Beware the Reluctant Permission of God
First B Jackson
2019-05-19

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Everybody, how are you? Good. Great. It sounds like it. There's a chatter in the room that sounds pretty positive and encouraging this morning.

If you would stand with me, I'm going invite Scott to come forward and sing with me. I've got a microphone right here for you. Would you stand and we're going to sing make me a hymn number six seventy to start off with. What an appropriate passage for today's sermon. Amen.

Don't sound good this morning. How about his eyes on the sparrow? Amen. Oh, I love this song. Yeah.

Why should I feel discouraged? Why should I should I? Hymn number six twenty four, if you want to find your part. I sing because I'm happy I sing because I'm free for his eyes the sparrow Amen. Y'all can have a seat.

How about them low donuts? I like it. And I want to do. That one goes from way low to way high. That's good.

And announcements here. We have some announcements. Monday nights at First B is happening again this week. It's meal, music, and a message every Monday night, 06:00. It's a good time for fellowship.

If you don't know a whole lot of people in the church, it's a good place to get to know em because we do meal, music, and a message and that gives you an opportunity for that. It's good. Carl has been in Minnesota doing a wedding, getting to be a part of doing a wedding yesterday, and I think he's gonna be back for Monday nights tomorrow night. The Bar J Chuckwagon. Scott, who graciously sings tenor up here on Sunday mornings and helps out with the hymn singing, they have out at their place the Bar J Chuckwagon.

It is not a bar, by the way, if you're visiting town. Alright. The Bar J is a brand of Chuckwagon, and this Chuckwagon does western suppers and music every night all throughout summer. So they start on Memorial Day weekend. This is the Tuesday after Memorial Day, May 28, for the Bar J.

Chuckwagon. It's going be a benefit fundraiser for Turning Point Pregnancy Resource Center. They've been doing it, I think, nineteen or twenty years. It's been a long, long time. And so that's really good.

It's a big portion of Turning Point's budget, actually, and it's helpful for them. If you would, you're going to go to the Bar J this summer. You might as well go early in the season. Remember how how good it is. Take all your company all the rest of the time.

But if you would, it would really benefit a turning point. Tickets are $25.12 dollars for kids. Doors open at $530 And there's a silent auction and other stuff going on too. Vacation Bible School is happening June 24 through the twenty eighth. That is going to be nine to twelve in the mornings.

It is this is the Miraculous Mission. It has a space theme, I think, but the mission is Jesus saves the world. This is what the mission is going to be about. So it's an overtly evangelical, gospel centered vacation Bible school for the kids, June twenty fourth to twenty eighth. If you have kids or grandkids that you would like to be a part of it, there's a registration table back there, and you can get your kids registered.

Or if you'd like to volunteer, we need all the help we can get. There's a nurse and mother's room downstairs if you should need it during the service. If a young one started to cry out, there's a live feed so that what's going on up here is broadcast on television down there. If you happen to miss a message and you want to go back to it, if you miss one and you think, thank God, I didn't hear that, then you don't have to do this. But if you miss one and you want to go back to it, we do a podcast that is available audio only on our website.

But there's also a Facebook live stream. And if you go back on Facebook for First Baptist of Jackson, First Baptist Church of Jackson online in Facebook. You can go back and see one. For about the last year and a half, they've been recorded as video also. Immigrant Hope.

Immigrant Hope, on Mondays, Lori McCune comes in here, and she helps people with immigration issues in the process of getting to be where they need to be. So Immigrant Hope is doing a shoe collection and fundraiser. So if you have any good shoes that you would like to pass on to them, they're trying to raise a ridiculous amount. I think they were looking for 25,000 pairs of shoes to be sent all over the world for different ministries and reasons. So if you would, bring in good shoes for them.

I'll give you more information later, but there's information in the bulletin too. The paper bulletin will give you more information than I will up here. Church drama. The good kind of church drama is coming. June 9, there is a play, and it was authored by actually, it was, I think, commissioned by Nancy.

God was leading her, but Glenn Owings is a pretty he's a good writer, and so he has written a script, and they've worked on and tweaked through this thing. So there will be a church drama coming up. It's a courtroom drama, actually. It's gonna happen on June 9. It'll be the first half of the sermon time probably, about that.

I'll have a little time afterwards. But connect hour happens between services every Sunday. That's at ten ish, right around there. And if I've forgotten anything or you want more information, you can always go to the bulletin. Prayer requests are in there too.

So if you want to be keeping up with what's going on with whom and how God has been answering prayers, that's a good place to go and check that. Anybody have one that I've forgotten? Yesterday, My Sister's Closet happened in the Fellowship Hall, and Casey McCooey helped, organize that. She stood up in the first service and said thank you to everybody who gave. A lot of people were served yesterday morning by coming in and being able to receive.

So thank you for your giving and the receiving too. If there's not anything else, to the introvert's chagrin, would you all stand up and greet one another? And we'll bring you back together with a song. On the last. When I look into your holiness, amen.

Six forty surround become shadows in the light of you when I found the joy of reaching Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Would you pray with me though as I invite the frontline team to come forward? As we come to the time in the service where we offer back, Lord, we give back we cast it on you, Lord. We give back a portion of that which you've given to us that says to you, we trust you on the one side, and it says to we, we trust you to do your will and advance your good gospel.

I pray, Lord, that this church would always be trustworthy in advancing that gospel, that in every single conversation that you would be working your will into someone's life. Lord, I pray that that would begin that would go beyond to the uttermost parts, to the very end of the earth. Lord, would you do your will and your way through your people, through the obedience of your beloved people. Would you do your will and your way this morning and beyond? Bless the gift, Lord, and multiply it.

In Jesus name, amen. Amen. Thank you, Jesus. So if you're following along in our long, long range study that we've been doing for about six years now, we are up to, in the New Testament, two Peter two ten B through three two. It's what you have on the back of your program.

That is the current text. That's where we are in our study. In the first service, I did not make it to that because I am trying to use the illustration that Peter uses in fifteen and sixteen, I felt like needed a little bit of groundwork if you don't know it. Some of y'all know the story of Balaam. And so if I were to ask you, though, what's the primary thing that stands out about the story of Balaam in the Old Testament, what would most of you say?

The donkey. Exactly. All right. So that's why I felt like it was worth it to go over there. I asked my this morning.

He said, I've been reading ahead in the text and I said, what is what what do you think? In second Peter two ten through three two, he goes, I think Peter is throwing shade left and right. It's a real it's a heavy heavy message. There's a lot of judgement there which is true. He uses, as a reference, Balaam, the prophet.

And I might call Balaam and I wouldn't be the first to call him the for profit prophet. He was all about getting paid. Okay? And if you read Numbers 22 through 24, and we're about to, you'll see a lot of what looks really, really, really good in what Balaam says and in the actions that Balaam takes. A lot of what he says and does is something where you go, I don't understand how that could be said as being bad.

All right. So we're gonna go Balaam, the for profit prophet. We're gonna start numbers 22. I have slides to begin with, then I'm gonna go off, and I may summarize some of the tech, because it really is three chapters from Numbers. If you look back, over our services for the last year, just before the team left from here to go to Israel, we had time in between second Timothy and second Peter and we did a couple of messages from numbers and we did numbers 20 where Moses strikes the rock.

We did numbers 21 where Moses lifts up the serpent in the wilderness, and the people that look upon it are saved, that God had established a way that they would be saved. Numbers 20, Numbers 21. Well, following right behind that is Numbers 22, and that's where the story of Balaam gets going in the Old Testament. He is briefly mentioned in Deuteronomy. There are other places he'd mention.

I'll mention those in a few minutes too. So the Israelites. Then the Israelites traveled to the Plains Of Moab. This is near the end of the time, the forty years of wandering in the desert. Now there were people who had sinned while Moses was up on Sinai.

They started the revelry golden calf, all of that, and those people were gonna have to die off. And so they could've gotten there a whole lot faster, but they were wandering in the desert. And this is near the end of the time that the Israelites were wandering in the desert. It says, then the Israelites traveled to the Plains Of Moab. This is after Moses struck the rock.

This is after he lifted up that serpent in the wilderness. Then the Israelites traveled to the Plains Of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho. Now Balak, I'm not a Hebrew scholar, and I am from Georgia, I'm gonna pronounce these things like they look. Okay? Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

What had they done to the Amorites? They whipped him. Okay. Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, and Moab, that was the land of which he was the king. Moab was terrified because there were so many people.

Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites. The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, wait a second, Moabites and the Midianites, they are allies in this context, at least. They are playing off of each other. Moabites said to the elders of Midian, this hoard, he's talking about Israel, this hoard is going to lick up everything around us as an ox licks up the grass of the field. It's scarce resources in the desert.

So Balak, son of the poor, who was the king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to summon Balaam, son of Baor. This is our first introduction to him in numbers. Who was at Pethor near the Euphrates River? It's a long way away, up to three fifty miles away. He's from a long way from there.

Who was at Pethor near the Euphrates in his native land and Balak said, a people has come out of Egypt. This is during that time, right? Where God has brought his chosen people out of the land of Egypt. He raised up a deliverer, a prophet, Moses, and he goes before pharaoh. You know the whole story.

Actually, Pascal and I watched the 10 Commandments this week. What a story. A people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the land, and they have settled next to me. This is one of the examples of Nimbe, not my backyard in the Bible. A people has come out of Egypt.

They cover the face of the land, and they settle next to me. Now, Balaam, come and put a curse on these people because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed. So what do we know about Balam at this point? Balam, we know where he's from.

We know it's a long ways away, and we know that his reputation precedes him such that Balak knows who he is and he knows about him that he will come and curse people for you. Ain't that awful? The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. Oh, and that's what it's about. He will curse people for you for money.

The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak, son of Zippor, king of the Moabites, had said. Spend the night here, Balaam said to them, and I will report back to you with the answer the Lord gives me. That sounds innocent enough, doesn't it? Stay here.

I'll go over here. I'll do what I do. I'll come back and let you know what the Lord has said. God came to Balaam and asked, who are these men with you? Didn't think God knew who the men were?

He did but he's asking, who are these men with you? What what's what's going on? God came to Balaam. And Balaam said to God, Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message. A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land.

Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away. It's pretty accurate representation of what he had sent to him to say. And then verse 12 is no uncertain terms. But God said to Balaam, do not go with them.

Okay? It's it's emphasized. Do not go with them. And he says, why? You must not put a curse on those people because they are blessed.

They are my people. God says, do not go with them. Verse 12, and I emphasize that just like the text emphasizes it. So the Moabite officials returned to Balak long way, and when they got back, they said Balaam refused to come with us. And then Balak sent other officials.

More numerous, so it wasn't just the few that he had sent before, but more of those, and more distinguished, so there were more important people than the first. And they came to Balaam and they said, this is what Balak, son of Zipporah says, do not let anything keep you from coming to me. Don't let anything hold you back. I don't know why it was that you didn't come before but don't let anything hold you back. I think that they might have thought and it might have actually been that Balaam was negotiating.

He's like, nope, sorry. God had told him, don't go. God had told him, don't go. But when he comes back, he says, you know, I'm not to go with you. I can't go.

So they go back. And when they report it, he sends more important people and more of them. And it goes on. Do not let anything keep you from coming to me because I will reward you handsomely. First guys, he sent a fee of divination, but this is, I'll reward you handsomely.

And not only will I reward you, but I'll do whatever you say. Doesn't matter what you say. Name your price, and I will do it. I'll set you up because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Do not let anything keep you from coming to me.

Come and put a curse on these people for me. Is there any doubt about what Balak wanted Balaam to do? None. Put a curse on these people for me. Now, what had God said about those people?

They were blessed. Do not. You must not put a curse. Do not go with them. But Balaam answered them, even if Balak gave me all of the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God.

Now I'm saying this kind of like he's negotiating because I feel like he kind of is. We can see from later on, and I'll get to it in the text, that he practices divination. He is known to be someone who can put a blessing or a curse on people, and it happens. So he's got a reputation for that already, and his price tag is pretty high. He has servants, and he is a man of some means.

We have other places in the Bible that talk about Balaam rather than just this, but this is the main text that we have, the longest text we have. Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could do I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord, my God. Now, spend the night here so that I can find out what else the Lord will tell me. What else? What had God told him?

There was no doubt about what God said. He said, do not go with them. Do not curse these people. These are blessed people. That night, God came to Balaam and said, well, since these men have come to summon you, go ahead and go.

I think that's the way he said it too. Go ahead and go. Go ahead. Go with them. Yeah.

But you're going to do only what I tell you. That's what it says. Do not just it's a command for him but you are only going to do that which I tell you. He says that in a few minutes. He says it again.

That night, God came to Baal and said, since they've come to you, I've made all this distance, and they are really important. I'm hearing you. I know you're negotiating with me. I've already told you what I want, and you want something else. And so go ahead and go.

There's a psalm, Psalm one zero six fifteen, one of the saddest psalms in the Bible. It says, and God gave them exactly what they had asked for, but it put leanness into their souls. Beware of the reluctant permission of God. Balaam. This is where the donkey story starts.

Okay. That actually is a picture. Rembrandt painted that. It looks more like a coloring book page to me, but that's a Rembrandt. It's one of the brightest Rembrandts I've ever seen, 1602.

Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the Moabite officials. What did God said in verse 12? Do not go with them. But God was very angry when he went. He had already, yeah, go ahead and go.

He, yes, he did have God's reluctant permission and it might sound capricious to you that he said, well, he said he could go. Are y'all parents or any of y'all parents? You got a child come to you and say, I want to go. I want to go. I want to go.

I want to go and you go, no, it's not a good idea. That sleepover with those people is a bad idea. Trust me. But I wanna go, I wanna go, I wanna go, I wanna go, I wanna go. It's gonna be okay.

Go ahead and go. Alright. It's not gonna go well. And then it doesn't. Oh, beware of the reluctant permission.

Right? Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey. He went with the Moabite officials, but God was very angry. He He was upset because he knew. God was very angry when he went and the angel of the Lord, messenger of God, angel of lord, stood in the road to oppose him and Balaam was riding on his donkey and there are some people that have a problem with this because they say, why would God, if he let him go, why would he oppose him?

The opposition was already there. God is about to teach Balaam a lesson. Before he knows he needs it, he's about to teach him a lesson. And where the angel of the Lord was standing there and opposing him, this donkey is going to become pretty important. God was very angry when he went.

The angel of lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. Supposedly, Midianites or Moabites were probably there too. Leading it back. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off of the road and into a field and Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.

So there he is with his stick. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow place, a narrower path through the vineyards with walls on both sides. And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall trying to go around this angel. He'd already been beaten for wandering off the path. So, he's trying to go around him but the donkey see and the angel of the Lord with a drawn sword.

When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balam's foot against it. So, he beat the donkey again. That's two times. Then, the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and he stood in a narrow place, a narrow place where there was no room to turn either to the right nor to the left. He was taken up the place.

When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balam. Balam was angry and he beat it with his staff. And then, the Lord opened the donkey's mouth. And it said to Balaam, what have I done to make you beat me these three times? Ain't that crazy?

What have I done to make you beat me these three times? And Balaam answered the donkey. Balaam didn't even go, what? A donkey donkey? He just answered the donkey.

Now granted, he was a seer. He had these powers, maybe supernatural demonic, I would say, powers. He had practiced divination for a long time, and he had heard from these voices, and he had heard from things, and he had made all kinds of prophecies. And apparently, some of them enough of them were right that people were paying him to bless and curse. Right?

So Balaam in stride just says to the donkey, you've made a fool of me. Well, I ran you ran out in the field. It made me look like I don't know how to drive and then you squish my foot up against the rock and then you just sit down up under me. Now you are a stubborn donkey, and I'm gonna beat it out of you. And he says, wait.

Why have you beaten me these three times? And Balaam answered the donkey and said, you have made a fool of me in front of my two servants and probably the other guys from Midian and Moab. And if I had a sword in my hand, if only I had a sword in my hand, I'd kill you right now. And then the donkey said to Balaam, am I not your own donkey? Have I not always traveled with you, which you have always ridden to this day?

Have I been in the habit of doing this to you? Now the donkey's not only talking, he's being kind of a smart aleck. Have I been in the habit of doing this to you? Well, no, Balaam says. I've skipped a verse there, sorry.

Blake, could you pull that one up? Verse 31. Thank you. I did this in the first service too. Just try to keep em as similar as we can, you know?

Twenty two thirty one says, then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes. Oh my goodness. The donkey was already seeing that and Balaam's supposed to be this great guy that sees all the spiritual stuff and has all kinds of advice and blesses and cursing for a fee. And he didn't see the angel of the Lord. He didn't see the spiritual reality right in front of him.

He was concerned about something else. Then, the Lord opened Balam's eyes and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with the sword drawn. So, he bowed low and he fell face down because now he is confronted with the spiritual reality of what's happened and the angel of the Lord asked him, why have you beaten your donkey these three times? This is the second time he's been asked that question. First time was with the donkey.

Why have you beaten me? Now, the angel of the Lord is saying, why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one. Behold the reluctant permission of God. If you go on the reluctant permission of God because you beg, beg, beg, beg, beg, beg, beg, beg it for exactly what you want.

That is a reckless path. Be careful. I've come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me, and he turned away from me these three times. If I, if it had not turned away, I would have certainly killed you by now.

But I would have spared it. The donkey hadn't done anything wrong. You're supposed to know better. Balam said to the angel of the Lord, I have sinned. So, he admits that he sinned.

I have sinned. I was wrong. I did not realize that you were standing in the road to oppose me. Oh, really, Balaam? The seer?

You're blind to that, If you're displeased, I'll go back. And then the angel of the Lord said to him, much like God had said in verse 20, then the angel of the Lord said to Baal, you go ahead and go. Go ahead and go. It's a reckless path but go ahead and go but speak only what I tell you to speak. You can only say what I tell you to say.

So Balak went. He went with Balak's officials. And when Balak heard that Balak was coming, oh, he got so excited. He went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border at the edge of his territory, and Balak said to Balaam, did I not send to you an urgent summons? I'm the king of Moab for crying out loud, and you just tarried, made me send two delegations of officials?

Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn't you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you? He's appealing to what Balaam's looking for. Well, I've come to you now, Balaam replied.

But but now he's just had an experience. I can't just say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth. That sounds sincere. That sounds good, actually.

It's like, I I pray that God put in my mouth exactly what you'll have me to say. I don't want to say anything that's not of you. Please. That's a good thing And I would say, moving back from Balaam for just a second, are there a lot of folks out there today who are saying things that sound really, really good? They've got biblical support for what they're saying, and the way they say it sounds pretty good.

Oh. Bala error is what Peter is going to talk about and that error, a lot of it has to do with greed. There's more to it than that but a lot of it has to do with greed. Then Bala went with Balak to Kiriath Hazoth Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep and he gave some to Balam. Oh, that's riches.

If somebody's paying your way, even if it's for the sacrifice, it's paying your way. It's expense account. Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep and he gave some to Balam and the officials who were with him and the next morning, Balak took Balam up to the Bamath Baal. Oh, gracious. They're in the high places, the place of the Baals.

If this was the Lord his God, he should know not to go up to the high places and not to surrender or sacrifice to the Baals. So the next morning, Balak took Balaam up to Bammoth Baal. And from there, he could see the outskirts of the Israelite camp. And he's seeing them now. Great are their numbers.

He's seeing part of them. So these are the Bible references to Balaam. Backing up for just a second. Numbers 22, 24 is what I'm reading right now. I'm just in chapter 22 at the moment.

But we're going to go through twenty three and twenty four, and then maybe hit 25, just the first few verses of that. Numbers 30 one:eight is another one. 20 three:four is just a very quick blurb. So Numbers is the detailed story Numbers 20 three:four talks about very briefly. Micah six:five uses this story of an example of God's righteousness which, like I said a little while ago, some of y'all might look at it and go, God seems to be capricious because it looks like he changed his mind.

He didn't change his mind but he had a point that had to be made and he was gonna make it. Second Peter two fifteen sixteen is our current passage that we probably won't get to today. Jude one eleven is almost exactly the same wording. Jude was probably the scribe that Peter used to write second Peter. Jude one eleven is very similar to our passage and then Revelation.

I'll mention those in a few minutes. So, second Peter 10, I mean, two ten b through three two. This is where I'd normally go into the sermon but I think that I gotta go today and just keep on going for Balaam. Alright? Are you with me?

We've gotten past the donkey part now, and I wanna go through, and I'll summarize some of twenty three and twenty four. I'm going to go forward until I see his face again. Right there. Okay. So Balaam, they've already started their sacrifice and setting up the altars and all that stuff in the high places.

Oh, yeah, ostensibly so you can see the Israelites, to be able to curse them better. Has already hedged his bets and said, now I can only say what God tells me to say. Still could be a negotiating tactic. Where I grew up actually I don't know if this is common out here, but when I grew up in Georgia, there was a lot of different houses had a little on the side of the highway, and usually in a dark place, they would have a plywood sign that would have a red hand on it. It would say something along the lines of prophetess Mary or prophetess so and so.

And she'd do tarot card readings and things like that, and she would curse people or bless people. Does that happen out here? It's not as overt as it was in South in Central Georgia. This one hits pretty close to home. I think it always will and always does, but it's it's subtly different wherever you are.

So here we go, Balaam's first message. After they had gone up into high places and they had started sacrificing all this, Balaam said, build me seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me. And Balak did as Balaam said. And two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar. And Balam said to Balak, now, stay here.

Beside your offering while I go aside and perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me, I'll tell you. Then, he went off to a barren height and God met with him And Balaam said, I've prepared seven altars and on each altar, I've offered a bull and a ram and the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, now, go back to Balak and give him this word and so he went back and he found him standing beside his offering with all the Moabite officials and Balam spoke this message. Balak brought me from Aram. It's kind of pious and sanctimonious to begin with.

Balak brought me from Aram and the king of Moab from the Eastern Mountains and come, he said, curse Jacob for me. Come, denounce Israel but he had been on that path and on that road and seen that angel of the Lord and he had gotten this message from God. Now, the way God's spirit works now, he accompanies belief in Christ and he lives within us and Jesus said he'd send a comforter and that's what it was. In Old Testament, God's spirit would light upon people from time to time. Remember David?

After he had sinned, praying that great repentant rep prayers, take not your spirit from me, lord because it was a possibility at the time and if God's spirit were to light upon someone and speak a word through them, that's what it was. He did it through the donkey. And Balam had just seen that. Balak brought me from Aram and the king of Moab from the Eastern Mountains and come he said, curse Jacob from me. Come, denounce Israel.

Who can I curse? Or how can I curse those whom God has not cursed? Verse 12, he told them they were blessed. How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced from the rocky peaks? I view them and I see a people who live apart or separated apart, a holy people.

They do not consider themselves one of the nations. In fact, the Jews always considered themselves Jews, and then everyone else was of the nations. You were either Jew or Gentile, everything else. I see a people who live set apart do not consider themselves one of the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel?

Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my final end be like theirs. Imagine being Balak who had sent for this guy now twice, promised him a huge reward. And then he gets up there, and Balak says to Balaam, what have you done? What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, and you have done nothing, but blessed them.

And he answered, must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth? That sounds pretty good. Still sounds good. Balam had is being used by God and when God gave his reluctant permission, he's using Balam to teach Balak a lesson. He's using it to teach Balam a lesson.

He's using it to further his purposes. By the way, in Genesis 12, God had promised who? Abraham, that I'll bless who you bless and I'll curse those you curse, right? And somehow, Balam gets the reputation for that. Israel, the people of God, the chosen people of God are to be people of blessing and they are to be a light to the nations.

Balaam's second message this says. So, he does, the first one he does is behind the second one. Balak said to him, come with me to another place. Balak is still going, no. Yeah.

You missed that opportunity, but come on over here. Come with me to this other place where you can see them, and you will not see them all, but you'll see the outskirts of their camp, and from there, curse them for me. He's still asking for a curse. There's no doubt about what Balak wants. So he took him to the field of Zophram in the top of Pisgah where they built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balaam said to Balak, stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there. The Lord met with Balaam, put a word in his mouth, and said, go back to Balak and give him this word. So, he went to him and he found him standing beside his offering and the Moabite officials and Balak asked him, what did the Lord say? And then he spoke this message. I think this is fun because Balaam's message to them is self referential.

Okay? He's referring to the things that he's learning just as he has just learned them. He spoke this message, arise Balak, and listen. Hear me, son of Zippor. God is not human that he should lie, not a human being that he should change his mind.

Wait a second. What did God said in verse 12? And yet he said, go ahead and go. Okay. God had not changed his mind though.

If you insist on going outside the will of God and you exist on a reckless path, you are going to be on a path that is fraught with peril, opposed by God. It is a prideful thing to say, God, I want what I want. I don't care what you want. When Jesus is in the garden and says, not my will but thine be done. That releases Jesus from his his own will.

Does that make sense? Our our will is oftentimes very dangerous for us because we don't always see everything that there is to see, but God does. Arise Balak and listen, hear me son of Zippor. God is not human that he should lie, not a human being that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act?

Does he promise and then not fulfill? I have received a command to bless. He has blessed and I cannot change it. No misfortune is seen in Jacob. No misery observed observed in Israel.

The Lord their God is with them. The shout of the king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt. They have a the strength of a wild ox. There's no divination against Jacob.

Praise God. If you're a believer in Jesus and one of the people of God, there is no divination that can come against you. There are no evil omens against Israel. There's nothing external spiritually that can penetrate that and get in. What shall what shall conquer us?

Nothing. More than overcomers. There's no divination against Jacob. There's no evil omens against Israel and will now be said of Jacob and of Israel. See what God has done.

The people rise like a lioness. All we always think how tired and bedraggled these Israelites are as they're wandering around the desert and this is what God says, the people rise like a lioness, they rouse themselves like a lion. They do not rest till it devours their prey and drinks the blood of its victims. Now, if you're Balak, what do you do? Balak says to Balaam, neither curse them or bless them.

Just be quiet. For crying out loud, don't say anything else. And then he says, well, come on over here. Let me take you to another place. Maybe.

Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe you'll be able to curse him from here.

Balak said to Balaam, come. Let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God. This is a Moabite God. This is not his God.

He don't care whose God is doing the cursing, really. He just wants for it to happen. Perhaps, it'll please God to let you curse him for me from there. And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor overlooking the wasteland. And Balak said, build me seven altars.

Prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me. Balak did as Balaam had said, offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Same thing happened this third time. And now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he's a seer that's finally seeing. It is it's like if God's on my side.

Wait a second. This is a it's really good to just be saying this stuff and it be for real. And it to be from God, he is seeing when he saw that it pleased lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to divination as at other times. So he had used sorcery, witchcraft, whatever you want to call it. Divination is the use of other spiritual beings to get what you want.

Power of words is very, very strong in primitive religion. It's very strong in some branches of what is called Christianity today. If you just speak it, just speak it. If you'll pay me, just give me give me a little bit of seed money and then God will unleash the doors of heaven on you and he will shower you with blessing. Have you heard that recently?

Just give me that fee for divination. And it might not God might not do it right away, but keep on giving if you just keep on doing it. Move to another place. Try it from over there. He did not resort to divination as at other times.

That's how he had been in touch with the supernatural spiritual world before. He had the reputation of being one that could bless or curse. He would get paid handsomely to do it. He didn't use what he usually used but he turned his face downward toward the wilderness and when Bala looked out and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe, in that orderly fashion that God had set up for him, the spirit of God came upon him again and he spoke his message and the prophecy of Balam, son of Baor, the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly and he was at a place then where he was seeing very clearly. Prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened.

He'd literally just done that before the angel of the Lord. How beautiful are your tents, Jacob? Can you imagine Balak just steaming? Your dwelling places, Israel, like valleys that spread out, like gardens by the river, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from their buckets.

This is in the middle of the desert. Right? Their seed will have abundant water. Their king will be greater than Agag. Their kingdom will be exalted.

God brought them out of Egypt, and they have the strength of a wild ox. They devour hostile nations. Anyone who sets themselves up against God will be devoured by God's people ultimately. Devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces and their arrows will pierce them. Like a lion, they crouch and they lie down.

Like a lioness who dares to rouse them, may those who bless you, Israel, be blessed, and may those who curse you, Israel, be cursed. And then Balak's anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together, and he said to him, I have summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times now. Leave at once and go home. I said I would reward you handsomely, but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded. So he went there for the money.

Now he's not getting the money. He's blessed the people that the guy asked him to curse. So Balaam answered Balak, did I not tell the messengers you sent me? Oh, Balaam, sorry, excuse me. Balaam says to Balak, did I not tell the messengers you sent me?

I hedged my bets. I said, even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not have do anything of my own accord, good or bad. I can't guarantee results. I can't go beyond the command of the Lord. Must say only I must say only what the Lord says.

Now, I'm going back to my people but come let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in the days to come and he gives the fourth message and the fourth message is even worse than the first three. He spoke this message, prophecy of Balaam son of Baor, prophecy of one whose eyes sees clearly, prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the most high, who sees a vision from the almighty, who falls prostrate, whose eyes are open, and then he quotes God. I see him, but not now. I behold him but not near. A star will come out of Jacob.

Now, he's doing a messianic prophecy. He's looking forward to the Christ to come. I'll behold him but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise out of Israel.

Crush the foreheads of all Moab. Those who set themselves up against God, the skulls of all the people of Edom will be conquered. Sayre's enemy will be conquered. Israel will grow strong. The people of God will continue to grow strong.

A ruler will come out of Jacob and it'll destroy the survivors of these old cities. Now he can't stop talking. Balaam has already asked him not to curse or to bless, just be quiet. And then he tries to get him to curse again, comes out as blessing again, and then all of the curses return on them. Every one of the curses return on them.

In fact, he has, in his fifth message, he has a word for the Amalekites, and his sixth message for the Kenites, and then the seventh message, it's anyone who rises up against God. Now, if we stopped right there and that was the only account that we have of Balaam, then you would think, I think I'm going argue with you, preacher. Everything he did was fine. Everything he said was fine. He might have gone in it for the money but hey, workman's worthy of his wages, Right?

You're a preacher. You know this. We pay you to do what you do. But that's not all the Bible says about Balaam. There are other right.

Here it is. So numbers thirty one eight talks about Balaam's death. Balaam's death is just six chapters later, and where he's listed as dying is when there is an onslaught against the people of Midian and some Moabites. And he's listed with five of the kings, the big hobnob guys. He's hanging out with these Midianites.

And you think, well, it said he went back home. Yeah, but at some point, his reckless path brought him back. He saw those riches and just couldn't take, not having a part in himself. Balaam's death, he was killed by the sword among the Midianites. And then Revelation two fourteen is about Balaam's culpability in the death of 24,000 Israelites.

And you might think, what in the world? So if you go forward I don't have it on the slide. Blake, I'll just read it. All right? I'm just going to read a few verses from 25.

While Israel this is the very next thing after Balaam and Balak's little story, 22, 23, 24. The very next thing, 25, the first three or four verses I'll read. When while Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the Moabite women who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. And so Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor, the same very one who was up on that high place with.

He was looking down now. Balaam's major error that I usually think of when somebody says Balaam's error is he's a prophet for prophet. He was a mercenary won't even say missionary. He was a mercenary guy that would bless and curse for money. But when he found out that he couldn't deliver the curse, and he still wanted that money, he did go back.

Revelation two fourteen says let me read it too straight up. Revelation's at the end. Right? Alright. I can find that one really quickly too.

And 14 says, nevertheless, I have a few things against you. You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin. He couldn't get them from outside. He couldn't get them by just pronouncing a curse over the Israelites, but he did teach Balak this is how you get to them. Sexual immorality and other gods against God's command.

Right? What a shame. If you are a child of God, there's nothing from the outside that can get to you but your own sin can certainly keep you back. Certainly keep you back. And you can keep on begging God for stuff that he has already said resolutely, you are not to have this.

It would not be good for you. And if he's not reluctantly giving his permission, you're walking a reckless path. I think the place right now and actually, I didn't get to this in the first service, and Eugene stood up and said, I think there needs to be a call for repentance. And I said that, amen. That's exactly what there need to be.

I don't like landing this plane. I like flying the plane. I don't like landing the plane. If you know that you've been praying for God to give you permission to do something that he's already said no or if you know that God has said no and you went that way anyway and you're suffering the consequences of it and you're still persistent in your reckless path, I pray that you would to take the time this morning. The very next book after we get through a second Peter, the next book, not the one that we're going to study next but the next one in the Bible is first John one nine is just nine verses in and it says, if you are confessing your sin, God is faithful and just to be forgiving your sin and cleansing you from all unrighteousness.

All of your past mistakes and all of your past sins, all of your abstinence before the Lord and your reckless path can be given over to God and he will cleanse you and make you whiter than snow. There are still some consequences you'll be walking out, I'm sure but your burden will be light. When Jesus said, take my yoke upon you for my burden is light. Can you imagine what it would be like to walk around without the weight of your own sin? Are you with me?

Alright. So the stopping point this week, I had a great one, but it's probably two full sermons from now. So next week, I'll bring half of I'll bring a third of the message that I pray for this morning. But praise God. And in God's providence, I've already heard in between services that there's a lot of heavy people stuff going on within our body and the folks affected around our body right now.

So I think that this week is going to be a heavy, heavy week as far as people go. Would you stand with me? Judy, would you come back up to the piano and you can play? But I want you to know the altar is always open for you to come up and pray. If God is laying something on your heart right now that you say, God, I went after that, and I realize now it was your reluctant permission, and you were just saying, go ahead and go, but it's not going to go well, would you come forward in repentance?

Would you come and just lay it down at the altar and let God cleanse you? In Jesus name, lord, we pray that you would give us eyes to see clearly the spiritual reality that is right in front of us. It should protect us, lord, and that you would put the words in our mouth that we must say and lord that we would persist and stay with them instead of turning away. I love what Peter has to say in this chapter but I thank you for the message that you have that teaches from the Old Testament. In Jesus' name, may we walk a straight path, path of the gospel.

Amen. God, we know that there's no temptation that has ever come upon us that except for that which is common to man and the same things that Balam taught Balak would get the Israelites ensnared are the same things. Lord, that'll still get us ensnared today. Would you keep our minds and our hearts from immorality? Would you keep our minds and our hearts away from our idols?

God, would you do your will in your way in our life and through us. Lord, if we lack in anything, we pray that it that you would give us exactly what we need for the situation at hand to do and say what you would have us do and say. Amen. James says, if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to you. So, lord, we turn to you and ask you for that which we need.

Amen.