Podcasts about Balaam

Dinesh D'Souza Discusses His New Book ‘The Stones Cry Out' With Eric Metaxas Today On The Eric Metaxas Show, Dinesh D'Souza joins Eric to discuss his new book The Stones Cry Out and the archaeological evidence he believes supports the historical reliability of the Bible. Dinesh and Eric discuss discoveries connected to King David, the Exodus, Balaam, Belshazzar, Jericho, Caiaphas, and the world of Jesus. They also explore why Dinesh believes biblical archaeology has increasingly forced skeptics to retreat from claims that major biblical people and events were simply invented, and why he sees the growing number of discoveries as especially significant in a secular age.Later, Grace Precious Metals CEO Bill Armor joins Eric to discuss the “Everything Bubble,” stock-market valuations, and precious metals.⭐ ORDER NOW:Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World

Amazingly, four of the most important revelations in the entire Bible were given through a pagan seer named Balaam, including the classic Messianic prophecy of Numbers 24:17. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

Amazingly, four of the most important revelations in the entire Bible were given through a pagan seer named Balaam, including the classic Messianic prophecy of Numbers 24:17. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

Amazingly, four of the most important revelations in the entire Bible were given through a pagan seer named Balaam, including the classic Messianic prophecy of Numbers 24:17. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

Amazingly, four of the most important revelations in the entire Bible were given through a pagan seer named Balaam, including the classic Messianic prophecy of Numbers 24:17. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

Amazingly, four of the most important revelations in the entire Bible were given through a pagan seer named Balaam, including the classic Messianic prophecy of Numbers 24:17. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

Today On The Eric Metaxas Show, Dinesh D'Souza joins Eric to discuss his new book The Stones Cry Out and the archaeological evidence he believes supports the historical reliability of the Bible.Dinesh and Eric discuss discoveries connected to King David, the Exodus, Balaam, Belshazzar, Jericho, Caiaphas, and the world of Jesus. They also explore why Dinesh believes biblical archaeology has increasingly forced skeptics to retreat from claims that major biblical people and events were simply invented, and why he sees the growing number of discoveries as especially significant in a secular age.Later, Grace Precious Metals CEO Bill Armor joins Eric to discuss the “Everything Bubble,” stock-market valuations, and precious metals.⭐ ORDER NOW:Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World

- Chapter 3 started the snowball rolling downhill / Started the dominoes knocking down God's original design and purpose one after another.• Secular means “worldly”; “earthly” rather than sacred and spiritual • In Worship - Cain then Babel then Nicodemus - Jesus converts the religious into the righteous (many need the clarity of the Scriptures) • In Marriage - monogamy was the foundation of God's plan - the opponents of God say monogamy is a late reality. It was the first and the foundational • The Technological, Agricultural, & In Musical - advancing yes but it's not progressing when you leave God out of the equation • Psalm 73:1-17 (prospering)• General Douglas MacArthur wanted to send missionaries and Bibles to Japan asap - something would fill that void.  • Here we see 2 Kingdoms being established & developed - The Righteous vs The Religious: • Hypocrisy, Apostasy, Worship • True, False, & Vain WorshipI. The Faith of the firstborn II. The Folly of vain worship • Cain's Offering - I Jn 3:10-12• Balaam's Bribe (Numbers 22)• Korah's Rebellion (Numbers 16); Dathan & Abiram) • Judas I. The Kingdom of man - The Cainites1. He started a family (17) - 2. He built a city (18) - Enoch3. His family multiplied (19)4. Lamech violated God's marriage law (2:24) 5. Lamech's wives (20-24)• Adah - Jabal (father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock - herding and breeding); Jubal (father of all those who play the lyre & pipe - string and wind instruments.• Zillah - Tubal-Cain (forger of all instruments of bronze and iron (metallurgy); His sister was Naamah II. The Kingdom of God (25/26)1. Adam & Eve had a third son (Seth) - God gave after Cain took! Luke 3:382. Seth had a son (Enosh) - 3. At this time people began to call on the name of the Lord.• God's people built cities  • God's people invented things• God's people help advance civilizations • God's people did it for God - In Philippians 3:17-21 Paul says “our citizenship is in Heaven”; in 1 Peter 1:1 Peter calls God's people exiles/aliens 4. The Name of the Lord - All we do we do for His Name / for His glory / for His honor 5. Not many people mentioned. Not much information given. It won't be long before the number of those who truly call on the Lord is fewer than 10. Only 8 got in the Ark. Only Enoch & Noah called men of God till chapter 12!6. Not long after the flood will be the massive project to build the Tower of Babel - “to get to heaven without the help of God”. We continually see 2 kingdoms clashing - 2 kingdoms in conflict. Today!• You must CALL ON HIS NAME to be saved: Luke 24:44-47; John 3:16-18; 20:31; Acts 2:21; 2:38; 4:7-12; 8:12; Romans 10:9-13; I Cor. 6:9-11; I John 5:13• You must CALL ON HIS NAME in baptism: Matthew 28:18-19; Acts 19:4-5• You must CALL ON HIS NAME in praise: Lk 19:38; Heb 13:15• You must CALL ON HIS NAME in prayer: Mt. 6:9; John 15:16• You must CALL ON HIS NAME to be a missionary: III John 7• You must CARE ABOUT HIS NAME to fight off division in His Church - I Cor. 1:10• You must CALL ON HIS NAME even when persecuted: Acts 5:41; 21:13; I Peter 4:14• You must CARE ABOUT HIS NAME in all that you do: Col. 3:17• You can't CALL ON HIS NAME when living in sin: II Tim. 2:19• All will CALL ON HIS NAME one day: Phil. 2:9-11• The NAME OF GOD and the judgment of mankind: II Thess. 1:5-12

The sermon explores the practical application of the gospel in the Christian life, emphasizing that love is the foundational principle that fulfills the law. It contrasts the genuine humility and service required of believers with the pride and hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, who elevated themselves above others. By drawing parallels between the false teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans, the message warns against placing stumbling blocks before fellow believers through self-exaltation or greed. The core instruction is that all members of the church, including leaders, are equal brothers and sisters called to serve one another as slaves of Christ. This call to humility and genuine love is presented as the essential path to honoring God and promoting the gospel in a divided world.

The church is called to remain faithful to Jesus, proclaim the gospel, make disciples, and reach the lost before it is too late.Jesus' message to the church at Pergamum challenges believers to uphold biblical truth even while living in a culture hostile to Christianity. Although the church remained faithful under persecution, Jesus warned that compromise from within could be just as destructive as persecution from without. The teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans illustrate the dangers of tolerating false teaching, idolatry, immorality, and a distorted understanding of grace. Jesus calls His church to repent, reject compromise, and live distinctly as salt and light rather than becoming indistinguishable from the surrounding culture. Those who overcome are promised Christ's provision, represented by the hidden manna, the white stone of acceptance, and a new name that reflects their identity in Him.The message ultimately calls every believer and the church as a whole to stop postponing obedience—“someday” is no day; today is the day to follow Jesus, serve Him, and embrace what God wants to do next.If this message encouraged you, be sure to like, subscribe,and share it with someone who needs hope today. Ready to take your next step of faith? Text LIFE to 40371. To learn more about Liberty Live Church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.libertylive.church⁠⁠⁠⁠.

What can God do with what's already in your hand? From Moses' staff to David's sling, Jericho's trumpet, Balaam's donkey, and a boy's lunch, Scripture shows us that God specializes in using ordinary things to accomplish extraordinary purposes. The miracle isn't in the tool—it's in the hands of the One using it.

History isn't just history—it's God's warning to every generation. From the ashes of Sodom and Gomorrah to the rebellion of Korah and the corruption of Balaam, Jude points to real examples of what happens when people reject God's authority and distort His truth. In this message, Pastor Jeff Schreve challenges believers to reject compromise, sharpen their discernment, and walk faithfully with Christ in a culture that increasingly celebrates what God condemns.

Two of the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament mention Satan. Nineteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament do. Something happened in between, and almost nobody in the pews knows what it was. In this episode, Dr. Ryan Stokes takes us back to the oldest texts, where the word we translate as Satan is not a name at all. It is a noun. And it does not mean accuser. It means attacker. Executioner. The one God sends to carry out judgment.That changes everything downstream. In Numbers 22, the figure standing in Balaam's road with a drawn sword, described with this exact word, is the angel of the Lord himself. In Zechariah 3, the scene everyone calls a courtroom may not be a trial at all, but a priest in filthy clothes about to be killed for entering God's presence wrong. And in Job, for the first time in recorded history, this executioner turns on an innocent man. Dr. Stokes walks us through how the figure who once served Yahweh became the enemy of Yahweh, and he does it without flinching from the hard questions or overselling what the evidence can bear.Dr. Ryan Stokes is Associate Dean of the School of Biblical and Theological Studies at Carson-Newman University, where he teaches on the Bible and its ancient Jewish context. He earned his Ph.D. at Yale University and previously taught at Yale Divinity School, Western Kentucky University, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of The Satan: How God's Executioner Became the Enemy, published by Eerdmans and translated into Italian. He is also an ordained Baptist minister who has pastored churches in Connecticut and Kentucky.In this episode you will learn:Why the Hebrew word satan is not a name and never means "prosecuting attorney" in the Old TestamentHow the angel of the Lord is called a satan in Numbers 22 while carrying out God's judgmentWhy Zechariah 3 may be an execution scene rather than a courtroom, and how Isaiah 6 unlocks itThe case that the Satan material in Job 1 and 2 was added to an older version of the storyWhy Job's friends never mention Satan even once, and what that silence suggestsHow the Book of Jubilees and Second Temple Judaism reshaped the figure into the Prince of MastemaWhat Paul actually means when he tells the Corinthians to hand a man over to SatanWhy Revelation 12 is a defeat story rather than an origin story, and how the victory is wonWhy Dr. Stokes says the Satan that should frighten you is not God's enemy but God's agentWhat we lose when we flatten this figure into a cartoon villain with horns and a pitchforkGuest:Dr. Ryan StokesThe Satan: How God's Executioner Became the Enemy (Eerdmans): https://www.amazon.com/Satan-Gods-Executioner-Became-Enemy/dp/0802872506Faculty page: https://www.cn.edu/people/ryan-stokes/Published articles and essays: https://cn.academia.edu/RyanStokesStay Connected:Johnnyova.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@thejohnnyovaThe Revelation Reset: https://a.co/d/hiUkW8H

The pockets are grace from Genesis 3 can't hide the horrible effects of sin onhumanity seen in Genesis 4. The (Wrong) Way of Cain / Genesis 4:1-16 / 09-5/6-2026- The Righteous vs The ReligiousHypocrisy is doing the Devil's work in God's uniform (MH)Apostasy is…True, False, & Vain worshipI. Fleeting Joy of the firstborn  1.  Eve credited God (positive) -  2.  Cain worked the ground -  3.  Cain brought an offering to the Lord (act of worship)  4.  God accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's offering  5.  Cain is angry & his face fell (internal / external reaction)  6.  The Lord warns Cain - 2nd example of bib counseling (first was Gen 3:9-11)  7.  Cain kills Abel - v. 8  8.  Cain lies to God - v. 9  9.  God curses Cain - vv. 10-12  10.  Cain questions his consequences - vv. 13-14  11.  God protects Cain - example  12.  Cain leaves God's presenceII. Lineage of Hypocrisy/Apostasy  1.  Cain - Jude 1:8-13  ⁃  Cain's Offering - I Jn 3:10-12  ⁃  Balaam's Bribe (the donkey) - Numbers 22:7, 22-35  ⁃  Korah's Rebellion (the ground) - Numbers 16:1-50 (Dathan & Abiram) vv. 1-5 (v. 3) -  ⁃  Judas (the box & the kiss) -  2.  Israel - Isaiah 29:13  3.  Pharisees - Mark 7:6-7 TFV  4.  Judas - The Hypocrisy (nard); The Kiss (betrayal) - “on the night He was betrayed took  5.  bread”); The Anguish “wept bitterly” as did Peter after three denials - II Cor 7:10); Mt  6.  26:47-50  7.  Peter exposes them - I Peter 2:4-8; II Peter 2:1-22;  8.  Paul exposes them - I Timothy 1:6-7; 4:1-5; 5:8; 6:3-5, 9-10; II Timothy 3:1-9; 4:1-5  9.  The Writer of Hebrews 11:3-4 (BY FAITH we believe God created the universe & BY FAITH  10.  Abel offered God a commendable & righteous sacrifice. His offering still speaks to the  11.  faithful today!+ John 3:16-20

How do you know when you're chasing the wrong thing? Sometimes the warning signs are right in front of you, but your desire to keep moving forward keeps you from seeing them. In Numbers 22, Balaam was so focused on where he wanted to go that he couldn't see what God was trying to stop him from doing. This sermon shows you how to recognize God's warning signs, change direction, and stop fighting battles you were never meant to fight. In this sermon, Guest Speaker Dr. Scott Williams teaches from the story of Balaam in Numbers 22 and reveals three signs that can help you recognize when you're chasing the wrong thing. In this sermon, you'll learn: How to know when you're chasing the wrong thing Why other people may see warning signs you're missing How to recognize when God may be trying to redirect you Why ignored warning signs can become harder to overlook How to know when you're fighting the wrong battle When it's time to stop, turn around, and choose a different direction You can be so focused on getting where you want to go that you miss what God is trying to show you along the way. Sometimes the obstacle in front of you isn't keeping you from your breakthrough—it's keeping you from the wrong destination.

Jude 8-12 (NASB) 8 Yet in the same way these people also, dreaming, defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak abusively of angelic majesties. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him an abusive judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these people disparage all the things that they do not understand; and all the things that they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have given themselves up to the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12 These are the ones who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted. Theme: Believers in the Church must be on the lookout for what false teachers do and what they are like. They Scorn Supernatural Beings (v. 8d-10) They're Marked by Murder, Money, and Mutiny (v. 11) They Deceive to Destroy (v. 12a) Download

Exposición de Apocalipsis 2:12-17. Y escribe al ángel de la iglesia en Pérgamo: El que tiene la espada aguda de dos filos dice esto:13 Yo conozco tus obras, y dónde moras, donde está el trono de Satanás; pero retienes mi nombre, y no has negado mi fe, ni aun en los días en que Antipas mi testigo fiel fue muerto entre vosotros, donde mora Satanás. 14 Pero tengo unas pocas cosas contra ti: que tienes ahí a los que retienen la doctrina de Balaam, que enseñaba a Balac a poner tropiezo ante los hijos de Israel, a comer de cosas sacrificadas a los ídolos, y a cometer fornicación. 15 Y también tienes a los que retienen la doctrina de los nicolaítas, la que yo aborrezco. 16 Por tanto, arrepiéntete; pues si no, vendré a ti pronto, y pelearé contra ellos con la espada de mi boca. 17 El que tiene oído, oiga lo que el Espíritu dice a las iglesias. Al que venciere, daré a comer del maná escondido, y le daré una piedrecita blanca, y en la piedrecita escrito un nombre nuevo, el cual ninguno conoce sino aquel que lo recibe.Reina-Valera 1960 (RVR1960)

New Gospel Bracelet – You can change people's lives by sharing the Good News of Jesus. These bracelets are a simple and clear way to do that. They've been used as an evangelism tool for nearly 200 years! For this bracelet, each of the 5 colors stand for a single word which gives a starting point to tell part of the Gospel story. Red is for blood – the blood of Jesus's death on that cross takes away our sin. White is for purification – Jesus did not stay dead. And just like Jesus came back to life, God can make us new people without sin. Green is for growth – just like you grow up as a human, you grow in your new spiritual life in Jesus. And last, but certainly not least, gold is for heaven – Jesus's people will be with Him forever. In heaven, there will be no more pain, no more sadness, and no more sin. Thank you for stepping out in faith to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each bracelet comes with a description card and check out the video below for deeper explanations behind each color. Get one for you and a friend!    Use the coupon code: RADIOGIFT for free shipping! *Limit two per person* Click here to receive today's free gift on the Radio Page --------Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible. Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org. Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

Jon Pounders joins Nephilim Death Squad in studio for a wide-ranging conversation about Christianity, spiritual warfare, UFO disclosure, demonic encounters, MKUltra, frequency technology, Gnosticism, Freemasonry, and the supernatural experiences that pushed him deeper into Biblical research.Jon explains the evolution from Now You See TV and The Midnight Ride to Pounders Quest, including how YouTube demonetization changed his approach to content, business, and ministry. The conversation moves into New Age and Gnostic teachings, the concept of the Demiurge, Lucifer as the supposed “light bearer,” the Knights Templar, Freemasonry, secret societies, and the Bavarian Illuminati.From there, the discussion goes deep into frequency. Jon and the NDS crew explore claims involving Rife-style frequency treatments, stem cells, blue light, LED flicker, MKUltra research, Dr. Jack Kruse, GLP-1 peptides, synesthesia, color frequencies, and whether spiritual phenomena might interact with the electromagnetic spectrum.Biblical spiritual warfare becomes a major focus through the story of Balaam and King Balak, the principle of spiritual consent, Job, the power of Christ, and “no weapon formed against you shall prosper.” They also discuss Jerry Marzinsky's work with schizophrenia and voices, demonic oppression, trauma, addiction, and the possibility of spiritual entities being perceived through electrical or frequency-based phenomena.The conversation eventually turns directly toward UFO disclosure, Lou Elizondo, Timothy Alberino, Tony Merkel, Christian “pod pastors,” Joseph Jordan's MUFON research, and whether alien abductions can involve both human technology and demonic deception.Jon then shares intense personal stories involving alleged demonic manifestations, deliverance in the name of Jesus, strange activity at his family property, light beings, an out-of-body experience, and an encounter that helped launch his investigation into the supernatural.What do you think: are UFO abductions physical, spiritual, technological—or some combination of all three? Let us know in the comments.► Subscribe for more Biblical analysis, Christian worldview discussions, and conspiracy research through a Biblical lens.Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere podcasts are available.00:00 Nephilim Death Squad Intro01:55 Jon Pounders Joins NDS05:56 Authentic Christianity & Changing as a Believer09:55 Pounders Quest and Podcasting12:11 YouTube Demonetization & Starting Over17:32 Now You See TV, New Age & Gnosticism19:47 The Demiurge and the Gnostic Gospel21:22 Lucifer, Freemasonry & Secret Societies24:24 Bavarian Illuminati & Hidden History33:25 Frequency, Consciousness & Spiritual Reality34:22 Rife Machines and Frequency-Based Healing Claims45:28 Dicyanin Glass, Night Vision & Seeing Entities47:21 Jack Kruse, MKUltra & Blue Light57:01 Balaam, King Balak & Spiritual Consent64:59 Jerry Marzinsky, Schizophrenia & Demonic Voices73:43 Lou Elizondo, Timothy Alberino & UFO Disclosure80:40 Tony Merkel, Pod Pastors & the Alien Meeting85:08 Joseph Jordan and the Demonic Abduction Theory86:24 Jon Pounders' Demonic Encounters92:09 Paranormal Activity at Jon's Family Property98:43 Sleep Paralysis, Shadow Beings & Electrical Phenomena101:38 Alien Implants, Mesmerism & Frequency Control104:06 Pounders Quest and Closing ThoughtsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nephilim-death-squad--6389018/support.☠️ Nephilim Death Squad — New episodes 5x/week.Join our Patreon for early access, bonus shows & the private Telegram hive.Subscribe on YouTube & Rumble, follow @NephilimDSquad on X/Instagram, grab merch at toplobsta.com. Questions/bookings: chroniclesnds@gmail.com — Stay dangerous.

The Doctrine of Balaam: Exposing Corruption in the Modern Prophetic Movement | KIB 547 Kingdom Intelligence Briefing DESCRIPTION THE DOCTRINE OF BALAAM: EXPOSING CORRUPTION IN THE MODERN PROPHETIC MOVEMENT Kingdom Intelligence Briefing — Episode 547 What does the biblical account of Balaam reveal about the modern prophetic movement? Balaam presents one of Scripture's most sobering examples of supernatural gifting separated from godly character.  He could encounter genuine supernatural revelation.  He could speak words God placed in his mouth.  He even delivered a remarkable prophecy concerning the coming Messiah.  Yet Balaam's supernatural experiences did not transform his character.  His heart remained vulnerable to money, honor, influence, compromise, and access to kings.  That creates a critical warning for the Church today: ·      Prophetic accuracy does not necessarily equal divine approval. ·      Supernatural power does not equal holiness. ·      Revelation does not equal character. ·      Gifting does not equal maturity. ·      Anointing does not equal obedience. Jesus taught that fruit remains essential in discerning spiritual ministry. In KIB 547, Dr. Michael Lake and Mary Lou Lake undertake a biblical examination of Balaam and discover that the New Testament gives us three powerful categories for understanding prophetic corruption: THE WAY OF BALAAM — 2 Peter 2:15 THE ERROR OF BALAAM — Jude 1:11 THE DOCTRINE OF BALAAM — Revelation 2:14 Together, these passages provide a biblical framework for evaluating modern prophetic ministry. The episode examines how genuine or claimed spiritual gifting can become corrupted when joined with covetousness, ambition, political influence, celebrity, sexual compromise, financial manipulation, and the commercialization of spiritual authority. One of the deepest theological observations in the episode is this: Balaam wanted God's power without God's government. That same temptation remains possible today: ·      Prophecy without holiness. ·      Power without obedience. ·      Gifts without character. ·      Authority without accountability. ·      Revelation without Scripture. ·      Anointing without crucifying the flesh. ·      Kingdom authority without submission to the King. True biblical prophetic ministry cannot be separated from covenant faithfulness and obedience. THE WAY OF BALAAM Second Peter 2:15 identifies Balaam as one "who loved gain from wrongdoing." ·      The problem is not legitimate financial support for ministry. ·      The danger begins when money starts influencing ministry. ·      When access to a prophet is sold. ·      When prophetic words become commodities. ·      When larger offerings produce more favorable prophecies. ·      When invitations, platforms, donors, and political connections begin determining what a minister will—or will not—say. ·      At that point, the gift is being monetized. Biblical ministry may receive support, but God's gifts must never become merchandise. THE ERROR OF BALAAM Jude 1:11 exposes another dimension. A minister can begin assuming that because supernatural manifestations continue, God must approve of the minister's character and conduct. Balaam destroys that assumption. Something supernatural happening does not prove that God approves of the vessel. The question must move beyond: "Was the prophecy accurate?" We must also ask: ·      Does the ministry exalt Jesus Christ? ·      Does it submit prophetic claims to Scripture? ·      Does it produce holiness and repentance? ·      Does it strengthen covenant faithfulness? ·      Is there humility? ·      Is there financial and sexual integrity? ·      Is there meaningful accountability? ·      Are failed predictions acknowledged? ·      Does the ministry create dependence upon Christ—or dependence upon the prophet? ·      Does it produce mature disciples—or prophetic consumers? And perhaps one of the most important questions: Will the prophet speak the truth when doing so could cost the prophet money, popularity, political access, followers, conference invitations, or the entire platform? The episode contrasts Balaam with Micaiah, who was willing to suffer rather than alter the word God had given him. THE DOCTRINE OF BALAAM Revelation 2:14 takes the warning even further. Personal corruption eventually becomes doctrine. Balaam discovered that he could not directly curse the people God had blessed. Instead, Israel was enticed into idolatry and sexual immorality. The pattern becomes: ·      Gift ·      Revelation ·      Opportunity ·      Desire for reward ·      Compromise ·      Rationalization ·      Prophetic corruption ·      Teaching others to compromise ·      Covenantal judgment The compromised minister eventually becomes an architect of compromise in others. DON'T THROW OUT THE TRUE BECAUSE OF THE FALSE This episode is not an argument for rejecting biblical prophetic ministry. Quite the opposite. The existence of counterfeit ministry makes biblical discernment even more important. Jesus places the doctrine of Balaam inside the Church in Revelation 2:14. The warning to Pergamum therefore provides a serious pattern for examining what the Church tolerates. The answer is not cynicism. The answer is testing. "Prove all things." Return everything to Scripture. Reject the false. Hold fast to what is good. And allow God to restore genuine biblical ministry. The closing message of KIB 547 is ultimately one of hope: God is preparing His remnant, exposing what is false, and calling His people back to Christ, His Kingdom, His Word, holiness, and covenant faithfulness. KEY SCRIPTURES Numbers 22:6 Numbers 22:9–12 Numbers 22:31 Numbers 23:8 Numbers 24:17 Numbers 25:1–3 Numbers 31:16 2 Peter 2:15 Jude 1:11 Revelation 2:14 Matthew 7:15–23 1 Kings 22:14 1 Kings 22:26–27 Acts 8:18–23 The transcript's central New Testament framework is explicitly built around 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, and Revelation 2:14. YOUTUBE CHAPTERS / TIMELINE 00:00 — Biblical Life TV: Empowering the Remnant 01:30 — Welcome to KIB 547 01:58 — Prayer, Grid Concerns & Preparing for Difficult Times 05:41 — Practical Food Preparedness & Community Cooperation 07:28 — Prayer, God's Love & Preparing for the Feasts 13:43 — The "Sugar-Coated Opiates of Babylon" 16:15 — Entertainment & Feel-Good Christianity 17:29 — Looking Back at the Faith Movement 19:28 — Is the Charismatic and Evangelical System Imploding? 20:03 — Returning to the Meat of the Word 21:34 — Three Levels of False Prophetic Ministry 22:18 — Level One: The Con Man and Mentalist 23:06 — Level Two: Occult Counterfeits in the Church 27:45 — Level Three: Balaam-Level Occult Power 30:38 — Why God Intervened With Balaam 32:46 — Revival Requires Spiritual Warfare 33:57 — Balaam and the Modern Prophetic Movement 36:52 — Balaam Could Hear From God—But His Heart Was Wrong 37:45 — The Real Biblical Test of a Prophet 38:34 — When Prophecy Becomes a Commodity 40:16 — Prophetic Warnings Must Reflect God's Heart 42:25 — Eisegesis: Making Scripture "Preach Better" 44:10 — Context, History, Language & Biblical Interpretation 45:00 — The Three New Testament Warnings About Balaam 46:07 — The Way of Balaam: Loving Gain From Wrongdoing 46:53 — When Money Begins Influencing Prophecy 48:32 — Balaam's Attraction to Honor, Prestige & Access 50:19 — Political Access and the Temptation to Alter the Message 52:07 — Refusing to Change the Message for a Platform 53:53 — Conference Invitations, Money & Ministry Gatekeepers 55:27 — The Error of Balaam 58:59 — Does Success Mean God Approves? 59:38 — Supernatural Activity Does Not Equal Divine Approval 01:01:54 — Faithfulness Matters More Than Ministry Celebrity 01:03:47 — Character and Obedience Remain Essential 01:04:43 — The Doctrine of Balaam 01:07:54 — Why Balaam Could Not Curse What God Blessed 01:09:34 — Sin, Compromise & the Strategy Against Revival 01:12:07 — From Personal Corruption to Corrupt Doctrine 01:14:29 — The Danger of Gifting Mixed With Uncrucified Ambition 01:15:29 — Balaam, Holiness & the Fear of God 01:22:10 — Prophetic Accuracy Does Not Equal Divine Approval 01:24:17 — "Touch Not God's Anointed" & Biblical Discernment 01:25:09 — Prophetic Flattery and Political Leaders 01:27:57 — Simon Magus & Commercializing the Supernatural 01:29:09 — God's Power Without God's Government 01:30:15 — The Seer Who Couldn't See: Balaam's Donkey 01:31:00 — The Threefold Balaam Test for Prophetic Ministry 01:37:58 — God's Judgment, True Prophets & the Coming Separation 01:40:00 — Don't Let the Fake Cause You to Reject the True 01:41:00 — God Is Preparing the Remnant for What Is Coming 01:42:14 — Closing Prayer: Centered on Christ, Kingdom & Scripture The closing section is particularly important: the episode moves from exposing corruption to preparing the remnant. The stated goal is not simply to identify false ministers, but to make the necessary changes now so believers can remain faithful through coming judgment.

Lee el libro: https://teologiaparavivir.com/simeon-numeros/  Video: https://youtu.be/lofLhov_rPk?si=rj4loj8rfIALakmJ  El libro de Números suele asociarse con censos, leyes y largas jornadas por el desierto. Charles Simeon, sin embargo, descubre en sus páginas algo mucho más profundo: la historia de un Dios que guía, disciplina, preserva y conduce a su pueblo aun en medio de su incredulidad. En estos cuarenta y un discursos de sus monumentales Horæ Homileticæ, Simeon recorre episodios fundamentales como la bendición sacerdotal, la nube que dirigía a Israel, la rebelión de Coré, la serpiente de bronce, las profecías de Balaam, el nombramiento de Josué y las ciudades de refugio. Pero Simeon no se limita a reconstruir la historia de Israel. Su propósito es mostrar cómo cada pasaje confronta el pecado, revela el carácter de Dios y conduce al lector hacia Cristo. Con una combinación característica de exégesis, aplicación pastoral y fervor evangelístico, transforma textos aparentemente remotos en mensajes de extraordinaria actualidad. Este episodio explora cómo uno de los grandes maestros de la predicación evangélica del siglo XIX enseñaba a leer Númeroscomo una escuela de providencia, santidad, fe y perseverancia.

2 Peter 2    1But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.    4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8(for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.    Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 11whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. 12But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, 13suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. 14They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.    17These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 18For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 20For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

Title: How to Listen to Your DonkeyScripture Reading: Numbers 22:21-31Series: Bizarre BibleEver wonder what a talking donkey has to teach us about obeying God? Explore the bizarre biblical account of Balaam and his talking donkey to uncover four critical scenarios where God demands our obedience. Learn to obey when it doesn't make sense, when it seems foolish, and when you can't see God's full plan. Discover the importance of repentance and choosing to obey even when you haven't previously. Embrace a life of unwavering obedience to God, trusting His wisdom and purpose even when circumstances defy human understanding.

On the Road to Damascus Acts 9:1-31 by William Klock When I was a sophomore in University I took the first of several art history courses, where I discovered—I should say it was more like I was confronted by—Caravaggio's famous painting of the conversion of St. Paul: Paul fallen from his horse, hands covering his face, his servants scrambling to figure out what's going on and to help him, everything in darkness—except Paul, bathed in heavenly light.  I'd read Act 9 who knows how many times before then.  But seeing Caravaggio's interpretation of that scene suddenly piqued my curiosity—made me wonder what really happened to Paul that day, what did he actually see, and why did it make such a powerful change in him.  Paul, that day, became for me—I suppose after Jesus—the most intriguing character in the Bible and I wanted to figure him out, to understand him—I think, because I wanted a faith of my own like Paul's, because I wanted to know the same kind of transformation, the same kind of passion, that Paul had after meeting the risen Messiah. And one of the things I came to realise is that Paul's passion, his zeal didn't start when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.  Actually, let's call him “Saul” for now, because that's where he's at in Acts 9.  Saul's zeal was already there: for the God of Israel, for righteousness and justice, for the world to be set to rights.  He truly hoped in the God of Israel, whom he knew to be good, and just, and faithful to the promises he'd made to his people.  That was what it meant to be a Pharisee.  Paul knew that his people had sinned, they had been unfaithful, they had engaged in idolatry.  They had ceased to be a holy people, so the Lord departed from them.  His presence—the cloud of glory—departed from the temple and then the people were conquered and exiled to Babylon.  “You want to worship pagan gods,” the Lord was basically saying, “Fine, you can spend a few decades in Babylon living with the pagans and their gods and see how it works out for you.”  And the people of Judah learned the lesson.  They set aside their idols, they embraced the torah, and they longed for an end to their exile—they longed for the return of God's presence.  And they became a people of hopeful longing.  It's funny how experiencing God's discipline so often gives us more hope, because it just underscores all the more his faithfulness—to do what he said, even if it's making good on his promise of judgement.  They knew his promises of restoration if they repented were just as true. And in the meantime, with no temple and with no visible manifestation of the presence of God, they did the best they could.  They devoted themselves—the Pharisees more than others—but they devoted themselves to torah, to holiness.  If they couldn't go to the temple, they would become like the temple themselves—a holy people waiting for God to return to them.  And when they returned to Judaea and rebuilt the temple and the Lord still did not return, the empty temple—all the more—became the symbol for their longing.  And missing his presence, they would meditate on the very idea of the Lord's presence.  If they dared—and at least the later rabbis urged caution, based on the Lord's warning to Moses that “no one may see my face and live”—but if they dared, some would meditate on Ezekiel's weird and mysterious vision of the Lord in his heavenly chariot—not looking for some personal mystical experience, but out of a hope and a longing for the day when the Lord would return, when heaven earth, so long sundered by our sin, would be brought back together, for the day when the Lord's people would once again live in his glorious presence.  It was a longing borne of the absence of the temple and of God's presence there. It was this passionate longing for the Lord's return that fuelled the zeal of men like Saul of Tarsus.  This zealous young Pharisee, steeped in Israel's scriptures and Israel's story, with a passion for the Lord and a longing to see his return.  And in his mind, if anything was going to hinder the Lord's return to his people, it was the new Jesus movement, these people who blasphemously believed in a crucified Messiah.  It had to be stamped out.  And so Saul supervised the stoning of Stephen.  And now, as we get into Acts 9 [page 1090 in the pew Bibles) we find that he's one of the chief orchestrators of the persecution of the early church.  Luke writes: “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out threats and murder on the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and requested from him letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that he could find people who belonged to the Way, men and women alike, tie them up, and bring them back to Jerusalem.” And along the way, I think that Paul was probably meditating.  Luke doesn't fill in these kinds of details, but between his telling of the story here and Paul's telling it later in his epistles, there are parallels with the accounts we have of Jews engaging in this practise of meditating on Ezekiel's vision.  Paul was a man of faith, a man of hope, a man who knew that the Lord is faithful to his promises.  And so he knew the Lord would return to his people and I think Paul lived out that hope in the present by just this sort of meditation on scripture.  Up and down with the rhythmic movement of what was probably a donkey—there are some stunning parallels here with Balaam even if this donkey never says a word—the hot sun beating down on him.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Recall Ezekiel.  Eyes closed, Paul pictures as best he could the four bizarre living creates, all wings and eyes, and the chariot wheels, somehow wheels within wheel all going different directions.  He concentrated and mentally looked upward from the wheels to the crystal chariot itself, and then to the throne where Ezekial wrote that he had seen a figure not unlike a human, but gleaming with holy fire.  I expect Paul had meditated like this before.  Maybe it had never come to much.  Just try it yourself.  Try to visualise what Ezekiel describes.  Good luck making sense of it.  Or maybe Paul had done this many times before and had really been met by the Lord, the God of Israel through this kind of meditation.  But this time was different.  Luke goes on: “While he was on the journey, and was getting near to Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.  He fell on the ground and heard a voice speaking to him.  “Saul, Saul!” said the voice.  “Why are you persecuting me?”  “Who are you, Lord?” he asked.  “I am Jesus,” he said, “and you are persecuting me.  But get up and go into the city, and it will be told you what you have to do.” Saul, in his mind's eye looks up: angels, wheels, chariot, throne—and then the figure on the throne—to his shock—is Jesus, the crucified Messiah, now risen from the dead and here.  And Paul tries to tear himself away.  No!  He tries to open his eyes to escape the vision and realises that his eyes are already open.  This isn't a vision.  It's not in his head.  It's real.  It's really Jesus.  And the sight is too much to bear—in so many ways.  He throws up his hands as Caravaggio imagined him doing, as—stunned—he loses his balance and topples off his donkey.  And the vision of glory is still there.  Where Paul expected to see the God of Israel, there was Jesus and Jesus was asking, “Why are you persecuting me?”  And Paul's thinking that this just can't be.  “Who are you?” he asks, even though he already knows.  And the figure of glory confirms it, “I'm Jesus.”  And he might as well have said at the same time, “I'm the God of Israel, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”  And again, “Why are you persecuting me?”  And Paul, stunned, his whole world being rearranged and reinterpreted faster than he can take it in, he says nothing as Jesus tells him simply to go to Damascus and to wait. Luke says in verse 7: “The men who were traveling with Saul stood speechless.  They heard the voice but couldn't see anybody.  And Saul, he been struck absolutely blind by the vision.  So they led him by the hand and took him to Damascus.  He went for three days, being unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.” I expect the gears in Saul's mind were spinning away like never before during those three days.  This man of prayer was suddenly praying like never before.  If Jesus was alive, it meant he really was Israel's Messiah.  It meant that the Lord, in him, had fulfilled already the very promises that Saul so longed to see fulfilled.  It meant that the Lord, in Jesus, had returned to his people.  It meant that God's new world had already begun.  Paul, intelligent and deeply steeped in Israel's scriptures, began the long, slow process of rethinking everything he knew in light of Jesus.  Paul knew—really knew the story, the scriptures.  I try to steep myself in those same scriptures and I'm like a watered down Americano compared to Saul.  Saul was a dark, black, espresso—the kind your spoon will stand up in.  That's how steeped he was in God's word.  It wasn't so much a “conversion” he experienced as it was a reorientation.  The temple, the presence of the Lord, the place where heaven and earth meet, had finally come to Saul.  And, too, those words of Jesus: “You're persecuting me.”  It meant that these people he'd been dragging off to prison, they were Jesus' people, his covenant family, even in some way an extension of himself.  God's promises to Abraham and to Moses and to David, the words of the Prophets, it all spent three days spinning through Saul's mind as he reevaluated everything in light of Jesus. Now, verse 10: “In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision.  “Ananias!” he said.  “Here I am, Lord,” he replied.  “Get up,” said the Lord to him, “and go to the street called Straight.  Inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.  Look, he's praying!  And he has seen, in a vision, a man named Ananias coming and laying his hands on him so that he can see again.” You can go to Straight Street today—even on Google Earth.  It runs from the last remaining Roman gate, through the Christian Quarter of the old city.  Imagine the shock of Ananias.  He may have been in Damascus having fled from Saul already.  And now he has a vision and the Lord tells him he needs to go to Saul.  You can almost hear his “Ummmm…”  Was this vision for real?  Had he heard right?  “Lord,” replied Ananias, “I've heard about this man from several people…all about how he's done wicked things to your holy people in Jerusalem…and now he's come here with authority from the chief priests to tie up everybody who calls on your name!”  Ananias is worried. “Just go,” replied the Lord. “He is a chosen vessel for me, to carry my name before nations and kings—and the children of Israel, too.  I am going to show him how many things he is going to have to suffer for the sake of my name.”  So Ananias set off, went into the house, and laid his hands on him.  “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord has sent me—yes, Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—so that you may be able to see again, and receive the holy spirit.” Worried, hesitant at first, Ananias' faith got the better of him.  Maybe on the way.  Maybe when he met Saul and there was so clearly something different about him.  “Brother Saul,” he called him.  As Jews, yes, they were brothers, but Ananias somehow recognised in Saul the same faith, the same Jesus, the same Spirit.  I don't think Ananias ever expected to be in a situation like this.  What do you do?  Jesus said that Saul had already had vision of Ananias laying hands on him, so that's what Ananias does.  He lays his hands on Saul and he prays, and Luke writes (verse 18): “At once something like scales fell off his eyes, and he was able to see.  He got up and was baptized.  He had something to eat and regained his strength.  Ananias and Saul stayed with the disciples in Damascus for a few days.” I wonder what happened when Ananias took Saul back to meet the other Christians in Damascus.  I expect there were some skeptics.  Was this just a fake-out by Saul to get in amongst them.  And I bet, when Ananias showed up to say, “You'll never guess what's happened!” there was someone else there, older, wise, steeped in the scriptures who wasn't surprised at all.  “Brother Ananias, why would you have expected otherwise?  This is how our God does things.”  God dealt with the persecution of his people by making their persecutor one of them.  And Saul?  Well, he's as zealous for God as ever; Jesus has just given him new direction.  While the rest of the saints in Damascus were hiding, now that he can see again, Saul marches straight to the local synagogue to proclaim Jesus, risen and Lord.  Luke goes on: “At once he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “This really is the son of God!”  Everyone was astonished, and said, “Isn't this the man who caused havoc to those in Jerusalem who call on this name?  And here he is, coming to tie them up and take them off to the high priests!”  But Saul grew all the stronger, and threw the Jews in Damascus into confusion by demonstrating that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.” I bet.  Saul was one of the best of them.  He knew the scriptures and the promises of God inside out and upside down.  He was brilliant.  And he was passionately zealous for God.  And I expect—you know how when you figure something out that you've been wrestling with for a long time and it lights a fire under you and you get really excited to tell other people?—well, meeting Jesus lit that kind of fire under Saul.  It would take him a long time to really work it all through—he would go off to Arabia by himself to work it all through—but already he's been rethinking what meeting Jesus means about the God of Israel and about what it means to be Israel.  Even what it means that Jesus is the God of Israel.  And so he went to his fellow Jews to proclaim this good news.  To tell them that Jesus is the son of God.  This is, by the way, the first time in Acts we hear Jesus called “son of God”.  It was a big deal.  And then Luke says that the other thing Saul was eager to do was to explain to his fellow Jews that Jesus was the Messiah—or maybe it would better to say that the Messiah was Jesus.  Because given the context here in Acts and what we know of Paul later from his epistles and how he roots everything so deeply and richly in the Old Testament, I expect he was in the synagogue in Damascus reminding the people there of the scriptures and especially of these two ideas, these two characters: the son of God and the Messiah.  “Son of God” isn't used much in the Old Testament, but when it is, it refers to Israel.  God said to Pharaoh, “Israel is my firstborn son”.  But Jesus is also the son of David, the Messiah.  And God had promised that David would have a son who would build the temple.  God would raise him up and he would sit on David's throne.  “I will be a father to him,” God had declared in 2 Samuel 7, “and he will be my son.”  All this is swirling madly in Saul's mind and starting to take shape, to make sense.  And then there was Psalm 2, invoked by the first Christians as they faced persecution.  God confronts the wicked rulers of the world and declares that he has set up his King in Zion and that the nations will tremble before him.  He's the one to whom the Lord has made his firm decree, “You are my son, this day I have begotten you.”  Luke doesn't tell us exactly what Paul preached or even if he preached.  Maybe he just hung out at the synagogue and proclaimed the good news to whomever would listen.  But knowing Paul, I have to think he did some preaching.  And he reminded his people of God and of his promises and he appealed to their hope: God's promise to return to his people.  God's promise to set the world to rights.  God's promise to bring the nations under his sovereign rule.  And how all this is now coming true, how it's being fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah.  Through him God will reach out to the gentiles and bring them under his sovereign rule and make them his inheritance.  How the Messiah will rule them with wisdom and justice just as God promised.  This would be the heart of Paul's preaching: The risen Messiah is God's anointed King.  He's God's son, he shed his blood to purify us from our sins that he might bring us back from our long exile.  He's God's son who has built a new temple, a house for his Holy Spirit.  In him God's promises are being fulfilled.  2 Samuel 7, Psalm 2, Psalms 72 and 89 and 26 and 27.  God's promises.  Psalm about Israel's hope.  Psalms about the Messiah.  We know from the scrolls we've found at Qumran that how Paul was handling these scriptures was exactly the way other Jewish groups in his day were handling these scriptures and asking the same questions.  And struggling to find an answer.  Because no one ever dreamed that a man who was crucified could be the Messiah.  But Paul had met him, risen from the dead.  And the dots began to connect.  The royal psalms began to connect with the psalms of lament.  The great king who would rule Israel and the nations began to connect with the suffering servant who represented Israel.  And then it gelled: The king represents his people so that he can stand in for them.  So that what happens to him, happens to them—and what happens to them, happens to him.  And so the king died.  And then the king rose from the dead.  And in that great act, God had declared: “See!  This really is my son.  And with him I am well-pleased!”  Pleased with his beloved son—and through him, pleased with his beloved sons and daughters. And surely some believed.  But others were angry.  Verse 23: “After some days, the Jews made a plot to kill him, but Saul got wind of their plan.  They were watching the city gates day and night so that they could do away with him.  But the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket. When he got back to Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.  But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and explained to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.  He was with them in Jerusalem, coming and going and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.  He spoke, as well, to the Hellenists, who tried to kill him.  But the brothers heard of it and took him down to Caesarea. There they sent him off to Tarsus.  So the church in all Judaea, Galilee, and Samaria found itself at peace.  It was built up and gained in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.” And Paul knew, this too is how God works.  He saved the brothers and sisters in Damascus from their persecutor.  But Saul, well, God humbles him.  He has to be lowered over the wall in a basket so he can run.  Sometimes that's also how God works.  He was preparing Saul for his missionary task and the struggles and dangers and humiliations that would come with it.  Even returning to Jerusalem, he is initially rejected by the apostles.  God bless Barnabas—the “son of comfort”—he vouched for Saul and told him that he really had met Jesus on the road to Damascus and that all the rest was, in fact, true, no matter how impossible it seemed.  And Saul then proved himself in Jerusalem, preaching to the Hellenists who promptly set about to kill him. And so Peter and the others packed him off.  Luke doesn't say exactly why.  Maybe the trouble his zeal for Jesus stirred up in Jerusalem was just too much right then.  Maybe they knew that Saul needed to go home to Tarsus, to begin his preaching with the people who knew him.  So—and not for the last time—Saul boarded a ship and set sail.  This would be the pattern for the rest of his life. Brothers and Sisters, Saul of Tarsus—Paul—knew better than anyone that Jesus changes everything.  That Jesus is the embodiment of God's goodness, his mercy, his love, and maybe most importantly his faithfulness.  Remember that last week we looked at that bit of Paul's writing in 2 Corinthians where he talks about the glory of God that was on display in the Exodus: at the burning bush, in the plagues, at the Red Sea, at Mount Sinai, in the cloud of glory that descended on the tabernacle.  And he wrote that Jesus upstaged it all.  The Messiah he met on the road to Damascus revealed the glory of God in a way Paul had never imagined possible.  Brothers and Sisters, may we encounter that same glory ourselves. I think for most—probably all of us—our experience of God's glory is far more hum-drum and ordinary and unsensational.  Maybe that's because, as far as being steeped in scripture and knowing the glory of God revealed there, we're a watered down Americano.  We're like those can of LaCroix that say they're orange flavoured, but the flavour is so weak—well—you wonder if it's just carbonated water that was bottled in a plant where there was a solitary orange sitting in the corner to imparts the tiniest hint of its essence.  Paul was the opposite.  And we need to aspire to be like him.  Pray that God will give us a hunger for his word and a desire to know him and to know the story.  My observation has always been that the better people know the story, the more saintly and the more passionate they are, the more zealous they are for the Lord and for his good news.  Steep yourselves in the scripture.  And meditate on your baptism and how Jesus has brought you through the water into life with him.  How he's plunged us into God's Spirit and given us new life.  And come to his Table.  Eat the bread, drink the wine, and recall what God has done for us in Jesus, in his incarnation, in his death, and in his resurrection.  Experience here the fulfilment of all God's promises that you might see his glory.  Then be the people who—like Saul who just couldn't stay quiet—make that glory known in the world.   Let's pray: Almighty and merciful God, by whose gift alone your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; that we might truly see and know your glory along the way; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Always a fun story to talk about when it comes to Numbers 22 and the story of Balaam and the talking donkey. So much going on here and we try to cover as much of it as we can. Hope you enjoy! www.theologyinthedirt.comtheologyinthedirt@gmail.com

Table of Contents: Brave Iranian Christian Sharia Survivor Gives the Truth to the McKinney City Council Over Proposed Islamic Center: “You're Going to REGRET Not Listening to People Like Us Who Lived Under Sharia Law”– Filmmaker Chris Burgard warns Lara Logan that one of the most dangerous outcomes of America's growing ideological divisions (regarding the cancer of Islam) could be kinetic violence from law abiding Americans! Dallas-Fort Worth Airport To Install Islamic Foot Wash Stations Inside Bathrooms After Muslims Make Mess In Sinks Toyota headquarters & many other places serving Islamic Halal meat!–Boycott Halal! Rev 2:14: But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. Rev 2:20: Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. Update: Thank you for your prayers and Praise the Lord! Today, the gates at Ridglan Farms closed for the last time. The cages are empty. After 60 years, the suffering inside those walls has come to an end. Over the past several months, 2,115 beagles were saved from Ridglan Farms. Now begins something entirely different for them: healing. HELP GET THE WORD OUT!! You closed Ridglan. Now let's free the beagles at Marshall. From Sept 12 to 26, @marchforanimals will lead a 207-mile march from Albany to the steps of Marshall Bioresources where 16,000 beagles remain! Pfizer purchases animals from cruel breeders, including Marshall BioResources, and then subjects them to torture in their laboratories. For example, in one study, Pfizer subjected beagles to 2 weeks of toxicology experiments and then killed them to dissect their bodies. Join us in asking Pfizer to stop experimenting on puppies. Let's stop animal testing in 2026 and stop supporting the companies who do it! Together we can If you have a pet or any farm animals; you're going to want to watch this video–Govt is dropping rabies vaccine packets across the US “AUSTRALIA TO CONDUCT LARGEST WILD-BIRD VACCINATION EXPERIMENT EVER ATTEMPTED 5,000 wild little penguins will be CAPTURED, MICROCHIPPED, and VACCINATED TWICE with an H5N2 bird-flu vaccine How Rockefeller Took Control of the Medical School System How Hospitals Were Before The Rockefeller’s Took Over PDF: Emergency Freedom Alerts 8-24-26 Click Here To Play The Part 2 Audio Source

We can receive clear answers from God, but whenever I pray over difficult issues, I ask the Lord for written confirmation in Scripture. This truth became real to me during my imprisonment. After being sentenced to up to ten years, I had a vision of being released, returning home to London, and preaching to 10,000 people at the Royal Albert Hall on Easter Monday. Nine months later, after smuggling a Bible into my cell, I asked God to confirm the vision in writing through the Psalms. He led me straight to Psalm 35:18: "I will give You thanks in the great assembly." Deeply encouraged, I asked for a second specific confirmation: a verse promising that a prisoner would be set free, so that I could be released in time for my birthday just days before Easter. In Psalm 68:6, I found it: "He bringeth out those which are bound with chains." God was completely faithful to His written Word – I was released on my birthday and preached at the Royal Albert Hall that Easter Monday. Our salvation carries that exact same certainty. It is not based on fleeting emotions or human opinion; it is documented in writing across Scripture. As even Balaam acknowledged, God is not a man that He should lie. While in prison, I read Marco Polo's account of a group of Christians sentenced to death unless their faith could move a mountain. For two days, they prayed desperate prayers of fear, and nothing happened. But on the third day, they stood on the authority of Christ's words and commanded the mountain to move in Jesus' name. The mountain moved, their lives were spared, and the ruler demanded that missionaries be brought to teach his people. When we anchor our faith in what God has explicitly written, His promises never fail. Watch the YouTube version: https://youtu.be/DfplEdtoRWo  For more information on the Ministry of David Hathaway https://www.eurovision.org.uk 

În relații, putem privi adesea doar greșelile celorlalți, crezând că avem dreptate, deși ne scapă esențialul. Înțelegerea diferențelor dintre noi, empatia și renunțarea la rigiditate readuc armonia în familie. Să ne rugăm ca Dumnezeu să ne deschidă ochii sufletului pentru a vedea cu adevărat ce contează.

You are not your own. You were bought at a price — and there's an attack on your life, your future, and the version of you that God is calling you to become.In this raw, unfiltered episode from his Brooklyn apartment, Norense goes deep on devices — the tactics and vices the enemy uses to gain access to your life. He starts where most people don't expect: not with the "obvious" sins, but with lying to yourself, unbelief, and putting your faith in your fear instead of in God.Then he gets honest about the one the culture loves to downplay: sexual immorality. Norense breaks down why sex is spiritual, what a soul tie actually is, and how the enemy weaponizes people and past connections to keep you cycling through shame, isolation, and emptiness. This isn't condemnation — it's a roadmap out.In this episode:Why the real war is spiritual — "we wrestle not against flesh and blood"The subtle vices most people overlook: self-deception, unbelief, and performance identityWhy "you are always being led" — and the real question is who is leading youWhat a soul tie is, why sex creates one, and how to break it through ChristHow the enemy uses people as weapons — the stories of Balaam, Samson, and DelilahWhy anything that dominates you — your attention, intention, and surrender — is not from GodThe difference between deliverance and freedom — and why the Israelites kept wanting to go backPractical "blockades": how to set real-world parameters that protect your walkWhy nothing external ever satisfies — and how to let God purify your desiresKey Truth: "Deliverance is the opportunity to be free — but you still have to walk in freedom. Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh."Key Verse: Galatians 5:16 — Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.⚠️ A note: This episode touches on shame, addiction, and mental health. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available — you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.If this episode hit you:Rate and review the Mind Bully Podcast — it helps this message reach more homes and hearts, one thought at a time.New episodes every week | @mindbullypodcast | @kingno_

00:00:00 Numbers 1 – Numbering the Men of War from Twenty Years Old and Upward00:07:24 Numbers 2 – Order of the Camps and Standard of the Host of Israel00:11:55 Numbers 3 – Charge of the Levites and Redemption of the Firstborn00:19:08 Numbers 4 – Service of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites00:26:26 Numbers 5 – Restitution for Trespass and Water of Jealousy00:31:02 Numbers 6 – Vow of a Nazarite and the LORD Bless Thee and Keep Thee00:35:11 Numbers 7 – Dedication Offerings of the Twelve Princes of Israel00:45:54 Numbers 8 – Lighting the Seven Lamps and Cleansing of the Levites00:49:33 Numbers 9 – Passover Kept in the Wilderness and Cloud Covering the Tabernacle00:53:16 Numbers 10 – Two Trumpets of Silver and Departure from Mount Sinai00:58:00 Numbers 11 – Burning at Taberah, Quails, and Seventy Elders Endued with the Spirit01:03:32 Numbers 12 – Miriam's Leprosy for Speaking Against Moses01:05:43 Numbers 13 – Twelve Spies Sent to Search out the Land of Canaan01:09:47 Numbers 14 – Murmuring of the People and Forty Years Wandering Proclaimed01:16:11 Numbers 15 – Offerings of the Land, Sabbath Stoning, and Fringes on Garments01:21:40 Numbers 16 – Rebellion of Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and the Earth Opening Her Mouth01:28:45 Numbers 17 – Rod of Aaron Budded, Blossomed, and Yielded Almonds01:30:37 Numbers 18 – Portion of the Priests, Levites, and Tithes of the Tithes01:36:16 Numbers 19 – Sacrifice of the Red Heifer and Water of Separation01:39:55 Numbers 20 – Moses Smiteth the Rock at Meribah and Death of Aaron01:43:58 Numbers 21 – Serpent of Brass and Defeat of Sihon and Og01:49:08 Numbers 22 – Balak Sendeth for Balaam and the Ass Speaketh01:55:21 Numbers 23 – Parables of Balaam: God Is Not a Man That He Should Lie01:59:24 Numbers 24 – Prophecy of a Star Out of Jacob and Sceptre Out of Israel02:03:07 Numbers 25 – Whoredom at Baalpeor and Zeal of Phinehas02:05:34 Numbers 26 – Second Census of the Children of Israel in the Plains of Moab02:13:42 Numbers 27 – Inheritance of the Daughters of Zelophehad and Joshua Set Before Eleazar02:16:57 Numbers 28 – Daily Continual Burnt Offering, Sabbath, and Feast Days02:21:13 Numbers 29 – Offerings for Feast of Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles02:26:21 Numbers 30 – Vows of Maidens, Wives, and Husbands Disannulling Them02:29:04 Numbers 31 – Vengeance upon Midian and Division of the Prey02:35:25 Numbers 32 – Reuben, Gad, and Half Tribe of Manasseh Settle Transjordan02:41:16 Numbers 33 – Journeys of the Children of Israel from Rameses to Moab02:46:48 Numbers 34 – Borders of the Land of Canaan and Princes Appointed02:50:13 Numbers 35 – Levite Cities and Cities of Refuge for the Slayer02:55:13 Numbers 36 – Inheritance of Daughters Marrying Within Their Own TribeDownload One-Year Reading Plan:https://andrewhorval.substack.com/p/kingjamesbibleinoneyearBooks:https://andrewhorval.substack.com/p/booksPodcast & More:https://andrewhorval.substack.com

Roman revolution; Tens, hundreds and thousands; Family organization; Army of the Teutons; Arts of warfare; Germany today; Voluntarism; Government funding for private schools?; Sacrifice; Parental involvement; Removal of history in schools; Bible and government; Capitalism?; Socialism?; Knowing the "real" problem; Seeing our own faults; Degeneration of Sweden; Repentance; Honoring father and mother; Corban of Pharisees; Herod's welfare; Cain and Abel; Seeking God's opinion; Altars?; Two trees (sources); Drowned cat story; Darkened eyes; Idiotes; Knowing Moses and Christ and their Way; Christ's commands; Organized Christianity; Sovereignty?; Joining the Living Network; Pure Religion; Conquered people; Nicolaitan and Balaam; Jesus set the captive free; Welfare snares and traps; Forcing your neighbor; Socialism in America; Setting your neighbor free from your desire for them to provide your benefits; Leaven of modern Christianity; Loving the light; Born again?; Rome's free bread; Public religion; Strengthening the poor; The Sin of Sodom; National Adultery?; Force vs Charity; Fleshpots?; Tithes; Tribute; Freewill offerings; Allegiance vs Faith; "legal"; Scillitan Martyrs; Ring of Power; Coveting neighbors' goods; Leading the blind; Are you beginning to see?; Mt 15:14; Lk 4:18; Share the light given you; Going the way of righteousness; Will God show you?; Loving others; Jn 9:39 - Judgment; Lk 6:39; Perfection?; Ability to make things; Work and sacrifice; What is truth?; Viewing History; Societal degeneration; Pices of the puzzle; Chaos from the Tree of Knowledge; Solution in the Tree of Life; Holy Spirit; "We the People"; Puppeteering puppeteers; Supporting Righteousness; Evolving economics; Just weights and measures; Capitalism; How the kingdom functions; Human resources?; Evidence of sin; Sodomy, divorce, abortion; Sacrificing unrighteousness; Born again - in the kingdom of God; Self-infliction of injury; Compounding bad choice; Early Church = entire social welfare for Christians; Follow the ways of Christ, Moses and Abraham.

 Ask most Christians about the Prophet Balaam, and they will tell you about his talking donkey. But there is an ancient prophecy that Balaam uttered that stretches to the final chapter of the Bible. Standing atop Mount Nebo, Archaeologist Clayton Van Huss weaves biblical insight with historical background as he describes Balaam's prophecy of a Star and a Scepter. Josh Davis wraps up today's episode by turning to Revelation 22 to show how Jesus will fulfill this prophecy.               

In this episode, the hosts examine Charles Spurgeon's sermon “Walking in the Light of the Lord,” preached from Isaiah 2:5: “O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.” The discussion begins by placing a widely shared Spurgeon quote about the Jews back into its original sermon context, then expands into a challenging Bible study on Israel, the church, the Gentiles, Zionism, dispensationalism, prophecy, and Christian political influence.The hosts read Isaiah 2:1–5 and consider whether the passage points to the millennial reign, the future restoration of Israel, and a time when the nations will seek the teaching of the Lord. They discuss the distinction between natural Israel and the spiritual people of God, the grafted olive tree, the rejection of the Messiah, and Spurgeon's call for Christians to pray for the conversion and ingathering of the Jewish people.A major question runs throughout the episode: What does it actually mean to “bless Israel”? The conversation compares modern political and military support for Israel with the biblical call to seek a people's true good through repentance, salvation, and faith in Jesus Christ. Passages and concepts include Genesis 12, Numbers 22–24 and Balaam, Numbers 24:9, Galatians 3, Jacob and Esau, covenant blessings and curses, the birthright, and the Messiah as the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham.The episode also explores whether politics flows downstream from culture, how churches shape political narratives, Donald Trump's populist movement, the Epstein files, propaganda, MKUltra, and the tension between political power and the local mission of the church. In the final section, Spurgeon's sermon turns toward evangelism, the joy of seeing converts come to Christ, the meaning of blessing God, free will, Christian service, house-church fellowship, new converts, spiritual zeal, Luke 5 and the old wine, and the danger of becoming lukewarm inside religious institutions.How should Christians think biblically about Israel without surrendering discernment to either political extreme? Share your perspective in the comments.Patreon (Watch Live episodes, early & ad free): https://www.patreon.com/NephilimDeathSquadWebsite & Merch: https://nephilimdeathsquad.comListen/Watch:Audio Podcast: nephilimdeathsquad.carrd.co/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NephilimDeathSquadX: https://twitter.com/NephilimDSquadInstagram: https://instagram.com/nephilimdeathsquadFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/share/1AscxBNoH4/ Contact: chroniclesnds@gmail.com TopLobsta:X: https://twitter.com/TopLobstaInstagram: https://instagram.com/TopLobstaMerch: https://TopLobsta.comRaven:X: https://twitter.com/DavidLCorboInstagram: https://instagram.com/ravenofndsCredits:Intro Animation: @jslashr on XMusic: @Dallas_spitfire on X | https://gmbpod.com/ Listen to full intro music here!https://m.soundcloud.com/gmbsounds/nephilim-death-squad?utm_source=mobi&utm_campaign=social_sharing Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nephilim-death-squad--6389018/support.☠️ Nephilim Death Squad — New episodes 5x/week.Join our Patreon for early access, bonus shows & the private Telegram hive.Subscribe on YouTube & Rumble, follow @NephilimDSquad on X/Instagram, grab merch at toplobsta.com. Questions/bookings: chroniclesnds@gmail.com — Stay dangerous.

The weekly adult Sunday School class at OAG taught by long time teacher, Mrs. Jeanie Davis.** Edited to remove personal information shared in the class and extended pauses **Title: When God Can Use a Donkey, He Can Use YouSummary: A walk through the story of Balaam and his talking donkey in Numbers 22 reveals how God pursues our attention through small warnings before bigger ones, and how ordinary faithfulness with whatever gifts we have can carry real spiritual weight.Approximate Outline:00:00 - Old hymnals and cursive comeback01:12 - Setting up the lesson on donkeys03:56 - Balak fears Israel, sends for Balaam06:12 - Balaam refuses, then Balak tries again08:33 - Preparing to ride, preparing to obey09:58 - The angel blocks the road three times15:15 - The donkey speaks17:34 - Balaam's eyes are opened20:57 - What we learn from a stubborn donkey22:44 - Using the gifts God gave you

Main Passage: Numbers 22-25The story of Balaam is a strange one. God speaks through a donkey to get his attention! The stranger part is that Balaam still had trouble deciding whether He would follow the Lord or chase after the world. God asks us too whether we will be a blessing or a curse to those around us.

"Balaam's Blessing"Series: Book of NumbersSpeaker: Nick LauerSunday MorningDate: 2nd August 2026Passage: Numbers 23:1-24:25

Stoning Stephen? Jesus: King and high priest; What the Pharisees had wrong about Moses; "Leaven"; "Circumcision" ritual; Witchcraft; Unmooring metaphor from meaning; Tree of Life; Justin's apology explaining how the kingdom works; Pliny the younger; Scillitan martyrs trials; Conflict between Christianity and the "world"; Christ's government; "word": rhema vs logos; Genius of Jesus; Yeast?; Christian checklist; Mystery (Secret) Babylon; Idolatry; Terah; Melchizedek (Righteous king); Old testament long lifespans; Blessing of Abraham; Human resources; Is Jesus Christ your king?; Do you eat at the table of another?; Benefits; Benefactors; "Temples"; Swearing by the genius of Caesar; "Son of God"?; "Religion"; Government dole; Reward of unrighteousness; Freewill offerings; Charity; "Corban"; vs forced offerings; Deception; Cursing leaders; Doing what Christ said to do; Prov 1:14 One purse; Ownership of YOU; NY Muslims and Communists?; Prov 23:1; Imaginary wisdom; Humility; Christ's coming upon a cloud - to Caiaphas; Ananias?; Privy council?; Appetite for benefits; Seek His kingdom and righteousness - First; Following Christ's commands; Reasons God won't hear you; Repentance; "We the People"; Your salvation?; The "name" of Jesus; New testament prophecy; Ez 11:3; "Israel?"; Civil law; Micah 3:3; Flesh eating?; Following the money; Children of Israel; Sitting in faith; Bless/pray for leaders; Ex 22:28; "gods"; Violating God's law; Commissioner of care; The way back; Becoming Israel; Caring via faith, hope and charity; Loving neighbor as self; Lev 19:14; Stumbling block; Biting one another; Letting God open your eyes; Choosing good and righteousness; Mt 5:44 loving your enemies; Lk 6:28; Rom 12:14; 1 Cor 4:12; James 3:10; 1 Pe 3:9; Judging?; Usurping God; Jude 1:11 going after the way of Cain, Balaam, Core; Lk 16:9; "mammon"; Trusting Caesar; or Trusting Christ; Holy Spirit guidance; Mt 5:19; Not Okay to eat at table of rulers; Leaven = oppression; 2 Cor 6:14; Saving others; 1 Cor 6:9; No forcing; Avoid covetous practices.

When you have nowhere to turn, you're not alone because the very presence of God stands with you there and will bring you through it. -------- Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible. Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.   Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

From “In the Beginning” to Amen –What Does God Really Want of Me? Micah 6:6-8 (NLT)“What can we bring to the LORD? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:1-5 (NLT)“Listen to what the LORD is saying: ‘Stand up and state your case against me. Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints. And now, O mountains, listen to the LORD 's complaint! He has a case against his people. He will bring charges against Israel. O my people, what have I done to you? What have I done to make you tired of me? Answer me! For I brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you. Don't you remember, my people, how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed and how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead? And remember your journey from Acacia Grove to Gilgal, when I, the LORD, did everything I could to teach you about my faithfulness.'” God Doesn't Want Empty Religion 1 Samuel 15:22 (NASB)Samuel tells Saul: "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams." Hosea 6:6 (NKJV)“I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." Amos 5:21-24 (NIV)“I hate your festivals…I will not accept your offerings…Instead, let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Isaiah 1:11-17 (NLT)“God says, ‘I am tired of your offerings. When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony? Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting— they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them! Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.'" Obedience Has Always Mattered More Than Ceremony God Has Told Us What He Wants (Micah 6:8) Do Justly or Do Justice Love Mercy Matthew 18:33 (NLT)“Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?” Walk Humbly with God Do Justice. Love Mercy. Walk Humbly with God. The Gospel Isn't "Try Harder”, It's "Trust Christ.” God Isn't Interested in or Impressed by Religious Activity That Leaves Our Character Unchanged

This sermon examines the story of Balaam in Numbers 22 to warn against treating God as someone who can be manipulated to fulfill our own desires. Although Balaam spoke about God, his heart was driven by greed and self-interest, reminding us that false spirituality can sound convincing while masking sinful motives. The message emphasizes that spiritual blindness comes from stubbornness and pride, while true spiritual insight is a gift that only God can give.

"Balaam's Donkey"Series: Book of NumbersSpeaker: Nick LauerSunday MorningDate: 26th July 2026Passage: Numbers 22:1-41

Send us Fan MailDownload study notes for this chapter.Download study notes for this entire book.**********Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®, NIV ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.The “NIV”, “New International Version”, “Biblica”, “International Bible Society” and the Biblica Logo are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.  Used with permission.BIBLICA, THE INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY, provides God's Word to people through Bible translation & Bible publishing, and Bible engagement in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. Through its worldwide reach, Biblica engages people with God's Word so that their lives are transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ.Support the show

While Jesus encourages the church in Pergamum for their faith and holding fast to Him, He gives a sharp rebuke regarding their compromise specifically in the areas of idolatry and sexual immorality. In this study, Nathan dives into Revelation 2:13–15, the doctrine of Balaam, and how we as Christians are called to be different than the world.------------» Take these studies deeper and be discipled in person by Nathan, Eric, Leslie, and the team at Ellerslie in one of our upcoming discipleship programs – learn more at: https://ellerslie.com/be-discipled/» Receive our free “Five Keys to Walking Through Difficulty” PDF by going to: https://ellerslie.com/subscribe/» For more information about Daily Thunder and the ministry of Ellerslie Mission Society, please visit: https://ellerslie.com/daily» If you have been blessed by Ellerslie, consider partnering with the ministry by donating at: https://ellerslie.com/donate/» Discover more Christ-centered teaching and resources from Nathan Johnson that will help you grow spiritually by checking out his website at: https://deeperchristian.com/

Jude 8-11 Jude warns about people who reject God's authority, trust their own desires instead of His truth, and speak arrogantly about things they don't understand. By comparing them to Cain, Balaam, and Korah, he shows that rebellion against God always leads to destruction unless there is repentance.

Wednesday July 15, 2026VII Week after PentecostToday's episode reveals that God's purposes cannot be overturned, our greatest battle is within, and Jesus alone is the cornerstone of God's kingdom.In Numbers 22:41–23:12, Balaam is taken to curse Israel, but every attempt is transformed into a blessing. Instead of speaking Balak's words, Balaam can only declare what God has spoken. The passage reminds us that no human scheme can reverse God's blessing or frustrate His sovereign plans. When God has determined to bless His people, His purposes will stand.In Romans 7:13–25, Paul gives an honest picture of the believer's struggle with sin. Though he delights in God's law, he finds another battle raging within him. His famous cry, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” points us to the only answer: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Victory over sin is not found in greater willpower but in the grace of Christ.Finally, in Matthew 21:33–46, Jesus Christ tells the parable of the wicked tenants, exposing Israel's leaders for rejecting God's messengers and ultimately God's Son. He declares that the rejected stone has become the cornerstone, revealing that God's kingdom is built upon Christ, and those who reject Him reject the very foundation of salvation.Together, these passages remind us that God's plans cannot be defeated, our deepest struggles are overcome only through Christ, and Jesus is the cornerstone upon whom every life must be built.

Send us Fan MailDownload study notes for this chapter.Download study notes for this entire book.**********Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®, NIV ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.The “NIV”, “New International Version”, “Biblica”, “International Bible Society” and the Biblica Logo are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.  Used with permission.BIBLICA, THE INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY, provides God's Word to people through Bible translation & Bible publishing, and Bible engagement in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. Through its worldwide reach, Biblica engages people with God's Word so that their lives are transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ.Support the show

Anchor Passage: (Numbers 22-25)The story of Balaam—a pagan prophet who says the right things outwardly, but really seeks personal gain and power—is referenced three times in the New Testament. His heart is set against God's people, even after God miraculously uses a talking donkey to offer correction. Join us as we see what this story teaches us about our heart posture and how God protects His people!

Send us Fan MailDownload study notes for this chapter.Download study notes for this entire book.**********Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®, NIV ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.The “NIV”, “New International Version”, “Biblica”, “International Bible Society” and the Biblica Logo are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.  Used with permission.BIBLICA, THE INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY, provides God's Word to people through Bible translation & Bible publishing, and Bible engagement in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. Through its worldwide reach, Biblica engages people with God's Word so that their lives are transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ.Support the show

Show Notes:: What would Jesus say about your church... or your heart? Could today's churches be repeating the same mistakes? More importantly, what would Jesus say if He wrote a letter to us? The seven churches in Revelation weren't written to just for believers living in the first century. They were written to reveal the spiritual condition of Christ's Church—and they still speak powerfully to us today. In this week's episode of Real Talk Christian Podcast, Chris Fuller walks verse-by-verse through Revelation 2–3, exploring the historical background of each church and the timeless message Jesus gave to them. From the church that lost its first love, to the church that remained faithful through suffering, to the lukewarm church that had become spiritually complacent, each letter serves as both a warning and an invitation. Grab your Bible and join us as we discover how these ancient letters continue to challenge, encourage, and call believers to repentance, faithfulness, and wholehearted devotion to Christ.   //Resources Used In This Episode// Revelation 2-3 https://learn.ligonier.org/devotionals/to-the-church-in-ephesus https://learn.ligonier.org/devotionals/to-the-church-at-smyrna https://www.diggingfortruth.org/digging-deeper/church-at-pergamos https://www.gotquestions.org/doctrine-of-Balaam.html https://learn.ligonier.org/devotionals/to-the-church-in-thyatira-i https://www.diggingfortruth.org/digging-deeper/church-of-sardis https://www.inspiringfaith.us/philadelphia-turkey-the-faithful-church https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/podcasts/carson-center/historical-context-lessons-laodicea-principles-biblical-interpretation/   //Other Episode You Might Enjoy// https://realtalkchristianpodcast.com/episodes/295-revelation-think-again/ https://realtalkchristianpodcast.com/episodes/146-are-you-prepared/ https://realtalkchristianpodcast.com/episodes/076-the-rapture-of-the-church/ https://realtalkchristianpodcast.com/episodes/226-how-do-you-find-joy-in-difficult-times/ https://realtalkchristianpodcast.com/episodes/168-am-i-spiritually-ready-a-look-at-matthew-251-13/   // Helpful Links // https://www.youtube.com/@realtalkchristianpodcast The Christian Standard Bible: https://csbible.com Lifeway Christian Resources: www.lifeway.com Got Questions?: www.gotquestions.org Dwell Bible App: https://dwellapp.io Cross Formed Kids from Ryan Coatney: https://www.crossformedkids.com RTC Quick Links: https://linktr.ee/realtalkchristianpodcast RTC Online: www.realtalkchristianpodcast.com Twin Valley Coffee:  https://www.coffeehelpingmissions.com Revive festival : Music Festival | En Gedi Music Fest | Leonidas, MI (myrevivefest.com) Let Them Live: https://letthemlive.org Shut Side Baptist Church - https://www.southsidesbc.org/

You haven't rejected Jesus. You've just stopped letting Him be Lord of every room.This is Part 3 of SEVEN LETTERS, a series walking through Jesus' letters to seven real churches in the book of Revelation. In His letter to the church in Pergamum, Jesus confronts a community that held on to His name—but slowly made peace with the very things He called them to resist. The question isn't whether you believe in Jesus. It's whether He's actually in charge.Whether you've been drifting without realizing it, feeling the pressure to keep your faith quiet, or wondering how the church keeps losing its edge in culture—this message cuts right to the center of it.In this message you'll discover:- Why "reducing Jesus from King to consultant" is more dangerous than outright rejection- How the ancient compromise of the Pergamum church mirrors the exact pressure Christians face today- What the story of Balaam reveals about false teachers and spiritual drift in the modern church- The meaning behind the white stone—and why it matters more than the world's verdict on who you areKey Scriptures: Revelation 2:12-17, Numbers 22-25, 1 John 2:18, John 6Support Our Ministry: https://my.flatironschurch.com/give-to-online-campusStay Connected:Website: https://flatironschurch.comFacebook: https://Facebook.com/flatironsInstagram: https://Instagram.com/flatironschurchBring the awesome life of Christ to people in a lost and broken world. This is the mission of Flatirons Church, led by Jim Burgen and based in Lafayette, CO, with multiple locations in Colorado and online.