Gtcotr/ss011126
Church can be likened to a primary school. Church is where we are taught life lessons according to the Bible. These life lessons include teachings on:
- · Growing relationships
- · Managing finances
- · Serving others
- · Becoming more like Jesus
- o In what we think
- o In what we say
- o In what we do
The Bible is our manual, our guide, our textbook and it contains the correct answers to all the questions we will encounter in life. God’s hope is that we will study the book and be prepared for every test before it comes.
In Ephesians 6:16, the Apostle Paul likens our trust in God’s Word to a shield. Shields are meant to keep the dangerous darts of the enemy from getting through to us. Faith in God’s Word is designed to keep us safe like a shield. However, many times we see people trying to use faith as a pair of tweezers to remove the problem instead of using it as a shield to keep the problem from getting to them in the first place.
In other words, The Bible can help us avoid problems and not just fix them once they occur. Like a well-check visit to the doctor …
The best medicine is preventive medicine. How long has it been since you’ve had a checkup?
The sermon series we are beginning today is designed to be just that – a spiritual checkup. In this series we are going to use stories from the Bible to highlight some of the basic principles critical to the Christian life.
God’s Word calls us:
- · Overcomers
- · More than conquerors
- · Kings and Priests
- · Co-workers with Christ
God sees something in you, and He believes in you more than you believe in yourself. Now, let’s begin the checkup.
This morning we will be reading a passage from Numbers 22. This chapter is about a man named Balaam who lived in the time of Moses. Although Balaam was a prophet of God, he was also a greedy man. Balaam loved money and he didn’t mind stretching his moral and ethical standards if it benefited him financially. It is always good for a person to understand what motivates them. According to the Ron Hammonds well researched encyclopedia of experience:
The Top 5 Motivations are:
- 1. Love
- 2. Sex
- 3. Money
- 4. Power
- 5. Position
It’s also an advantage to know what motivates your friends and enemies alike. Back to Balaam …
Balaam is mentioned 59 times in the Bible, all the way from the book of Numbers to the book of Revelation. Peter and John both wrote about Balaam. The Bible has a lot to say about this man and the choices he made.
Well, one day during the Exodus, the king of Midian sent messengers to Balaam hoping to hire him to come and curse Moses and the Israelites. The king of Midian offered Balaam a lot of money. Balaam wanted to go but knew he first needed to ask God. Balaam was not as concerned about pleasing God as much as he was afraid to displease Him. Balaam was not the kind of person who wanted to please God … rather he was the kind of person who wanted to do whatever he imagined he could get away with if it paid. So Balaam went to pray and ask God if he could go and curse Moses and the Israelites.
God answered Balaam and told him no. God said, “don’t go!” So, regrettably, Balaam told the messengers no. When the king of Midian heard he had been turned down he sent more noble emissaries and offered Balaam a lot more money hoping to entice him. Now Balaam really wanted to go. So Balaam decided he would see if he could get God to change His mind.
As Balaam continued to petition the Lord, God finally said “Go with them. But only say what I tell you to say.” This is where we glean a great life lesson from this story:
Just because God tolerates or allows something does not mean He appreciates or approves of it.
We join the story in verse 22 just after God tells Balaam – “Go ahead.”
Numbers 22 NKJV
22 ¶ Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against Balaam. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road.
- · Note: the donkey is a female servant of Balaam.
- · He was a prophet motivated by money and the Bible shows that she was a lot more spiritual than he was.
24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side.
25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again.
- · You know, I love donkeys. When I pioneered my first Church in 1980, I bought a few donkeys and raised some from birth.
- · They are the best helpers. Stubborn – whew … but once they like you, they are so dependable and trustworthy.
- · BTW – you can’t get them to give you their best by beating them.
26 Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!”
- · Have you ever noticed that abusers often feel like they are the ones being abused?
- · Balaam was so focused on the thought he might get rich he couldn’t see the danger or those around him trying to help him.
30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.”
31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.
32 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.
33 “The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”
- · The angel credits the donkey, and Balaam listens but he never said, “I’m sorry; I was wrong; You were right; Thank you; Forgive me.”
- · For Balaam, it was all about him … even though he had a talking donkey and an angelic visitation. He was only worried about his own safety and how he could keep from being hurt.
34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”
35 Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
Pleasing God should not merely be about what God will allow but more about what God wants. Both God and the angel knew what Balaam was capable of and where his weaknesses lay. His ways were perverse. And indeed, even though Balaam did not curse the Israelites with his mouth, he nonetheless caused their defeat. Later on, the Children of Israel killed Balaam after they came into the Promise Land with Joshua.
One might ask: “Why did God allow Balaam to go?” When the real question should be: “Why did Balaam keep asking?”
We will discover more about Balaam in the coming weeks as we continue this sermon series. In closing today allow me to share:
Our Life Lessons For Today
- 1. If God cannot say no to you, you will fall into sin.
- 2. If you can’t say no to yourself and no to others, you will fail in life.
- 3. If God closes a door, it’s best left shut.
