Falling Down With Eyes Wide Open

Pastor Bill Brannan explains how a revelation of who God is, who we are in Him and what he is doing positions us to be a part of what God is doing in our generation.

Summary

Pastor Bill Brannan talks about our identity in Christ by examining Balaam’s visions concerning Israel in the wilderness.  Israel’s enemies were committed to keeping them from their God promised inheritance, but because of those who believed, Israel received what God had for them.  Unfortunately many were robbed of the dignity of their calling because they saw from man’s perspective rather than God’s.  When people receive a true revelation of who God is, who we are as His people and as individual believers, and of what God is doing in the world today, we position ourselves to be a part of what God is doing in our generation.

Outline

1. Introduction

   1. Lifesprings is part of a move of God on the earth today…we are not alone…other churches and believers are responding to the call of God in our generation.  THESE ARE EXCITING TIMES WE ARE LIVING IN!
   2. UNFORTUNATELY, Many people do not have a vision of what God is doing…There are many reasons why…just 2 that are common ARE #1:
      1. People often fix their eyes too much on what is wrong in the world…So many times people turn on the news…catch a vision that all things are falling apart…not the vision of faith which see….WE NEED THE CHURCH TO WAKE UP AND REALIZE THAT WE ARE PART OF GOD’S SOLUTION.
      2. VERY SUBTLE WAY – or just get caught up in the daily routine of our lives.
   3. This week I want stir a fresh revelation about  our identity in Christ and next week about empowerment for mission.
   4. Identity precedes function.
   5. As we get a greater vision of who God is, who we are as His people, and individually who we are in Christ we position ourselves to be a part of what God is doing today.   

2. To begin looking at identity, Let’s look at Israel in the wilderness

   1. What word would you use to describe them?  After reading about them, “rebellious” certainly comes to my mind.  Every step of the way they were discontent, complaining and rebellious.
      1. After God Himself spoke the 10 commandments to the whole assembly (Deut. 5) He called Moses up to the mountain to receive the 10 commandments written on tablets of stone.  Golden Calf when Moses is receiving the 10 Commandments.
      2. Complain about lack of water and food – God gives them quail until it comes out of their nostrils.
      3. The situation is well described in scripture: (Exodus 16:2–3, NKJV)  “Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.””
      4. THEY COULD NOT SEE WHO GOD IS AND WHO THEY WERE, OR WHAT GOD WAS DOING IN THEIR DAY…BECAUSE MANY DID NOT SEE, MANY DID NOT ENTER INTO THE PURPOSES OF GOD FOR THEM.

3. How did they appear to their enemies?  Toward the end of their 40 years in the wilderness:

   1. Balak King of the Moabites
   2. (Numbers 23:7–10, NKJV) “And he took up his oracle and said: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, From the mountains of the east. ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’ “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; There! A people dwelling alone, Not reckoning itself among the nations. “Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my end be like his!””
   3. (Numbers 23:18–24, NKJV) “Then he took up his oracle and said: “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor! “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, And the shout of a King is among them. God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox. “For there is no sorcery against Jacob, Nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’ Look, a people rises like a lioness, And lifts itself up like a lion; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain.””
   4. (Numbers 24:3–9, NKJV) “Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the riverside, Like aloes planted by the Lord, Like cedars beside the waters. He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. “God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox; He shall consume the nations, his enemies; He shall break their bones And pierce them with his arrows. ‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ “Blessed is he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you.””
   5. (Numbers 24:15–19, NKJV) “So he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult. “And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does valiantly. Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, And destroy the remains of the city.””

4. There are three primary visions Balaam saw

   1. A vision of God
      1. How mighty and powerful God is to accomplish His will.
      2. God in their midst.
      3. What God was doing by redeeming Israel from Egypt.
      4. God’s dream has always been the dream of the kingdom, to see people truly free and alive in His presence.
         1. A nation where God reigns – light, His law, love, righteousness & truth.
         2. When God threatened to destroy the people and Moses interceded…what would the nations say.
         3. America
   2. A revelation of the people of God.
      1. Joshua and Caleb.
      2. Grasshoppers in the land of Giants or the people of a mighty God.
      3. David before Goliath.
   3. Our Identity as children of God.
      1. Each person is attacked personally
      2. True Success
      3. Freedom to love

5. How about us today?  We need a fresh revelation from God.

   1. Paul’s Ephesian prayer
   2. (Matt. 16) Jesus in Caesarea Philippi
   3. Book of Revelation – letters begin with a revelation of Jesus

6. We Need to see:

   1. Jesus
      1. As we see him we become like Him.
   2. Who we are as sons.
      1. Identity – freedom to love one another.
      2. Ambassadors
      3. “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” (Matthew 28:18–20, NKJV)
      4. “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20, NKJV)
      5. Moses – authorized to go.
      6. Elisha – double portion – seeing Jesus
   3. The Church
      1. A people set apart.
      2. Extending the rule of God.
      3. Going into all the world
      4. Brining the nations into the obedience of Christ

7. Application

   1. We need a revelation of God.
   2. We need a revelation of who we are as children of God
   3. We need a revelation of who we are as the church.
   4. THERE IS A BATTLE OVER YOUR DESTINY, AND IT BEGINS WITH A VISION OF YOUR IDENTITY

8. When these three revelations converge, power is released.

   1. What is God doing here at Life Spring Church, what are we a part of.
   2. The enemy can see it.
   3. We need to see it and press in.

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