Numbers 23: Spirit of Balak and Balam works through reporting

Those who backbite and gossip about you:  

Those that report you to the system, authority, etc in order

Glorifying God

Psa 50:23: Whoso offers praise glorifies me: and to him that orders his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.

Gal 5:14 says: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

TODAY, I want to stress the importance of loving yourself.

If you don’t love yourself, you will not love others.

- What is it about your neighbor that you must love?

- Who is your neighbor?

Those are questions for another day.

The question NOW is Do you love yourself?

If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love your neighbor!

Because you have to love your neighbor AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF.

- What is the love of self?

- How can you love yourself?

- How can you show love to yourself?

Love of self is not a selfish love or loving self, i.e., the flesh.

It is not giving your flesh ALL it wants all the time.

As a matter of fact it is the opposite…

è It is giving yourself (flesh) what it needs, and not what it wants.

Your flesh is human nature àit wants everything it doesn’t need.

Loving yourself means:

- Conquering your desires

- Being able to know what is good for yourself.

If your child wants a car at age 5, for example…

Loving yourself means:

- Eating what is good and nourishing, not junks

- Doing what is “age appropriate.”

- Dressing respectfully

- Exercising your body to keep moving

- Hydrating your body

- Nourishing your body enough to be healthy

Eph 5:28  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

Eph 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

- Physical

- Mental

- Spiritual

- Medical

- Social

- Environmental

The Lord will give you these P’s as you rise and go about your day today

1. Peace:

a. Psa 122:68: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

b. Vs 7: Peace be within thy walls, andprosperity within thy palaces.

c. Vs 8: For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.

d. Isa 60:18:  Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

2. Protection:

a. Psa 121:4:  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

3. Provisions:

a. Php 4:19:  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

4. Prosperity:

a. 3 Jn1:2:  Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

b. Psa 122 Vs 7: Peace be within thy walls, andprosperity within thy palaces.

5. Promotion:

a. Jas1:9:  Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

Philippians 3:13-14: "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Dear Lord, 

I pour out and release all negativities in my life. 

I let go all bitterness, hate, hurts, and resentment. 

I refuse to allow them to define who I am. I am strong and graceful. 

I attract goodwill, kindness, and love. 

I am worthy of your love, and I receive your mercy blessings into my life with gratitude in Jesus’ name.

I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right (Psa 9:1-4)

When we praise God with our WHOLE HEART, we will begin to demonstrate and manifest the works of God in our lives. He will put rejoicing in our heart and we will begin to sing songs of praise to him.

When we get to this point in our lives:

One other thing that happens when we praise God with our whole heart is in 2Cor10:5. The writer talks about bringing down every thoughts, imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God in our lives into obedience of Christ. 

This means that whatever negative thoughts or imaginations in the heart of anyone against you, your home, life, family, future etc will be arrested, shut down, and destroyed.

As we head out today and indeed everyday, let us learn to use this weapon of praise to achieve these wonderful miracles in our lives.

Many Christians are so blessed and so strong that they believe everything is about how far they can do. But it is hardly so. John in is epistle says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers” (3Jn 1:2).

While acknowledging the blessings of God in our lives as Christians, especially the sound health we have, in what other areas do we need to self-check ourselves and so that we do not abuse the grace of God in our lives?

This message talks about a few ways we can self-check ourselves in other to complementing the blessings of God in our lives. God bless you as you listen.

Gal 6:17: "From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."

What does MARK mean?

Mean many things but prominent among them are:

1. Sign of ownership

2. Identification

Example: Tribal marks: makes people to easily identify the tribe someone comes from.

This is powerful in the sense that it douses or removes contention, doubt, and questions.

When Paul says in Gal 6:17  From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus

He means:

- I belong to someone there let no man trouble me

- Let no sickness trouble me

- Let no poverty shame, etc trouble me

As Christians, what is interesting is that, we not only have the mark,

We have been bought with a price

1Cor 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

It’s like when something is offered in sacrifice to an idol

We are Christ’s.

He bought us with his blood

Let us pray and affirm that in all situation

…I am Christ’s

My home does not belong to

- the world

- sickness

- poverty

- disappointment

- etc

1Cor 7:23 says, “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.”

Confess that “I am not a servant of men, situation, system, or circumstances.

Col 3:3: For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

As we know, our lives as Christians is being dead to self and alive in the spirit.

Our text says we must consider ourselves as:

1. Dead

2. Then our life is hidden

There are some things that are not expected of a dead person

Rom 6:11also says,

“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

IN GNBV, RECKON means “…to think of yourselves as being dead…”

Think about the things dead people don’t do:

o Anger

o Worry

o Hate

o Unforgiveness

o Bitterness

o Resentment

o Revenge

o Backbiting

o Anger

o etc

It’s time to let go of these things in your life even if it is valid.

There is a valid reason for you to be angry, worry, bitter, hate revenge, etc

But dead people don’t have any valid reason to do anything

Col 3:5: Let go these things:

o sexual immorality,

o indecency,

o lust,

o evil passions, and

o greed (for greed is a form of idolatry).

Col 3:8:

o anger,

o passion, and

o hateful feelings.

o No insults or

o obscene talk must ever come from your lips.

REPLACE with

o sexual immorality àSexual Purity

o indecency àDecency in our dress, talk, walk

o lust (thirst) for material things àspiritual things

o evil desires, and

o greed (for greed is a form of idolatry).

o Anger à Patience

o passion, and

o hate à Love

o Insults àRespect

o Obscene talk àGraceful talk

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

What is evil days?

Jesus says in Mat 13:25: “But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.”

Sleeping time is one of the evil days because we don’t know what’s going on.

That’s why we need to fortify ourselves before we sleep.

We need to fortify ourselves anytime we translate from one state to another:

- From waking up to sleeping

- From working to resting

- From day to night

- From single to married

- From weekdays to weekends

As we translate to weekend today,

Let us fortify ourselves.

Fortify yourself with praise in your lips.