[Message] Pastor Jung Myeong Seok
[Scriptures] Acts 9:1-22
1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest
2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.
6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.
8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.
9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.
12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem.
14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.
16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,
19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.
20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.
21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”
22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
Numbers 22:13-33
13 The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”
14 So the Moabite officials returned to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
15 Then Balak sent other officials, more numerous and more distinguished than the first.
16 They came to Balaam and said: “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me,
17 because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.”
18 But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God.
19 Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else the Lord will tell me.”
20 That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”
Balaam’s Donkey
21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials.
22 But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
23 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.
24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides.
25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.
26 Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.
27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff.
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”
30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said.
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.
32 The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.
33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”
Hallelujah! I bid you the eternal love of God and the peace of the Holy Son.
When God, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Son are taking action through people with a certain purpose, They work in a reasonable and natural way by giving inspiration.
If what we are trying to do is not God’s Will,
God, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Son fulfill Their Will
and let Their Will--that those people want--be fulfilled in a better way
by blocking and frustrating the things we are doing.
First, They inspire. Second, They turn the situation around and block [what needs to be blocked].
You have to learn and know that God, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Son
take action in ‘these two ways.’
Then you will not misunderstand what God, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Son do,
and even in situations in which you might complain, you will be thankful, you will not feel left out, and instead be thankful, deeply moved, and will love the Trinity even more.
I am sure everyone has experienced this.
There is a <place that will kill you> but because you head there without knowing that, [He] kept you from going there by giving you inspiration.
It was <something you should not do> but because your physical nature is strong and makes you keep doing [what you should not do] with delight, [He] blocks you so you don’t do it by giving you inspiration.
However, because you keep doing as you have been doing even though you were given inspiration, [He] employs the <second way> and uses ‘an angel or a person’ to twist the situation around or to block what you were doing so it does not work out.
Some people are like this:
While they are about to go somewhere, Heaven gives them inspiration and turns the situation around and blocks them. So they say, "Ah! Something is up. There is a reason for this."
and they obey, are thankful and joyful, and do not go.
However, some people are like this:
When Heaven, knowing full well, gives inspiration and turns the situation around and blocks so that they don't go there or do that,
they complain and grumble according to their physical nature and go there and do it anyway.
God, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Son look after us even more because They love us.
Also, you should know ahead of time that
[the Trinity] is frustrating and blocking the path you are traveling on centering on yourself and the things you are doing centering on yourself with full knowledge in order to ‘make things better for you’ according to ‘Heaven’s Will,’ so be thankful!
Now that you know 'these two things' after listening to today's message, remember them everyday, and when praying, confess that you will observe [these two things],
and ask Them to definitely work upon you in these ways.
And when [the Trinity] work upon you in these two ways,
I bless you to entrust everything to Heaven,
not misunderstand the Trinity but understand Them,
fulfill God’s Will, and also fulfill your own will even better.