July 12 - A Talking Donkey - Doug Fields

Summary

Mariners Church Weekend Message – July 12, 2026

Episode Title: A Talking Donkey
Speaker: Doug Fields
Date: July 13, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this engaging and practical sermon, Doug Fields explores the story of Balaam and his talking donkey (Numbers 22–25, 31), drawing out timeless lessons about obedience, temptation, and the blessing of God. With humor and approachable analogies, Doug challenges listeners to consider whether there are “warning lights” in their lives they’re ignoring and reminds them that what God blesses, no one can curse.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Context: God’s People in the “In Between”

• Israel’s Journey: The Israelites are in the wilderness, rescued from Egypt but not yet in the Promised Land—living “in between.”
• Personal Application: “We’re also in the in between. God created us; we were enslaved to sin; Jesus rescued us. But we’re not yet in our forever home.” (04:00)

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2. Balaam, Balak, and the Power of a Curse

• Balak’s Fear: King Balak of Moab fears the Israelites’ numbers and seeks to hire Balaam, a pagan prophet, to curse them (06:08–07:09).
• What’s at Stake: “His weapon of choice is not a sword. His weapon of choice is a man, and the man's name is Balaam.” (06:36)
• Balaam’s Reputation: Known for blessings and curses that “work”, Balaam is a hired spiritual consultant (07:09).

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3. The First Warning: When God is Clear

• God’s Clear Command: God tells Balaam directly: “You are not to go with them... you are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.” (08:26–08:37)
• Doug’s Insight: “Do you see any wiggle room there? No, God is very, very clear.” (08:37)
• Balaam Seeks a Loophole: Despite God’s clear no, Balaam entertains Balak’s offer again after more money and prestige are put on the table (09:40–10:10).
  • “Balaam went from listening to God to looking for a loophole.” (10:34)
  • Notable Quote: “It’s not that God’s answers are unclear, it’s that God’s answers are unwelcomed now.” (12:59)

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4. Human Nature: Loopholes, Warning Lights, and Costco Stories

• Ignoring Warning Signs: Doug uses the metaphor of dashboard lights and Costco sample-taking to illustrate how people look for loopholes, even when they know the truth (01:53–03:25, 10:48–12:00).
  • Humorous moment: “That warning light has been on since the Obama administration, okay?...The car is fine!” (02:51)
  • “We don’t have a hearing problem. We have a heart problem.” (13:55)

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5. The Talking Donkey: God’s Drastic Intervention

• The Incident: On his way, Balaam’s donkey sees an angel, refuses to proceed, and then miraculously speaks to Balaam (14:11–17:12).
• Doug’s Reflection: “I don’t want you to think Disney. I want you to think deity—God in action. God went through dramatic measures to protect those he loves.” (17:08)
• Blind to Miracles: Balaam is so fixated on his payday that he misses the “God moments” right in front of him (17:55).

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6. Attempts to Curse What God Has Blessed

• Balaam's Oracles Turn to Blessings: Every attempt by Balaam to curse Israel results in blessing instead—“a Hallmark card comes out” (18:56–19:36).
• Messianic Prophecy: Balaam foretells “A star will come from Jacob, a scepter will arise from Israel”—a reference to Jesus (19:52–20:07).
  • Notable Quote: "The very mouth that was bribed to curse Israel is hijacked by God to talk about the future Savior, Jesus. I mean, that’s awesome.” (20:14)

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7. The Big Takeaway: What God Blesses, No One Can Curse

• Main Point: Doug instructs: “If you can remember one line, you got the whole message: What God blesses, no one can curse.” (20:43)
• Why It Matters: “People will come against you, but they can’t cancel you. People can accuse you, but they can’t condemn you.” (21:06)
  • Notable Quote: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (21:59)
• Confidence Not Cockiness: “It’s a confidence, not a cockiness. You’ve done nothing in your life to deserve to be cocky. Jesus did everything.” (22:12–22:26)

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8. Temptation and Self-Curse

• Dark Turn: Balaam, unable to curse Israel directly, advises King Balak to tempt the Israelites—with tragic results (23:41–25:13).
• Temptation’s Sneakiness: “The Moabite women did not go to the Israelites and say, ‘Hey, abandon your God.’ They went in the form of pleasure, a party...and that’s exactly how temptation works.” (23:55)
  • Notable Quote: “Satan won’t approach you wearing a name tag. 'Hi, I’m Satan. I’d like to ruin your life.'” (24:33)
• Balaam’s Legacy: Instead of cursing, he gives Balak the plan: “Seduce them. Send in temptation and they will curse themselves.” (25:41)

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9. Warnings for Today

• Don't Be Like Balaam: “Balaam was a punk. Balaam was a fraud. Don’t name your kid Balaam.” (26:38–26:52)
• New Testament Warnings: Balaam’s disobedience is held up as a caution by Peter, Jude, and even Jesus (27:08–27:23).
• Personal Confession: Doug admits times when his words didn’t match his heart and challenges the congregation to self-examination (27:55–28:16).

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10. The Heart of Obedience: Blessings and Loopholes

• Obedience Brings Blessing: “God’s blessing is somehow intimately connected with obedience...I’ve just observed in my own life...that obedience and God’s blessing seem to be connected.” (30:56)
• Why Some Don’t Feel Blessed: “They get so angry at God that their life is not blessed, but...there’s no evidence of obedience.” (31:16–31:29)
• Challenge: “Is there an area of your life right now where you’re not obeying God’s clear command?...That’s the warning light.” (32:09, 32:44)

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11. Gospel Assurance and Invitation

• Jesus, the True Obedient One: “Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person, Jesus, obeyed God, many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19, 32:33)
• Invitation: “I’m inviting you to respond to a love that you already have.” (33:41)
• Closing Prayer: Doug ends praying for courage to follow God’s commands and rest in the assurance that God’s blessing cannot be undone (34:47–34:56).
  • Notable Quote: “What God has blessed, no one can curse.” (repeated refrain)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “That warning light has been on since the Obama administration, okay? The car is fine.” — Doug, (02:51)
• “We don’t have a hearing problem. We have a heart problem.” — Doug, (13:55)
• “It’s not that God’s answers are unclear, it’s that God’s answers are unwelcomed now.” — Doug, (12:59)
• “I don’t want you to think Disney. I want you to think deity—God in action.” — Doug, (17:08)
• “The very mouth that was bribed to curse Israel is hijacked by God to talk about the future Savior, Jesus. I mean, that’s awesome.” — Doug, (20:14)
• “What God blesses, no one can curse.” — Doug, (20:43) [repeated throughout]
• “People will come against you, but they can’t cancel you.” — Doug, (21:06)
• “Satan won’t approach you wearing a name tag. 'Hi, I’m Satan. I’d like to ruin your life.'” — Doug, (24:33)
• “Obedience is simply doing the one thing you already know God has called you to do.” — Doug, (32:44)
• “Because one other person, Jesus, obeyed God, many will be made righteous.” — Doug, (32:33)
• “Leave with a sense of confidence that the same God who won’t let anybody curse what he has blessed, he looks at you...and says, ‘That one is mine.’” — Doug, (33:41)

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Important Timestamps

• Intro & Setup: 00:26–01:53
• The Balaam Narrative Begins: 04:45–07:09
• God’s Direct Answer & Balaam’s Loophole: 08:26–10:13
• Costco/Loophole Analogy: 10:48–12:00
• The Talking Donkey: 14:11–17:08
• Balaam’s Oracles & Messianic Prophecy: 18:47–20:07
• Main Point Emphasis: 20:43–21:57
• Israel’s Temptation (Self-Curse): 23:41–25:41
• Balaam’s Legacy in the New Testament: 27:02–27:23
• Obedience, Blessing, and Invitation to Self-Examination: 30:56–32:44
• Closing Prayer: 34:47–34:56

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Conclusion

Doug Fields’ message uses the story of Balaam to challenge listeners to obey God without seeking loopholes, to watch for “warning lights” in their lives, and to walk in confidence that God’s blessing is invincible. Through humor, biblical depth, and practical application, he drives home the point: “What God blesses, no one can curse”—inviting all to rest in God’s love and choose the path of obedience and blessing.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

Welcome to Mariners Church Weekend Message Podcast, inspiring people to follow Jesus and fearlessly change the world. Discover your purpose and get connected by visiting MarinersChurch.org or click the link in the show notes.

[Narrator/Intro Speaker]

God's people had seen his power. He had rescued them from slavery, led them through the wilderness, provided food from heaven and water from a rock. Yet they continued to doubt him. They grumbled against him, and their leader, Moses and venomous snakes filled the camp. But those who looked to God's gracious remedy were spared, pointing to the one who would one day come to heal and save his own. Now a pagan prophet has come along, set on leading God's people astray again.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And I just want you to know, I am not that pagan prophet. Okay? But I am thrilled to be here. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning to my favorite service at 10 o'.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Clock.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Just finished the 8:30.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Flaky people. Flaky people.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

But you all are great. I'm thrilled, Always thrilled and honored to open God's Word with you. I'm gonna do my best to keep you awake as we are in the series on numbers. At first I thought it was gonna be a boring series. Cause Numbers is kind of a rough book in the Old Testament. But Pastor Eric's enthusiasm has been contagious, hasn't it? I mean, just from week one, I'm like, oh, this is going to be. This is going to be great. And it has been. And if you've been here every week taking notes on this, you are like a spiritual Navy seal. If you've made it this far, and whether it's your first week or you've been coming forever, I want you to know you fall into two categories. Category one is that when the dashboard lights go on in your car, you

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

pay attention to them.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Category two is when the dashboard lights in your car go on, you don't

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

pay attention to them.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Who are my category one people? You pay attention. Raise your hands. Look around. These are the good people.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Really?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Really. They see a warning light, they respond. There were Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts. They're the ones that run our culture. How many of you, you see a warning light and you don't pay that much attention to it? Let me see who you are. My people. Okay. You are my people. And my wonderful wife, Kathy. Thank you. Thinks this is one of my character flaws in my life. And I accept her. I accept her rebuke. But when a warning light goes on

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

for me, I don't view it as a command. I view it as a suggestion.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

It's kind of like When I get

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

an email from the dentist, I go, oh, that's cute. You know, that type of thing.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

But Kathy will say, doug, your warning light has been on for a while. Hassan, I said, babe, that warning light

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

has been on since the Obama administration, okay?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Like, the car is fine, it's not making noise. And here's what happens when you ignore warning lights. That little light actually turns into. Eventually it turns into a big tow truck, which would be fine if I was by myself, but I wasn't. I was with my wife Kathy, outside of Palm Springs in 110 degree heat with when the car broke down. I'll never forget the look on her

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

face because her eyes just said, contemplating divorce.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And it was a rough time. And I tell you that because we are looking at a guy in the scripture who had the most drastic warning lights in all of the Bible.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

And he kept driving.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And what I realized is he's a little bit like me. And because he's a little bit like me, he's also like you as well. We are in week seven in the Book of Numbers where we find the Israelites in, in the wilderness for almost 40 years. And we've been saying they're in the in between, meaning they're in between the time where they were rescued from Egyptian slavery, but they're not yet in the promised land. So they're in between. And we've been learning in this series that we're also in the in between. Like God created us, but then we enslaved ourselves with our sin. And if we put our faith in what Jesus did on the cross, we've been rescued, but we're not yet in our forever home yet. So right now we're kind of in between. And the Book of Numbers has been giving us some practical principles of life to follow in this in between.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

So if you've brought your notebook, you

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

turn to page 124, and as soon as you do that, you will quickly see that my task is to cover

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three chapters in the Book of Numbers.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

No one else in this entire series has had to cover this much material. If you're here, last week, Steve bang

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Lee had six tiny little verses, okay?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And I've got 114 verses to, to get through. But I, I get it, I get it.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

You know, save the heavy lifting for the big theological scholar.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I understand. I understand how it goes.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Okay, you ready?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Because here we got. We've got God's people. God's people. More than 2 million of them are in. They've been on the move for almost 40 years. And in Genesis or in Numbers 22, we find them camped out near a place called Moab. And the king of Moab is terrified

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

because there are so many Israelites.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Chapter 22, verse 1.

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The Israelites traveled on and camped in

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

the plains of Moab, near the Jordan, across from Jericho.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Now, Balak, son of Zipper, which is

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

a great name, saw that all Israel

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had done to the Amorites.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Moab was terrified of the people because

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

they were numerous, and Moab dreaded the Israelites. So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, this horde, referring to the

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Israelites, this horde will devour everything around us like an ox eats up the green plants in the field. So descriptive.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

It's what junior Hires did in my house last week.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Since Balak, son of Zipper, was Moab's

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

king at the time, he sent messengers to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor,

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

which is by the Euphrates, in the land of his people.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Balak, again, this is the king said, look to him.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Or said to him, look, a people

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

have come out of Egypt. They cover the surface of the land

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

they're living across from me. Please come and put a curse on these people for me, because they are

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

more powerful than I am.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I may be able to defeat them

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and drive them out of the land,

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

for I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed. Okay, so what we've. We've got going on here is we've got a king who is, who is. Is terrified. He's scared. And his weapon of choice is not a sword. His weapon of choice is a man, and the man's name is Balaam. And what you need to know about Balaam. Balaam was a pagan prophet. He was kind of a freelancer, a, a, A expensive consultant. And the king wants to hire him.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Not to kill the Israelites. He wants to hire him to what? Curse the Israelites?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Because it was believed that if you could curse a group of people, it would bring misfortune to them and then they would be easier to attack. And apparently, Balaam had a great reputation because the king says, who you BL

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

blessed and who you curse is curse. Now think about that job for a minute. Those of you that don't like your jobs, what a great job that would be. Those you bless or bless like, I would love that job. Okay, I love my job, but I would like that one even better. Like, I bless you. I bless you. I bless you. You on the phone, watching the soccer game in the eighth row. I curse you. Okay?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

May your brain rod grow deep. Okay? You know, that would be such a great gig. Anyway, the king sends his messengers and

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

money, messengers and money to Balaam, but

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Balaam doesn't take the money.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Balaam actually says, let me talk to God about it.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Which is surprising because Balaam is a pagan.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

But Balaam was wise enough to talk to the gods of those who hired him.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

So he said, let me talk to

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

your God about whether I should curse Israel.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Now look at God's Response in Numbers

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

22, verse 12, God said to Balaam, you are not to go with them, meaning the messengers, you are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Now, as you read that verse, do you see any wiggle room there? Like, do you see any mystery at all? No, God is. God is very, very clear. So Balaam actually says, no, I. I'm

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

not going to curse the Israelites.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

The messengers go back to King Balak. And King Balak does what rich, powerful

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

and desperate people do.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

He just shoves more money to the table. And he says, I'm going to send back more money and more prestigious messengers to bail him. Like the JV team couldn't get it done, let's send in varsity. And so here we pick up at

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

verse 15, Balak sent officials again who

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

are more numerous and higher in rank than the others. They came to Balaam and said to

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

him, this is what Balak, son of Zipper, says, let nothing keep you from

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

coming to me, for I will greatly

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

honor you and do whatever you ask.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

So please come and put a curse

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

on these people for me.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

But Balaam responded to the servants of Balak. If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the command of the Lord my God to do anything small or great.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Now imagine a pause here, like a. Then he says, please stay here overnight, as the others did, so that I

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

may find out what else the Lord

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

has to tell me.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

So he's kind of saying, like, even though I already could have said, I already have no for an answer, but he. He says, you know what, guys?

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Let me sleep on it, okay?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Let me maybe think about the pile of money. Let me, Let me think about it. Let me sleep on it and I'll get back to you. I want to talk to God and

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

see if there's maybe a different answer.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And this is one of the places where I see you and I hiding

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

in the story of. Of Balaam.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Balaam already had that.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

That answer. But when, when something got more tempting, Balaam went from listening To God. To looking for a loophole.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I think we do that a lot. We listen to God. But then when we get God's answer, like, wow, let me.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Let me see if there's another. Another way.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And we come up with these looph. If you wanna know, you've done this before. I've done this. You wanna know what a loophole is?

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

You go to Costco.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Go to Costco. You walk into Costco, you think, I'm here for the paper towels. And you know you're gonna spend two to $300 anyway. And as soon as you enter Costco, you smell some. You start following your nose, and you understand there is something called free.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

What?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Samples. Samples. And then you stand in front of that little mini taco place, and the dude with the hairnet back there hands you a mini taco. And you put it in like, this

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

is the greatest thing I've ever eaten in my life.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And you stand there hoping he'll give you another one.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

And he doesn't.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

He just kind of eyes you away. And so you walk down the aisle, all you're thinking about is that mini taco.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

You want that mini taco.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And so you change your hat backwards, you put on sunglasses, you approach from a different angle. You use a different voice.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Is there teriyaki chicken in these?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Yes, sir. And it's your fifth sample.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

You know, get out of here.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And so, like, nobody goes into Costco

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

thinking, I'm going to cheat Costco. You're never going to cheat Costco.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

But what happens is you think they're free.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Those samples are free. Costco must want me to eat the entire box.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Like, it's just amazing in our life

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how from simple things to complex things, we know what God wants us to do, but we're always able to find a. An out or a loophole. Now, if you're not a Christian, I am thrilled that you are here today. And I've actually been praying for you that God in some way would reveal his tremendous love for you. But if you are a Christian, which is the majority of the people that are here, you most likely know what God's word says about how you should live your life. But when you don't like the answer, you try different approaches. You ask again a different way.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Like when we. When we look to God's word for

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

clarity, we're smart enough to understand what he says. We're just not always wise enough to follow what he wants for us.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

So it's not that God's answers are unclear.

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It's that God's answers are unwelcomed now.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I mean, think about in your own life. Think about that.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

A purchase. Let's go to this.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

A purchase that, you know, you.

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You can't afford, but you really want. You know, it doesn't fit in your budget. I don't know what it is.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Whether it's shoes or a car or a remodel or a boat or whatever. Your prayer is. Not this. God, if you, if you don't want

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

me to have this bass boat, if

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

this is outside of your will, I. I pray that you would burn down the dealership tonight before I go there

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to sign the contract tomorrow. Like that.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You don't pray like that. Instead, you. You pray like, lord, please give me

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peace about this purchase.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You just go another route.

[Prayer Leader]

You're not.

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You don't need peace.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You need glasses to read a spreadsheet, right? So, you know, most Christians, we don't

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

have a hearing problem. We have a heart problem. We have a heart problem that wants what we want, and our heart wanders to what we want, even if God wants something else for us.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And God was very clear with Balaam.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

But Balaam wants what he wants. Excuse me. In the next day, Balaam gets on his donkey and he travels to Moab, verse 22. But God was incensed that Balaam was going. And the angel of the Lord took his stand on the path to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing on the path and a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the path and went into the field. So Balaam hit her to return her to the path. Then the angel of the Lord stood

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

in a narrow passage between the vineyards

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

with a stone wall on either side. The donkey saw the angel of the

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Lord and pressed herself against the wall,

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

squeezing Balaam's foot against it.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And so he hit her once again.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

The angel of the Lord went ahead

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or to the left.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

So he became furious and beat the

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

donkey with his stick. Now, I just. I need to take a pause in my reading. There's a lot there, and there's a

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

lot in that text.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

I mean, you know, first of all, you know, why does God want us to know that the donkey was a female? Okay, ladies, I don't know.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

My wife and I were arguing about this this week. She said, don't say that. And I'm like, it's in the Bible, okay? Like, it's in the Bible, ladies. You got to deal with that. I don't know.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

It's. It's, you know, it's.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

It's God's editorial decision, not mine. Take it up with him, all right?

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

And.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And then God does something that he never did previously and he hasn't done in the past. Watch this. Then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth,

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

and she asked, balaam, what have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times? Balaam answered the donkey, you made me

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

look like a fool. If I had a sword in my hand, I'd kill you now.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

But the donkey said, am I not the donkey you've ridden all your life until today?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Have I ever treated you this way before?

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

No, Balaam replied. Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

he saw an angel of Lord standing

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

in the path with a drawn sword in his hand.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Balaam knelt low and bowed in worship.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

On his face, the angel of the Lord asked him, why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

because I consider what you are doing

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

to be evil, which is ignoring God's command, taking a money grab to curse the Israelites. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I would have killed you by now and let me her live. So we've got a talking donkey. And I don't want you to think Disney. I want you to think deity, meaning God in action. That God went through dramatic measures to protect those he loves. The.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

The.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

The Israelites.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And I. I find it humorous that when the donkey starts talking, Balaam doesn't freak out, he doesn't scream, he doesn't faint. He just fires back at the donkey in this interaction, like. Like we talk every Tuesday like this, you know? And, you know, his first instinct is to win the argument. Now, if my dog looked up at me and said, hey, Doug, I want to talk to you about your warning lights in your car and how expensive divorce can be, like, I would. I would not, you know, look for a rebuttal, I would run away from

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

the demon possessed dog, right? But not Balaam.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Balaam is so locked in on what

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

his heart wants, which the angel calls evil, but he's.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

He's so focused on his payday that

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

he misses the miracle right in front of him. And, friends, this is what greed does to your heart. It gets you so fixated on what you want that you miss the God moments, the God sightings, the God sized miracles right in front of you. Like we want God's blessing on our life, but instead of listening and following God's way, we're beating our donkey and blaming others for, for the way our life has turned out.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

So let me fast forward a little

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

bit in Balaam's story, because even after the talking donkey moment, Balaam continues on to Moab to curse Israel.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

But here's what happens.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Every time he goes to curse Israel, instead of cursing, a blessing comes out.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

This happens three different times in three different locations. He goes to speak a curse and

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

a blessing comes out and the king

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

is right right next to him. And I encourage you to read all of these on your own this week. They're either called the, in your Bible,

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

they'll be called the poems of Balaam or the oracles of Balaam. And as you might guess, the king is absolutely furious.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

The king's like, I paid you all this money to curse Israel and every you open your mouth, a Hallmark card comes out and you know, this is, this is not what I paid for. You need to go home. And Balaam says, before I go home,

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

I have, I have one more prophecy. And, and this is fascinating to me.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

He, he, he goes on to describe

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Israel's defeat of Moab.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

But I want to show you just

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

one little slice of his oracle in verse 17.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

This is what he's prophesying.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

I see him, but not now. I perceive him, but not near.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

A star will come from Jacob and

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

a scepter will arise from Israel.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Who do you think Balaam is referring to? Jesus. Absolutely. I just, I think that is so great.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

The very mouth that was bribed to curse Israel is hijacked by God to talk about the future Savior, Jesus. I mean, that's awesome. Now if you forget 90% of my sermon by tomorrow, which you will. Okay, that's. Even if you're advanced.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Okay, I want you to just remember one line. If you can remember one line, you

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

got the whole message. Okay, here it is.

[Podcast Host]

What?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

What?

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

God blesses. No one can curse. Okay, say that with me.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

What God blesses, no one can curse. Say it one more time. What God blesses, no one can curse. You say it in Spanish, I'll say it in English. What God blesses, no one can curse. Here's why this is important to you.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Because people will come against you, but they can't cancel you see, people can accuse you, but they can't condemn you.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

See, what God is blessed stays blessed. So if you're A Christian. That means you're forgiven, you're redeemed, you're saved, you're chosen, you're loved, you're free, you've been made new.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

What God blesses, no one can curse.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Meaning that there is no enemy bigger than God. There's no diagnosis that God doesn't understand. There's no past failure, no addiction, no no bankruptcy, no betrayal, no secret, no

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

shame, no person alive that has the power to undo what God has spoken into your life. Are you with me?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

The apostle Paul said it this way.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

If God is for us, then who can be against us?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

That means if you're a Christian, you're his. Congratulations.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Like, you got it going on. I mean, you can walk around with

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

your shoulders back and a smile on your face. You can have this spiritual swagger that you're on God's winning team. It's a confidence, it's not a cockiness.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Like, you have no reason to be cocky.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You've done nothing in your life to deserve to be cocky.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Jesus did everything so that you could be blessed. And when God blesses, no one curses.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

But unfortunately, the.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

The Balaam story doesn't end with good news.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

See, Balaam was done speaking for God,

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

but he doesn't go away quietly. And the story gets pretty dark pretty fast. Numbers 24 says Balaam then arose. He was told to go home and went back to his homeland. And Balak, this is the king, also went his way. While Israel was staying in the acacia grove, the people began to prostitute themselves with the women of Moab. The women invited them to sacrifice for their gods, little G. And the people ate and bowed in worship to their little G gods. So Israel aligned itself with BAAL of Peor, and the Lord's anger burned against Israel. So while all this is going on, the Israelites violate the first of the ten Commandments.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You shall have no other gods before me. And it's actually worse than it sounds.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

BAAL of Peor was a fertility God.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

So there was a lot of sex happen. And it wasn't like sex at a party. It was sex as an.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

As an act of worship to this small G God. And that's what makes this entire Israelite rebellion so sneaky. See, the Moabite women did not go to the Israelites and say, hey, you guys should abandon your God. Instead, they went in, in the form of pleasure. They went in the form of a party. They went in the form of a good time. You know what I'm talking about? And that's exactly how temptation works. Like Satan Satan won't approach you wearing a name tag. Hi, I'm Satan, okay?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And I'd like to ruin your life.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

I'd like to destroy your marriage.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I'd like to make you anxious about your finances. 24 7. Is that okay with you? Then you would say, no, it's not.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Get behind me, Satan. But that's not his play, that his bait is temptation. And his, his hook is deadly. So who was behind this temptation to the Israelites? I mean, where did this, where did this start?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Got any guesses?

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Okay, well, jump six chapters ahead to numbers 31. It says, yet they.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

It's referring, they, meaning the women of,

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

of Moab, were the ones who. Check this out. At Balaam's advice, incited the Israelites unfaithfulness against the Lord.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

See, Balaam left, but he didn't go away.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Okay?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

That he, he couldn't curse Israel with

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

his mouth, so he handed the king a battle plan for how the Israelites could curse themselves.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Like he must have. He must have told the king, you

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

can't beat these Israelites head on. Their God protects them. So don't curse them. Instead, seduce them. Send in temptation and they will curse themselves. Because Balaam knew the oldest trick in the book, going all the way back to the Garden of Eden. The same trick that the enemy uses today in 2026.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

So you know, you hear all this

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

and you're like, okay, so what, Doug? What, what is the story of Balaam? Well, there's so many lessons here, but the obvious one is this. Don't be like Balaam, okay? Don't be like, here's the obvious one.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And I wish I had this souvenir coffee cup to give you so that every morning with your cup of coffee

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

you could be like, oh yeah, don't

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

be like Balaam, okay? Don't be like Balaam. Balaam was a punk.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Balaam was a fraud.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Those of you who are young, about

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

to be young parents, don't name your kid Balaam, okay?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

It won't go good. As a matter of fact, you know what happened after Balaam? 1500 years later. 1500 years later, you flip to the New Testament.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Three New Testament writers write of Balaam's disobedience. Check this out.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Peter says Balaam loved to earn money by doing wrong.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Jude, again, we're in the New Testament says false teachers like Balaam. They deceive people for money.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

In the book of Revelation, Jesus rebukes the church for false teaching by saying, you, you have some there who hold

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

to the teaching of Balaam So don't be like Balaam. Easier said than done. You know, I'm like Balaam when words come out of my mouth that don't align with what's going on in my heart. When I say good words or kind words or even spiritual words, but my heart is not aligned. I'm like Balaam. And I hate to admit stuff like this to you, okay?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I mean, I. I've.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

I've preached sermons on generosity while while gripping my own wallet. I've taught on the power of forgiveness. Why quietly piling up grudges.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I've out loud said, God, not my will be done, but your will be

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

done, while at the same time trying

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

to make sure that my will will be done.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

And I know I'm not alone in here, am I? Oh, you thought that was a rhetorical question. I could tell by your non response. Let me try that again.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And I'm not alone here, am I? Yeah, I knew you were here at 10:00 clock service. Yeah, absolutely. But I think.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

I think Balaam's biggest failure that is relevant for us today is that he clearly heard God's voice and he disobeyed. And the challenge that I felt while

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

studying this text, thinking about how to

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

teach it to you for me was, Doug, you got to recognize how deeply God loves you. And in that great love, be drawn to his ways. I want to obey. I want to follow his ways. That is the path of blessing. See, God, in His great love for us, gave us his word. This love letter, this instruction manual, this is not to condemn Christians. This is to guide us to a life of blessing, a more fulfilled life, a better life than you and I

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

could ever dream of or get on our own.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

And Jesus said it this way. In John 13, he said, if you know these things, you are blessed if you remember them.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

No, if you know these things, you

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

are blessed if you what do them.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

See, for the Christian faith, the goal of the Christian faith is not that you would have more Bible information.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

That's not the goal. The goal is that you and I would be more like Jesus. And last week, if you were here,

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Steve Bang Lee, he preached a beautiful

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

message on God's love and grace for us that's available not based on our effort, but based on what Jesus did on the cross. And I love that message.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And I'm not advocating for anything different.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

That.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I'm not saying that you need to work harder for God's love and grace.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

I'm simply saying that for me, because of God's grace and favor I want to be compelled to follow him. I want to be drawn towards obedience. Does that make sense? And after following Jesus for about 50 years, I've observed something. I've observed that God's blessing is somehow intimately connected with obedience.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

It's mysterious. I can't fully explain it. I can't put it into a simple formula for you.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I've just observed in my own life

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

and the lives of many, many others that obedience and God's blessing seem to be connected. And with that being true, here's what people still do.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

They get so angry at God that

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

their life is not blessed.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

God, you're not blessing my life. But then you look at their life and there's no evidence of obedience. They're living however they want. They're looking for spiritual and faith loopholes all the time. And then they're angry at God that their life is not blessed.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

It makes no sense. You want God's blessing in your life? I do. And I want it for you, too. So this message, don't be like Balaam, it's a good message, but. But the deeper message really revolves around these words. Listen, obey and blessings. Is there an area of your life right now where you're not obeying God's clear command? And don't pass over that question too quickly.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I'm not asking that question about your neighbor, you know, a parent or the

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

person who drove here. I'm asking you what. What's an area of your life where you're currently not obeying?

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I mean, maybe there's a relationship you need to end or a relationship you're refusing to repair, or maybe it's the

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

way you're handling money, or it's your

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

integrity at work, or it's a habit

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

that you keep feeding in the dark.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I mean, here's the thing.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

You don't need my list of possible places for disobedience, because that's the Holy Spirit's job.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

The Holy Spirit quickly brings that area up, and then here's what we do.

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

Then we explain it away. Then we create the loophole for why, really, we're going to just continue to live the way that we want to live. When you do that, friends, that is not only a loophole. That's the warning light. That's the warning light. And obedience is simply doing the one thing you already know that God has called you to do. So, Balaam, he's our picture of disobedience. And thankfully we have Jesus, who is our picture of obedience. And because of Jesus's obedience, the door has been kicked open for us to walk through to find blessing. Okay? That's the ultimate. You know, the ultimate blessing is that we can be made righteous. Here's what the scripture says in Romans 5:19. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person, Jesus, obeyed God, many will be made righteous. That Jesus was perfectly obedient so that our disobedience could be completely covered. So when I preach a message, I'm preaching to myself as well, and I preach about obedience. I'm not telling you need to do in order to earn God's love. You can't do anything more in order to earn God's love. Instead, I'm inviting you. I'm inviting you to respond to a love that you already have. So today when you leave, would you leave with just a sense of confidence that the same God who won't let anybody curse what he has blessed, he looks at you even with the flickering warning lights in your life, and he says, that one is mine. And then he went all the way to the cross to prove it. And God, it's in your great love for us that we don't want to

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

be the same people when we leave

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

as when we came. It's because of your love and the ability to worship together that we sense your favor in your presence.

[Doug (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And now I pray that we would

[Doug's Co-Speaker/Assistant]

all have the courage not only to listen and know your word, but to follow it, to be courageous enough to lean in and pick that path of blessing versus our own path. We're grateful that your love doesn't disappoint, that what you have blessed, no one can curse. And we rest in that. We pray in your name, Jesus. Amen.

[Prayer Leader]

All right, extend your hands, please, and let me pray a prayer of blessing over you as we go. Jesus, I pray you'd bless your sons and daughters this week that you would remind them that you are gentle and approachable and that you love them, cause your face to shine on them. I pray they will experience your mercy and your joy this new week. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Go in peace. Have a great week.

[Podcast Host]

Thanks for tuning in to the Mariners Weekend Message podcast to support the ministry of Mariners Church. You can click the link in the show notes or download the Mariners app at your favorite app store. If you've been navigating God's wisdom with us through this year's annual read and would like to hear personal reflections from pastors in your community, check out the gospel every day podcast, imagine feeding your heart, mind and soul with the kind of practical wisdom that will change your life. If you haven't picked up the annual read yet, visit MarinersChurch.org or download the Mariners app for more information on where to find it.