Satan, you can’t ride this ass anymore!!! May 2, 2003
Minister Willie O Richard, Jr. Pastor, Little Rock B C
Scripture: Numbers 22:21-31 also see 22:10-19
Have you ever felt that Satan was own your back to the point that you had been ridden into the ground?
Have you ever felt that the circumstances of your life had just about used you up?
Have you ever felt like throwing in the towel and saying, “that’s it, I’m not answering the bell for this round?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you’ve know how I’ve felt on a few occasions. You know how it feels to be so low that you have to look up to see the snakes belly.
I’m here to tell you this afternoon what God has put on my heart, and that is “Satan, you can’t ride this ass anymore”.
As we look at this story about Balaam, we see a man who, on the surface appears to be a God fearing man. Listen to this, read verses 10 -13.
This man, although a prophet of God was well known for his curses as well as blessings. On the surface one would think that this was a God fearing man. A man that had a relationship with God. A man that knew God and reverenced God. A man after God’s own heart. Those of you who think that way would all be wrong. Yes, Balaam had a respect for God. But he did not reverence God. He knew that Jehovah was a powerful God, but he also believed that there were also other Powerful gods.
Lets look at verses 15-18
As we can see Balaam had a respect for God, but he also had a price. He could be bought, and regardless to what God had to say about the matter, his greed far outweighed any fear that he had for God. And as we look into the life of this man we see the deception that is exposed when we present an outward facade of spirituality over a corrupt inner life. Balaam, like too many people, was a man who was ready to obey the commands of God, as long as there was something in it for him. There are too many of our brothers and sisters out there deceiving themselves and the world into thinking that their prosperity is somehow a blessing from God. Those of us that know the word of God knows that He rains on the just and the unjust, isn’t that right? This simply means that just because you have achieved a degree of prosperity and appear to be doing well, does not mean that you are being blessed by God. I refuse to believe that God blesses a man or woman who promotes promiscuity and lewdness, and yet, that is what most of our popular music artists do. I refuse to believe that exploitation and lasciviousness is approved by God, but that is the life style that many of our most popular people live, not only live but promote and endorse. God is not pleased with the way we are living, nor is He pleased with the fact that many of us will not stand up and acknowledge this fact.
It gets on my nerves to hear one of our young, gifted and black entertainers talk about how God has blessed them. Although they are right, they don’t know what they’re right about. They believe that the blessings of God are perpetrated in the fine homes that they live in, all the gold and diamonds they have. The hundred thousand dollar cars that they drive around in. They just don’t know that the only blessing from God they’re getting is the fact that they woke up this morning. That they still had good health, that their families were still OK. If having lots of things were all that reflected the goodness and blessings of God, everyone in here would be rich. The lot would be filled with Mercedes and Cadillacs and Rolls and Lexus’. But, we have to understand, that things are meaningful to us, not to God. True God fearing men and women know that there is so much more to the blessings of God then what we can see.
We have to understand His word in order to put all of these things into spiritual perspective. The word of God says to “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”. Well what is the truth, Brother Preacher?
I’m glad that you asked!
The truth that the word God reveals to us in this passage of scripture is this. We have been exposed to His word for much of our lives an although we may not be able to spout off chapter and verse as some can, God has revealed to us, through His word what He will and will not accept. Too many of us make questionable decisions because we want to somehow work around the word of God. 1 Thessalonians 5 says this, “Pray without ceasing, Quench not the Spirit, Abstain from all appearance of evil”. When we find ourselves in a questionable situation, you know what, we should pause and realize that if we have a question, then maybe we should not continue.
Satan, you can’t ride this ass anymore. The devil has had a fields day in too many of our lives. We have compromised and promised and compromised some more, trying to let him ride. Diane Christophe’s Mother has a song that she sings during speak meeting at Mt. Era. She says, “don’t let the devil ride”, cause if you let ride, he’ll want to drive, don’t let him ride. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the devil riding my behind into the ground.
Our scripture depicts a man, Balaam, and a donkey. When we look at the scripture in a spiritual perspective, we begin to understand that Balaam is the devil and the ass is us. And just like Satan, Balaam is trying to force the donkey to walk right into destruction. Not something that is hidden, maybe around the corner, out of sight, but destruction lying right in the path, in full view of us. But when we try to resist his urging, he starts to beat us. No, I’m not talking about a physical beating, because most of us would immediately run away. Im’ talking about spiritual beating and enticing. Just recently I discovered that one my little girls in the youth choir was pregnant. I wasn’t told that she was raped, so I can only conclude that her experience was consensual. Satan told her that he loved her and in order to prove that she loved him, she had to consent. Now I’m not calling the young man that did this Satan, but the spirit that drove him was nothing but the devil. We give in to too many things that we know are wrong, even though we know what the potential consequences are, just because every body else is doing it. We are looking at destruction and we still walk right into it. I had that lie told to me many times as a young man, especially when it came to drug abuse. Come on man, take a hit, it’s alright, every body’s doing it. My answer was simple to me. No they’re not, because I’m not doing it.
Satan, you can’t ride this ass anymore!! This life that we live while we are here will have it’s ups and downs. We are going to often see destruction standing right in our path. Most of us avoid it. Turn and run away. But some of us walk right into it, not because we don’t see it, but because we choose to believe that somehow we are immune to the mortality that others possess. We are bullet proof. They have not come grips with the fact that hell is too hot, and that eternity is too long. They don’t believe that the wages of sin is death, but gift of God is eternal life. They don’t understand the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when He said “the thief cometh not, but for to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that you might life, and that might have it more abundantly.” Jesus said, “ I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”
I wonder how many of you feel as I do, that Satan has had enough liberties in my life and it’s time that I started fighting back. It’s time to put the Word of God first in my life. It’s time to stop playing church and to realize God alone is the author and finisher of my faith. It’s time to finally realize what the Word of God was saying when He told us that the wages of death is sin, but the gift of God is eternal life. I came to give you life, life more abundantly. I believe that we need to get a new perspective on our reason for being here. God has no problem with us having things. He is not going to stop loving us because we aspire to have a big house or a luxury automobile. Those things, although important to many of us, are meaningless to Him. But let me tell you what God did say, Psalms 37 verse 4,”Delight thyself in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart”.
I don’t believe for one second that God has blessed this perverse generation with the things that we see. But God is blessing them with chance after chance after chance to turn from their wicked ways, and seek His face. Then and only then will He hear from heaven. Then and only then will He forgive their sin, and then and only then will He heal our land.
Is there one today. One who is just tired of this old life of sin that he or she has been living, and they want to know Jesus for themselves. If there is one, let them come now. Or perhaps you just want to make Little Rock your church home. Come!!
