Latest / Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ) / "Lessons From a Man Who Knew Better" by Hiram Kemp

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"Lessons From a Man Who Knew Better" by Hiram Kemp · Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

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Sharon Moore is the kind of man that most people want to root for.
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Sort of underdog, pulls himself up, becomes the head
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football coach for the University of Michigan, one of the most coveted jobs in all
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of college football. And that's why it was a shock to everyone in 2025
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when he was let go by the university because of an inappropriate relationship
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with one of his fellow coworkers who was on staff. As Moore saw
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his life spiraling out of control, as the charges and the investigation
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against him by the university was underway, he made things even worse
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by engaging in a home invasion and eventually was charged with
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a felony. Moore knew better, and yet that didn't stop him from doing the things
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that he did. You might think about George Santos,
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a famous or former US congressman who also
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knew better. I mean, he was a congressman, he knew better, but still that didn't
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stop Santos from actually defrauding the government and individuals on his campaign
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by taking government dollars and investing them without permission,
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charging things to the campaign credit card that he never should have. As a result,
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Santos spent some 87 months, or has been sentenced to 87 months in
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federal prison. And a similar thing happened with Elizabeth Holmes. She started a company
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called Theranos where she basically said she developed some technology that was
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able to test blood, but even after the technology was proven to not do the
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very same things that she claimed that it could do, she still deceived
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and defrauded investors, and as a result, she was sentenced to 11
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years in federal prison. And last but certainly not least,
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there's Brian Williams, famous NBC Nightly News anchor
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who for a long time had been claiming that in 2003, at the height of
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the Iraq War, he was in a helicopter that had been struck in the midst
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of battle. Turns out Williams was actually in the helicopter in front of
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the one that was actually struck in the midst of combat, and he went on
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this story for as long as he could, but finally he confessed. He recanted.
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NBC suspended him for 6 months without pay and
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ultimately parted and went their separate ways. He was charged with being the
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news anchor responsible for actually relaying and reporting the truth,
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and yet it didn't stop him from actually deceiving and reporting lies.
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Williams and all of those mentioned before him, they knew better,
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but they didn't do better. This isn't just a modern phenomenon.
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It goes all the way back to biblical times. Sometimes people study
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the Old Testament and they mistakenly conclude that in the Old Testament
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God dealt exclusively and only with the nation of Israel.
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But as you read the Old Testament, especially an account in the book of Numbers,
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it's also true that God on occasion dealt directly with the Gentiles.
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In fact, in the book of Numbers there's a most unusual account because not
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only as Israel's making their way toward the Promised Land does God engage in a
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relationship with the Gentile nation, but there's actually a Gentile prophet
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to whom God communicates and ultimately reveals some truth
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and some instructions. If that wasn't strange enough in this
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account, in this account in the book of Numbers, there's also a talking donkey and
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a prophet, though every time he wants to open his mouth and curse, it's almost
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like it's out of his control because every time he speaks, God ensures
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that he blesses the people. Tonight we're going to study the life of Balaam.
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If you have your Bible, go ahead and turn it to the Old Testament,
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to Numbers chapter 22. Balaam is a prophet and
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a man that will teach us much from his life, even though as a prophet
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and a spokesman for God, he should have known better. He went in the completely
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opposite direction, or at least tried to. And every time scripture touches
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on his life, it makes this plain. And tonight I want to look at some
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lessons from his life. But before that, let's just kind of walk through the story
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as briefly and relatively quickly as we can, looking at Numbers 22 to 25
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to get us situated in the context
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what was true about Balaam, what happened in his life, and then we'll draw the
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lessons. Numbers 22 begins in verse 1 by saying the children of Israel
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were on their way and they were camped out near Jericho and on the opposite
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side of the Jordan, and the reputation of Israel was spreading all around
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the ancient Near East about what they had done to previous nations like the Amorites.
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Balak, who's the king of Moab, and all of Moab, according to
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Numbers 22 and verse 3, they were greatly trembling, afraid, and astonished
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Because they knew what Israel had done to other nations, and he feared that as
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they made their way to Canaan, the same thing would happen to them.
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But King Balak had a plan. Balak decided to go
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to a man by the name of Balaam, the son of Beor, and what he
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would do is send these messengers and send them with money to pay
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Balaam, this prophet, to come and speak a curse against Israel.
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Because as far as King Balak was concerned, Balaam was a prophet,
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and whatever he said would ultimately come to pass. And so
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in Numbers 22:4-8, Balak, the king of Moab, sends his messengers
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with money and financial resources to Balaam in exchange
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for his prophecy of curses against this rival nation known as the
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Israelites. And so they go and they approach Balaam with their offer.
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Balaam says, I can't say anything. First, I've got to check with God and make
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sure God's okay with me cursing the people of Israel. And so they go
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to Balaam, Balaam talks with God. Numbers 22:9,
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God says, you can't go with these people. Because I've already blessed Israel. Whoever I
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bless is blessed and whoever I curse is cursed. You can't go with these
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people to curse the people of Israel. And so the people, they go home and
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they go their— go their own way. They bring word back to Balak.
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That's not good enough for Balak. He sends them again, but this time with more
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treats, more prizes, and more financial resources. They approach
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Balak— Balaam again and say, why don't you come with us and curse
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the people of Israel? And in Numbers 22 and verse 18, Balaam says, Though Balak
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would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can't go beyond the
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word of the Lord my God to do less or to do more. I can't
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do it. God's already told me what to do. But yet, Balaam still decides,
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you know what? I'm going to go to God and ask just in case God
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has changed His mind. It's at this point in the story that God tells the
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prophet Balaam, go ahead and go with these people, but under one condition.
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When you go, you can only speak the message that I give you permission
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to speak. And as soon as Balaam's out of their presence and on his way
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toward the king of Balak to curse the people of Israel, the text says that
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God's anger burns in fury against Balaam. And it's at this point that a reader
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might be confused. Why would God be upset with the man that He had just
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given permission to go and speak this prophecy? But of course the problem is
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Balaam ultimately wants to go and do the opposite of the will of God
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and to curse these people. Or else he's willing for a price to
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say whatever he wants even if it's contrary to the will of God.
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And so he goes, but on his way as he's riding on a donkey in
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Numbers 22, his donkey is able to see something that Balaam can't see,
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and that is the angel of the Lord standing in their pathway with a sword
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of punishment. And the, the donkey refuses to go forward.
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Balaam continues to push, and ultimately the donkey is smashing Balaam's
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leg up against the wall because of his fear of proceeding lest they come into
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the pathway of this fierce and amazing angel. Finally, the donkey lays down.
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Balaam strikes the donkey 3 times, and it's at this point
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that the donkey speaks to Balaam and they have this conversation about why the donkey
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won't proceed and go forward and then God opens the eyes of the prophet and
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the prophet can now see what the donkey could see all the time. There's an
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angel standing in the way preventing their progress. God shows up
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again and reiterates to Balaam, when you get to the
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king of Moab, make sure you say exactly what it is that I give you
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the permission to speak. Balaam and Balak finally meet and when they do there's
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this discussion and Balak says to Balaam, What took you so long? I sent money.
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I was going to bless you and prosper you. They have
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a conversation and they agree to continue these things in the morning when he'll be
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led up on a mountain to curse the people of Israel. Numbers 23 and
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24 really is the same scene 4 different times. They offer up
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sacrifices, they offer up burnt offerings, and every time the prophet Balaam
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is supposed to curse the people of Israel. And every time he opens his mouth
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to do so repeatedly through poetic and prophetic utterances,
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no matter what he tries to do, he always ends up blessing the people of
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Israel. He says things about them being a prosperous and successful
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nation, about them crushing and triumphing over their enemies,
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and about their ultimate success. The king Balak is frustrated.
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I mean, after all, he's paid good money to get this prophet to preach the
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sermon exactly the way he wants him to. But no matter what he does,
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he can't stop the blessing that God's pronounced on these people. At one
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point, Balak gets so frustrated, he tells Balaam, enough!
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Shut up! Say no more. Don't bless them, don't curse them. Just don't
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say anything. But it's out of his control. Even when
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he tells Balaam to be silent, the blessings continue to flow over and over again
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out of his mouth. And Balaam reminds the king, isn't this what I told
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you when I was in my country? I've got to say whatever God tells me
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to say. This happens 4 times repeatedly, and then finally in their frustration,
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they go their separate ways. And then lastly, in Numbers 25,
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in an account that seems to be completely distinct and separate from this,
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After Balaam has continued to bless the people of Israel,
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Israel engages in sexual sin. On the surface, it seems
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like just another one of Israel's blunders, but Numbers 31:16 says
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this was instigated by Balaam as he led them into sexual
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immorality and ultimately into sin. In fact, every time the New Testament touches on
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the man named Balaam, the prophet from Moab, it always mentions his deception
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and his leading God's people into sexual immorality. 2 Peter 2:15-16,
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Revelation 2:14, and Jude 11 all put
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together this comprehensive picture of Balaam as a false prophet who knew
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better, but ultimately he didn't do better.
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And tonight, with that in the back of our minds, here are the
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lessons we learn from a man who knew better, so that hopefully as we
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read this account— Romans 15:4, whatever things were written before were written for our learning—
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hopefully as we read and study this account, we'll be better as a
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result. Here's the first lesson, number 1. Truth is truth no matter who
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speaks it. The first lesson we learn from Balaam's life and the people of Israel
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in Numbers 22 through 25 is this: truth is truth no matter who
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speaks it. You know, modern people are funny. Modern people read the Bible,
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and I mean, you get to an account like Numbers 22, and modern people,
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skeptical people, say, come on, Hiram. I mean, you say you
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believe the Bible. Don't tell me that you believe that a donkey actually
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talked to a man, and more than that, that the man talked back. You can't
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really believe that happened. And yet research says modern pet owners—
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between 55% and 84% of modern pet owners
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talk to their animals as if they're human beings. We laugh
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and mock biblical accounts, and yet we go home and talk to dogs,
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cats, chickens, and cows as if they're human beings. We've got
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names for them, we give them voices, and we're back and forth having this grand
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conversation. What you need to appreciate about Numbers 22 is verse 28.
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It says, the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey so that he could communicate
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truth to Balaam. In verse 30, this is where he begins to speak to Balaam
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and he says, listen, I've always been your beast. You've always rode me. I've never
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mistreated you. Surely there must be a reason for my behavior. And it's the first
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lesson that Balaam learns and that we need to learn. Truth is truth no matter
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who speaks it. This really shouldn't surprise us, this idea of the talking
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animal. After all, if God could open the mouth of the fish so that it
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could swallow Jonah, Jonah 1:17, and then later open the mouth of the same
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fish so that it could spit Jonah out on dry land in Jonah chapter 2
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and verse 10, And if he could put a coin in the
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mouth of a fish to pay the temple tax for Jesus and his disciples
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in Matthew 17:26-27, and then shut the mouth of the lion
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so that it wouldn't harm Daniel in Daniel 6:22-23, what we're
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reading about in Numbers 22 is actually no challenge for God whatsoever.
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He makes all things, and everything in the world belongs to him.
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Psalm 24:1. Truth is truth no matter
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who speaks it. But the truth for us is sometimes we miss the truth because
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we don't like the person that the truth is packaged in. Maybe we want
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them to be different or look different or presented different, and sometimes we miss the
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truth. In 2 Corinthians 10:10, we're told that the Corinthians
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and some others that were influencing them were saying this about Paul: His letters are
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weighty and impressive, but his speech is unimpressive and
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his bodily presence of no account. That is, Paul can
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write amazing literature, amazing letters, but his physical presence
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is unimpressive. Paul would send Timothy to churches like Corinth, and he would
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say in 1 Corinthians 16:10-11, when Timothy arrives,
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make sure that you treat Timothy just like you're treating me,
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because he's doing the will of the Lord just like I am. Why was Paul
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saying that? Because he wanted the Corinthians to know truth is truth
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no matter who speaks it. Appreciate the heart of a man like Apollos.
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As educated and well-read as he was, how humble and honest he
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had to be as he was corrected by 2 blue-collar tentmakers as they took
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him aside, Priscilla and Aquila, and said, we've got to say some things about your
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preaching and teaching and explain to you the way of God more accurately, Acts 18:24-28.
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You know what Apollos appreciated? Truth is truth.
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Even if they didn't go to college, even if they're not well-spoken, even if
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I've read more books than them, I can still learn from them.
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I guess every one of us knows somebody like this. I mean, you know people
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that, you know, you can tell them the same thing 100 times, over and over
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and over again, they want nothing to do with what you have to say.
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Somebody else comes along, says the exact same thing, maybe changes 2
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or 3 words or slight phrasing, and all of a sudden they've had an
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epiphany, a grand revelation, and all of a sudden they
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see what you've been trying to tell them all along.
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There are people all throughout the world, they'll listen to truth from everybody
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in the world except their spouse. There's all kinds of people,
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they don't want to hear anything that their younger sibling has to say because after
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all they're the oldest, or they don't want to hear anything their older sibling has
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to say say, because you're not the boss of me. And we miss truth over
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and over again because we're so focused on the packaging and the person
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instead of the product of truth itself. How much better is it to get
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wisdom than gold and understanding than choice silver? Proverbs 16:16.
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The truth can liberate us and set us free, but we have to allow it.
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John 8:32. Balaam had to know truth is
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truth even if it's on the lips of a donkey. You can learn from
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somebody or an animal even if you didn't plan to initially.
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In 1979, there was a landmark study done by
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the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. They had 2 groups of people. I don't
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know what they used as their standard, but here are the groups of people.
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There were one group— there was one group of people that they described as physically
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attractive and another group of people that they described as physically unattractive.
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The whole point of this study was, what is the most important thing
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in the art of persuasion? And how do you become the most persuasive
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person you could be? In the end, those individuals that they deemed as physically attractive
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were far more successful in getting petitions signed and convincing other
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people to do what they would have them to do. And when they finished the
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research, it all boiled down to one thing: they look better.
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Research says if you really want to be persuasive, it's not education,
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it's not research, it's not being studied. The most important thing
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in persuasive speech, analytics, or sales is to
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be physically attractive. And I don't know if you hear those words and appreciate
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how great a travesty that is and how shallow and vain that is, but there
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are scores of people even tonight being spiritually deceived because
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the preacher's handsome, he dresses nice, he says it in
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such a nice and good and golden way, all the while rejecting
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John's words in 1 John 4:1, beloved, don't believe every spirit,
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but test them to see whether or not they come from God. It's what Paul
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means in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, test everything and
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hold fast to that which is good. Don't be gullible. Be a seeker
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and a student of truth because truth is truth no matter where it comes
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from. It's a challenge to us to be people that love truth. Don't ever say
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to yourself, well, I don't want to really hear the truth from them because,
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I mean, they're older than me, or they're younger than me, or they talk slower
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than I'm used to hearing it or faster than I'm used to hearing it.
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I don't want to be in that class. I want to be in— I want
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to learn from this person. Truth is truth no matter who speaks it. Guard your
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heart against saying things like, you know, that sounds denominational. Never mind what it sounds
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like. Make sure you're following that which is scriptural. Jesus says there's nobody
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who's on our side that can say one word against me, Luke 9:49-50.
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That doesn't mean we're not discerning. It means we're all the more discerning and
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we're committed to truth more than tradition, more to tribalism,
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and more than personality. And the first lesson we learn from Balaam
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is truth is just truth. Listen, truth doesn't abide with the majority or
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the minority. Truth is truth if nobody believes it or everybody believes
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it. It just is. Here's number 2: God
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can only open your eyes if you're willing to see.
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The narrative of Balaam is chock-full of both humor and irony.
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First of all, there's a donkey talking, but I don't know if it ever dawns
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on Balaam that— I don't know what's crazier, the donkey talking or Balaam talking back
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to the donkey. But there it is. But more than that, in ancient Israel,
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before the prophets were ever called prophets, they were called seers. See 1 Samuel
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9:9. That word seer has to do with seeing, and God does this
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by inspiration of the Holy Spirit on purpose. Tucked in Numbers 22 is
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the irony of the fact that the donkey can see but the seer cannot.
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In Numbers 22:27, it says that the donkey, he saw
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the angel of the Lord. Balaam's a prophet. He's a seer. He's supposed
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to to see not only physically but spiritually with depth and insight and
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understanding, and he misses it. And finally, in Numbers 22,
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about verse 31 down through 33, finally, after the donkey
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opens his mouth— God does that in verse 30— then Balaam's
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eyes are open and he can finally see.
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All the time spiritually blind. And it's a reminder to us,
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God can only open your eyes if you're willing and ready
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to see. The prophets in ancient Israel talk about this.
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Isaiah 6:9-10, it's one of the most quoted prophecies in all the New
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Testament. God says, I'm going to speak to people whose eyes
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are blind, whose ears are dull, and who've kept themselves from listening to me
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because they don't want to see. They won't. Jesus dealt with this.
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He opens the physical eyes of the blind man in John chapter 9, and in
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John 9 and verse 41, at the end of that chapter, Jesus says to the
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Pharisees, you wouldn't have any sin at all except you say you can see.
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But now that you claim to see and yet reject me, your sin remains.
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God can only open your eyes spiritually if you and I are people who
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are willing and ready to see what God has to offer us. Our eyes
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are open. We're people that desire truth. We want to be exposed to it
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so ultimately we can change and be the people that God would have us to
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be. But first, we've got to be willing. It's got
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to be our choice, our own decision to say, God, Psalm 119:18,
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open my eyes that I might behold wonderful things out
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of your law. Listen, It's one thing to pray that prayer. It's another thing entirely
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to desire it and ultimately to live it. 2 Thessalonians
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2:11-12, Paul writes about people who will be put under a
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strong delusion because they don't receive the truth, but instead
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they have pleasure in unrighteousness. And if we don't desire to see spiritually, God will
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just let us go our own way. We have to be willing. We have to
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want our eyes open, and then and only then can God open them on our
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behalf. Maybe you've heard about the ostrich effect before. It's the idea of
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burying one's head in the sand and being distracted and refusing to
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receive information. Researchers say from the age of about birth to 6,
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kids don't have a problem with this. They want all the information,
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they want to know everything, but about the time they hit 10 years old,
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even young children begin shielding themselves from information that
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they think is not ultimately going to be satisfying to them or good for them.
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And this research I was reading about from the University of Chicago, she's done work
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in this area to suggest Which you already know if you've been reading the Bible.
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God's truth at first may bruise us, but at last it'll bless us.
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It may not be convenient at first, but it's ultimately for our good, and we've
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got to be the kind of people that want it even when it's difficult.
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God can only open your eyes if you're willing to see. When God spoke
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to Balaam initially in Numbers 22:9-12, and he says, don't go with these people,
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and then there's the talking donkey. If none of that was going to open Balaam's
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eyes, Nothing ever would. Balaam had his mind set. He just wanted
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God's permission, God's rubber stamp. He didn't want to see. He wanted to go his
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own way. How many times do you pray for patience
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and then you get stuck in traffic on Scottsville Road and you say, God,
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I want patience, but I want it another way? God will open your eyes if
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you're willing to see. How many times do you pray for your marriage? Strengthen our
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marriage, bless us, make us strong, and you come home and
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both get on your phones? Never talk to each other.
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God, give me opportunities in evangelism on my job with coworkers.
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God provides them, but the people are annoying. They're irritating, man. I'm here to
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focus. I'm here to work. The people become interruptions. God is
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only going to open our eyes. It's ever before us. The question is,
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do we have the eyes to see? Balaam's a prophet. It's his job.
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It's his responsibility to have insight and to have sight,
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and yet he's blind. Here's lesson number 3:
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you never truly lose when you follow God. 2 times
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Balaam sends these messengers— Balak sends these messengers to Balaam with money
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to hire Balaam to come and curse the people of Israel. And you know what
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happens. He delays, but eventually he goes. In Numbers 22:37,
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when he finally shows up, Balak says to him, what took you so long?
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Hey, I gave you possessions. I was ready to honor you.
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And eventually, as the prophet prophecies continue and Balaam is unable
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to curse these people because God forbids it, Balak gets frustrated.
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And in Numbers 24:10-11, he says,
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I brought you over here to curse my enemies, but you keep blessing them.
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Just stop speaking altogether. And then if you're in your Bible, look at Numbers 24:11.
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I think this is astounding. Balak says this to Balaam, I would have blessed
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you and honored you. But the last part of verse 11, he says, the Lord
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has kept you back from honor. If you write in the margin of your Bible
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in verse 11, you can just put this right in the margin: lies. Because that's
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exactly what that is. God's never kept anybody back from honor.
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Balak says to Balaam, hey, God has kept you back from honor. But here's
22:13
the truth: God's never kept anybody back from anything that was
22:17
ultimately going to be for their success and their ultimate good.
22:21
One thing about God according to scripture is he's heavy-handed in his blessing.
22:25
Our cup runs over. His goodness and steadfast love will follow us all
22:29
the days of our life, Psalm 23:5-6. Every good
22:33
and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights, with whom
22:37
there's no variation or shadow due to change, James 1:17.
22:41
Balak's wrong about this. He says basically, hey, following God is what's
22:44
ultimately messing up your life. And it's here we learn this lesson: you
22:48
never truly lose when you follow God. This is the first
22:52
lie that's told in the Bible, and every other lie compounds on this afterwards.
22:56
It's what the devil says to Eve in Genesis 3:4. Essentially,
22:59
the devil says to Eve, it's obeying God that's keeping you and
23:03
Adam from being all that you could be. Genesis 3:4,
23:06
God knows in the day that you eat thereof, your eyes will be opened and
23:10
you'll be like God. You'll know good and evil. What is he saying? God's keeping
23:14
you back from honor. And then in the days of Amaziah in 2 Chronicles
23:18
25:7-9, King Amaziah pays 100 talents of silver
23:22
to hire 100,000 soldiers from the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
23:26
A prophet shows up and says to Amaziah, hey, you can't take these guys with
23:30
you in battle. God's not happy with this. He won't bless your success because they're
23:34
idolatrous. To which Amaziah responds, maybe just like you and I would, hey,
23:38
but I already paid them the 100,000 talents of silver. What am I going to
23:42
do about the money? The prophet says, God is able to give you much more
23:45
than this. 2 Chronicles 25:9. What was he saying?
23:49
Essentially, God's never going to hold you back, and you never truly
23:53
lose when you follow God. It's what Peter says in Mark chapter 10 at
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the end of the chapter. He says when the rich young ruler walks away,
23:59
Lord, and what's going to be for us? We've left everything to follow you.
24:03
And Jesus says, Peter, there's no man who's left
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father or houses, brothers, mothers, wife, and land
24:10
that won't receive as much in this life and in the world to come,
24:13
everlasting life. Mark 10:29-31. Jesus was
24:17
saying, when you truly follow God, you never really
24:21
lose. It's a lesson we need to learn, because when you think about godly speech
24:25
and modesty and integrity and honesty, we live in a
24:29
world that has no idea what true winning and success ultimately looks like.
24:33
And we can be fooled into thinking that if I follow God, I'm actually
24:37
going to come behind, I'm going to come up short somehow, some way. And the
24:40
only way to truly succeed in life, the only way to really get ahead— listen,
24:43
Christianity is keeping me from honor. I could be further
24:46
along in my career, in my job, in my social relationships if I just
24:51
break out of this conservative Christian mold and just set myself free and do
24:54
what I always wanted to do, my own thing. And Balaam teaches
24:59
us a lesson. You never lose when you follow God. There is
25:02
no honor that Balak could have given him that God couldn't double.
25:07
He learns a lesson. God's better than gold. That doesn't
25:10
make money evil. It just means it's too weak to be our God.
25:13
Jesus says, no man can serve 2 masters. Either he'll hate the one and
25:17
love the other, or he'll hold to the one and despise the other. Matthew 6:24.
25:21
You can't serve God and money. You never lose when you
25:25
follow God. You're always led in triumphal procession, always led in victory,
25:30
and always receiving what God would have you to, and you'll
25:34
have exactly what you need. If you choose to follow God, there is a sense
25:37
in which you may lose some earthly prizes, but you will lose no heavenly promotions
25:41
and possessions. Paul says, whatever things were gain to me, I counted loss that I
25:45
might win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness which is
25:48
found in the law, but that which is in the faith of Christ Jesus.
25:52
Paul says, I don't count myself to have attained it, but this one thing I
25:56
do: forgetting the things which are behind and reaching forward to the things that are
26:00
out in front, I press toward the mark for the prize of the upward call
26:03
of God in Christ Jesus, Philippians 3:8-14.
26:07
Balaam thought he would lose, but he wouldn't. Faith is the victory
26:10
that overcomes the world, and we need to remind ourselves of that, 1 John
26:13
5:4, and remind ourselves of this reality. When you look
26:17
at all the things in the world and whatever we've got to give up and
26:20
let loose of so that we can receive Christ, God's able to give you much
26:23
more than this, Philippians 4:19. Here's number
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4. No one can change God's Word.
26:31
Balaam was initially committed to this. You remember Numbers 22:18?
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The first time they come to him, he says he can't go. The second time
26:38
he says in Numbers 22:18, though Balak would give me his house full of silver
26:42
and gold, I can't go beyond the Word of the Lord my God to do
26:45
less or do more. But as he starts speaking, he sort of speaks like a
26:49
man who, if you gave him just the right price, he'd say whatever
26:52
you wanted him to say. But here's the funny thing about this narrative. Every time
26:56
he opens his mouth, even when it seems like he doesn't want to, he opens
27:00
his mouth in blessing the people of Israel. You know why that's the case?
27:02
It's because of this truth: no one can change God's Word. In Numbers 23 and
27:06
verse 12, and in Numbers 23 and verse 26, mark these down.
27:10
Balaam says to Balak, hey, this is what I told you. I can't
27:14
do anything about it. I know you hired me to curse them, but whatever God
27:16
says, that's what I've got to speak. It's because Balak the
27:20
king, he has a false understanding of how prophecy works. Prophets and preachers
27:25
of truth don't originate their message. They simply
27:28
echo the message that God's already given them. 2 Peter 1:20-21,
27:33
Peter says, prophecy came not in old time by the will of men, but holy
27:37
men of God spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter
27:41
1:20-21. If Balaam is a true prophet and spokesman
27:45
of God, the power in his message won't come from him. He won't be able
27:48
to originate or create truth. He'll simply be regurgitating and echoing the
27:52
truth that God's already given him, and nobody can change God's Word.
27:56
A few weeks ago, I preached about the Bible, and we quote these passages all
28:00
the time for good reason. Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:5-6,
28:04
Revelation 22:18-19— these passages
28:08
about God's Word. And you know what they say? Don't add to God's Word,
28:10
and don't do what? Don't take away. And I know what we mean, and they're
28:13
in the Bible, and that's exactly right. But there's a sense in which you shouldn't
28:17
add or take away from the Word of God because it's disrespectful and it's irreverent
28:21
to try. But at the heart of it, nobody can add to it.
28:25
I mean, if you write whatever you want at the end of Revelation 22,
28:28
good luck getting that disseminated throughout all the world and allowing it
28:31
to stand forever and ever. It won't be able to be done because Isaiah
28:35
40:8 is a promise about God's Word and not ours. His Word will stand
28:40
forever. Ours will not. There's a sense in which nobody can add to it or
28:43
ultimately take away from it because it'll stand eternally. And what
28:47
Balaam learns, and a lesson we learn from a man who should have known better,
28:52
nobody, no one can change God's Word.
28:55
Maybe you could think about some reasons why somebody might want to do this.
28:58
I mean, in King Balak's case, it's obvious. Curse Israel because this
29:02
dominant army is sweeping across the desert. Of the ancient Near East destroying
29:05
everybody, and I feel like Moab's next. But maybe in our time you can
29:09
think about some of the reasons why somebody might wish this wasn't true.
29:12
Sometimes people want to change God's Word because they think, you know what, I really
29:16
wish God was more restrictive in certain areas. I mean, I wish God tightened the
29:20
reins just a little bit. But try as they might, He's not going to change
29:23
it. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, 2 Corinthians 3:17.
29:28
Sometimes others say, you know, I really wish we could change some of God's Word.
29:31
I wish Christianity was a little bit more inclusive. I wish people were saved
29:35
outside of Jesus if they're good people, if they're religious, if they're doing
29:39
the best they can with the knowledge they have. He's not going to change it.
29:44
There's no salvation in no one else. There's no other name under heaven given
29:48
among men whereby we must be saved, Acts 4:12. Jesus says,
29:51
I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but
29:55
by me, John 14:6. That message is going to stand forever and
29:59
ever in eternity. And nobody can change it.
30:03
In 1952, Sidney Rosenthal invented what's known to us
30:06
as the permanent marker. Sometimes we call it the Sharpie, but right under that it
30:09
says the permanent marker. I guess this isn't false advertisement, but there's also a sense
30:14
in which it's not really permanent. I mean, given the right chemicals and enough elbow
30:18
grease, you can get rid of permanent marker, but try it with the Word of
30:21
God. John 10:35, Jesus says, Scripture cannot
30:25
be broken. Heaven and earth may pass away, but my word will
30:28
never pass away, Matthew 24:35.
30:32
His word will stand forever, 1 Peter 1:25.
30:36
The truth will be with us forever, 2 John:2.
30:40
The Bible's never changing. We don't continuously read the Bible
30:44
and study it over and over again because we're checking to see if there's anything
30:46
that's changed. We go to it over and over again so that we can be
30:50
changed, and because it's reliable. And it's living and it's active and it's sharper than
30:54
any two-edged sword. Throughout this narrative, Balak moves Balaam to various
30:58
mountains in various places. They offer the same 7 sacrifices
31:02
in different places, and everywhere he looks, the Word of God's the same.
31:06
And Neil taught a lesson this morning in the sermon and in the Bible class,
31:09
and you could think beyond those subjects about a host of things that sometimes
31:13
make every one of us uncomfortable in Scripture, and we sometimes think,
31:16
why did he say it like that? I wish he said it otherwise. No,
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the biblical response is to rejoice in God for what He has revealed,
31:23
what He has said, and to learn to submit and accept
31:26
it, because nobody can change God's Word.
31:29
Here's number 5: there's more than one way to disobey.
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I think you read the book of Numbers and you get to the end of
31:37
24 and you think 25 is a separate narrative, but it's really not.
31:41
In Numbers 25, this is where the children of Israel go into sexual immorality.
31:45
At Baal and yoked themselves to Baal at Peor, and they engaged in
31:48
sexual immorality and idolatry. And as a result of this, they're condemned.
31:52
That's Numbers 25:1-9. But in Numbers 31:16,
31:56
we learn this happened because Balaam enticed them and tempted them
31:59
to do so. And it's a reminder there's more than one way to disobey God.
32:04
You start out in the book of Numbers, and what you see is no matter
32:07
what Balaam tries to do, he can't curse these people.
32:10
It's deeper than the book of Numbers. He can't curse these people because God has
32:13
made up his mind. There's nothing you can do to change my mind about the
32:17
people of Israel. He can't get them doctrinally, so instead
32:21
he tries morally. I can't change their status as the blessed
32:25
Old Testament people of God, so what I'll do instead is I'll try
32:28
morally. And guess what? He succeeds. Revelation 2 and verse 14
32:33
talks about the sin of Balaam and how he got these individuals in Israel
32:37
stumble through sexual immorality. Israel was solidified and protected
32:41
as God was their Lord, and there was nothing any outside force was going to
32:44
do to ultimately change God's view of them. I think this
32:48
is really the focus of this narrative and why it's in the Pentateuch to begin
32:51
with. It's saying no matter what Israel went up against, there was no outside force
32:55
that was going to cause them any trouble. But here's what the Old Testament also
32:58
teaches: if Israel wanted to be destroyed from within, God was
33:01
going to do nothing to stop them from destroying and annihilating themselves.
33:04
Hosea 13:9 says, they've been cursed against themselves.
33:09
There's an African proverb which says, if there are no enemies within,
33:12
the enemies without can do no harm. But the sad
33:16
truth for Israel is oftentimes there were far more enemies within.
33:20
And on this occasion, though God had just protected them 3 chapters in a row
33:24
from outside influence and from Balaam cursing them, They're tempted to sexual
33:29
immorality and they give in because there's more than one way to disobey.
33:34
I raise this point to say to us, you got to study and know your
33:37
own heart. Listen, if you're the kind of person that says, hey, I'm doctrinally strong
33:41
and convicted, that's a great thing, but remember there's more than one way to
33:45
disobey. You say, I know the Bible well when it comes to the doctrinal propositional
33:49
truth. Not going to get anything past me. No human innovations.
33:52
Nobody's going to add and take away from the Word of God. Not on my
33:54
watch. That's a great thing, but be careful that the devil doesn't slip in another
33:58
way. Be careful that the devil doesn't get you through your attitude or through arrogance
34:02
or through thinking about, what can I get away with in the dark? Because the
34:05
works of the flesh will destroy you just as quickly as false doctrine, Galatians 5:19-21.
34:11
The devil doesn't really care which way he gets us. If he can get you
34:14
believing the truth but behaving the lie, he'll be just as happy.
34:18
But if on the other side you say, I don't really know the Bible that
34:21
well, but listen, I'm a moral person. I want to treat people well. I want
34:24
to do the right thing. There's more than one way to disobey. And if you're
34:27
high up on morality, listen, that's a great thing, but beware of the temptation
34:32
to think doctrine and truth really don't matter. I think everybody ought to just be
34:36
a good person, be a nice person. Let's not really get into the details of
34:39
Bible study and who's in and who's out. Let's just all be good and
34:43
nice people. Hold fast to the sound words, the pattern of sound teaching.
34:47
Which you've received from men like Paul, 2 Timothy 1:13, because at
34:51
the end of the day, there's more than one way to disobey.
34:54
And everybody thinks that the way opposite of theirs is always
34:57
the worst. We always see it in others and we miss it in
35:01
ourselves. Balaam couldn't get Israel through doctrine. He couldn't get them cursed
35:05
and pronounced cursed by God. And so he went through and tried to get them
35:08
morally. And in your life and in my life, he'll be pressing the buttons.
35:12
And if he can't get you doctrinally, He'll get you through attitude.
35:15
He'll get you through temptation. He'll get you through immorality. And if he can't
35:19
get you through morality, he'll try to get you to soften and get squishy on
35:22
doctrine because he knows at the end of the day, disobedience by
35:26
any other name is still disobedience.
35:29
And that's ultimately what he wants. Here's the last thing. Number 6,
35:33
you can't make God change his mind. It's what Balaam teaches us.
35:37
You can't get God to change his mind. Numbers 23:8,
35:42
Balaam says to Balak, God blessed them and
35:46
I can't curse them. In Numbers 23:19,
35:49
he says, God's not a man that he should lie or the son of man
35:51
that he should repent. Has he said it and will he not do it?
35:54
Has he spoken and will he not make it good? The blessings that God speaks
35:59
no man can revoke. And then in Numbers 23:25-26,
36:02
he doubles down again and he says, I told you, Balak, Whoever God blesses is
36:06
blessed, and there's nothing we can do about it. The last thing we learn
36:10
from Balaam, and I confess it's my favorite point in this entire section,
36:15
nobody can make God change his mind. And this point is really
36:18
deeper than the book of Numbers. It goes all the way back to Genesis 12:1-3.
36:21
God told Abraham, in you all nations of the earth will
36:25
be blessed, and God meant that. And centuries passed and time cycled on,
36:29
but God still promised to bless Abraham's seed because of his
36:32
faithfulness to God. Deuteronomy 7:7-8, God says,
36:35
Israel, I chose you not because you were special and the most numerous,
36:39
but because I made promises to your father and nobody was going to change my
36:43
mind about it. This means that if a person is wicked and sinful and
36:47
ungodly, there's nothing anybody can do to change God's mind about
36:50
that person and their deeds until they repent. God told the wicked
36:55
nation of Assyria, Nahum 2:13, And in Nahum chapter 3 and verse 5,
36:58
I'm against you. When Solomon says in the book of Proverbs,
37:01
6 things the Lord hates, yes, 7 are an abomination to
37:05
Him, Proverbs 6:16-19, there's no legislation,
37:08
there's no campaigning, there's no rallying anybody in all the world
37:12
can do to change those deeds from unrighteous to righteous. Nobody can change
37:16
God's mind about you. If you engage in ungodliness and God says, I despise this
37:20
behavior, there's nothing anybody can do to change His mind about it. You'd be better
37:23
off repenting because he's not going to change. But the flip side
37:27
of that is nobody can change God's mind about you if
37:31
you're a Christian, if you're in Christ Jesus. Listen to Paul: if God be
37:35
for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31. Nobody can
37:40
change God's mind about you if you're his child, not even you.
37:43
John says in 1 John 3:20, if our hearts condemn us,
37:46
God's greater than our hearts and knows everything. Meaning even if
37:50
you say, I don't feel saved, I don't feel good about my spiritual standing with
37:53
God, and you're walking in the light, adhering to his word to
37:57
the best of your ability, it matters not what anybody thinks, including you.
38:01
You couldn't change God's mind about you if you tried. There are scores of people
38:05
that think they can get God to stop loving them, but God says it's just
38:08
not going to happen. When we were yet without strength, at the right time
38:12
Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; perhaps
38:16
for a good man some would even dare to die. But God makes his love
38:19
apparent to us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
38:23
Romans 5:6-8. Nobody can change God's mind. And if God
38:27
says you're in, you obey the gospel, you trust in Jesus, you're in.
38:31
Even when you don't feel like it. Even if a prophet tries to condemn you
38:34
and curse you, every time he opens his mouth, blessings come out because God's mind
38:39
was set toward Israel. And to a greater degree, the Church
38:42
of Jesus Christ, the new Israel of God, God's mind is set toward you,
38:47
and there's nobody that's going to change His mind about that.
38:51
Balaam should have known better, but he didn't do better.
38:56
His story though really doesn't end in the book of Numbers,
38:59
because centuries from this moment, there would be another prophet riding
39:04
on a donkey into a city. But this prophet would
39:07
be different from Balaam. He would not be riding into the city in order
39:11
to receive riches and to curse. Instead, he would be riding into the
39:15
city on a donkey in order to be made poor and ultimately to bless.
39:19
Balaam was on his way to the best of his ability to try to deceive,
39:23
to connive, and to curse. Jesus was on his way on a donkey
39:26
into a city in order to die and ultimately to
39:29
bless. He's the greater and better Balaam who
39:33
rides on a donkey not to try to deceive or to change God's
39:37
Word, but ultimately to fulfill it. Balaam should have known better,
39:41
but he didn't. And it's written for our learning so that as we read this
39:44
account about his life, we be better individuals as a result.
39:48
God's Word says the same thing it's always said about people, our status,
39:52
our condition as sinners, and how we can change from being sinners to
39:55
being sanctified in Christ. If you believe Jesus is the Son of God
39:59
and you want to turn away from sin, confess Jesus as the Son of God
40:03
and allow your body to be immersed in water God will wash away your sins
40:06
and you'll be a new creature. He'll add you to his kingdom and you'll belong
40:09
to him. That's what his word says. Nobody can change that. And once you do
40:14
that, nobody can change God's mind about you. Dale's going to lead us in
40:17
a song to encourage us. If you need to respond to the invitation, we'd be
40:20
happy and willing to pray with you and pray for you. If we can help
40:22
you in any way, come now as together we stand and as we sing.