Balaam

 If you are not firm in your conviction that your integrity is not for sale, eventually, the enemy will make you an offer you can’t refuse. The same goes for your values and morals. Once you open the door to the possibility that they are for sale, all that’s left is the negotiations. You may not blink an eye at a dollar, but a million might make you pause and miss a step.

Too many believers are walking around with for-sale signs around their necks, and the enemy is taking full advantage of the discount. Especially when it comes to those who assert influence or authority over a number greater than two, the enemy is quick to promise fame and fortune to anyone who will go along with a particular narrative or spout some predetermined nonsense about how God was wrong in assigning Bob’s gender, and how Bob’s going to make a great mom someday.

That’s not the only thing, but it’s the newest thing, and you can tell who’s been bought and sold and bought again just by the way their narrative shifts and the stuff they regurgitate as though perfectly natural.

The enemy is great at scouting talent and making offers to those he sees as malleable or easily influenced, given the right kind of motivation. There are people who’d never dreamed of amassing the fortunes they have until they got into the pulpit pimping racket. You may think that sounds mean. I put it in the gentlest terms I could think of.

Some of the leading voices in Christendom today would be hard-pressed to get a job as a Walmart greeter. You know it, and I know it; they know it, and so does the devil. This is why they toe the line, say whatever is asked of them, and go along with the narrative. They like the mansions and fancy cars, private jets, and custom suits. They can’t risk speaking the truth and watching all that vanish in an instant. They know who butters their toast, and it’s no Wonder Bread they’re chowing on; it’s that brioche bread the French make that costs as much as a midsize sedan. Not really. I exaggerate for effect, but comparatively speaking, it’s pricy.

It’s not as though things were much different back in the day. Buying favors had become so commonplace that it even had a name. When the elders of Moab and Midian came to Balaam, they went with a diviner’s fee in tow. That’s what they called it back then. Nowadays, they call it exclusive content on Patreon. For only a few bucks a month, you, too, can get the inside scoop. A few bucks more, and you’ll get a personal prophecy authenticated by another prophet just to set your mind at ease in case it looks too generalized.

I’m sure ‘I will bless you going out and coming in’ is exclusive to you, personally. Well worth the $199.99 for that personal word from above.

At least Balaam had a gift. At least God really spoke to him. Some of these hucksters clogging up the interwebs wouldn’t know the voice of God if it boomed into their ears in the dead of night. Just as a public service to anyone who might read this, if someone is trying to exchange spiritual services for legal tender, run. Whether it’s one-on-one prophetic training, a personal prophecy, a word of wisdom, or the impartation of a gift, if they’re asking for the upfront payment first, it’s a scam, and you should avoid it at all costs.

The gifts of the Spirit can’t be taught. It is God via the Holy Spirit that imparts gifts, not man to man. I get that we’re all excited about the prospect of being spiritual powerhouses for Jesus, but the foremost question you must ask is if that is what Jesus wants for you. If it is, then wait patiently upon the Lord until He equips you, for only then will you be able to stand against the enemy and make war with him.

I understand that Brother Larry smacked you on the forehead and released the mantle of the fivefold ministry over your life, but maybe take a breath and see if it’s Biblical before you begin to wander the earth in search of demons to be cast out.

Jesus said He would make us fishers of men, not exorcists. If, within the context of carrying out the great commission, we happen upon one who needs deliverance, then by all means, but to make the casting out of demons our primary focus rather than preaching the gospel of Christ is not conducive to a healthy spiritual walk.

Balak had a problem, and in his estimation, Balaam was the fix. He didn’t bother to ask Balaam to inquire of the Lord; he knew what needed doing, sent the requisite diviner’s fee, and requested that Balaam come and curse the people of God because he feared them.

Balak was the king of the Moabites and knew just enough to be dangerous. He did not know the God of Israel, nor did he know it was from God that Balaam’s power flowed. He assumed Balaam’s words in and of themselves had magical powers, and if Balaam blessed a people, they were blessed, and if he cursed a people, they were cursed.

He needed help and knew just the man for the job. Given that, I can’t help but wonder if Balak knew of Balaam by reputation alone or if he’d employed his services on previous occasions. Granted, he’d never asked Balaam to curse Israel before, that we can deduce, but were there others, and if so, did Balaam inquire of the Lord before he set out to do Balak’s bidding on previous occasions?

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.