And in 2 Peter 2 in verse 14,
Peter, speaking of false teachers, says that they have eyes full
of adultery that cannot cease from sin, beguiling unstable
souls. Now look at this next part. He
says, and heart they have exercised with covetous practices. Cursed children. which have forsaken
the right way and are gone astray. You can't forsake the right way
unless you've known something about the right way. They've
forsaken the right way and gone astray following the way of Balaam,
the way of Balaam. following the way of Balaam,
the son of Bozar, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, but
was rebuked for his iniquity, the dumb ass speaking with man's
voice forbade the madness of the prophet." Now let's look
over to Numbers chapter 22. We're going to talk about the
way of Balaam tonight, the way of Balaam. We're going to read
quite a bit of scripture. So I want you to follow along
with me closely in your Bibles. Now, Balaam is set before us
in Scripture as an example of the way which false prophets
go. He's set before us to warn us
of the signs of a false prophet. Now, I'm going to look at three
things here. We're going to look at the heart
of Balaam. where his real heart is. We're going to look secondly
at the word spoken by Balaam. And then thirdly, we're going
to look at the practice of Balaam. Numbers 22, the children of Israel
were camped in the plains of Moab, and Balak, king of the
Moabites, was afraid of them. And so he sent messengers to
Balaam saying this in verse 6, Come now therefore, I pray thee,
curse me this people, for they are too mighty for me. Peradventure
I shall prevail that we may smite them and that I may drive them
out of the land. For I want that he whom thou
blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed. And the
elders of Moab and the elders of Midian, that was the Midian
were the neighbors to Moab. King of Moab got them to join
with him. Those elders departed with the
rewards of divination in their hand. They had something to offer
Balaam to do this cursing of the Lord's people. And they came
unto Balaam and spake unto him the words of Balaam. They came
and told him what we just read. Now here's the heart of Balaam.
First of all, the heart of Balaam is compromised under the pretense
of holiness and love. Verse 8. And he said unto them,
Lodge here this night, and I'll bring you word again, as the
Lord shall speak unto me. And the princes of Moab abode
with Balaam. Now when Balaam pretended to
pray, Balaam really was using enchantments. That is, he was
seeking omens, he was seeking signs is all he was doing. Let me show you that in Numbers
24 verse 1. When Balaam saw that it pleased
the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times,
to seek for enchantments." That's what he'd been doing all along,
but he set his face toward the wilderness. He did it and spoke
as if the Lord was going to give him a word so that he could appear
before these men as being holy. And he told them to stay with
him as a symbol of love and benevolence, to stay with him. But though
Balaam didn't come to God, God came to Balaam. Look at verse
9. And God came unto Balaam and said, What men are these with
thee? Now God knows Balaam's covetous heart. He knows where
his heart is and he knows the desire of those men that came
to curse God's people. God knows. He knows the heart. He knows. He's all-knowing. He
knows what these men are all about. But God's about to overrule
the wrath of Balaam and Balak to praise God's own name and
for the good of his people. Now he's doing the same here
now by what he did then. He's showing us if He hadn't
have done this then, we wouldn't have this Word. We wouldn't be
able to see how God overrules these things. So He's blessing
us now through what He did through them. And He blessed His people
through what He did right here with these false men. Now that
will be great comfort for us, brethren, because Our God's sovereign. He's able to use evil men, overrule
devils, and bring about His will. Even the ministry of false prophets,
against all their evil desires, God's going to promote His glory
and the good of His people. That's not what these men were
intending. That's not what they were intending. That's what God
did. So first we see that heart is a heart of compromise under
the pretense of holiness and love. Secondly, the heart of
Balaam is to compromise with the enemies of God, even against
the Word of God. Now verse 12, God said unto Balaam,
Thou shalt not go with them. Thou shalt not curse the people,
for they are blessed. Now that's true now just like
it was then. God's people are blessed. God's children are blessed. Blessed in Christ because Christ
is blessed to God. And blessed because of Christ
and for His sake. We're blessed in Him. This is
what the psalmist said, His name shall endure forever. His name
shall be continued as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed
in Him. Talking about Christ. And all
nations shall call Him blessed. That's who we're talking about.
That's who they're blessed in. The Lord's people are eternally safe,
eternally secure in Christ Jesus the Lord. Because our advocate,
we have an advocate with the Father. And God protects us against
all the wiles of evil in this world. And David said this, let
them curse. but blest thou. When they arise,
let them be ashamed, but let thy servant rejoice. Now that's
the case. Now look at verse 13. Now the
Lord told him not to go. Now watch, the Lord told him
not to go. The Lord said, You can't curse
them, I have blessed them. Now look at this, verse 13. And
Balaam rose up in the morning and said unto the princes of
Balaam, Get you into your land, for the Lord refuseth to give
me leave to go with you. Now you notice the word of God
to Balaam was, Thou shalt not go with them. Thou shalt not
curse the people for they are blessed." But Balaam just told
these folks, the Lord refuses to give me leave to go with you.
He left out the part about thou shalt not curse the people for
they are blessed. Why'd he do that? He might as
well be saying to them this, perhaps if you come again at
another time, maybe God will allow it. He left the door open
when God said shut it. Now, he did it for a reason.
Peter said, a heart they've exercised with covetous practices. He loved
the wages of unrighteousness. Covetousness is a desire to have
what we don't have. That's what it is. And it's the
root of all evil. The love of money. The love of
having that which we think will sustain us and set our nest on
high. that which we don't have. That's
the root of all evil. That's the root of all heresy.
False teachers have a heart exercised with covetous practices. Rather
than loving the Lord Jesus Christ, rather than having the love of
God in the heart, which constrains a believer, they love the wages
of unrighteousness, the wages of compromise. Now, they are
willing to compromise because of this love. It's so great,
this love for money, this love for this covetous heart. They're willing to compromise
with men who preach another Jesus and another spirit. They're willing
to compromise with men who teach, exalt man and teach the will
of man and exalt the sinner and exalt his choosing rather than
God's choosing. They're willing to compromise
with men who exalt man as being deserving of God's love, rather
than his complete and total ruin and sin. And rather than preaching
Christ as the complete and total savior of his people. And they're
willing to compromise. But that's not the way with God's
people. Look at 2 Corinthians 4. How would you place there?
2 Corinthians 4. That's not the case with the
Lord's people, with His messengers that He sends, nor with His people. Look at 2 Corinthians 4.1. They're
faithful to God, faithful to His Word, and they're faithful
to His people. Look at this in 2 Corinthians 4.1. Paul says, Therefore, seeing
we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint
not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking
in craftiness, Not handling the Word of God deceitfully, but
by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every
man's conscience in the sight of God. Look down at verse 5. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord. That's who we preach, Christ
the Lord. And ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For
God, this is how we receive this ministry. God who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts. God
did it. Man didn't do it. He didn't run
of his own accord. God arrested him. God shined
in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And we have this treasure. We
have this knowledge and understanding of the glory of God, the love
of God for his people in Christ Jesus that sent his son who put
away their sin and saved them in righteousness and true holiness. We have this love in our heart.
It's a treasure and we have it in earthen vessels. The vessels
can't do anything, but we have it in earthen vessels that the
excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. Well, but
Balaam didn't answer him that way. He was willing to, even
when God said it, that he couldn't bless them. He shows there by
just saying, I can't go with you, and not telling the rest.
He shows that he was willing. He was willing to curse the people.
He was even against the word of God. Thirdly, this is the
heart of Balaam, it's presumption and it's self-will. Peter said
that, he said they're presumptuous and they're self-willed. Balaam
sent again some princes and this time he sent some more honorable
and he sent them with a better offer. Look at verse 17. This
is what Balaam sent Balaam to say, I will promote thee unto
very great honor. and I'll do whatsoever thou sayest
unto me. Come, therefore, I pray thee,
curse me, this people." Now, this is how Satan allures men.
First of all, it's with money. And then he promises positions
of honor. He'll give you a title. He'll
give you a teaching position. He'll give you a... put your
name on the back of a pew so everybody can see it. Put your
name on a parking spot somewhere, so make you to be somebody. And
do whatever you tell him to do. Do whatever you tell him to do.
But just come and bless. Come and curse God's people.
That's what he's asking. Verse 18. And Balaam answered
and said unto the servants of Balaam, If Balaam would give
his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the
word of the Lord my God to do less or more. Now that sounds
like that's the end of it, don't it? But he says, now hold on
a minute. Now therefore, I pray you, tarry
ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will
say unto me more." The Lord already told him, didn't he? The Lord
already said, don't go. You're not cursing these people.
I've blessed them. But now he says, in all this great swelling
words of, I would never do it, even if you gave me everything.
But now hold on a minute. Let's see what the Lord says
this time. Now watch. And God came unto Balaam at night,
and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and
go with them. But yet the word which I shall
say unto thee, that shalt thou do. Now God tries Balaam right
here. He's trying Balaam to show us,
show me and you sitting here today, his people that he's shown,
he's recorded this and shown his people for generations this.
He's showing us that the false prophet has a heart of presumption
and self-will. God told him to go with one condition. One condition. Verse 20, he said,
If the men come to call thee, rise up and go with them. Now
here's the question, here's the test. Will Balaam be presumptuous
and self-willed and go? Or will He heed the Lord's command?
Will He patiently wait until the men come another time and
call Him to go? Will He send them away and wait
for them to come back another time and call Him to go? God's
going to try His messengers and He's going to try His people.
He commands us to do this. He commands us to preach His
Son, to preach Christ. He commands us to give what He
has given us for the purpose of supporting the gospel going
forth into this world. That's what He's given us, what
He's given us for. That's the reason. And He's told
us to wait on God to give the increase. That's what He's told
us to do. Our hearts like Moses. Let me
read this to you. Exodus 33, 14. The Lord said,
My presence shall go with thee, and I'll give thee rest. And
Moses said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us up not
hence. Not up hence. For wherein shall
it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy
sight? Is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be
separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are
upon the face of the earth. That's the only way we're going
to be separated, is God's presence, God going with us. Well, Peter
says the heart of false teachers are presumptuous and self-willed.
Remember Samuel told Saul that stubbornness is idolatry. He
said it's idolatry. And that's what that presumption
and self-will is. It's idolatry. Balaam didn't
send the men away. Let's wait and wait to see if
they came and called him again. What did he do? Verse 21. Balaam
rose up in the morning and saddled his ass and went with the princes
of Moab. And God's anger was kindled because
he went. He didn't do what God told him
to do. He presumed They're here. They've
called me twice already. I'm going with them." And so
that's what he did. But Peter says he was rebuked
for his iniquity. He said the dumb ass spoke with
man's voice trying to forbid the madness of the prophet. Now
look at verse 22, the second part there. It says, God's anger
was kindled because he went. And it says there in verse 22,
it says, and the angel of the Lord stood in the way. for an
adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass
and his two servants were with him. Now, the angel is the pre-incarnate
appearance of Christ, is the messenger of the covenant. And
Balaam's donkey saw the angel of the Lord. This beast, this
dumb beast, saw the angel of the Lord. But Balaam didn't see
the angel of the Lord standing there. And the donkey turned
out of the way three times. And one time he even crushed
Balaam's foot against a wall when he turned out of the way.
And Balaam kept trying to steer him back in the way. And finally
Balaam said this. He smote that donkey. And when
he did, verse 29, the donkey said, why did you smite me? God
gave this donkey a voice and let him talk. That's no miracle. God gave you a voice. He gave
you and me a voice. He gave Adam a voice to speak
with. God makes man's mouth. He can make a donkey talk. That's
not a, it's not a fable. It's not a myth. That's, do you
believe God made the donkey talk? I believe he made the donkey
talk. He said he did. And the donkey answered and said,
this is why, this is why, or Balaam answered and he said,
this is why I smote you. Verse 29, because thou has mocked
me. I would there were a sword in
my hand, for now I'd kill thee. Look down at verse 31. Then the
Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord
standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand. And
he bowed down his head and fell flat on his face, and the angel
of the Lord said unto him, Now wherefore hast thou smitten thine
ass three times? Balak said he did it because
his ass mocked him and didn't obey his word and didn't obey
his command. And he said, if I had a sword
in my hand right now, I'd pierce you through and I'd kill you
with it. And God opened his eyes. And there stood the Lord whom
he was mocking, whose word he did not obey, and he had his
sword drawn. And the Lord said, Behold, I
went out to withstand thee because thy way, thy way, the way of
Balaam is perverse before me. It's perversion. And the ass
saw me and turned from me these three times. Unless she had turned
from me, surely now also I had slain thee and saved her alive. Now, Balaam's eyes were opened.
He saw the angel of the Lord. He saw a pre-incarnate appearance
of the Lord Jesus Christ standing there before him. He had heard
God speak to him. Look over at Numbers 24.15. Numbers
24.15. This is one of the times when
Balaam speaks, but I want you to pay attention here to see
what all the Lord had done to Balaam. It says, he describes
himself as, in verse 15, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and
the man whose eyes are open hath said. The Lord opened his eyes
and he saw the Lord. And he says, he hath said which
heard the words of God. He heard God tell him the truth.
And knew the knowledge of the Most High. which saw the vision
of the Almighty, that's who he saw standing in the way when
he saw Christ, the angel of the messenger of the covenant, falling
into a trance but having his eyes open. But all this that
he saw was in his head only. He didn't have it in his heart.
He hadn't been born of the Spirit of God and he had not the love
of God in his heart which constrains a man. The Lord said they turn
away. They forsake the right way. They
turn away from the right way. This man had a head knowledge
of what God had done. But just like Balaam, and for
the same reason, false prophets are those natural brute beasts
that willingly, deliberately forsake the right way. They forsake
what they know is truth because their true love is the wages
of unrighteousness. They want gain. They want that
filthy lucre. They want honor among the Moabites. They want that teaching position.
They want that honor. Even if it has to be among the
Moabites, among those who are false, religionists. They'll
take it as long as they can get it among them. A covetous man
wants it, even if it means turning his back on God and cursing Israel. Now that's the heart of Balaam.
That's what was in his heart. Now let's see the truth that
was spoken by Balaam. Now look at verse, Numbers 22
verse 35. This is, I want you to get now,
I want you to understand something about false prophets now, all
right? Stay with me here. Verse 35,
Numbers 22, 35. The angel of the Lord said unto
Balaam, Go with the men, but only the word that I shall speak
unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princess
of Balaam. Now God sent Balaam to make his power known to the
vessels of mercy. That's what he's doing here.
And Balaam despised the gospel. He despised God. He despised
what he'd been shown. His heart was for personal gain. And yet the Lord put words in
his mouth and forced him to speak the truth of the gospel. Look
at Numbers 23, look at verse 8. This is what he said. How shall
I curse whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy whom the
Lord hath not defied? He's saying I'm a man and I can't
do anything against God. That's the truth. That's the
truth. Balaam said this. This false
prophet spoke this. Look, he says, from the top of
the rocks I see him. He's above all. He's higher than
the highest. And from the hills I behold him.
Lo, the people shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among
the nations. He's not going to let his people
be taken in amongst these false nations. He's not going to let
his people be forsaken and turned the wrong way and go into the
way of Balaam. Their names have been written
in the Lamb's Book of Life. Their names are not going to
be taken out of the Lamb's Book of Life and written amongst the
generation of the unrighteous against the seed of the serpent.
They're not going to be mingled with them. Who can count, verse
10, the dust of Jacob and the number of the fourth part of
Israel? We're a remnant compared to the unbelievers and religious
men and women throughout this world at any given time. But
together, it's a multitude no man can number. Let me die the
death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." Now
that's true. Everything he said there is true.
Look at verse 19. Numbers 23, 19. You've heard this preached, I'm
sure. Numbers 23, 19. He said, God is not a man that
he should lie. God's not a man that he should
lie. He's not like man. God's thoughts are higher than
our thoughts and his ways higher than our ways. Neither the Son
of Man that he should repent. That doesn't say something then
go back on it. Hath he said and shall he not do it? Or hath he
spoken, shall he not make it good? Behold, I've received commandment
to bless and he hath blessed. You see that? Who does the blessing?
He said, I've received commandment to bless and God has blessed.
God has blessed. And I can't reverse it. That's
what he said. And he couldn't. Look at verse
21. He hath not beheld iniquity in
Jacob. How could that be so? He didn't
behold iniquity in that supplanter Jacob and all his children, his
true children, the elect children of God. He didn't behold iniquity
in them. He doesn't behold iniquity in us who believe him. No, he
doesn't. Neither hath he seen perverseness
in Israel. The Lord his God is with him.
and the shout of a king is among them. He sees his people in Christ
the Lord, and therefore his people are altogether lovely, altogether
righteous. Verse 22, God brought them out of Egypt. He hath, as
it were, the strength of a unicorn. God has a strength, and they
have strength because of him. Surely there is no enchantment
against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel.
According to this time, it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
What hath God wrought? They can't be turned. He's telling
them, when God creates life in a sinner, they can't be turned
away from their anchor, from that hope they have that's entered
within the veil of Christ Jesus. They can't be turned away. Behold,
the people shall rise up as a great line. and lift up himself as
a young lion. He shall not lie down until he
eat of the prey and drink of the blood of the slain." That's
going to be done because his God's with him. Because the King,
Christ the King is with his people. So they're not going to be slain.
Now each time he proclaimed the truth. Three times here, Balaam
told this same thing three times. Just preach the gospel every
time. God made him do it. put it in his mouth. He had to
do it. The man's a liar. The man is a unsaved, unbegenerate,
all-faith liar. But God put words in his mouth
that were true and wouldn't let him speak when he was speaking
anything but what is true. I've told you this before. God
does nothing through lies. He does it through truth. He
may use a liar, but he's going to make that liar speak the truth
when he's using it. And that's what he's doing here.
And every time he did that, he got opposition from Balaam. Balaam
got mad every time he spoke the truth. Because he said, I brought
you here to curse these people, and you're blessing these people.
But you know what? Even though he said the truth,
even though Balaam said the truth, and even though he withstood
opposition because of the truth, It didn't change the fact that
God declares Balaam is a false prophet. Now what? Balaam's a false prophet. Three times in the New Testament,
Balaam's used as an example to warn us to avoid false prophets. He's a false prophet. I know
men who support those who have gone the way of Balaam. and follow
after them. They'll say this, they'll justify
them and they'll say, well, they preach the truth. They preach
so much truth. There's just a little bit that's
not true that they say. They preach a lot of truth. Well,
Balaam did. Balaam preached all truth. Everything
he said was true. But though his doctrine was true
doctrine, what he said coming out of his mouth was true doctrine,
he was a false prophet. Why is that? Why is that? Here's
the third thing. Here's the third thing. The practice
of Balaam. Let's see the practice of Balaam.
It wasn't that his doctrine was heresy. That wasn't what made
him a false prophet. But his compromise with false
religion for personal gain. By that, he taught Israel to
worship Jehovah at the altar of Baal. That's what he was teaching
them. And calling it the worship of
the Lord God of heaven and earth. Look back at verse 38. Numbers
22, verse 38. You hearing this now? Listen, verse 38. Balaam said
unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee. Have I now any power at
all to say anything? That sounds good, don't it? He doesn't. He doesn't have any
power to say anything. The word that God putteth in
my mouth, that shall I speak. And Balaam went with Balak, and
they came unto Kerjoth Huzoth. That was a high place where the
Moabites worshipped their idol God. And Balak, not Balaam, Balak,
King Balak. He offered oxen and sheep and
sent to Balaam and to the princes that were with him. And it came
to pass on the morrow, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and
brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he
might see the utmost part of the people." He brought him up
to this place where they worshiped, so that he could look out and
see all of Israel out there. And look at what Balaam did.
Chapter 23, And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars,
and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams." And Balak did
as Balaam had spoken. He said he would. He said, I'll
do whatever you tell me to do. There he is in the high place
where they worship their idol God, and Balaam says, build me
some altars here, and we're going to sacrifice blood. There's no
coming to God without blood. There's no coming to God without
a ransom. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission of sin. That's true, isn't it? Altogether
true. But he's there with a man who
hates God and a man who worships a false God. And it says, And
Balaam did as Balaam had spoken, and Balaam offered on every altar
a bullock and a ram. There they are. Oh, that is so
benevolent and kind. There they are worshiping God
together. There they are worshiping God
together. No, they're not. They're mingling what looks like
the worship of God with Balak's false God. And Balaam said unto
Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go. Peradventure the
Lord will come to meet me, and whatsoever he showeth me, I'll
tell thee. And he went to a high place.
And he did this three times. And each time he called upon
the name of the Lord, Each time, he called upon the name of the
Lord God of heaven and earth, the true and living God. But
he did it in the high places of Baal." Alright? The words
that were coming out of his mouth were the gospel. But the false
doctrine that he believed in his heart was made manifest by
the fact that he joined in with the worshippers of Baal. You
understand that? You see that? See what he did?
And at last, Balaam resorted to another tactic. He used the
women of Moab to cause Israel to commit trespass against God. Look over at Numbers 31. Numbers
31, and look at verse 15. Moses said unto them, this is
after they had gone in, the Lord sent His true messenger in to
save His people. Moses said unto them, have you
saved all the women alive? He's talking about the Moabite
women. Behold, these caused the children of Israel through the
council of Balaam to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter
of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the
Lord." He said, it's through these women, through the counsel
of Balaam, that Israel committed trespass against the Lord. Now
let me apply this to our day. Peter said that in our day, he
said there are going to be false prophets among you, and he said
they'll have eyes full of adultery. Like Balaam, just like he used
all these works in the high places, just like all this appearance
of charity and union with those of different opinion, he used
all that, just like Israel was attracted by the women. False
prophets used their church and many religious activities to
attract. What it is, is it's basically
this, using anything other than or in addition to the gospel
of Christ. All we're sent to do is preach
the gospel. That's how God's going to build his church, through
his spirit. It's going to be of the Lord. But they market
their humanitarian missions, they market their prayer meetings,
they market all these works they're doing in the name of the Lord.
And if I'm not mistaken, The Lord Jesus Christ said to his
people, whenever you do your alms, you don't sound a trumpet
that everybody can see it. That means not only do you walk
back there to the offering plate and you make sure everybody goes,
look how much I'm giving. That means you don't put it out
and market it to the world and say, this is how many humanitarian
missions we've run this year. This is how many missionaries
around the world we've supported. This is how many churches we've
planted this year. Because through much wantonness
and the lust of the flesh, that allures the natural man. He likes
that. It looks like it's great benevolent
love and he's attracted to that and he wants to go and be a part
of it, especially when Balak tells him, I'll make you a teacher. Or give you that honor, whatever
it is you've been wanting. I'll give it to you. What is
it? They even promote the compromise
with those who preach Armenian free will works religion. And
Jeremiah 3.2, if you can get there, I'd like for you to see
this, Jeremiah 3.2. This is how the Lord describes
it, Jeremiah 3.2. He said, lift up thine eyes unto
the high places. You know, I wish I could put
it in, but just like this, you know, here, it's not not as much
here as it is where I moved from. But where I moved from is the
Bible Belt. And you drive around and there's
a church building everywhere. When I was with Brother Rupert
down in North Carolina a few weeks ago, I kept riding around.
I told Rupert, I said, if if we were here looking for a church
building, we wouldn't have a problem at all. I mean, they were just
an empty church building, but they were church buildings everywhere.
everywhere down there. Well, that's what the Lord is
talking about. These high places. In a minute
they think, it's okay, just join in with anybody. Just so you're
in with somebody, just so you're not a Catholic, just so you're
a Protestant, just so you go by the name Christian, just so
you call yourself a Baptist or a Presbyterian or whatever. This
is what men think. But this is the truth of the
matter. The Lord said, lift up, verse 2, lift up thine eyes unto
the high places, and see where thou hast not been lined with,
where you have not been laid with. In the ways hast thou sat
for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness, and thou hast polluted
the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. Therefore
the showers have been withholding. There has been no latter rain.
Why is there so many religious people in the world right now,
all over this globe, and this world's in the worst, profane,
lewd state it's ever been in? Why do you think the two are
at the same time happening? Charles Spurgeon said, if you
want to make a man a drunk, preach against drunkenness. We need
to preach Christ and Him crucified. We need to tell sinners about
how God saves His people in a just manner. And He does it by putting
away their sins Himself and making them the righteousness of God.
He does it by sending forth His messengers in truth and calling
them out by His Holy Spirit and planning them. in growing them
in Christ Jesus and making them children of faith. Children that
follow Him because they're rooted and grounded in love, in that
love of Christ in their heart which constrains them to follow
Him and not be turned aside. Men need to be told God's not
going to let His people be turned aside. They need to be told men
are dead in trespasses and in sins and can do nothing to save
themselves until God comes and does the work in the heart. This
is what needs to be preached. He says, therefore the showers,
verse 3, have been withholden, and there hath been no latter
rain, and thou hast a whore's forehead. Thou refusest to be
ashamed. Remember what Peter said? He
said they receive the reward of unrighteousness as they that
count it pleasure to riot in the daytime. Spots they are,
and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while
they feast with you. Going about just rioting. in the daytime. Far worse in
religion, in churches, far worse than what's going on out there
on Saturday night in a honky-tonk somewhere or in a disco or wherever. Anything worse than that. It's
rioting in the broad daylight, refusing to be ashamed that we
have not bowed to God and followed Him. Ashamed, not ashamed that
we're playing the prostitute and using everything that we
can use other than the gospel of Christ and Him crucified to
try to get sinners to come into church. Contemporary religion,
as if the Bible's out of date, as if the eternal God ever goes
out of fashion. I passed by a place in Arkansas
where First Baptist Church is. And it's a big church. I mean,
this is a big, nice, ornate, beautiful building. And I passed
by it, and I looked across the street, and there's a nightclub
across the street. And I told my sister, I said, I cannot believe
in this little town that they'd let a nightclub go in directly
across the street from the First Baptist Church. There's bent
neon. The windows are all blacked out. And I mean, it's a nightclub. And she said, that's the church's
club. That's the church's club. The
children go there and listen to rock and roll, Christian music,
and dance, and carry on. And that way, they can get them
to come to church next day. Mm, rioting, like those that
riot in the night. And they use all that to allure
those who were clean escaped from the error. That's what was
beginning to happen with Israel. Look back now at Numbers 25.
Numbers 25-1. I'll keep you a little longer
here and we'll go. Look, Numbers 25.1, And Israel
abode in Shittim. And the people began to commit
whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people
unto the sacrifices of their gods. And the people did eat
and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto
Baal Peor. And the anger of the Lord was
kindled against Israel. Now you see, God tried Balaam. and to show us what a false prophet
would do. But also in all of that, God
was trying Israel too. He was trying Israel too. He
was overruling the whole thing and many in Israel failed. They
failed it. They joined in with them and
joined there with them. Will we fail that? This is what
the Lord said, pure religion and undefiled before God and
the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in
their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Peter said there's spots. Those folks are spots. It's one
thing to visit will worshipers and preach the gospel to them.
We'd be happy to do that. We'd be happy to go and preach
the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace to them. It's
to visit the fatherless and the widows, because that's what they
are. Fatherless and widows. Don't have God for their father
and they don't have Christ for their husband. They're fatherless
and they're widows. But it's another thing altogether
to join with them and put on their spotted garments. That's
another thing altogether. That's serious business, but
that's the truth. Now get this, the idolatry that Balaam led
them into was not an open denial of the truth or of God or of
the gospel. It was mixing of the worship
of God with the worship of Balaam. In our day, it's preaching grace,
but practicing will worship and works religion. And that's what
all of this religious activity is. They may preach the gospel,
they may preach the truth, but they deny everything and reveal
the heart by all of the religious works and activities going on.
Take all that out of the way, they wouldn't have anybody show
up. It's mixing Christ our altar and our sacrifice with man's
altar and man's sacrifice. Titus said, they profess that
they know God. Paul said, Titus 1, 6, they profess
that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable
and disobedient unto every good work reprobate. It appears there's
good works they're doing, but their heart is for covetousness,
is for covetous gain. Paul said, what agreement has
the temple of God with idols? You're the temple of the living
God. God has said, I'll dwell in them and walk in them and
I'll be their God and they'll be my people. Wherefore, come
out from among them and be ye separate, said the Lord, and
touch not the unclean and I'll receive you. He's talking about
false religion as the unclean. And I'll be a father unto you
and you'll be my sons and daughters, said the Lord Almighty. The Hebrew
writer said, we have an altar where if they have no right to
eat, would serve the tabernacle, which are serving the flesh,
walking in the flesh and the lust of uncleanness. And he said,
let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing
his reproach. When men not like you for that,
they'll hate you for it. They hated him for it, for being
who he is. He said, if they persecuted me,
they'll persecute you. You see, this thing of truly
following after Christ, it's not going to be something where
those that once received you are going to keep on receiving
you. It's not going to be that those that were your best companions
and you thought was all together in the same boat with you and
y'all were in fellowship with one another. When God separates
you into fellowship with him and with his brethren, you find
out that God's people don't like God, God's enemies don't like
God. Christ's enemies don't like Christ
and they don't like His people because His people stand for
the truth and they don't like it. His people have one way,
one method, one way we do things. We preach Christ to be crucified
and wait on God to do the work. He does it. He's done it ever
since those days right there. He's still been doing it the
same way and He's going to continue to do it the same way until He
returns again. Well, let's end with this. God
prevented Balaam from cursing his children, and He made him
bless his people in the plain, and even Balaam was made to confess
this. Look at Numbers 24, 5, back there
again. Balaam said, How goodly are thy
tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel. As the valleys are
they spread forth, as gardens by the riverside, as the trees
of lean aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees
by the waters." That's why they can't be moved. They're planted
by the Lord and watered by the Lord. He shall pour the water
out of his buckets. The Spirit of God into his people
and the word of the gospel into his people in buckets. And his
seed shall be in many waters and his king shall be higher
than Agag and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth
out of Egypt. He's delivered us out of that
bondage. He has, at worst, strength of a unicorn. He'll set up the
nations, His enemies, and He'll break their bones and pierce
them through with His arrows. He couched, He laid down as a
line, and as a great line, who shall stir Him up? Blessed is
He that blessed thee, and cursed is He that cursed thee. This
is the God that we serve. Now, God sent His servant Moses
after that. We won't have time to look at
this, but God's going to make the wrath of man to praise him
and work out for good for his saints. Even in that false junk
that was going on right there in Balaam's day, God will continue
to bless his people and made that man, and he blessed us by
making that man say these scriptures. We've preached from these scriptures
that Balaam said because they're the truth. And he's blessed generation
after generation after generation through that liar's mouth right
there that God made him speak the truth. Now look, God sent
his servant Moses though, and you'll have to read this out
and continue. I'd encourage you to read Numbers 22 all the way
over to about Numbers 31. But God sent his servant Moses,
his servant, he sent him there. And through Phinehas, he stayed
the plague, prevented the plague from going any further. That's
a picture of God sending his true messenger with the gospel
of Christ. Whereby the spirit of God conquers the heart of
his children and brings his people to believe on Christ in whom
our plague has been put away. That's what he does to this gospel.
And so God saves his people from Balaam's way. We overcome, how? Revelation said, by the blood
of the Lamb. We overcome, how? By the word of the testimony,
by the Gospel. We overcome, how? By His grace
giving us a new heart so that we no longer love our lives unto
death, what we saw in John 12. We don't love our life and part
with God and die, but we forsake all and follow Him by His grace.
He does this through His Gospel. And He prevented Balaam's honor
It ends up Balaam goes one way and Balaam goes another way.
He prevented that honor Balaam wanted. And eventually David
came in. It said there that, look at verse
17. Numbers 24, 17. Balaam said,
I shall see him but not now. And Balaam sees him now. He does
see him now. I shall behold him but not nigh.
There shall come a star out of Jacob. That's Christ. and a scepter shall rise out
of Israel, a king, and he'll smite the corners of Moab and
destroy all the children of Sheth, and Edom shall be a possession.
Seir also will be a possession for his enemies, and Israel shall
do valiantly. Look at this last word. Out of
Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion and shall destroy
him that remaineth of the city. Now, eventually, David arose
and he did that. He fulfilled that prophecy. But
that prophecy looked beyond that. Christ came and Christ did that.
And Christ will do that in the end. He will defeat all the enemies
fully when he returns and wipe them out. Now what does Peter
tell us? Back in 2 Peter 1.19. Go back
there with me. 2 Peter 1.19. He said, there's
going to come a There's going to come a star out of Jacob.
And he said, and he's going to rule. He's going to have dominion.
He's going to put down all our enemies. Now, while we go through
this world and we dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips, and we dwell in the midst of a people who are preaching
lies against God, what do we do? What should we do as we go
through this world together? Look at verse 19. 2 Peter 1,
19. We have also a more sure word
of prophecy. this gospel that we're preaching
through these scriptures right here. More sure than seeing Christ
face-to-face, Peter saw Him transfigured. He said, we got a more sure word
of prophecy because we got this gospel. And he says, whereunto
ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth
in a dark place until the day dawn, And that day star arise
in your hearts. That star is coming back. He's
coming again. Until he does, we just keep on
worshiping him and following him through this gospel. They
overcame by the blood of the lamb and by the word of this
testimony and by that heart and that spirit he's put in them.
That's how we overcome. Amen.