1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:03,680 This is City Post Church. We're about three things. 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:08,160 Build, equipped and send all under the lordship of Jesus 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:10,240 Christ. A small church plant in Fort 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,320 Worth, TX who decided to do things a little differently. 5 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:18,480 Adoramos Ajesu Cristo. I love City Post because of the 6 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:20,480 people. It's where I belong. 7 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,640 We truly preach the word. I love City Post because of the 8 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:26,680 community we've been able to build to do ministry like Jesus 9 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:32,600 for light to push back darkness. This is City Post podcast. 10 00:00:38,050 --> 00:00:39,770 If you guys have your Bibles, we're going to be in Numbers 11 00:00:39,770 --> 00:00:43,730 chapter 22 today. Numbers 22. 12 00:00:44,610 --> 00:00:48,810 Numbers is in the Old Testament, first five books of the 13 00:00:48,810 --> 00:00:53,250 Scriptures and not too many people kind of go to Numbers. 14 00:00:53,250 --> 00:00:57,450 But man, there's going to be a great little fight between a 15 00:00:57,450 --> 00:01:03,280 prophet named Balaam and a donkey, a talking donkey. 16 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:06,520 Donkey. I think of Shrek every time I 17 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:09,280 read this story, you know, like the talking donkey. 18 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:11,480 It's, it's a, it's, it's incredible, man. 19 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,280 What's wild is like, you know, this series of Fight Club, we've 20 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,040 been looking at fights in the Bible when people just fight 21 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:24,320 each other, like David, Goliath and Esau and Jacob and so forth. 22 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,680 And the one thing that I'm beginning to realize more and 23 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:32,120 more is at the battle, the fight is not even against the foe, but 24 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,840 it's against the flesh. And every time we read these 25 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,480 stories, like like what the song just said, like God, like we're, 26 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,880 we're fighting a battle that God's already claimed victory 27 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:44,360 over. And I love something that pastor 28 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,240 gave said a few weeks ago that he was like, Satan's the only 29 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:51,200 one who fights from defeat. Like he knows he's not going to 30 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:54,400 win. So he's he's coming from a 31 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:59,320 position of being defeated and God is victorious. 32 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:04,480 So we are should be come from a position of victory and our 33 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:09,240 battle inside inside of us is against our sinful nature and 34 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:11,640 our flesh. And what we're going to see 35 00:02:11,640 --> 00:02:16,280 today is that there is a prophet and men as all sorts of jacked 36 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:20,880 up and God still uses him to fulfill his purpose and his 37 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,760 ways. So if you think that you have to 38 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,800 be perfect for God to use you, you're wrong. 39 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:30,480 We're all flawed. We're all jacked up, and God can 40 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:32,720 still use us because of Jesus Christ. 41 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:34,760 So I'm going to pray for us. And then we're just going to 42 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:37,920 jump into this story because the cowboy games at noon and we got 43 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:39,440 to catch it. All right, so let's pray. 44 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,560 So Jesus, thank you for everything that you've done. 45 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:47,200 Lord, thank you because you are victorious by the cross and the 46 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,880 resurrection. Father, I pray that with 47 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:53,680 everything happening that you help us to focus on your word, 48 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,080 that you help us to focus on the scriptures this morning, that 49 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:02,000 you teach us something, Lord. So God, help us just to focus on 50 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,440 you for these few moments. Lord, help me, Father, to 51 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:07,000 remember everything that was studied. 52 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,840 Help me to speak only what you would like and help us see 53 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:12,720 Christ and everything in your name we pray. 54 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:14,360 Amen. Amen. 55 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:18,400 Hey, so I'm just going to go ahead and speed us up here 56 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:22,400 because this is a a wild story. The prophet Balaam. 57 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,440 If I would say Balaam, many of you would probably be like, 58 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:29,240 who's that Many of us have not really heard about this guy. 59 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,560 Balaam is actually mentioned in eight books of the Bible. 60 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:38,800 His name is meant his name appears in scriptures 59 times. 61 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:43,080 It's a lot. So there's something about him 62 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,960 that scripture continually brings up. 63 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:51,000 The problem is it's not always good, which we're going to see 64 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,080 here. You know, there's a saying 65 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:55,840 there's an author at William Guenard. 66 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:59,960 He says none sink so deeply into hell as those who come so near 67 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:03,240 to heaven because they fall such a great distance. 68 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,160 And we're going to see that with Balaam today. 69 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,960 So real quickly catch up to the story, there's a king of the 70 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:14,600 Moabites, his name is, his name is Balak. 71 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:19,440 And King Balak is he has a little bit of a problem on his 72 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,360 hands. So his Kingdom is set up east of 73 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:26,520 the Jordan River. And as he is getting up one day, 74 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:32,240 he sees this large, massive crowd, this this nation that 75 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:36,440 shows up on his borders. So King Balak doesn't know what 76 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:41,880 to do because all these people are amassing to the border to 77 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,920 the tune of about 3 million. And those people happen to be 78 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:49,520 the Israelites. So the people of God show up. 79 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,200 But like, he's, he's seeing this, he's a little bit freaked 80 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:55,040 out. He's hearing the stories of the 81 00:04:55,040 --> 00:05:00,600 children of Israel conquering Chahon and dog. 82 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:02,800 He knows these rulers have been defeated. 83 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,040 God has given these rulers to the people of Israel. 84 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,920 They have a lot of momentum. And Kim Balak is like, man, how 85 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:13,920 do there's no way that I could use conventional warfare to take 86 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:18,840 these folks out. 3 million. So if I were to get my army, we 87 00:05:18,840 --> 00:05:21,120 would get crushed. I'm going to need a weapon of 88 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,400 mass destruction. I'm going to need some kind of 89 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:29,240 supernatural thing in order to stop the people of Israel from 90 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:31,680 taking over my folks, the Moabites. 91 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:35,200 What am I going to do? How am I going to do this? 92 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:37,600 So he comes up with this brilliant idea. 93 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:40,560 He's like, you know what? If I could get a prophet of 94 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:45,480 their God to curse them, then it would stop them from coming to 95 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,880 our people. So he calls the international 96 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,400 prophet that is well known to everybody named Balaam. 97 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,800 Now we don't see the story of Balaam. 98 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:57,160 We don't really know where he's from. 99 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:00,680 We don't know his background. We do know that he is extremely 100 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:04,480 popular. Now a little bit of Balaam's 101 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:06,880 background and I have to do this so that way the story makes 102 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,680 sense. So Balaam to his people in in 103 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,280 Hebrew it's called the baru BARUA baru. 104 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:18,480 Now the barus are Oracle priests, right? 105 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:22,080 So they give oracles and prophecies, but it could be a 106 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:26,280 blessing or it could be a curse. And this is kind of what people 107 00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:29,040 know them for. They're able to manipulate the 108 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:34,640 gods little G with spoken words. So if they confess something, 109 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,880 then it happens, like speaking into existence. 110 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:40,680 There's nothing new under the sun. 111 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:46,560 False prophets did that all the time and but rules would come in 112 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,200 and that's what they would do. They're like, I could talk to 113 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:53,400 these deities, I could talk to gods, but they also believed 114 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:58,040 that they were able to hear the will and the purposes of God by 115 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:02,840 phenomenons and signs. So they would drop like an oil, 116 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,600 a drop of oil and water and see it dispersed. 117 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,800 And then they would look at it and be like, this is the seasons 118 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:11,160 that are coming. Or they would look at the clouds 119 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:15,400 and be like the clouds represent famine and your town is going to 120 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:17,960 be destroyed by just by looking at the clouds. 121 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:22,840 They would even go and look at cattle and sheep and stare at it 122 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,240 and be like this is what gods are telling us. 123 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:29,520 Your sheep represent AB and C and like they would just use all 124 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:31,080 of these. That's what they believed. 125 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:37,480 Unfortunately, Balaam believed that the God of Israel fell into 126 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:41,120 all those other deities. But what he's going to find out 127 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:46,520 real fast that you can't manipulate God and that God is 128 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:50,080 not only going to communicate to him, he's going to communicate 129 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:53,360 through him for his will and his purposes. 130 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:58,680 So this is where we're at. Balak is like, go get Balaam. 131 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:03,080 I need some help they bring him and let's start in verse 10, 132 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:07,040 right? So Numbers chapter 22, verse 10, 133 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:15,320 Balaam said to God, Balak son of support, king of Moab, send me 134 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:19,960 this message. A people that has come out of 135 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:22,200 Egypt covers the face of the land. 136 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:24,960 Now come and put a curse on them for me. 137 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:29,080 Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away. 138 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:35,240 Verse 12 look, but God said to Balaam, do not go with them. 139 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:42,000 Did God say yes or no? No, do not go with them. 140 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:47,200 Why you must not put a curse on the people because I already 141 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:50,080 blessed them. What God is saying and and just 142 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:53,040 a little heads up, you know, like what God blessed can't be 143 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:56,280 cursed. You can't curse what God has 144 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:59,280 blessed. And listen, the reason why God 145 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,760 bless the Israelites is not because of their behavior. 146 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,640 The Israelites Jack it up time and time again. 147 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,320 They go and they worship idols. They go and do exactly what God 148 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:12,960 tells them not to do. They are not the best people in 149 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,280 the world. The reason why God blesses them 150 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,600 is because there's something called the covenant and God made 151 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:22,760 a covenant with the Israelites that those are His people. 152 00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:27,240 And because God makes a covenant with something, there is nothing 153 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:30,720 that can break it. And God is telling Balaam's like 154 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:33,000 no, you can't curse them because I blessed it. 155 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,600 Sorry bro. So the answer is no. 156 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:42,200 And I think what you and I are going to learn is that sometimes 157 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:46,680 God does say no. And we don't like that. 158 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:52,040 Our human nature, the way that we, we are wired, we don't like 159 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:56,080 hearing no. When my girls come and ask me 160 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,880 for ice cream for dinner, I say no. 161 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:01,840 And you know what they do immediately? 162 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:06,520 They go ask Mama. Why? 163 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:09,120 Because they don't like hearing no. 164 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:13,960 And then when Mama says no, you know what happens to some of our 165 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:17,320 kids? They throw tantrums and they 166 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:21,680 kick and they scream and they yell and they don't understand. 167 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:24,840 And then you're like, hey, stop. I'm going to have to. 168 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:26,720 There's going to have to be a punishment. 169 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:31,240 And guys, listen, we do the same thing spiritually. 170 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,480 God says no, we don't want to hear no. 171 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:39,840 We throw spiritual temper tantrums and we run off and God 172 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:45,000 has to pull us back somehow. So God says no. 173 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:49,200 And look how Balaam responds, because at the first he's like, 174 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,600 yeah, I got to tell him. So what does it say? 175 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,080 He says the next morning, verse 13. 176 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,600 The next morning, Balaam got up and said to the Balak's 177 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,600 officials, go back to your own country, for the Lord has 178 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,920 refused to let me go with you. Oh, and by the way, they're 179 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:08,640 about 500 miles apart. So this isn't like overnight 180 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:10,960 telephone tag. This takes time. 181 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:15,640 So the Moabite officials returned to Balak and said 182 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:20,960 Balaam refused to come with us. Then Balak sent the officials. 183 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:23,040 He's like, hold on now. You don't refuse the king. 184 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:25,360 He's like, I got to send more important people. 185 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:30,240 So verse 415, he's like, I'm going to send numerous and more 186 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:31,800 distinguished. I'm going to send the Princess 187 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,440 now. Then the first ones and they 188 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:39,080 went to Balaam and look, look at this time, they're like, this is 189 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:43,520 what Balak, son of support says, do not let anything come for 190 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:46,200 you. I mean, keep you from coming to 191 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:51,040 me because I will reward you handsomely and do, if you do 192 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:55,240 whatever, I'm sorry. If you do what I say, come and 193 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,960 put a curse on these people. So what does the king do? 194 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:02,840 I got a blank check for you. So like he's like, I got a blank 195 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:04,960 check. You're about to get rewarded 196 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:10,400 really generously if you come and put a curse on these people. 197 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:14,440 Now instead of Balaam saying no, the Lord has already spoken. 198 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:19,400 He already told me no. It's kind of enticing. 199 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:23,400 Look what he says in verse 18. But Balaam answered him, Even if 200 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:27,000 Balak were to give me some gold and silver in the in his palace, 201 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:30,720 I could not do anything great or small to go but beyond the 202 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:32,440 command of the Lord. My God. 203 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:36,640 Now spend the night here so I can find out what else the Lord 204 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:40,440 will tell me. What is is Balaam doing? 205 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:43,520 He's fishing. Hold on a second. 206 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:45,520 Balak never mentioned gold or silver. 207 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:48,160 He just said I'm going to reward you handsomely. 208 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:51,120 And what Balaam is like handsomely, huh. 209 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,880 Maybe if I had some silver. Maybe if I had some gold from 210 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,880 the palace, I might be able to change God's mind. 211 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,080 Pretty much what he's saying is that yesterday's price is not 212 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:07,360 today's price. It went up. 213 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,480 Now that I know what the king is willing to offer, my price just 214 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:13,520 went up. And Balaam. 215 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:18,200 We see a little bit of a clue here of the issues with Balaam 216 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:21,920 the prophet, and the issue is greed. 217 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:25,480 Greed has taken him over. We see this all through a New 218 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:28,200 Testament. New Testament says that Balaam 219 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:30,840 is a man filled with greed. You'll see like the way of 220 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:35,200 Balaam or the doctrine of Balaam, and there's all these 221 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,200 scriptures that back that up. I mean, we even see like what 222 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:43,000 Esau, Esau was willing to give up his birthright for instant 223 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,080 gratification. That's an issue of greed and 224 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:49,200 pride and selfishness. Even like Judas. 225 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:53,680 Judas sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver immediately he 226 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:56,520 wanted greed. We even see like the the story 227 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,520 of the prodigal son where the prodigal son goes to the father 228 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:04,680 says I want my inheritance. When now because all of us 229 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,560 struggle with this, we fight this spirit of Balaam. 230 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,320 Everything's well, greed and we want all of this our way. 231 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:16,800 We don't want to hear the word no from God when it comes to our 232 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:21,360 greed and our selfishness. God already said no. 233 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:24,800 Let me spend the night. Maybe I could, you know, change 234 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:27,400 his mind a little bit. Now here's where it gets 235 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:32,200 interesting that we see the story with Balaam because in 236 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:35,840 verse 20 it says that night God came to Balaam and said, since 237 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:38,760 these men have come to summon you, go with them. 238 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:43,360 But do only what I tell you. Wait a second, Didn't God just 239 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:46,440 say don't go? And now you're saying go like, 240 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:51,120 like, which one is it? It's confusing and really when 241 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,720 I, when I read in, when I, when I study this, it's kind of same 242 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:56,640 thing. Like remember when Judas, 243 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:58,840 they're sitting around the table and he's about to go betray 244 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:01,880 Jesus and Jesus looks at him, he goes, hey, whatever you're going 245 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:07,800 to go do, go do it quickly. What Jesus is, is doing is Jesus 246 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:10,520 is saying, listen, I see what you're doing. 247 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:15,720 I agree and I approve of your actions, not because of your 248 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:17,640 sin. He's like, I agree and approve 249 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:22,400 because it is fulfilling the Father's will, God's pleasing 250 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:24,560 and perfect will for me to go to the cross. 251 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:27,720 This is a part of God's will, so go ahead and do it. 252 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,560 Same thing here. God sees Balaam, He knows his 253 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:35,040 heart, He knows his motives, He knows that Balaam is not going 254 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,160 to do exactly what God tells him to do. 255 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,600 So he says, you know what if they ask you to go, go and do 256 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:41,160 it. Why? 257 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:43,840 Because it's going to fulfill my purpose and my will. 258 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:49,000 So knock yourself out, Balaam. And I think there's a lesson for 259 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,560 us here. So point number one, that 260 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:56,000 there's a time to pray, but there's also a time to move. 261 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:01,520 Balaam is buying time. Balaam heard the voice of the 262 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:03,280 Lord. The Lord said no. 263 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,000 Balaam should have had his little happy butt going home 264 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:08,760 immediately, but he doesn't. What does he do? 265 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:10,640 Let me just linger around. Let me see. 266 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:13,400 Let me ask the Lord a little bit more guys. 267 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:15,800 We do this because we don't want the, the hero. 268 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:19,640 No, we see this in the New Testament when Paul, Paul prayed 269 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:22,160 3 times. Lord, take this away from me. 270 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:24,560 Lord, take this away from me. Lord, take this away from me. 271 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:27,000 I was like and finally God's like, no, like my grace is 272 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:31,600 sufficient for you. We fight God and listen. 273 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:34,360 How do we know when God says no that we're doing the right 274 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:37,320 thing? Because a lot of us know it in 275 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,480 our spirit, but we disguise it with religious jargon. 276 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:42,880 We say things like, I'm going to keep praying. 277 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:45,080 I'm going to keep praying. Like no, like it's time to move. 278 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,720 God already gave you the answer, it's time to go. 279 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,400 And I believe like God gives us three things to help us 280 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,400 understand. He gives us His Word, He gives 281 00:16:57,400 --> 00:16:59,840 us His Spirit, and He gives us His people. 282 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:04,400 How do I know like that? God, I look at His word. 283 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:07,960 If I'm struggling with a decision that I have to make, if 284 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:10,880 I'm struggling, whether I should accept the job or not, whether I 285 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,200 should get a relationship with somebody or not, whether I 286 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,599 should go here or there, whatever it is, I go to God's 287 00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:19,800 Word first. If His Word does not match up 288 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,440 with the decision, then the answer is no. 289 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:26,119 There ain't no twisting this thing around. 290 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:31,040 You don't get to define and decide what God's Word says. 291 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:35,400 So if I look at His Word and it's crystal clear, that's the 292 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,280 answer. Well, Ricky, it's still like I'm 293 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:42,000 still kind of split. OK, let's ask the Holy Spirit. 294 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:48,080 Do you have peace in your heart? Has the Spirit revealed some 295 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:50,760 things to you? Have you been praying? 296 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:53,040 Have you been seeking the Lord on this? 297 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:57,760 The Holy Spirit with the peace that he brings will help you. 298 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,000 And then finally, the people of God. 299 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:04,120 You need to have some really strong, mature Christians in 300 00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:07,320 your life who are able to see things that you cannot see. 301 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:11,480 Those are called blind spots. Don't go to your play cousin. 302 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:13,360 Don't go to your friends. I don't know you ever. 303 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,280 No, like I'm talking about people who know the Lord and 304 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:19,120 spend time with the Lord. You go to them and you talk to 305 00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:21,320 them and you ask them like, what do you see? 306 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:24,600 So when you have those three things that that helps you make 307 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:27,960 your decision. And I think sometimes when we, 308 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,120 we just man, we buy into the whole like Christianese and 309 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:32,360 we're like, I'm just going to pray some more. 310 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:36,040 I'm going to pray about them like enough God told you it's 311 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,040 time to move. For Balaam, it was time to move, 312 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:43,000 but he didn't. Balaam just hung out, 'cause 313 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,760 Balaam had a motive. He knew what he wanted. 314 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:51,640 So what we also hear when God says, hey man, if these men ask 315 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,840 you, go with them. And sometimes God allowing you 316 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:58,520 to do what you're not supposed to do is actually God's wrath, 317 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:01,440 not his blessing. And we see that in Romans 318 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:03,920 chapter 1. Because whenever you're in your 319 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:07,600 sin and you refuse to to give that up, God's going to allow 320 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,680 you to be inside of that because that thing is never going to 321 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:12,840 fulfill you. We talked about this few weeks 322 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:16,160 ago with idols. You want an idol, you could have 323 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,200 your idol. You're going to become that idol 324 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:19,720 and it's going to destroy your life. 325 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:24,200 And it is God's grace that he pulls you out of that. 326 00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:29,920 Balaam is falling into this. And then look at verse 21. 327 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:34,040 Because Balaam man it like God's like if they go with them, but 328 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:36,400 just do what I tell you. And Balaam's like, OK, God, 329 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:38,640 right? And then verse 21, Balaam got up 330 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:41,800 that morning, saddled his donkey, and he went with the 331 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:45,240 Moabites officials. So he's like, let's go, let's 332 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:48,440 get up early, let's get a fresh start, let's get this thing on 333 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:54,000 the road so I can get paid. And then verse 22 is that God 334 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:59,560 was very angry when he went. But hold on God, didn't you tell 335 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:02,840 him to go? You see, the thing was, the 336 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:07,840 voice of God was so clear to Balaam, and Balaam still 337 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:12,800 rejected the voice of God. And God knew his heart and God 338 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,600 knew that he wasn't going to do what he asked them to when he 339 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:19,920 got there. So it says that God was angry 340 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:24,120 with him, and the Angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose 341 00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:27,120 him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, 342 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:29,840 and his two servants were with him. 343 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,440 So Balaam's traveling, he sees an Angel of the Lord. 344 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:37,320 And what's wild is verse 23. The donkey saw the Angel of the 345 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:41,720 Lord standing in the road, and with a sword drawn in his hand, 346 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:44,120 it turned off the road into the field. 347 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,480 Balaam beat it to get back on the road. 348 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:51,080 How in the world does a donkey see the Angel of the Lord, but a 349 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:54,240 prophet of God can't see him? Aren't you a baru? 350 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,920 Aren't you a seer? Isn't this what you do? 351 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:01,400 Because disobedience will cause you to miss what God is trying 352 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:05,200 to do in your life and God is trying to stop him. 353 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:08,600 God's translate, don't do this. Where else do we see an Angel of 354 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:12,520 the Lord with the shield? After Adam and Eve sinned and 355 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:15,680 they got sent out of Eden, God's protecting that. 356 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:20,680 God is trying to stop them. And I think it's so interesting 357 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:25,000 that they that God uses a donkey with Balaam. 358 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,560 You know, the number one characteristic of a donkey is 359 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:32,720 stubbornness. When you ask anybody about a 360 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:35,280 donkey, they're, they're used for working, but they are the 361 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:37,160 most stubborn animals in the world. 362 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:41,640 Balaam is being like the donkey and the donkey is being like 363 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:45,200 Balaam. The donkey is seeing the Angel 364 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:47,120 of the Lord. That's exactly what Balaam 365 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:50,040 should be doing. But instead Balaam is like, I 366 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,760 don't know what's going on and he's being stubborn and he's 367 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:55,720 beating up on that donkey's fighting this donkey and the 368 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:57,440 donkey's like there's an Angel there. 369 00:21:57,560 --> 00:21:59,200 I better not go. I'm going to die. 370 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:04,280 It's like role reversal, and God is trying to help Balaam out 371 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:07,120 here. So he beats them up and they 372 00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:09,840 change course. But it gets worse. 373 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:15,280 Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the 374 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,360 vineyards with walls on both sides. 375 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:22,200 Then the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord and pressed close to 376 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:25,440 the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it. 377 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:30,600 So he beat the donkey again. Then the Angel of the Lord moved 378 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:35,040 on ahead, and he stood in the place in the narrow place where 379 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:40,320 there was no room to enter, either on the right or on the 380 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:43,200 left. When the donkey saw the Angel of 381 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:47,560 the Lord, it laid down under Balaam, and he was angry, and he 382 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:52,080 beat it with his staff. Three times the Angel of the 383 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,480 Lord standing right there, and three times Balaam beats this 384 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,560 donkey up. Not much of a fight. 385 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:04,200 The donkey should have punched him, but he does it. 386 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:07,880 Why is it so terrified? Why is the donkey so terrified? 387 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:11,800 When you look at angels in the scripture, guys, angels are not 388 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:13,960 like little babies floating around in the sky. 389 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:20,640 Psalms one O 3 it says angels bless the Lord who excel in 390 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:24,800 strength. There's a story in Isaiah 3736 391 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:29,080 that talks about how Hezekiah he prays cause the Assyrian camp is 392 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:30,920 at their doorstep and they're freaking out. 393 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:34,520 So God sends an Angel and the next day the Angel goes through 394 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:41,120 the Assyrian camp and he puts down 185,000 soldiers to the 395 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:45,920 back. Isaiah 3736 And then Jesus tells 396 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:49,400 Peter, when Peter takes out his knife, starts cutting people's 397 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:53,800 ears off, she says, hey Peter, don't you think I could call 398 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:58,160 72,000 angels to come and defend me? 399 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:02,720 One Angel could take out 185,000 soldiers. 400 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:08,600 Imagine what 72,000 can do. Because angels are strong or 401 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:10,480 terrifying. They do the will and work of the 402 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,920 Lord and then listen when Jesus comes back and the scrolls are 403 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:16,440 opened up, you know who's going to roll that out? 404 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:19,000 Angels. Angels are. 405 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,000 This is a terrifying thing, but then also we have to look at the 406 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,160 sovereignty of God here. God's sovereignty. 407 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:30,720 He is powerful and authoritative to the extent of being able to 408 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:34,000 override all other powers and authorities. 409 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,880 I'm going to say that one more. Again, when we talk about God's 410 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:42,280 sovereignty, He is powerful and authoritative to the extent of 411 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:46,440 being able to override other powers and authorities. 412 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:50,240 And if you think that using a donkey is strange, understand 413 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,320 the sovereignty of God. All he's doing is using his 414 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:57,480 creation. And God will use this to help 415 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,280 Balaam understand what he's doing wrong. 416 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:03,320 And God said no. And Balaam is being disobedient. 417 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:06,200 And I want you to pay attention because I, I feel like I've 418 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,520 experienced this before. I'm going the wrong way. 419 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:11,720 I told me already I don't want to listen. 420 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:16,160 So what does Bailey the first thing that happens the donkey 421 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:20,200 goes a different direction and listening live and we're being 422 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:24,120 disobedient. Don't be surprised when doors 423 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:27,040 close and you're and things start turning into different 424 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:31,760 directions. God is warning you in God's 425 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,320 grace and mercy and love. He's, he's trying to stop you 426 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:39,280 from going somewhere that is destructive and that's outside 427 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:42,360 of his will. So he's trying to change your 428 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:44,200 direction. But we're stubborn. 429 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:49,160 So what does the donkey do next? He wounds him. 430 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:52,160 Don't be surprised when God wounds you. 431 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:56,040 There's going to be some things that hurt in life, some things 432 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:58,520 that are removed from life, some relationships that are done, 433 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:02,000 some, some areas that God Yanks you out of man. 434 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:06,280 It wounds our heart, it wounds our soul, it wounds our pride. 435 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:13,400 And then the last thing, because he continues to go, God shuts 436 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:15,320 that thing down. What does it say? 437 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:18,040 The donkey just lay down, It's over, it's done. 438 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,920 It stops working when things are not working. 439 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:27,760 Maybe God's not in it. Maybe God is like, this is not 440 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:31,840 the direction I want you to go. It's not purposeful. 441 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:35,680 And then something crazy happens. 442 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,320 This is when the Shrek comes through, right? 443 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:43,360 Verse 28, it says then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth. 444 00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:48,840 I thought this was pretty cool and it said to Balaam, what have 445 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:53,120 I done to you to make you beat me these three times? 446 00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:58,000 And what's even crazier than the donkey, donkey is that Balaam 447 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:00,080 has a conversation like this is normal. 448 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:06,120 He answered The donkey, you have made a fool of me. 449 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:09,400 If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right 450 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:13,800 now. And the donkey said back, Am I 451 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,800 not your own donkey, which you have always written to this day? 452 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:21,160 Have I been in the habit of doing this to you? 453 00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:26,080 And he said no. Out of all the years that you've 454 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:29,240 written me, have a donkey ever spoken to you? 455 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:33,400 Is this normal? No, now before you guys are 456 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:36,200 like, man, Ricky, that's crazy. Y'all talk to your pets. 457 00:27:42,070 --> 00:27:46,150 Y'all be telling your pets everything about the day, about 458 00:27:46,150 --> 00:27:49,830 what teachers did about work like they're looking at you like 459 00:27:50,070 --> 00:27:52,470 I know I'll help you. Your pen ain't gonna open its 460 00:27:52,470 --> 00:27:54,070 mouth and be like, well, this is the issue. 461 00:27:54,070 --> 00:27:57,710 This is what's wrong. Would you talk to that's cool. 462 00:27:59,390 --> 00:28:02,350 But when we read a story like this, we're we're so quick to 463 00:28:02,350 --> 00:28:07,160 look over it like it's not normal in human nature. 464 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,360 We see these things bleed through and God uses the donkey. 465 00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:15,360 The donkey is not some mutation. It's not some supernatural 466 00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:19,120 creature that has a spell on it. No, God is just using his 467 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:23,760 creation to speak to Balaam the same way that God can use 468 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:26,320 anything in our lives to speak to us. 469 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:30,280 He could use strangers, He could use non believers, He could use 470 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:33,000 teachers, He could use a clerk at 711. 471 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:36,760 He could use anything to relay a message to us. 472 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:41,360 And that's what He's doing here because we know when we come to 473 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:45,400 sovereignty, nothing can successfully stop any act or any 474 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:50,480 event or design or purpose that God intends to certainly bring 475 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:53,880 about. God can use anything. 476 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:58,000 God uses his donkey to talk to Balaam to help Balaam realize 477 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:00,120 that what he's doing is a massive mistake. 478 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:02,160 And it doesn't take until Balaam admits it. 479 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:06,320 Like man, this is not normal. This has got to be from God that 480 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:10,960 he realizes. And then God opens his eyes to 481 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,440 the Angel. Also, one more little thing 482 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:18,080 about Balaam. We know greed is his issue, but 483 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:21,600 I also want us to look at how Balaam answers him where he says 484 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:23,840 if I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now. 485 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:30,080 Those are not words that a prophet uses which shows the 486 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:35,000 wickedness inside of his heart. Actually, like these kind of 487 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:38,840 cruel words, like before and after the time of Balaam, the 488 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:43,640 ungodly have threatened to kill God's messengers for telling the 489 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:47,120 truth and seeking to hinder the evil of the ungodly. 490 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,160 It is the ungodly who speak this way. 491 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:53,480 It is the ungodly that's like, I'm going to kill you for being 492 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:55,480 truthful. I'm going to kill you for 493 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:59,120 talking about Christ. It's not the prophets of God. 494 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:04,040 It is the ungodly that do that. And Balaam is showing his cards 495 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:05,760 here. He's showing his heart. 496 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:12,960 And in verse 32, the Angel of the Lord asked him, Why have you 497 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:16,000 been your donkey these three times? 498 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:21,240 I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless 499 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:25,680 1 before me, Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, I have 500 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:29,040 sinned. I did not realize that you were 501 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:30,880 standing in the road to oppose me. 502 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:33,840 Now if you are displeased, I will go back. 503 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:36,880 The Angel of the Lord chose Balaam. 504 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:39,760 He's like, listen, like you're beating this donkey. 505 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:45,040 I'm standing here because your path is reckless. 506 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:48,920 The the direction that you're going is not good. 507 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:52,120 Actually, a better translation is perverse. 508 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:54,040 Your past, your path is perverse. 509 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:57,680 You're going the wrong way in a harsh manner. 510 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:02,320 You're not only going the wrong way, you are breaking furniture 511 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:04,320 as you're leaving. It's not it's not going to end 512 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:06,840 well for you. You are doing the wrong thing, 513 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,040 Balaam, and I'm trying to stop you. 514 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:12,840 I'm trying to oppose your path. Now. 515 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:16,880 Second Peter 215 we see that Balaam is tied to the 516 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:20,880 disobedience of God, and his disobedience comes from his 517 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:23,800 greed. God told him not to go. 518 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:26,240 He went. God told him, don't say 519 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:27,800 anything. I'm going to, you know, say only 520 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:30,240 what I'm going to say. And Balaam was like, that's not 521 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:35,880 going to happen. So God steps in that love. 33 He 522 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:39,520 says this, he goes, The donkey saw me and turned away from me 523 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:42,600 these three times. And if you, if you had not 524 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:46,320 turned away, I would have certainly killed you by now and 525 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:49,240 spared the donkey. How crazy is that? 526 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:53,120 You would have been a dead man, but the donkey would have lived. 527 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:57,320 That's pretty sad for a prophet of the Lord. 528 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:03,080 Which leads me to a point #2 that we need to understand God's 529 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:05,680 know is just as important as God's. 530 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:11,680 Yes, when God says no to something, it's because of His 531 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,480 divine will and purpose for your life. 532 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:20,680 He's trying to guide you because He has this amazing plan. 533 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:24,840 So when he says no, it's not like, Oh well, you shut it down. 534 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:29,440 No, He, he's trying to help you understand that there's 535 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:32,040 something so much bigger in life for you. 536 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:36,560 We focus so much on the yes of God that we forget about the 537 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:40,600 Nos. And God's no is just as vital. 538 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:45,320 It's just as important, and it's just as worthy of worship than 539 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:50,360 His yeses are. Some of us only pray and 540 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:52,840 worship. We get excited when God gives us 541 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:57,080 what we want, but can you keep that same energy when He 542 00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:00,080 doesn't? God is good all the time. 543 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:05,200 His sovereignty is real and he and He wants to help us and 544 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:09,480 drive our lives. Even we see here that a great 545 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:11,960 example of Balaam. Balaam said to the Angel of the 546 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:15,080 Lord, I have sinned. When Balaam realized that he was 547 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:19,360 wrong, he admitted it. He said I have sinned. 548 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:23,240 And he goes, listen, if you are displeased, I will go back. 549 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:30,160 Now I will say this, it's pretty easy to confess when you have an 550 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:32,080 Angel standing in front of you saying I'm going to kill you and 551 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:37,480 let that donkey live. And sometimes that's what it's 552 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:41,560 going to take for some of us who are stubborn to get to a place 553 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:45,120 where you've lost everything to say, OK, God, I've sinned. 554 00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:51,400 I'll go back to to what you've called me to, you know, even 555 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:55,520 Jude chapter one, verse 11, 'cause the error that that 556 00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:59,880 Balaam showed error because of his prophets, because of the 557 00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:05,280 prophets, he wants to get paid. He was willing to disobey God 558 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:07,480 and curse God's people for money. 559 00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:14,239 So how do we wrap this thing up here, 'cause 35 says the Angel 560 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:17,840 of the Lord said to Balaam, no, go, go with the men, but speak 561 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:21,880 only what I tell you. So Balaam went with Balak's 562 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:24,280 officials. Now that Balaam realized what's 563 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:27,960 happening, he's like, OK, I, I better pay attention. 564 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:34,840 I better do what God said. Jesus me point #3 Something that 565 00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:38,320 we need to remember is that God's judgment is expressed in 566 00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:41,560 giving people over to their sin that they desire. 567 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:46,440 So as we're going and we still don't listen to God, we still 568 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:48,320 doing our thing, God's going to give you over to that. 569 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:51,080 And that is His judgment, not His blessing. 570 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:58,360 But the great news is that even in our sin, He still is going to 571 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:03,120 use us for His will and His purposes, which is the kind of 572 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:05,560 God that we serve. Now let's end this thing. 573 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:10,600 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him 574 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:16,080 at the mobile town on the Arnon border at the edge of the 575 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:20,120 territory. This is verse 36, now 37, Balak 576 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:22,920 said to Balaam. Didn't I not send you with 577 00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:26,000 urgent summons? Didn't I tell you to hurry up? 578 00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:30,120 Why didn't you come to me? Am I not going to get you paid? 579 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:34,160 I'm going to reward you. Well, I have come to you now, 580 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:37,800 Balaam said. You know, political, but I can't 581 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:42,320 say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts 582 00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:45,680 in my mouth, because if not, this Angel is going to Take Me 583 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:49,200 Out. He realizes the power and 584 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:52,680 sovereignty of God and he submits to the will of God. 585 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:58,520 Then Balaam went with Balak to create Hazuth, which is the 586 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:02,240 eastern side of the city. It's a really high altitude. 587 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:07,280 And Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep and gave some to Balaam 588 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:09,480 and the officials who were there with him. 589 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:13,960 And the next morning Balak took Balaam to Baal. 590 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:17,560 And from there he could see the outskirts. 591 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:21,920 He could see the outskirts of the Israeli, Israeli camps. 592 00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:28,760 And the reason why Balak has this place because what they 593 00:36:28,760 --> 00:36:32,880 believed is that the higher you go to God, the better it is for 594 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:36,040 you. If I could be closer to God, the 595 00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:38,960 highest place, then I'm closer to him. 596 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:43,280 And we believe and he believes that. 597 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:48,280 And as he's standing there, and I'm just going to Fast forward 598 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:51,520 for times sake, Balaam gives 4 oracles. 599 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:57,600 He tells Balak what God tells him to say, and he's overlooking 600 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:00,640 the city with Jesus to our last points. 601 00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:04,880 Because even in our brokenness, even in the things that are 602 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:12,880 jacked up, the cross emerges. So we are so so Balaam he's not 603 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:15,960 really following Christ and Balak wants something against 604 00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:19,400 the people of God. And in all of this is is not 605 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:21,120 looking like it's going to end well. 606 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:26,040 And in all of our pain and all of our disobedience, the one 607 00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:29,760 thing that comes to the surface is the cross. 608 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:34,680 Jesus. God gives an answer, a response 609 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:38,440 in Christ. So the four oracles, I'm just 610 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:41,960 going to say these real quickly that Balaam gives Balaic. 611 00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:46,680 So this is Balaam speaking. Number one is I cannot curse 612 00:37:46,680 --> 00:37:49,360 what I've blessed. I'm not going to curse Israel 613 00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:50,920 because I've blessed them already. 614 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:55,160 The second Oracle is what I've blessed. 615 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,840 I'm not going to change my mind because I'm God, I made a 616 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:03,280 covenant, so I blessed the Israelites, but I'm not going to 617 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:07,600 change my mind. Regardless of what they do #3 618 00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:10,920 Israel will be blessed, and anyone who blesses Israel will 619 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:14,040 be blessed, and anyone who curses Israel will be cursed. 620 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:21,120 But then I want us to look at this. 621 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:26,760 Look at Numbers 24. Numbers 24, Balaam gives an 622 00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:31,840 Oracle that the Lord provides. So in all of this verse 17, he 623 00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:35,120 says, I see Him but now, but not now. 624 00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:40,440 I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob, a 625 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:45,800 scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of 626 00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:49,880 of Moab, the skulls of all the people of Surf. 627 00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:53,960 Edom will be conquered, sire, his enemy will be conquered, but 628 00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:58,520 Israel will grow strong. A ruler will come out of Jacob 629 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:01,400 and destroy the survivors of the city. 630 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:05,200 What God tells Balaam to tell Balak is that there's one 631 00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:07,120 coming. There's a scepter. 632 00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:10,720 There's a star coming out of the line of Israel, out of the line 633 00:39:10,720 --> 00:39:12,600 of Jacob. And that star that he's talking 634 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:14,000 about is the Messiah of the world. 635 00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:16,880 And here's what's crazy, because even in all of our troubles, 636 00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:20,520 even in all of our pain, even in all of our disobedience, we need 637 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:24,800 to remember that the Messiah, the promised Messiah came and he 638 00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:28,400 lived a perfect life and he went to the cross and he died. 639 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:31,640 He gave his life, He was buried, and he rose from the grave for 640 00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:35,800 you and for me. But here's even something even 641 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:37,840 crazier. The Bible says they were at the 642 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:39,560 highest place. They could see the outskirts of 643 00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:41,240 the camp. And I was like, man, why is this 644 00:39:41,240 --> 00:39:44,360 so important? Because the camp of Israel is 645 00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:47,640 designed a certain way. The camp, all 12 tribes are put 646 00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:50,360 into 4 camps. And then in the center of that 647 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:54,640 camp and the Tabernacle is where the presence of the Lord lives. 648 00:39:56,240 --> 00:39:57,720 So on the. East side of the camp. 649 00:39:57,720 --> 00:40:02,400 Is the camp of Judah and Judah is the largest 1 so Judah 650 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:05,760 stretches a lot longer than on the north side is the camp of 651 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:08,240 Dan. On the West side is Efrain and 652 00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:10,000 then on the South side is Reuben. 653 00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:13,520 And if you put all. This together and Balaam is. 654 00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:16,520 Standing there and he looks like Balaic and he says listen, 655 00:40:17,520 --> 00:40:21,760 there's somebody greater coming. Y'all want? 656 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:23,400 To see what the camps look like, go ahead, Carla. 657 00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:29,000 Put it up this. Is what Balaam would have seen. 658 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:34,040 It's a cross all the camps. Grab together. 659 00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:35,920 The presence of the Lord right there. 660 00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:39,920 And Balaam is giving a prophecy and he says, no, no, there's a, 661 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:41,560 there's one that's coming that's greater. 662 00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:44,440 There's, there's a, there's a star that's coming. 663 00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:47,440 And listen guys, his name is Jesus. 664 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:50,560 He's the one that's. Here, he's the one. 665 00:40:50,560 --> 00:40:53,360 That's coming. We see the cross. 666 00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:56,560 In the Old Testament. But we also see. 667 00:40:56,560 --> 00:41:00,440 The cross in our hurt. We see the cross emerge in our 668 00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:03,360 disobedience. We see the cross emerge in our 669 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:05,160 pain. We see the cross emerge 670 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:06,360 everywhere. Why? 671 00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:09,080 Because he is God's answer to the chaos. 672 00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:13,160 How do we fight? We let Jesus do it. 673 00:41:13,240 --> 00:41:15,200 We let his presence and we go to the cross. 674 00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:19,200 So guys, as we close today, I know there's. 675 00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:20,960 Some of us in this. Room and are going through it 676 00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:24,080 right now whether it's pain, whether it's a disobedience 677 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:25,880 whatever it is. I just want to let you know that 678 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:29,840 there is a cross and that cross of Christ brings healing. 679 00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:33,440 It represents forgiveness. It represents hope go to the 680 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:35,000 cross. We're going to pray for us.