You have heard the message of Balaam's ass preached all of your life, how the ass preached for God just like the rooster preached to Peter.

This message comes from the New Testament about Jesus sending the disciples to find the ass that was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9 regarding the Lord's triumphal ride into Jerusalem.

Now you know that I use different "types" to preach from. I have preached about eagles, dogs, fish, lawnmowers, motels, trees, horses, buzzards and many other things which you can compare to Church, or even the typical Christian.

So, stay with me. And remember, if the saddle fits you have to wear it. O.K.?

As a young boy I used to watch Festus on the show, GunSmoke not knowing that I would one day meet folks in the Church meaner than a mule, or as the Bible calls them... an ass.

You can find this same story in the Gospels of Mark and Luke as well.

Lets read Matthew 21:1-7:

Matthew 21:1-7 (KJV) And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

First, look closely at verses 2 and 3. You will find an ass and a colt (her baby).

Second, "the Lord hath need of Her (the ass)." Now this ass was obedient and ready
to be used by God, just like Balaam's ass was used against a preacher in Numbers 22.

Oh I wish that some preachers and church members were obedient like this simple animal, ready for the masters use.

I want you to know that God could use this ass because she was.

* Not A Stubborn Ass — She was obedient to Christ and the Holy Ghost. Now GOD cannot use a stubborn ass. You will never be used by GOD if you're stubborn and self willed.

Baptist folks are more stubborn than any jackass I have ever met! Amen! It reminds me of the Quaker who owned a stubborn ass. One day when the quaker had a job to do, the ass just stopped in the road and would not budge. The quaker pulled and pulled, but no results, so he leans over the mule's big ears and says, "Thou knowest that I am a Quaker, and thou knowest that I cannot curse thee, and thou also knowest that, me being a quaker cannot strike thee. But what thou knowest not is that I can sell thee to a Baptist."

Remember what God did with Jonah and his stubbornness?

This ass was ready to be used, when she was needed. I Pray this day that you will let GOD break your stubborn will so Christ can use you in his service.
I wonder, sometimes because of our stubbornness, how many we have hurt, and run off from the church, just because they were not just like us, and didn’t grow as fast as us, you mean spirited stubborn cuss.

The ass that Jesus used was obedient, not stubborn.

* Not A Smart Ass - This mule's IQ might not have been as high as others, but he had enough scense to follow Jesus! Regarding Balaam's ass: 2 Peter 2:16 tells us that he was a dumb ass, but still preached to that rascal, Balaam. I like what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:26-27:  "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;"

One thing that makes me sick is the man who gets up and brags about his Doctor's degree (Remember that most are just honorary, not earned). A degree is alright as long as it's not less than thirty two degrees Fahrenheit! Just somebody brown-nosing you to get you to support their Jewish ministry, or so they can drop your name some where.  (Now this is not meant for all honorary degrees or anyone that has labored in seminary, and gotten a real Doctorate  degree.  You can be proud of your accomplishments!)

Another thing that bugs me is to hear a preacher get up and say, “well, I am just a dumb country preacher!" Why in God's name don’t you just shut your mouth! After you've been there for five minutes, they will KNOW that you're dumb! Amen! Amen!

Why would a man get up and say he aint a preacher then spend thirty minutes proving it????
Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be around a "know it all." See if you think anyone can teach you anything. If you're not teachable then you're really a dummy! So you that has gotten to go to Bible School; don’t look down your nose at somebody who hasn’t. Maybe they are depending on GOD to teach them! Because, what I'm seeing coming out of our colleges are all coming out the same size and stuffed with the same thing!


*Not A Self Righteous Ass — Luke 18 said as he stood by that poor ole sinner saying, "God, I have never committed adultery, I fast twice a week, I pay my tithes. I'm not like this other fella."  Pharisee! Legalist! Those that look down their long mule nose at folks makes God and me sick!
Oh yes! We have our Baptist Taliban and our religious snipers that hide, and shoot you in the back with gossip. Yes, many brethren have fallen from friendly fire.

Hey young Preachers! Stop trying to be a copycat! Quit trying to be controversial and arrogant, with the martyr syndrome! Be yourself, NOT a copycat.

Look what was inscribed on the tombstone of a young, copycat preacher who followed these Pharisees:

Here lies the body of
Reverend Billy Poppy
He was born an original
But he died a copy.

Have you ever picked a self-righteous person's brain to see what they believe?

Here's some of their definitions:

A - Legalist: Anyone with one more conviction than I have.

B - Liberal: Anyone with one less conviction than I have.

C - Heretic: Anyone who believes something that I don’t believe.

D - Cultist: Anyone who does not follow the man that I follow.

E - Out of God's will: Anybone who doesn’t do what I tell them to do.

F - God's hand is off them: Anyone I don’t like

G - Lost: Anyone (especially a Christian) that I am mad at

H - Unpardonable Sin: Anyone who disagrees with me.

I - Sin unto death: Anyone who crosses me

Amen!  This is the self-righteous crowd that thinks they have their very own place in the Godhead, and God Himself has appointed them to say who can and cannot preach; You know, the F.B.I. - Fundamental Bureau of Investigation. Do you remember in the old movie, "The Fugitive," where a man was always on the run from the FBI. That's what it's like to have this crowd on yor back! Here's the solution: Stop running, and tell that crowd that they can eat your dirty socks, and go ahead and serve God! Since they didn’t call you, they cannot uncall you.

I call these guys "Muzzelems." They muzzle whoever lets them! And, if you let them stop you, you aren't called anyway! Amen!

I know preachers who are so full of their self-righteousness that they autograph their own Bibles when they're done preaching!

Jesus said that they like  to have the uppermost seat. I can tell you that the only seat they will ever have will be at the bus station, in the men's bathroom.

My prayer today is that in this simple little message you will learn from this beast of burden, that God Almighty will never use you if you're Stubborn, a Smarty, or Self-righteous. 

I say that if you're going to be an ass, be like the one that God can use!