Old Lea Bethel Baptist Church

Numbers 23:12-13 So he answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”¹³ Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.”

In the full story found starting in Numbers 22, Balaam is blessing Israel when Balak is asking for the nation of Israel to be cursed. Balaam, after realizing his misstep earlier, is speaking what God is telling him to speak. I was drawn to the words of Balak. Balak is trying to get the answer he wants by asking Balaam to change his viewpoint. He says – “you will see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all.”

Many times, we fail to see all of a person. We fail to see the good when they’ve done wrong. We fail to see the love they’ve demonstrated when we glimpse a moment of hate. We fail to honor their basic human needs when it conflicts with an opinion. We take a viewpoint that is limited. We see the nationality, socio-economic class, or other “outer” characteristics. Like Balak, if we take a certain perspective, it becomes easy to criticize, judge, and even hate others. If we can only get enough people to take our viewpoint, it becomes easier to dismiss those in situations foreign to our own.

God would have us see all of a person. God tells us that we are all created in His image. Viewing those we disagree with from the perspective that, first and foremost, “this person bears the image of the God that I love and adore” makes it impossible to feel anything but love. This doesn’t excuse sin or change the consequences of sin. It simply allows us to come at every issue from a starting place of love. We know that we cannot say we hate our brother and claim to love God.

Changing our view doesn’t change the Holy Spirit’s instruction. Walking “In Spirit”, love will rule our thoughts and guide our actions. The Holy Spirit will give the same instruction no matter what hill we’re on, no matter what valley we’re in, no matter what country we’re traveling, no matter the wilderness wandering we’re enduring. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God – the Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of Love.

Mark 8:29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”

God is a God of individual answers. There’s no group think in the Kingdom of God. Each of us must decide what we believe. In the verse preceding Mark 8:29, Jesus is told all the different people the “world” was saying He was. Then, He asked a question that resonates to every soul throughout time – Who do you say that I am? He wasn’t just asking the disciples. His voice echoes through the centuries until this very day.

God will not ask if the nation we lived in had laws against abortion. He will only examine our heart to see how we grasped the sanctity of life. He won’t look at the laws on the books regarding sex outside of marriage, but He’ll look to see how we treated our spouse or our girlfriend or boyfriend. He won’t ask how many protests we attended, but will instead look to see how our examples served as a witness to His majesty.

Sin is the outward demonstration of the evil within the heart. Sin is evil in action. All sin springs from the same seed… it’s a lack of reverence for God. The Bible doesn’t have a “Top 10 List” when it comes to sin. All sin separates us from God, but that separation started with the seed of evil and disobedience in our heart. As Jesus said, when we think it, we’ve committed it (Matthew 5:28).

When I grew up, there was a local show on TV called Kiddie Kollege. Schools sent teams. Questions were asked and the team conferred and came up with an answer. Three heads were better than one.

When we stand before God, there won’t be a team. He will only look upon our hearts to see how we answered the only question that ever mattered – who do I say Jesus is? Who do you say Jesus is?

I had someone ask why God didn’t simply send a supernatural answer to today’s issues. My answer? He has – Jesus. Now, you must decide as an individual, based on Faith in Jesus, what your answer is to the issues facing our world. No Kiddie Kollege moment – this is an individual test. Love will always root out evil, as long as we allow.

John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

Jesus didn’t concern himself with politics and worldly things. He knew where He came from and He knew where He was going. He knew why He was here and what His purpose was. He left us all with a purpose known as The Great Commission. He has gone ahead and, even now, is preparing a place for His followers.

Lest we think that Jesus was sealed in a bubble and never really faced the negativity that we face today, remember that the Romans were cruelly dominating the area, religious leaders were completely corrupt, women were property, children could be sold, taxes were high and the tax collectors dishonest, poverty as rampant, disease was common, slavery was legal, and the list goes on. Jesus was not part of the popular groups: Pharisees, Sadducees, or the Essenes. He could have gotten caught up in the negativity of His world. He could have railed against everything happening in that moment. His energy could have been wasted on what really didn’t matter.

Instead, Jesus chose to stay focused on the Kingdom and the Kingdom cause. He chose to remain focused on compassion, love, forgiveness, humility, and salvation. He chose to walk in poverty and live a very spartan life. He chose to speak truth. Make no mistake that He chose. He lived in no bubble. The pressure to conform to society was on Him just as it is on us.

We too must make a choice to focus on the Kingdom. Once saved, we are no longer of this world, but we are still in the world. We choose where to focus our energy. We must choose to love those we disagree with and pray for those who hate us. We must stop trying to save the world because we know the world will not be saved. We are not Republicans or Democrats, conservative or liberal, rich or poor… we are Christians – Christ’s followers. When tempted to feel anger or hatred toward another, remember how Christ responded to the nails being pounded into His flesh. Mimic His words and love the one trying to pierce your peace.

Instead, let us choose to live life positively. Let’s show people the love of Jesus and the promise of the Kingdom. Judgement is reserved for God. We are a witness that Jesus overcame the world and we’ll someday be with Him. Our goal, our mission, is to provide as many as will hear with detailed directions on how to arrive in Christ’s Kingdom at the end. No more drinking from the poison pitcher of this world… let’s choose instead to share the Living Water provided by Jesus Christ.