13,160 the Lord, I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in 448 00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:15,720 the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in 449 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:19,920 your sight, I will turn back. Now Balaam has already responded 450 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:22,840 to the donkey. So what's responding to an 451 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:24,360 Angel? If you're going to talk to a 452 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:26,000 donkey, you're willing to talk to an Angel. 453 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:28,040 Balaam says something interesting to the Angel. 454 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:33,240 Balaam says I have sinned. Now the phrase here, when Balaam 455 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:38,720 says I have sinned, that phrase means nothing, absolutely 456 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:40,640 nothing. This phrase is spoken by 457 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:44,720 Pharaoh, it's spoken by Saul, it's spoken by Judas, all of 458 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:46,760 whom are, I presume, are in hell. 459 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:51,720 There's nothing salvific about admitting that you sinned. 460 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:55,920 There are no rewards for truth tellers in hell. 461 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:01,920 All Balaam is admitting to here is ignorance. 462 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:05,000 That's all he's admitting to, he says. 463 00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:09,040 For I did not know that you stood in the road against me. 464 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:13,679 I have prayed many times in my life. 465 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:17,960 God, let me not be ignorant of what you're doing in my life. 466 00:34:19,639 --> 00:34:22,280 Let me not be ignorant of what you're trying to teach me. 467 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:27,719 God, I recognize that I don't know everything, no matter how 468 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:29,719 much I may think I do, I don't know anything. 469 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:33,239 God, let me not be ignorant of what you're doing right now, 470 00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:39,320 because Balaam was ignorant. Balaam says now, Therefore, if 471 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:41,560 it is evil in your sight, I will turn back. 472 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:43,560 Now. I want to be clear here. 473 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:46,840 It is not as though Balaam's desire is to please the Lord. 474 00:34:48,199 --> 00:34:49,920 That's not what Balaam's desire hears. 475 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:52,880 Balaam's desire is to not get killed. 476 00:34:54,320 --> 00:35:01,400 That's his desire. There is a difference between 477 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:06,400 desiring a person and not desiring A punishment. 478 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:11,840 Let me say that again. There is a difference between 479 00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:17,200 desiring a person and not desiring a punishment. 480 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:24,320 Balaam doesn't desire God. He desires not to get killed. 481 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:31,440 Jesus didn't die on the cross to get us out of hell. 482 00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:41,640 He died to bring us to God. Nobody wants to go to hell, no 483 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:45,680 matter what the world says. Nobody desires to suffer 484 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:49,600 eternally. You don't have to be a Christian 485 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:54,040 to want to avoid hell. If you are a Christian because 486 00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:58,040 you don't want to go to hell, that means nothing because 487 00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:02,960 nobody wants to go to hell. You don't have to be a Christian 488 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:07,760 to not want to go to hell. You do have to be a Christian to 489 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:15,760 want Jesus. Look at verse 35 and the Angel 490 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:19,360 Lord said to Balaam, go with the men, but speak only the word 491 00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:21,480 that I tell you. So Balaam went on with the 492 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:24,720 Princess of Balak. Now this verse seems to confirm 493 00:36:24,720 --> 00:36:27,920 that God was not angry with Balaam for going with the men. 494 00:36:28,240 --> 00:36:30,800 He was angry with his heart and his motives for doing so. 2 495 00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:33,200 reasons here. Number one, the Angel repeats 496 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,560 God's instructions. He tells them go with the men. 497 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:40,160 God's will is for Balaam to go with them. 498 00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:43,960 The second reason is the Angel repeats God's caveat. 499 00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:47,760 He says speak only the word that I tell you. 500 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:52,440 The fact that the Angel repeats this command seemed to me at 501 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:56,960 least seems to imply that Balaam was initially going to take some 502 00:36:56,960 --> 00:37:02,120 liberties with his prophecy. I think Balaam was going to go 503 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:04,520 and he was hoping that God would kind of forget about him. 504 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:06,560 And guys like, I got the green light from God. 505 00:37:06,720 --> 00:37:07,960 I'm going to take some liberties. 506 00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:10,640 I'm going to maybe curse because, you know, maybe I can, 507 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:13,720 I've got, I've got, I can have my cake and eat it too. 508 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:19,080 And Balaam needs some reminding. You may only speak the word that 509 00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:22,240 I tell you. You see, we all need some 510 00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:26,760 reminding from God because often along the way we forget, don't 511 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:29,960 we? As the hymn says, we are prone 512 00:37:30,240 --> 00:37:34,200 to wander. You see, Balaam started off. 513 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:37,560 He started off saying I can't go beyond the commanded Lord. 514 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:40,440 That's how he started off. But somewhere along the way he 515 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:47,160 begins to think God did say that I could go and now that I'm 516 00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:52,720 going, maybe I could just offer a few curses and get rich at the 517 00:37:52,720 --> 00:37:57,120 same time. That's, I think that's what he's 518 00:37:57,120 --> 00:38:01,640 thinking. He starts off well. 519 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:06,320 We often start off well, don't we? 520 00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:11,560 We start the day well, We start the week well. 521 00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:18,320 We start the job well. We start the dating relationship 522 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:22,440 well. We start the marriage well. 523 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:30,800 We start the parenting well. We start the ministry well and 524 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:33,640 somewhere along the way we get off track. 525 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:39,200 Somewhere along the way you wake up one day and you're like, how 526 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:43,160 did we get here? How did we get here? 527 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:49,600 How did I get here? And in those moments we need 528 00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:53,240 reminding from God. We need to hear the voice of the 529 00:38:53,240 --> 00:38:59,520 Holy Spirit telling us you are to only do what I I tell you. 530 00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:05,440 It's very simple. Do what I tell you. 531 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:11,720 Look at verse 36 to 37. When Balak heard that Balaam had 532 00:39:11,720 --> 00:39:14,280 come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, on the border 533 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:16,760 formed by the Arnon at the extremity of the border. 534 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:20,000 And Balak said to Balaam, did I not send to you to call you? 535 00:39:20,160 --> 00:39:23,400 Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you? 536 00:39:23,720 --> 00:39:27,800 So Balak gets word that Balaam has now come, and he actually 537 00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:32,160 goes to the border to meet him, the border of Moab. 538 00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:36,200 And just like the donkey, Balak has three questions for balaam 539 00:39:36,480 --> 00:39:39,640 #1 he says, Did I not send to you to call you? 540 00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:42,160 It appears that Balak is somewhat miffed. 541 00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:45,280 He's somewhat offended, like, hey, I called you, why didn't 542 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:48,320 you come #2 Why did you not come to me? 543 00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:50,440 He thinks there must be a reason. 544 00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:52,440 There's got to be a reason that you didn't come to me. 545 00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:55,960 Surely there is. And in fact, there was #3 he 546 00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:59,000 says, Am I not able to honor you? 547 00:39:59,680 --> 00:40:01,600 In other words, can I not pay you? 548 00:40:02,480 --> 00:40:04,880 Do you not think that I can reward you greatly? 549 00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:08,440 It sounds as though Balak is insulted by Balaam. 550 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:10,840 You know that he thought like, well, what's this king going to 551 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:12,560 give me? That's what Bailey thinks. 552 00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:14,600 And he's like, do I not have riches to give you? 553 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:17,360 Do you? You don't think I'm rich. 554 00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:19,760 I am rich. I can I can give you a lot. 555 00:40:21,200 --> 00:40:24,360 After all, he's like, are you not AI checked your LinkedIn 556 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:26,400 page. He said Pagan diviner for hire. 557 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:31,440 That's why I hired you. And he's like, this is not just 558 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:33,120 some small client calling by you. 559 00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:36,640 This is the king of Moab. He's like, I'm the king. 560 00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:41,880 Don't you think that I can make you rich? 561 00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:46,160 Surely you want to get rich, don't you, Balaam? 562 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:50,920 And the problem is, he does. He does. 563 00:40:52,680 --> 00:40:56,800 You see, these questions from Balak are often taken upon the 564 00:40:56,800 --> 00:41:02,960 lips of our enemy. Satan will come to us, and he 565 00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:07,040 will say, did I not send to you to call you? 566 00:41:09,080 --> 00:41:14,960 Why didn't you come to me? Am I not able to honor you? 567 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:19,720 Brother, Sister, Satan is able to honor us. 568 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:25,840 He honored Aiken with gold and silver and a cloak. 569 00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:29,640 He honored Ghazi with a talent of silver and a change of two 570 00:41:29,640 --> 00:41:32,440 changes of clothing. He honored Judas with 30 pieces 571 00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:35,080 of silver. He honored Ananias with some of 572 00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:40,880 the prophets from his land. Satan has the power to honour 573 00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:44,720 you. If you want to get what you 574 00:41:44,720 --> 00:41:47,800 want. You don't have to go through God 575 00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:49,600 to get it. You can go through Satan. 576 00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:57,560 It's not just with money. It could be marriage. 577 00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:04,880 I need more than two hands to count how many people have said, 578 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:09,440 you know what, if I have to choose God and singleness or not 579 00:42:09,440 --> 00:42:11,480 God and marriage, I'll take this one. 580 00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:20,640 You can get what you want. It could be college if I have to 581 00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:25,320 choose God, or if I have to sell my life to get this college 582 00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:28,720 degree, I'll choose this one because I got to get this 583 00:42:28,720 --> 00:42:30,800 degree. I've got to get this job. 584 00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:35,480 It's, it's, it's all a bust. I can't go back now. 585 00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:41,840 Friends, success, comfort, approval. 586 00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:45,800 See, Satan will figure out what you want most. 587 00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:48,720 He's been around for thousands of years. 588 00:42:48,720 --> 00:42:50,600 He is very clever. He is very smart. 589 00:42:50,720 --> 00:42:55,400 He'll figure out what is it that this person wants most, and 590 00:42:55,400 --> 00:42:58,320 he'll exploit it. He'll exploit it. 591 00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:07,120 Look at verse 38 to 41. Balaam said to Balak, behold, I 592 00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:10,360 have come to you, Have I now any power of my own to speak 593 00:43:10,360 --> 00:43:12,520 anything? The word that God puts in my 594 00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:16,080 mouth that must I speak. Then Balaam went with Balak, and 595 00:43:16,080 --> 00:43:20,120 they came to Kiriath, whose oath Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep 596 00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:23,000 and sent for Balaam and for the Princess who were with him. 597 00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:25,560 And in the morning Balak took Balaam, brought him up to Bay 598 00:43:25,560 --> 00:43:29,120 Moth Baal, and from there he saw a fraction of the people. 599 00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:32,720 Balaam says to Balak, Look, I'm here, all right? 600 00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:37,120 I mean, OK, I I I may be late to the party, but I'm here. 601 00:43:37,280 --> 00:43:40,080 I made it. But I need you to know 602 00:43:40,080 --> 00:43:42,400 something. Even though I'm here, I need you 603 00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:45,720 to know something. Have I now the power to speak 604 00:43:45,720 --> 00:43:48,880 anything that I want? This is the first time that 605 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:50,320 Balaam actually asked a question. 606 00:43:51,840 --> 00:43:54,080 He's basically letting Balak know. 607 00:43:54,960 --> 00:44:00,160 He's like, look, I know that you may draw up a contract to pay me 608 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:04,000 handsomely, but I need you to know that I also have a contract 609 00:44:04,120 --> 00:44:06,480 with the sovereign creator of the universe. 610 00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:09,360 And he has told me in my contract that I'm not allowed to 611 00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:15,840 say whatever I want. The word that God puts in my 612 00:44:15,840 --> 00:44:18,200 mouth. That is all I can say. 613 00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:24,640 Balak, I want you to notice three elements of Balaam's 614 00:44:24,640 --> 00:44:28,880 statement. A God is in control. 615 00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:36,760 Balaam says the word that God, not the word that I want, but 616 00:44:36,760 --> 00:44:41,080 the word that God wants. Not even the word that you want. 617 00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:46,440 Balak, God is in control. B God is active in his control. 618 00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:51,360 Balaam says the word that God puts that verb there puts, can 619 00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:56,360 be translated, arranges, appoints, establishes, confirms. 620 00:44:56,640 --> 00:44:58,760 In other words, God is not in control. 621 00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:02,960 From a distance, Balaam maybe thought that, but when God meets 622 00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:05,240 him, he makes it clear I am not in control. 623 00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:09,520 I am actively in control. He's active in this process. 624 00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:13,680 And see, Balaam is under necessity to speak, meaning he's 625 00:45:13,680 --> 00:45:17,120 telling Balak, look, even if you don't like the word, I need you 626 00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:21,640 to know you like not only may I be here to say nothing or to 627 00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:24,920 curse them, I may actually say what you don't want to hear. 628 00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:27,480 And I need you to know I'm required to speak it. 629 00:45:29,640 --> 00:45:32,920 In other words, now that I'm here, I can't be silent. 630 00:45:33,080 --> 00:45:36,800 I must say whatever God tells me to say. 631 00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:41,480 And what's interesting is that Balak, he just totally 632 00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:44,440 disregards what Balaam said. He doesn't even like consider 633 00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:48,560 it. It's as if Balak is like, yeah, 634 00:45:48,560 --> 00:45:50,640 yeah, yeah. Well, that's all. 635 00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:52,040 Goodbye. But look, if you want to get 636 00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:53,320 paid, you're going to say what I say. 637 00:45:54,760 --> 00:45:57,560 You want to get your money, you're going to say what I say. 638 00:45:59,800 --> 00:46:03,400 So Balaam goes with Balak. Balak sacrifices oxen and sheep. 639 00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:04,880 Why? I think this is for a meal. 640 00:46:04,880 --> 00:46:08,240 I think it was common to honor guest by having a sacrificial 641 00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:09,840 meal. I think, in other words, when he 642 00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:13,360 makes this meal for Balaam, he's already beginning to honor him. 643 00:46:14,440 --> 00:46:18,560 He's already beginning to try to fatten him up to do what he 644 00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:21,000 wants. And in the morning, Bailey 645 00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:23,080 brought Balaam up a mountainside to overlook the people of 646 00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:25,240 Israel. But he only saw a fraction of 647 00:46:25,240 --> 00:46:30,120 the people. And so I want to close with what 648 00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:36,920 Balaam said in verse 38. Balaam said, have I now any 649 00:46:36,920 --> 00:46:40,440 power of my own to speak anything? 650 00:46:40,720 --> 00:46:47,440 The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak. 651 00:46:48,240 --> 00:46:52,920 Brother and sister, God will put words in your mouth. 652 00:46:55,120 --> 00:46:59,600 He will. If you are in Christ, you are a 653 00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:00,720 prophet. In Christ. 654 00:47:00,960 --> 00:47:06,800 All may prophecy. God will put words in your 655 00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:12,120 mouth, and we must speak those words. 656 00:47:14,240 --> 00:47:19,360 If God gives you a rebuke, don't offer encouragement. 657 00:47:22,280 --> 00:47:25,560 If God gives you an encouragement, don't turn it 658 00:47:25,560 --> 00:47:31,440 into a rebuke. If God gives you the gospel, 659 00:47:31,640 --> 00:47:37,920 don't default to small talk. If God gives you a prophecy, 660 00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:44,520 don't offer an opinion. If God gives you the Bible, 661 00:47:45,120 --> 00:47:50,920 don't quote the world. If God gives you silence, don't 662 00:47:50,920 --> 00:47:55,840 speak a word. If God gives you the truth, 663 00:47:56,080 --> 00:48:02,800 don't settle for 1/2 truth. If God gives you counsel, don't 664 00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:06,000 let the fear of man muzzle that counsel. 665 00:48:08,080 --> 00:48:14,680 Speak every word that God puts in your mouth. 666 00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:16,960 Let's pray.