THE WORD OF GOD IS NOT FOR SALE!

During the last 28 years of my life I have been very active my in local church. Growing up in Byesville it was Byesville Assembly of God, in college it was Park Avenue Assembly of God in Trooper, Pennsylvania, and then several places of ministry as a Youth Pastor and then as a Lead Pastor. The one thing that I have learned over these many years of serving the Lord is that doing the right thing and being popular often result in conflict. God has not called this preacher to be popular but has called me to speak the truth. As believers we have to do what is right, even though that makes us the outcast or unpopular.

Jesus was not always popular. The masses followed him but the religious leaders despised Him and in the end even the masses cried out for Him to be crucified. Judas betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver, His disciples scattered and even Peter (The Rock) denied Him. The awesome thing is that Jesus stayed True to His WORD and went to the Cross for us.

The message I preached on Sunday was Called "The WORD of God is NOT for Sale!" and was based on Numbers 23:10-14. We find that Balak, the king of Moab, tried to purchase the Word of Balaam against the Israelites. But instead God commanded Balaam to Bless the Israelites, and not to curse them. In this verse we find that when Balaam obeyed God, Balak became very angry with him. But Balaam replied: "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord – and I must say only what the Lord says" (Numbers 24:13).

We need more of us preachers to repeat the last portion of the scripture as we stand behind the pulpit every week – "and I must say only what the Lord says!" Balaam's honesty made him extremely unpopular with Balak. But speaking well of Israel was the right thing to do – because it was what God commanded him to do. We can speak the WORD in Love to our congregations without compromising the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I strongly believe that the we could very well be living in the last days and it is time we Proclaim the Truth!

Each and every one of us needs to remember that God's WORD is not for sale to the highest bidder. When we face those times of doing what is right and being popular, we need to ask God for the courage to do the right thing!