Compromised Potential

COMPROMISED POTENTIAL

10/11/2007

10/18/2007

Mark 8:22-25

22 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.

23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.

24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

(KJV)

Compromise of 1850 American History to 1865 A set of laws, passed in the midst of fierce wrangling between groups favoring slavery and groups opposing it, that attempted to give something to both sides.

The compromise admitted CALIFORNIA to the United States as a “free” (no slavery) state, but allowed some newly opened territories to decide on slavery for themselves.

SENATOR HENRY CLAY was a great force behind the passage of the compromise.

The Compromise of 1850 is an example of how difficult it was to accommodate the two sides of the slavery question. It failed to prevent the CIVIL WAR, which broke out barely ten years later.

Acts 2:17

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

(KJV)

*** You have the golden gem of potential but you can waste it by yielding to the wrong things.

Rom 6:16

16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

(KJV)

*** Balaam was a good example of someone who had potential but lost sight when he yielded to the spirit of compromise.

BALAAM Num 22:1-22

[BAY lum] (lord of the people)-- a magician or soothsayer who was summoned by the Moabite king BALAK to curse the Israelites before they entered Canaan .

A curious mixture of good and evil, Balaam wavered when he was asked by Balak to curse the Israelites.

But he finally agreed to go when the Lord specifically instructed him to go to Balak .

When the angel of the Lord blocked their way, the donkey balked three times and was beaten by Balaam, who had not seen the angel. Finally, after the third beating, the donkey spoke, reproving Balaam.

When the angel told Balaam, "Your way is perverse before Me" , Balaam offered to return home.

The angel told him to go on, however, and reminded him to speak only the words which God gave him to speak.

Balaam and Balak met at the River Arnon and traveled to "the high places of Baal" . From there they could see part of the Israelite encampment at Acacia Grove .

After sacrificing on seven altars, Balaam went off alone. When he heard the word of God, he returned to Balak and blessed the people whom Balak wanted him to curse.

The New Testament mentions Balaam in three passages.

Peter speaks of false teachers who "have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam" <2 Pet. 2:15>.

Jude speaks of backsliders who "have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit" <Jude 11>. Balaam’s error was greed or covetousness; he was well paid to bring a curse upon the people of Israel.

The nature of Balaam’s curse is made clear by John in the Book of Revelation. It refers to some members of the church in Pergamos who held "the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality" .

Before leaving Balak, Balaam apparently told the Moabite leader that Israel could be defeated if its people were seduced to worship Baal, "to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality" .

Indeed, this was exactly what happened: "The people [of Israel] began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. They invited the people to the sacrifice of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel" .

BALAAM

A battle was fought afterward with the Midianites, in which Balaam sided with them and was slain .

(from New Unger’s Bible Dictionary)

Num 24:1-4

1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.