Topic: Blessed. Category: Love of God>
Bible Scriptures: Numbers 22:2-3, Jude 1:11, 2 Peter 2:15-17, Numbers 22:12, Genesis 12:1-3, Deuteronomy 23:5, Numbers 22:28-35.
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Fear is a weapon used by satan and the powers of evil to deceive, control and manipulate. Fear is debilitating and is a negative controlling force. It is fear that traps people in a web of lies. Lies that only the truth of God can break through.
Fear is not of God as He is truth. Not only is God truth but His desire is that we would know the truth. Fear is cast out with a revelation of God’s liberating truth, unending love and transforming power. For lies are exposed by the truth. In this fear has no power in our life.
We need not fear satan or the evil spirits. The only weapon they have is lies and deceptions. Even before the cross when Jesus publicly disarmed the evil powers, what God has blessed no one could curse.
Numbers 22:2-3 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel.
sick with dread
Moab was a tribe of people that lived in the plains of Moab. On the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. The text states that they were ‘exceedingly afraid’. That is they were ‘sick with dread’. This is serious fear.
Balak the king of Moab feared the children of Israel because of the vastness of their numbers. Also because of what God had done by delivering them from oppression of the most powerful world power of their time. The Eternal One was with the children of Israel. They were blessed because the Eternal One was with them.
Moab, sick with dread thought Israel would defeat him and take his kingdom. Balak the king of Moab also believed in magic. As was the custom, in fear the magic men would attempt to control the evil sprits. Bringing blessings and curses.
Balak believed a certain ‘seer into the spirit world’ or a ‘magic man’ had the power to bless and curse. Therefore he sent for such a man to curse the children of Israel. His name was Balaam. Balaam chose the path independent of God. He lured others with smooth talking words and lusts of the flesh.
cursed
Jude 1:11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
God also says of Balaam that he loved the wages of corruption. That he was a well without water, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
2 Peter 2:15-17 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
This darkness is a darkness where all who chose to reject God’s pathway of salvation will be for all eternity. They chose to reject Jesus, the divine spiritual light and His kingdom of light. In rejecting the King they reject His kingdom.
Therefore Balaam was a false prophet who loved the darkness. He was not a prophet of the Eternal One.
Yet the powers of darkness could not curse what God has blessed. For God is greater.
blessed
Numbers 22:12 And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”
why are the children of Israel blessed?
Let’s go to Genesis 12:1-3 this is many generations before the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt and the time of Balak being king of Moab.
Genesis 12:1-3 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
God chose Abraham and his descendants to reveal Himself to them and through them revealed Himself to the world. From Abraham was Isaac, from Isaac was Jacob, from Jacob was the nation Israel.
God was with the tribes of Israel and He was their God. Through Israel and one of their 12 tribes, specifically the tribe of Judah, God the Son would come. Jesus born of the seed of the Holy Spirit came from the lineage of king David. David came from the tribe of Judah.
So God chose the smallest of people groups and made them a great nation to make Himself known to the world. They were blessed for the Eternal One was with them. God blessed them with His presence for He so loves.
why did God do all this?
Deuteronomy 23:5 Nevertheless the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.
God so loves that He gave a promise.
To fulfil God’s purpose, God used the spiritual seer Balaam, who was actually spiritually blind to God’s work and could not see the Angel of Lord even when the Angel of the Lord was right in front of him!
So let us go back into time and read this high drama.
The characters of this true story are God, the Israelites, Balak, Balaam and a donkey. This drama took place long before the cross, when the powers of darkness and death were publicly disarmed.
Remember Balak the king of Moab commissioned Balaam to curse the people–the children of Israel. So on the way to curse the children of Israel, God spoke to the evil prophet Balaam and opened his eyes to the unseen.
seeing the unseen
Numbers 22:28-35 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? 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!” 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.”
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. 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. 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.”
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.” 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.
Balaam was on his way to curse what God had blessed, yet was prevented by his encounter with the Angel of the Lord.
God opened the eyes
God opened Balaam’s spiritual eyes, through the eyes of a donkey, an animal that is supposed to be dumb, that not only saw the Angel of the Lord but spoke and testified of Him!
The spiritually blind seer finally saw the majesty of the One whom the donkey saw all along.
Now the prophet who chose the darkness was brought to his knees in the presence of the living God. In the strongest manner, the Angel of the Lord instructed Balaam to speak only what God spoke to him.
For what God has blessed no one can curse.
Let us continue on through this extraordinary true drama.
God turns curses into blessings
Numbers 24:1-9 ‘Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the riverside, Like aloes planted by the Lord, Like cedars beside the waters. He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters.
“His king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. “God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox; and shall consume the nations, his enemies; break their bones And pierce them with his arrows. ‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ “Blessed is he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you.”’
As the Spirit of God had come upon Balaam, he could only testify of God. he saw the vision of the Almighty in the 12 tribes of Israel. As he sees God’s vision he testifies of God.
He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.
testify
History testifies that God was faithful to His promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the 12 tribes of Israel. Everything that Balaam saw and declared as the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, happened.
Through king David, from the tribe of Judah there was the golden age of Israel. Yet in Jesus who chose to come through the blood line of the tribe of Judah, is the king of all kings.
Jesus fulfils all God’s promises to the Ancient Israelites and all people groups.
In ancient times God chose the smallest of tribe to make His mighty power and great love known. Yet it was in that moment in human history when the Son of God experienced the full human condition, it marks the end of Ancient civilisations and the beginning of the new dawn.
God chose us before the foundation of the world to reveal Himself to us and through all who give their allegiance to Him, reveal Himself to the world.
In receiving Jesus we receive God the Father and His Holy Spirit within. He is with us as we journey through this life and for all eternity.
the divine light
Jesus the divine light is, our Lord of destiny. He is greater than any powers.
In Christ Jesus we are seated in heavenly places with His spiritual power and authority. We are holy and without blame before Him in love. In Christ Jesus we are adopted as sons of God the Father, in the beloved, the most loved. We are redeemed and through His blood forgiven. In Christ Jesus we are in a continual love feast with God. He makes known to us His will. We are His good pleasure, to the praise of His glory.
In Christ Jesus we have obtained an inheritance of eternal life. We have His name, His presence within, growing in His love, truth and power. In Christ Jesus we have been passed from judgement and declared holy, innocent, without blame before Him in love. The revelation of God’s perfect love for us and in us, defeats any fear, satan and our flesh.
We are blessed because of God’s presence and He keeps all His promises. Blessed because of Jesus who is the fulfilment of all God’s promises.
What God has blessed no one can curse.
SERMON CATEGORIES
unsearchable mysteries> son of man> love of God> hope and healing> know God> truth> power> end times> experience God> life> success in life> kingdom> miracles of the wilderness journey>
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