To be as wise a serpent you must be capable of stopping.
As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging.
Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was.
They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.
And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
AND JESUS STOPPED and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him,
“What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!”
And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”
Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.
Luke 18:35-43 (NASB)
Jesus was capable of stopping.
As Jesus approached Jericho, He heard a cry which stopped Him in his tracks. It was blind Bartimaeus who stopped Jesus Christ on His journey to Jerusalem. Jesus Christ was capable of stopping even though He was already in motion. A good minister must be able to stop dead in his tracks. You must be able to stop what you are doing even though you are already in motion. There are crusades that we had prepared for that we simply stopped. Why not? You must be able to stop! A good car must be able to stop anywhere! A good minister must be able to stop preaching after twenty minutes if that is what is required of you. It cannot be that you can only preach for one hour.
God is teaching you how to manoeuvre. To be as wise as a serpent, you must be flexible, ready to go for days but also be ready to stop dead in your tracks. Balaam the prophet was unable to stop going in the wrong direction even though the angel warned him. That is a very dangerous thing. In the end, the donkey was forced to speak to the prophet.
And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.
Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
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