Blessings and Curses in the Journey of Faith

Father, as we come to your word, your word is infallible.

My words are not.

And so we want to hear you.

We want you to speak to us.

God, help us to see what you want to see in your word.

And speak to us today.

Speak to each one of us.

And the various trials and struggles that we're going through,

come and be near to us.

In your presence and in your word.

We pray these things in your great and wonderful name.

Amen.

Amen.

Today's scripture reading is taken from Numbers 22, verse 1 to 35.

Numbers 22:1–35

Please follow along in your Bible.

If you don't have one yet, please grab them from the front of the stage

or near the door or at the back of the hall.

Our passage is on page 121.

Hear then God's word to us today, starting in verse 1.

Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho.

And Balak, the son of Zippor, saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

And Moab was in great dread of the people because there were many.

Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel.

And Moab said to the elders of Median,

This horde will now lick up all that is around us as the ox licks up the grass of the field.

So Balak, the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time,

sent messengers to Balaam, the son of Beor at Pethor,

which is near the river in the land of the people of Amor,

to call him, saying,

Behold, a people has come out of Egypt.

They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me.

Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me.

Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land,

for I know that he whom you bless is blessed,

and he whom you curse is cursed.

So the elders of Moab and the elders of Median

departed with the fees for divination in their hand.

And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak's message.

And he said to them,

Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you as the Lord speaks to me.

So the princess of Moab stayed with Balaam.

And God came to Balaam and said,

Who are these men with you?

And Balaam said to God,

Balaam, the son of Zippor, king of Moab,

has sent me, saying,

Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,

and it covers the face of the earth.

Now come, curse them for me.

Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.

God said to Balaam,

You shall not go with them.

You shall not curse the people,

for they are blessed.

So Balaam rose in the morning

and said to the princess of Balaam,

Go to your own land,

for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.

So the princess of Moab rose and went to Balaam and said,

Balaam refuses to come with us.

Once again,

Balaam sent princes more in number

and more honorable than these.

And they came to Balaam and said to him,

Thus says Balaam,

the son of Zippor,

Let nothing hinder you from coming to me,

for I will surely do you great honor.

And whatever you say to me,

I will do.

Come, curse these people for me.

But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak,

Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold,

I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God

to do less or more.

So you too,

please stay here tonight

that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.

And God came to Balaam at night and said to him,

If the men have come up to call you,

rise, go with them,

but only do what I tell you.

So Balaam rose in the morning

and saddled his donkey

and went with the princess of Moab.

But God's anger was kindled

because he went,

and the angel of the Lord

took his stand in the way as his adversary.

Now he was riding on the donkey,

and his two servants were with him.

And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord

standing in the road

with a drawn sword in his hand.

And the donkey turned aside out of the road

and went into the field.

And Balaam struck the donkey

to turn her into the road.

Then the angel of the Lord

stood in a narrow path

between the vineyards

with a wall on either side.

And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord,

she pushed against the wall

and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall.

So he struck her again.

And the angel of the Lord went ahead

and stood in a narrow place

where there was no way to turn

either to the right or to the left.

When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord,

she lay down under Balaam.

And Balaam's anger was kindled,

and he struck the donkey with his staff.

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 made a fool of me,

I wish I had a sword in my hand,

for then I would kill you.

And then the donkey said to Balaam,

Am I not your donkey

on which you have ridden all your life

long to this day?

Is it my habit to treat you this way?

And he said, No.

Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam,

and he saw the angel of the Lord

standing in the way

with his drawn sword in his hand.

And he bowed down and fell 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 oppose you

because your way is perverse before me.

The donkey saw me

and turned aside before me

these three times.

If she had not turned aside from me,

surely just now I would have killed you

and let her live.

Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord,

I have sinned,

for I did not know

that you stood in the road against me.

Now therefore,

if it is evil in your sight,

I will turn back.

And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam,

Go with the men,

but speak only the word that I tell you.

So Balaam went on

with the princess of Balaam.

Let us believe and respond

to God's true and living word.

Okay.

Thank you, Kristen.

Friends, we live in a city

and in a culture

which is very obsessed with blessing

and favor

and fearful of evil and bad luck.

Just think of the number

or the names of the apartment blocks

in which we live, right?

We live in things like blessing court,

heavenly mansions,

royal gardens,

tycoon villas,

prosperity tower,

and on and on and on.

Or think of what we say

to one another at Chinese New Year.

Gong Hei Fa Chui.

Or congratulations,

make money,

be prosperous this year.

Or think of the lion dances

that happen, right?

At every Chinese New Year

or maybe when a new building is opened,

we get the lion dance

to drive out bad luck

and evil spirits.

Or think about the tens of millions

of dollars

that is spent each year

in our city

to make sure that new buildings

have good feng shui.

We are a city

which works tirelessly,

which hustles

to make sure

that we secure good fortune

and do all we can

to drive away bad luck

and misfortune.

Now, many of us would say,

well, we don't really believe

in that stuff.

We're not really superstitious.

But culture is hard

to shake off, isn't it?

Culture runs deep within us.

Friends, how many of us

subtly

soften our voice

to a whisper

when we talk about

somebody dying?

Almost as if we can't mention it.

How many of us

feel uncomfortable

about moving onto

the fourth floor

of an apartment block?

Or maybe subtly feel

a little bit happy

if we get a new phone number

and there's lots of eights in it.

We're not superstitious,

but there's a few things

that just make us

slightly feel better

about ourselves

and other things worse.

Ours is a city

which is driven

in equal parts

by fear of misfortune

and bad luck

on the one hand,

and yet unrelenting yearning

or desire

for favor and blessing.

But friends,

what happens

if you could come

under the blessing

of the sovereign,

eternal God

who is in control

of all things?

What would life look like

if you could come

into God's blessing

in such a way

that no amount

of bad luck,

no amount of evil

spirits or misfortune

could stop God's blessing

for your life?

What would your life

look like

if you were so secure

in God's favor

and God being for you

that you need not care

a thing about

all the evil powers

in this world?

If you're new to Watermark,

we're going through

the book of Numbers,

and the book of Numbers

is this wonderful book

in the Old Testament,

and it's the story

of how God's people

leave Egypt

and they travel

through the wilderness

towards the promised land,

and we've said

that the book of Numbers

is this apt analogy

for the Christian life.

If you're a follower

of Jesus,

you too have been delivered

out of slavery

to sin and hell

by God's grace,

you're on a journey

of faith,

and God is taking you

through to the new creation,

to heaven itself.

And we've said

that the journey of faith

that the Israelites go on

is an analogy

for the life of faith

for us as Christians.

But this journey of faith

is a perilous one.

It's full of dangers

and toils and snares.

But in order to get

through the journey of faith,

we need to know

and have clarity

on where God's favor

and blessing are found

and what can

and cannot stop us

entering the promised land.

We need to know

with clarity

and certainty

what it is

where we can find

God's favor

and what will

and will not stop us

from coming

under God's blessing.

And so the main idea

in this passage

is that those of us

that are followers

of Jesus,

those of us

that have come

under God himself,

do not need to fear

all the powers

of hell

or the evil spirits

or malicious plots

of man.

We can be confident

that if you belong

to God,

the sovereign God

who rules over all things,

your life is safe

in his hands.

And you do not need

to fear

the counterfeit gods

and the fake

counterfeit powers

that are out there

to bless you

or to bring favor on you.

Friends,

if you're a Christian

this morning,

God wants you to know

that your life,

both now in this world

and in the life to come

for all eternity

are not in the hands

of evil spirits,

evil forces,

wicked or self-serving man.

Your life is in the hands

of the God

that controls all things

and therefore

you can take confidence

in him.

And friends,

if you're not a Christian

this morning,

I wonder what your life

would look like

if you could live

so sure,

so certain,

so confident

of God's favor

and blessing

resting upon you.

So,

let's look at what

happens here

in this passage.

Now the context

as we said

is God's people

are moving

through the wilderness

and what's meant

to take four weeks

from Egypt

to the promised land

ends up taking

40 years.

Why?

Because God

asked him to trust him

and to believe in him

and to hope in him

but believing in him

and hoping in him

and holding on to him

is the one thing

the Israelites

do not do very well.

And so God says

that that generation

will die off

in the wilderness.

And so for 40 years

they're wandering around

waiting for that

generation to die off

and for the new

generation to emerge

so that they can

enter the promised land.

And that's what

we looked at last week

six chapters of death

and misery

until that generation

passes.

And now a new

generation is emerging.

And what will this

happen to this generation?

Will they enter

the promised land?

Will they get in?

Will God's promises

to Abraham

and his descendants

that they will inherit

the promised land

will they be fulfilled

or will they too fail?

Because if God promises

his covenant commitment

to Abraham fails

then the question is

can we take anything

God says seriously?

God made this promise

to Abraham

I will be with you

I will bless you

your descendants

will enter the land

and if that promise fails

can we take anything

God says seriously?

How do we know

that any of his words

will be true to us?

And so look

what happens here.

So the story is

Kristen read it to us

so well

the new generation

aren't perfect

but in chapter 21

good things are starting

to happen.

They engage in these

two battles

the king of Sihon

and the king of Og

and the Amorites

and they defeat them

and so now

they move into

the plains of Moab

that are right across

the river

from the promised land

they're right on the border

and the king of Moab

gets afraid

he thinks

he's heard the stories

of these guys

that have defeated

the kings around him

and he is afraid

and so look at what he does

verse 2 of chapter 22

Balak the son of Zippor

saw all the Israelites

had done to the Amorites

and they were in great dread

because of them

because there were many

Moab was overcome

with fear

because of the people

of Israel

and so what does he do?

He decides

I can't beat them militarily

they're too big for me

I don't have enough firepower

but what I can do

is I can bring a curse

on them

and so he goes

and he finds a shaman

a sorcerer

the world's leading

shaman of the time

man of international repute

his name was Balaam

son of Beor

and he's famous

and well regarded

and he brings him

or he sends him

a bunch of people

in an entourage

with a pile of money

and he says to him

verse 6

come now

curse this people for me

since they are too mighty

for me

perhaps I shall be able

to defeat them

and drive them

from the land

for I know that

he whom you bless

is blessed

and him who you curse

is cursed

well Balaam says

okay

sounds good

let me go and ask God

and so he goes

and prays

now one thing

we need to be clear

a couple of times

here Balaam

seems to talk about

God as being his God

he's like the Lord

my God

but Balaam

is not a God

fearing man

he is a sorcerer

he's a shaman

in the ancient world

you pray to whatever

gods did

you know

the best favors for you

and so Balaam is saying

hey you want me to curse

the Israelites

let me go talk to

the God of the Israelites

and so he

is soliciting the favor

of whatever gods

or spirits

he needs at the time

so Balaam goes off

and God tells him

not to go with Balak

and do what Balak wants

and so he sends

the entourage back

and says

sorry

no can do

and Balak then

sends him more princes

and even more money

and says

please

I really need you

and Balaam

sees all the gold

and silver

and he says

well you know

it wouldn't harm

to ask God again

and so he goes again

and he asks a second time

and this time

he hears God saying

go with him

go with his men

and so he goes

to the land of Moab

to curse the Israelites

but along the way

something very strange happens

Balaam's faithful steed

also known as donkey

doesn't do anything

that Balaam wants him to do

he keeps on going off

on the other path

he goes into a field

and then he smashes

his leg against a wall

and then eventually

he just sits down

in the road

and he won't move

and Balaam's getting

more and more agitated

and frustrated

and angry

and he says

verse 28

it says

Balaam's anger

was kindled

and he struck

the donkey

with his star

for the third time

he's hit his donkey

and amazingly

for only the second time

in the Bible

I don't know exactly

how this works

but it somehow works

the God that can

you know

swallow

cause a whale

to swallow Jonah

is the same God

that opens

the mouth of the snake

in the garden of Eden

and somehow opens

the mouth of the donkey

and for the second time

in the Bible

an animal speaks

in a way that a human

can understand

and he says

why are you beating me

I've only done this

to save your life

and God opens

Balaam's eyes

and he sees

there's an angel

with a drawn sword

standing in front of him

and that his foolish donkey

has saved his life

now

friends I hope you can see here

the whole story

is dripping with irony

right

because here we have

the most famous

the most powerful

shaman in the ancient world

one who's made a control

spiritual forces

and evil forces

and get them to do his bidding

and yet see how powerless

and impotent he is

he can't even control

the movements of his stupid donkey

with a bid and a bridle

he can threaten

he can curse

and he has got no power

to get the donkey

to do anything he wants

he has a guy

that's traveled

all these hundreds of miles

across the Middle East

to curse a nation

merely with his words

and yet

when his donkey

doesn't listen to him

he's reduced to beating

his donkey with a stick

because his words

have no power whatsoever

friends here is a seer

one who's meant to see

into the unknown

spiritual world

and see what's happening

and he can't see

the angel of death

that's standing

right in front of him

but his donkey

can't see it

Balak says to him

I know that

he whom you bless

is blessed

and he whom you curse

is cursed

absolutely not

but Alam here

has got no power

whatsoever

here is the big

bad terrifying

evil man

who's supposed to

derail God's plans

and destroy

God's covenant promises

and he is more powerless

more feeble

more helpless

and more hopeless

than a senseless donkey

and God here

just as God

uses the unlikely

agent of a silly donkey

to speak his words

and reveal his plans

to Balam

God is going to use

the unlikely agent

of a silly shaman

a sorcerer

to speak God's blessing

and God's reveal

God's favor upon Israel

and so

look at what happens

here in verse 36

this is kind of where

Kristen ended

the reading

Balam eventually

goes back with

Balak

and the Moabite king

and they go up

on a high mountain

and they oversee

a portion of the

camp of Israel

and Balam says

okay let's offer

some sacrifices

they build seven altars

they sacrifice goats

and bulls

and all sorts of animals

and then Balak

goes off

and says

let me pray

to the God of Israel

and he goes and prays

and he comes back

with a word

and Balak

has paid good money

for Balak

to come and curse

you know

the Israelites

but what he says

is not what Balak

expects

instead

Balam

blesses them

and speaks favor

of them

and speaks of God

looking after them

look what he says

in 23 verse 7

from Aram

Balak has brought me

the king of Moab

from the eastern mountains

come curse Jacob

for me

come denounce Israel

he said

but how can I curse

those whom God

has not cursed

how can I denounce

the ones the Lord

has not denounced

and Balak

goes on

and he speaks

blessing and favor

of the strength

of this nation

and how blessed

they are

and Balak

the king of Moab

he is about

a burst appendix

I mean he is

so frustrated

I paid you good money

what are you doing

he says

okay fine

maybe you went

to the wrong mountain

let's go to this mountain

he takes them

on the other side

and looks at another

side of Israel's camp

and Balak

says okay

let's build the altars

and they build

seven altars

and they sacrifice

goats and bulls

and all sorts of things

and then he goes off

and he prays

and he comes back

with the word

and Balak

is a bit

he is a bit anxious

and the same thing

happens

look at what happens

here

chapter 23

verse 18

Balak

blesses Israel

again

he says

arise

Balak

here

give word

give ear to me

son of Ezekiel

God is not a man

that he should lie

a son of man

that he should

change his mind

has he said

and he will not do it

has God spoken

and he will not

fulfill his word

behold

I received a command

to bless

he has blessed

him

I cannot provoke

it

he has not

beheld misfortune

for Jacob

he has not

seen trouble

in Israel

the Lord

their God

is with them

there is no

enchantment

against Jacob

there is no

divination

against Israel

and Balak

is losing

his patience

here

he's paid

good money

for Balam

the sorcerer

the powerful

magician

to come and

curse God's

people

and all he does

is he speaks

blessing over

them

so he takes

them up

to the

one more

mountain

to the

highest

mountain

and from

here they

can see

the whole

nation

of Israel

and he

thinks

if Balam

can see

just how

vast

this nation

is

how terrifying

they are

then finally

he will curse

them

and so

look at what

happens

Balam

they build

the altars

they sacrifice

the animals

Balam

goes off

he comes

back

and he speaks

a third

oracle

24

verse 5

how lovely

are your tents

so Jacob

your encampments

oh Israel

like palm groves

that stretch afar

like gardens

planted beside the

rivers

like aloes

that the Lord

has planted

and cedar

treels

beside waters

verse 7

his king

will be higher

than Agag

his kingdom

will be exalted

he shall eat up

the nations

his adversaries

he shall break

their bones

in pieces

and pierce

them with arrows

just imagine this

the king is standing

next to him

he's like

you guys are going

to destroy him

right

if you're a consultant

you probably shouldn't

speak to your

you know

your client

like that

verse 9

blessed are those

who bless you

and cursed are those

who curse you

and by now

Balak has had enough

every time he's paid

Balam to curse Israel

he ends up blessing them

and he sends them

on his way

but notice

in each of these

three oracles

the same thing happens

Balam

enters

echoes

the same words

that God

had spoken to

Abraham

hundreds of years

before

three times

he talks about

his blessing

23 verse 8

how can I curse

those whom God

has blessed

behold I receive

a command to bless

God has blessed

him

I cannot revoke it

24 verse 9

blessed are those

who bless you

cursed are those

who curse you

but friends

500 years before

God had chosen

a man called

Abraham

out of nowhere

and he said

Abraham

blessed are those

who bless you

cursed are those

who curse you

God had spoken

to Abraham

and he said

my blessing

my favor

will rest upon

you

you will multiply

into many

many people

you will enter

into the promised

land

and I will give

you many

descendants

and through you

all the nations

of the world

will be blessed

those who bless

you will be

blessed

and those who

curse you

will be cursed

and the point

of all this

is that God

is absolutely

100%

undoubtedly

faithful

to his covenant

promises

despite all

of Israel's

rebellion

despite all

of their sin

despite all

the curses

and the plagues

and the death

and the wandering

and the wandering

in the wilderness

for 40 years

despite everything

that has gone

wrong

both internally

and externally

God has promised

to bring them

into the promised

land

and he will

do it

despite all

the curses

and all the evil

spirits

and everything

all the money

that Belak

has paid

to curse

these people

nothing

and no one

can stop

God's promises

from being fulfilled

and 500 years

before God

had said to Abraham

I will bless you

I will make

your descendants

more numerous

than you can count

I will give

your people

land in Canaan

across the Jordan

for them to enter

into

and through you

Abraham

will come

a descendant

a Messiah

a Savior

one who will

not just bless

my people

but will

actually reverse

all the curses

that came upon

them

as a consequence

of Adam's

sin in the

garden

I will send

you a descendant

who will be

like a new

Adam

a perfect

Adam

one who's

perfectly

righteous

and obedient

one who will

take upon

himself

the curse

that fell

on the world

who will

defeat the curse

through his

death and

resurrection

and will

make all

things new

and I will

bring my

people home

and here

500 years

later

despite all

that's gone

on and

400 years

of slavery

in Egypt

and 40

years of

wandering

in the

wilderness

and plagues

and disaster

and snakes

and death

and rebellion

despite all

of that

and curses

God says

nothing

will change

my purposes

for my

people

I have

said it

and I

will do

it

and so

look at

24

verse 10

here

Belak's

anger

was kindled

against

Belam

and he

struck

his hands

together

it's the

exact same

words

that used

earlier

for Belam

to describe

the way

he acted

towards his

donkey

and Belak

says to

Belam

I called

you to

curse

my enemies

behold

you have

blessed

them

three times

and he

sends

him away

empty

handed

no payment

no reward

no money

because he

didn't do

what he

was paid

to do

but Belam

gives one

final blessing

one final

oracle

Belak

is kind

of stormed

off in a

temper

but Belam

says

I'm not

done

yet

I've got

one more

thing

to say

and he

speaks

one final

oracle

and he

speaks

here of

a ruler

one who

holds

a royal

scepter

one who

will come

out of

Israel's

own people

but he's

not there

at the

moment

he's

not in

the camp

this is

verse 17

he says

I see

him

but not

now

I behold

him

but he's

not near

he's not

in the

camp

he's a

far

way

off

there's

a

descendant

that's

coming

out of

Israel

and he

will finally

bring them

home

friends of

course he's

talking about

the same

person that

God spoke

to Abraham

about

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

the Messiah

King

and that's

where the

story ends

now what

does all

that mean

for us

okay

interesting

story

what does

that mean

for us

in our

lives

well I

think it

means three

things

and one

statement

two

questions

okay

so here's

the statement

the certainty

of God's

promises

the absolute

certainty

of God's

promises

to his

people

we've been

saying that

for weeks

now the

story of

numbers is

the story

of God's

faithfulness

to his

people how

he will

bring his

people through

the wilderness

and he will

bring them

home and

it's an

apt analogy

for the

Christian

life

God has

delivered us

from hell

and he will

bring us

home but

the point

of the

story is

that God

is absolutely

faithful to

his word

and in many

ways friends

that is the

story of the

Bible

the Bible

is not just

good advice

or good

wisdom

or how to

make life

work

the Bible

is the

story of

the wonderful

works of

God

as Natalie

led us in

earlier to

sing of his

wonderful works

it's the story

of God

speaking to

his people

thousands of

years ago

saying I

will be

faithful to

my word

and the

storyline of

the Bible

from Genesis

to Revelation

is the story

of God

being faithful

to his word

and accomplishing

what he said

he would

God said

that he would

send a savior

to defeat

sin and

Satan and

death

and he

has

God said

that he

will come

again and

make all

things new

and he

will

speaking to

another context

in Isaiah

46

God says

this

I have

spoken

I will

bring it

to pass

I have

purposed

and I

will do

it

or as

Balaam said

in his

second oracle

he says

this

God is not

a man

that he

should lie

God is

not a son

of man

that he

should

change

his

mind

has

he

said

and he

will

not

do

it

has

he

spoken

and he

will

not

fulfill

it

and of course

the answer

is of course

not

when God

speaks

he is

faithful

to his

word

as we

sometimes

sing

faithful

he has

been

faithful

he

will

be

time

and time

again

his

words

return

complete

to his

truth

we cling

when the

night

is deep

faithful

he

has

been

faithful

he

will

be

and friends

if you

notice

that

in the

book

of

numbers

we've

been

focusing

on the

nation

of

Israel

the

people

of

God

but in

this

story

it's

the

first

time

in

the

book

of

numbers

the

people

of

God

do

not

even

feature

where

are

Israel

in

the

story

nowhere

to

be

found

they

are

somewhere

down

in

the

valley

completely

oblivious

totally

ignorant

about

what's

going

the

valley

minding

their

own

business

completely

ignorant

as to

what's

going

on

God

is

looking

after

them

protecting

them

sovereignly

ruling

over

them

turning

curses

into

blessings

and

disaster

into

favor

the

words

of

William

Cowper

the

famous

hymn

writer

said

you

faithful

saints

fresh

courage

take

the

clouds

you

so

much

dread

are

big

with

mercy

and

shall

break

blessings

on

your

head

now

friends

nobody's

saying

that

the

journey

of

faith

is

easy

that

the

road

to

glory

will

be

paved

with

ice

cream

and

marshmallows

there

are

giants

and

obstacles

there

are

enemies

and

people

wanting

to

curse

you

friends

there

is

sickness

there

is

cancer

there

is

job

loss

there

is

disappointment

there

is

people

passing

away

way

too

early

like

we

celebrated

David's

life

this

morning

friends

this

life

will

be

full

of

challenges

and

uncertainty

but

the

one

thing

that

is

not

uncertain

is

whether

God

is

with

you

and

he

will

be

faithful

to

his

word

that

is

not

uncertain

how

could

it

be

otherwise

friends

if

God

is

not

faithful

to

his

word

he

is

not

God

at

all

and

he

would

be

no

better

than

a

powerless

shaman

he

would

be

no

better

than

a

feeble

donkey

he

would

be

no

better

than

a

fearful

Balak

the

Moabite

but

that

is

not

who

our

God

is

our

God

rules

in

the

heavens

the

Bible

holds

out

the

God

to

us

who

speaks

his

promises

and

is

faithful

to

his

word

who

invites

us

to

trust

him

on

the

journey

of

faith

friends

the

God

that

we've

come

to

worship

and adore

this

morning

is

not

like

Balak

or

the

donkey

he

is

sovereign

over

every

single

atom

in

the

universe

every

action

in

the

world

he

is

absolutely

totally

in

control

of

everything

it

is

he

who

knows

the

beginning

from

the

end

it

is

he

who

upholds

the

universe

by

the

word

of

his

power

it

is

he

who

is

faithful

to

his

word

friends

the

future

of

those

who

know

the

Lord

Jesus

and

who

cause

him