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Jase Robertson
I am unashamed. What about you?
Phil Robertson
Welcome back to unashamed. Jason. Did you catch my sermon yesterday or were you on the road? Well, I preached yesterday.
Jase Robertson
Look, I'm going to give you an interesting analogy about time because look, I don't know when this episode will be aired.
Phil Robertson
Only really, only Maddie knows for sure.
Jase Robertson
So look, it will be a certain amount of time from now because here's what happened this past weekend I went on this trip, always. Great. Well, it was during the weekend that time sprang forward. Yeah, sprang a word, Zach.
Phil Robertson
Yeah, Spring is a spring.
Zach Dasher
Spring.
Jase Robertson
I tried to use proper English when I'm around.
Phil Robertson
Zach would know guys of your vocabulary.
Jase Robertson
And the redneck world is spraying is a word, it's optional. And so, you know, it's an interesting thing if you think about it, because here we are in the middle of nowhere, Arkansas and I only have about four hours. Once I got to the hotel after the event, I only have about four hours before I have to get up.
Phil Robertson
So you're flying home Sunday morning?
Jase Robertson
Oh, yeah.
Phil Robertson
Okay.
Jase Robertson
So I'm looking at this, my clock, my. That's on my phone, but it hasn't moved the time because it won't till 2am So I tried to manually move it back because I said I don't trust this thing. What if it didn't catch the memo? Because I'm not missing this flight. Guess what? Can't do it. I had to trust a phone. And I don't like that. I only trust Jesus. And I got that from Jesus when he said I don't trust what's inside a man. And I thought, you know, I had an idea about how you can make a lot of money because in that moment when I entered the hotel, because it was the night that we're going to spring forward, I would have paid $100 for an old fashioned alarm clock.
Phil Robertson
Yeah.
Jase Robertson
Because guess what was not in the room.
Phil Robertson
Alarm clock.
Jase Robertson
Alarm clock.
Phil Robertson
Yeah. They've gotten rid of them because of phones. And even if they do have one, you can't manually change it unless you got a Phillips head screwdriver.
Jase Robertson
So I'm just saying I wanted to introduce this Zach, you're a businessman. I think if we had a team of people that went on street corners, especially around hotels, the people that are traveling and sold old fashioned alarm clocks, you could make millions of dollars. Because in that moment I thought I.
Phil Robertson
Would buy one set of street corners that'll work.
Jase Robertson
And look, I introduced this thought on the elevator because surprisingly I realized Northwest Arkansas airport is not very big. Everybody Was leaving everybody in the hotel. We all gathered up like cattle base.
Phil Robertson
Getting the shuttle together.
Jase Robertson
And I said, you know what I'm going to. I'm going to make. Because everybody was grumpy. Nobody's had any sleep.
Phil Robertson
You were about to have a marketing. I did it. I.
Jase Robertson
Meeting in front of the crowd. I said I had a thought. And I know it's weird to think, well, these are perfect strangers. Weirdly enough, everybody, they probably. They know who I was. And so I was like, I got a marketing idea I wanted to run by you. And they said we all had the same fear. We were looking for an alarm clock. And I was like, this will work. It will work.
Phil Robertson
The only problem with your analogy is that only work twice a year when.
Jase Robertson
You said to pick up a quick buck. But if you organized it and you know, pyramid schemes demand.
Zach Dasher
It's. It's. We were. I was at a concert recently in one of the ski slopes here in North North Carolina. It was need to breathe and it started to rain.
Phil Robertson
Breed the ski slope or the band?
Zach Dasher
That's the band.
Phil Robertson
Okay.
Zach Dasher
Band. They're like a.
Phil Robertson
They're like, you threw me there.
Zach Dasher
Christian kind of Christian rock, Southern rock. So anyways, place was packed. I mean, it's beautiful set up. And then all of a sudden the clouds, they start swelling and you're like, it's going to rain. Well, they had those ponchos. They were selling it. What? Some guy who had all the.
Jase Robertson
That's it.
Zach Dasher
I mean, and look, these things were probably a dollar and there was a lot. Oh, less than a dollar. You know how much you sell them for?
Jase Robertson
What, $15. And you know what they were selling them for when they almost ran out? 25.
Phil Robertson
They.
Zach Dasher
They did. They went up in price.
Phil Robertson
Exactly.
Zach Dasher
And I was watching the whole thing unfold. I was like, that guy, he looked at the weather, the only guy looked at the weather, said, it's going to rain. He bought a bunch of ponchos. I bet he. I bet he bought about 200 of them. Sold all 200 and just made a killing.
Jase Robertson
Yeah.
Zach Dasher
So you're onto something.
Jase Robertson
So that was my point. And my point was Alice. When I got back, I went and I went down and saw Phil and I put your sermon. Because he just, you know, his wires weren't. He was having a tough day. And I was trying anything, you know, to just connect a little bit. And so I put the worship music on. Because even though that had already happened. So think of time. We now have devices. This is the good thing about the bad thing. About the phone is I got to trust it on that. Which it did come through. Yeah, it came through. Alarm went off. Bam. But now I'm going back in time. It's a time machine to show what just happened. And of course, it was blowing Phil's mind, because he's like, they're doing that now. Because he was looking at, how is this happening? Which was good, because we were connecting on this. I was like, no, that just happened. He's like, well, how are we. Because you take somebody who's having mental issues. This was blowing his mind. That we're now. And we listened to about half your sermon. Because now the problem is we were really into your sermon. But then I got a phone call.
Phil Robertson
Which is another problem with watching it.
Jase Robertson
On your phone, because now my dad's like, hey, you know, he's pushing. That's why I knew I was getting a phone call, because he started pushing. I was like, no, Phil, don't push it. It's not working. I was like, let me see it. And I got it.
Phil Robertson
So a phone call interrupts when you're watching a sermon.
Jase Robertson
Yeah. And I was trying to help Phil connect, but actually, it did more harm than good, because now he's like, well, we've lost that. I'm like, no, it's still there. And he's like, well, time, you know, we just. It got. But then it made me think. We just try to understand time. So we put numbers and we. But it's moving at a pace that's actually. We're not able to capture. Yeah, we. We put seconds and minutes, but it. It just is. And we're as humans trying to figure that out. But it's passing by. But it's actually timeless. You can't put a number on it. It's just moving at whatever pace this is that we're moving. Which is why what is found in this book. And I'm grabbing my Bible, because it's about a person who created time. Just think about that. He's above time, outside of. He's outside. It's a creation that we're particip participating in, which should lead you to a creator.
Phil Robertson
Right.
Jase Robertson
That's why when Jesus came back from the dead, you should have said, hold it. Wait.
Phil Robertson
Timeless.
Jase Robertson
Wait. Time out. That's what we use, these little slogans like, let me take a time out. No, there's no time out in time. But we. Oh, no. Yes, it is. We stopped the clock. Well, you stopped that clock, but you didn't stop your clock, because it's still moved. We're still moving.
Phil Robertson
So did you. Did you make it long enough to hear my story about stealing? Did you hear that?
Jase Robertson
No, we. We got a phone call, so.
Phil Robertson
So that's. Okay. So in Ephesians 4 is where I was preaching out of you. Remember in that text, Paul gets down the point, says, those who have been stealing must steal.
Jase Robertson
Yeah. I made that analogy a few times.
Phil Robertson
And so I told the story. And I've never talked about this public. It was funny how it just popped into my brain because I was speaking on the side of our. We have two assemblies that go at the same time. And on our instrumental side, the crowd is more of a celebrate recovery crowd. And it's, you know, so, man, when I'm talking about all these things that Paul says don't do, this audience is right with me. Because, you know, we were talking about lying.
Jase Robertson
Yeah.
Phil Robertson
We're talking about stealing. We're talking about hustlers. We got a hustlers in there. You should have seen the reaction. So they're with me. And I don't know, it prompted me to tell the story. I was like, you know, my dad, he told us when we were growing up, Jason, you remember this? He said, don't steal.
Jase Robertson
Yeah.
Phil Robertson
That was a big thing with that.
Jase Robertson
That was a butt whooping offense.
Phil Robertson
Butt whooping offense. You don't even consider it if it does not belong to you. You walk right past it. I mean, he did not like thievery at all. He hated it. And that's why he was so protective of his nets and his materials and all that. So I knew, don't steal, no matter what. But I was making the point that stealing in the context of Ephesians 4. Remember, he says, I don't want you to steal, but I want you to work so you can produce something to give to someone else. So the whole point of stealing is most of the time, especially the people who have had problems with addiction, like most people, I was speaking directly to. You steal because you want something.
Jase Robertson
Yeah.
Phil Robertson
You know, the reason you hustle and it's easy. It's easy. You hustle and sell drugs because you want to do drugs. I mean, and that was totally resonant. So I said, so I broke Dad's rule and the rule of the Almighty.
Zach Dasher
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Phil Robertson
I mean, I'm sure I stole something else, but I'm saying the only time I remember actually being a part of thievery was when I was a teenager living apart from the Lord. And we wanted to drink, but we didn't have enough money to buy beer.
Jase Robertson
So you stole.
Phil Robertson
So we know we didn't steal the beer. This. This is where the story gets funny. And it was funny in the. In the moment. So I said we decided we would steal car batteries, which, when you think about it, is a really stupid thing to steal because they weigh like 50 pounds apiece. Yeah, but they were easy pickings because you don't realize how many people at their houses, underneath their carports is just a battery sitting out there. Yeah, it's all around town. But us in our inebriated minds, we saw that as an opportunity. So we would go and grab a battery and Run and jump in the truck and drive off. Well, there are people holler. I mean, like, it's a wonder. We could have been killed easily. But I said the only thing I was thinking about was buying beer. And so we would take those batteries and sell them for $3 apiece at some place in town that bought old batteries.
Jase Robertson
Yeah.
Phil Robertson
So that's how we made our beer money. And so I said. I said, so if some of you old timers are here today, which would have been the other side of our assembly, I said, if you're thinking, man, somebody got my battery back in 1981. I was like, it was me. I owe you three bucks. So just find me afterwards and I'll make good.
Jase Robertson
So now, based on our two stories, you've given people outside of the Lord an idea twice a year.
Zach Dasher
I was thinking the same thing.
Jase Robertson
How to finance their beer drinking.
Phil Robertson
Don't do it. It's not worth it. It's a bad idea. One is it hurts your back and there's a lot of bad things.
Zach Dasher
Well, it's interesting enough, I think, actually, you said it's easy. Sometimes I'm shocked at how difficult it is to break the law and to come up with schemes. And I'm like, man, if you would take that attention.
Phil Robertson
Exactly.
Zach Dasher
And direction that you have for scheming and direct that towards something legal, you could probably accomplish a great deal.
Phil Robertson
What if I had been shot on somebody else's property, which could have easily happened, especially in 1981, for stealing a stupid battery that was worth $3 to set resale. It's idiotic. You know, my point was, when you're thinking selfishly and not at all how to produce something to help other people, that's the sort of my. That's was Paul's point in Ephesians.
Zach Dasher
Well, I've only stole one time in my life, and I was with your brother when I did it.
Jase Robertson
Which one?
Phil Robertson
Well.
Zach Dasher
Well, you gotta ask. I mean, what's.
Phil Robertson
I know. It had to be.
Jase Robertson
Which one?
Phil Robertson
Jeff. He and Jeff are the same age. They had their little particles together. And we.
Zach Dasher
We were at Panama City beach and our friends.
Jase Robertson
I'm sending jail for text right now.
Zach Dasher
Yeah. Oh, yeah. I remember where we're at. We went into the Salty Dog surf shop and we were. The reason why we stole was because our friends were shoplifting and they had been on like a bit. Like these guys are with. I mean. I mean, they were like. Me and Jeff were like. I mean, like, it was exhilarating. You know what I mean? We're like, oh, that's so Jeff's like, let's go. Let's go steal something. I'm like, you want to do it? So we. We go in the Salty Dog surf shop, and we both got a pair of swim shorts, went to, like, try them on, but we kept them under, like, our. Our pants, you know, like that. We never took them off.
Jase Robertson
Well, that's. I'm wanting to fight.
Zach Dasher
Yeah.
Jase Robertson
I mean, that's just.
Phil Robertson
Sorry.
Zach Dasher
No, I'm. I'm repenting here, but we did it.
Jase Robertson
And did you make restitution? You need to send the Salty. The Salty Dog.
Zach Dasher
You know what? I did. Let me tell you the rest.
Phil Robertson
What if. What if the owner of the Salty Dog is a podcast listener says, man, I knew those short.
Zach Dasher
You know what? I do need to make it right if I'm gonna look and see if it's still in business. If it is, I'm gonna send them a check for within. I'll even factor in inflation.
Jase Robertson
Yeah.
Zach Dasher
For what we did.
Phil Robertson
That would be an awesome story. And then see what they said. So, you know, See what they say.
Zach Dasher
I stole 22 years ago. I hope the statute of limitations is up.
Jase Robertson
No, it is. It is.
Zach Dasher
Is it up?
Jase Robertson
Yeah.
Zach Dasher
Well, what happened was I kind of.
Jase Robertson
Sit down. Hope it's not.
Zach Dasher
I hope it. Yeah.
Phil Robertson
Sir.
Zach Dasher
Be way better if you were arrested.
Phil Robertson
The next time he went to Florida.
Jase Robertson
This time, getting good. Zach busted Salty Dog.
Zach Dasher
Salty Dog got him. What's funny is that Jeff. We went back to the. The place we were staying at, we were staying with because the guy's dad were. We were staying with. Like, there was a family there. And so we went. We had our shorts, you know, and. And we. We just thought, man, that was a. That was. We did it not for free stuff. It was the. It was like the. The adrenaline, you know, whatever.
Jase Robertson
And so the rationalization. I mean, the adrenaline of it.
Zach Dasher
Now, I'm not. I'm not saying it was. It was wrong. So he. So Jeff comes to the guy, the dad comes in there, and he's a. Hey, there's a cop. The cops are outside, and somebody was seen at the Salty Dog surf shop stealing something. And so Jeff. I mean, he freaks out, and he grabs his shorts, and he goes outside out the window, and he buries his shorts in the sand like. Like he's hiding the evidence. And I'm like, what are you doing? I'm not going to jail for this. Like, wait. They don't know it. They don't know anything. What are you talking. Come to Find out the other guys were the ones that they saw because they linked it back to a. To a T bird, which is the car they had. And so. So they. They got busted. We did not get busted. I'm confessing now. We were involved in a.
Phil Robertson
This reminds me of another biblical story when Achan tried to hide his. His ill gotten gains and under the tent. Oh, and got burned for the process to see Zach. This could be the perfect kind of case for Judge Jace to then decide what the rest.
Zach Dasher
What would you. Jace, what would you say?
Phil Robertson
So if we were in your court of judge, would you say, I would.
Jase Robertson
Go back to the recitation. I would make you find the owner of the salty dog or his offspring and make it right. I would say, look, I am a new man. I now work.
Phil Robertson
See, this is why sermons work, because this all is coming out of my sermon about me stealing batteries.
Jase Robertson
Well, and you know, he went on in Ephesians 5 to say, don't get drunk on too much wine, which leads to debauchery, but be filled with the spirit.
Phil Robertson
Exactly.
Jase Robertson
And so it is the new self. And that goes back to John 3, when Jesus was saying, you got to be. You know, don't be shocked that I'm saying you got to be born of the spirit.
Phil Robertson
Yeah.
Jase Robertson
And because it is the spirit of God, it's the right thing to do, which. Which is well underestimated in the Bible.
Zach Dasher
The good news is this. They are still in business. I just googled them.
Jase Robertson
This is going to be awesome.
Phil Robertson
But I can't wait to hear the reply because you're going to say, you know, have a pocket, tell them the whole phase.
Jase Robertson
I think what I would do is since you are a new self, I think I would send them the money and I would send them a little. Because we're imaging God here, which is the number one thing about that, is introducing Jesus. And I think I would say as a judge in this situation, you need to give the reason for why you're doing this 22 years later. And that way you can pass the gospel message on. You just say, it's actually.
Zach Dasher
It's actually 29 years.
Phil Robertson
I just.
Zach Dasher
Look, it's 29 years later, 29 years.
Jase Robertson
Later, you finally realize this is an opportunity.
Phil Robertson
So as a loving cousin of Jeff, are you going to pay for his shorts too?
Zach Dasher
I can't pay for another man's sins. Only Jesus can do that. Only Jesus can do that. You're the. You're the judge. What is your verdict?
Phil Robertson
Tapped into Zach's tight side.
Zach Dasher
Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna make my part right. That's. I, I will commit to making my part right.
Jase Robertson
We're making, we're, we're, we're making progress in this podcast.
Phil Robertson
One good judge J says spoken. All right, let us, let us know, Zach, how that turns out.
Zach Dasher
Yeah.
Phil Robertson
All right. So I've been waiting patiently to get to this reference because we did a lot of speculation about what Jesus might have been talking about to Nicodemus, but I know one thing he did talk about, and so I want to go back and reference that.
Jase Robertson
Well, I think we know what he was talking about. We were just trying to get the.
Phil Robertson
Specifics, but I don't know, Jason, if you noticed when you went back to, when you went back to numbers, there's a couple of interesting things that happens before that. Now, we wouldn't recognize it, but I think Nicodemus would. And so let me just read the text. Let me.
Jase Robertson
Well, catch up. Everyone who may not have listened to.
Zach Dasher
The last podcast, give us a context.
Jase Robertson
We introduced the idea where in John 3, when he gets down to. I think I should just read it verse 10 through 15. Because Nicodemus in verse 9 is like, well, how can this be? And the whole idea of being born again, born from above, Born from above. The Holy Spirit's like the wind. And verse 10, he says, you're Israel's teacher, said Jesus. And you don't understand these things. I tell you the truth. We speak of what we know and we testify to what we've seen. But still you people do not accept our testimony, which is a reference to John 1, when John said he came to that which is own, and they didn't recognize him. They didn't recognize Jesus as the son of God.
Phil Robertson
And remember, the underlying point is this testimony is coming from heaven itself. I mean, this, that's why it's new.
Jase Robertson
And look, I'll just give you a heads up from here to the end of this section on Jesus, red letters, he really starts highlighting on testifying and testimony. And remember, we did that in the introduction. He's making a case to humanity. I'm the son of God.
Phil Robertson
Right?
Jase Robertson
And here, here's, here's some claims.
Zach Dasher
Al, you guys are buying and selling homes left and right now. You just bought a new one, correct?
Phil Robertson
We did.
Zach Dasher
And how important is it for you to have an interest rate? That is a great interest rate.
Phil Robertson
Oh, man, it makes all the difference in the world. And really it's, I mean, a home is the biggest one, but I mean, it could be anything. It could be A boat, it could be a car. I mean, anything that you're going to have to finance. The better that credit score, the lower you're going to pay over the long haul.
Zach Dasher
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Jase Robertson
Verse 12. He says, I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe. How then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? To your point about Zach that you've been highlighting about the temple where heaven and earth would meet, he seems to be getting back to that thread here. So he's bringing things in heaven and earth together. Then he says, no one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man. We'll talk about that verse later because that's hard to wrap your head around. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. That everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. And I want to say one thing for you. Start out, I think here again he's going back to something in Israel's history while moving forward to something that he's going to accomplish.
Phil Robertson
Correct. So, so. And remember, he's having a convers with a guy who would fully understand the context of this incident.
Jase Robertson
This bronze snake, which is numbers 21. I mean, to us it's kind of an obscure story in the Old Testament, but Jesus highlighted it here.
Phil Robertson
So I want to show you something before we read this because something you may not have noticed in numbers 19 and then again in numbers 20. Guess what happens here in the middle of the desert. We have this huge conversation about water. And we're in the middle of the desert. There's, there's, you know, I mean, it's hard to find water. And especially because they're out now. We've already crossed the Red Sea. Now we're out in the desert. We're heading towards the promised land. First thing that comes up is this idea of the water of cleansing. And this was this idea about somehow having a way to have purity of uncleanness. Now we know that it literally didn't take it off. There had to be something symbolic about the idea of these cleansing waters.
Jase Robertson
I like where you're going with the tabernacle. This is my whole argument, Al. And you're making it for me again.
Phil Robertson
I know it.
Jase Robertson
Yeah.
Phil Robertson
And so. So he talks about that and then he gets to verse 20, I mean, chapter 20 of Numbers, and there's an incident there.
Jase Robertson
Water in the rock.
Phil Robertson
Water comes out of the rock.
Jase Robertson
Who was that?
Phil Robertson
Had to be Jesus.
Jase Robertson
It was Jesus. First Corinthians 10 is your cross reference.
Phil Robertson
So. So those two happened before the snake. And Nicodemus understood that because he had studied that his whole life, but he didn't make the link to who Jesus was. That's where the confusion, which is Jesus.
Jase Robertson
Whole point here. Who is Jesus? Which is a question that every human at some point will consider. And whatever your conclusion is, is the most important conclusion that you'll ever make.
Phil Robertson
That's right.
Jase Robertson
Who is he?
Phil Robertson
Who is he?
Jase Robertson
Which is why I love the book of John. He's making his case, right?
Phil Robertson
So I. I call this section. When I used to preach out of numbers, this was called Snakes on the Plane. P L A I N Just, you.
Jase Robertson
Know, so Al, that is so cheesy, it's actually brilliant.
Phil Robertson
That's what I used to call. I had a servant called Snakes on the plate, and this was it. All right.
Jase Robertson
This is the cheesy side of what we have to offer. But I like it because you won't, won't forget it.
Phil Robertson
You won't forget. Next on the block. So they traveled from Mount Hor. This is numbers 214 along the route to the Red Sea to go around Edom. So we're out here, we're wandering now. But the people grew impatient on the way. So remember now we've had the water of cleansing. We literally had water come out of a rock that wasn't. It wasn't like it was already flowing. Like he wrapped the rock and then God.
Jase Robertson
And this is after the water being parted so you could be liberated.
Phil Robertson
So you'd think they'd be like, okay, God's going to take care of us.
Jase Robertson
Nope.
Phil Robertson
They spoke against God and against Moses and they said, why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There's no bread, there's no water. Although we've. We've already had it. And we detest this miserable food.
Jase Robertson
Which shows you. Because I think a lot of people think if I just had a miracle happen in my life, I'd follow. Or if God would just tap me on the shoulder and say, hey, get it right. Y. Well then I would do it. What's the problem here? It's because temporary inconvenience and uncomfortability rules out with human beings. We love to live in the moment and be comfortable.
Phil Robertson
Even though you've had delicious God baked bread falling out of heaven for you to pick up and eat.
Jase Robertson
And how about the quail?
Phil Robertson
And the quail?
Jase Robertson
I mean, what are we doing?
Phil Robertson
So because of this, the Lord sends venomous snakes among them. They bit the people and many Israelites died. So we got a little plague that happens now to Israel in the form of snakes, which, let's face it, we don't like snakes, especially poisonous snakes to. You know, I still don't like them.
Jase Robertson
Exactly. You know, they serve a purpose on the planet, but they're scary because if they bite you and you don't have time to get some, some. Somebody.
Phil Robertson
And Jason and I both have been sitting in a duck blind. It typically happens earlier in the year. And you hunt all morning in your bags there and all this. And you go to get out of the blind, you look back and right under where you were sitting is a big coiled up cotton mouth.
Jase Robertson
It's happened many times.
Phil Robertson
Many times. You're like, I was reaching all around there all morning.
Jase Robertson
You can go back through the archives of the last thousand podcasts and we've shared many near deaths about snakes, venomous snakes. And a lot. Some were funny, some are not so much. But I mean, and just the most funny remembrance I have of any snake Encounter was one day we cleaned out a blind. It was like half a day's work, and my dad was kind of perched on his side of the blind saying, well, we did it and nobody got snake bit. He had just said that we had killed a couple snakes, we had killed the wasp, we killed the spiders, Everything trying to hurt everything was cleaned up. And I looked beside his head because there's a button willow bush and there was a cottonmouth called up, I'd say six inches from his ear, and he's declaring, the blind is clean. And I said, bill, there is a snake right beside your ear. And he was like, yeah, good one. I was like, phil, I'm serious. He's like, yeah, tell me another one. Ha ha. He was. And finally we all said, phil, don't move. And it's like, weird when you say don't move in an environment, that's the first thing you do. Phil looked at that and it was like, I can't believe there's a snake. He moved out of the way. I came up, boom, shot this night. And he's like, you have got to be kidding me. It just shows you boys never get overconfident. Pride is the fall of man.
Phil Robertson
And then he gave you a verse on it too.
Jase Robertson
He started preaching a sermon because now he was. You know, when you have a near death experience, which that was.
Phil Robertson
Oh, yeah.
Jase Robertson
All he had to do was. And he just sat there, you know, thank you, Lord. And yeah, that happened.
Phil Robertson
Yeah. I told this story on the podcast before about the one you. I was in the blind when the one was laying on the log and it was the wintertime. The only thing that saved you because he tried to bite you, but he was a little slow, probably lethargic maybe, but that white coming right at your face. And I'm in the blind and I hear, yeah. And then I was 1001, 1002, boom. And then it was like, what just happened? He said, I almost got snake bit, but he was like, eye level.
Jase Robertson
Oh, I know. I mean, we've had multiple. I mean, I'll tell you one more quick one. And this has nothing to do with this snake. I don't think I've ever told this before because this is low brow. But it's a true story. So Maddie's going low brow on me over there. So look, me and Jay Stone are riding on our property, and we rounded a bend and we both instantaneously said, good grief, look at the size of that Congo. And I'm scrambling for a gun. It was in the middle of the road, head cocked up. And we both did jump out like military trained people. And I never went to the military, but Jay had. We came at it from two separate angles and it was just sitting there because I thought this was a declaration of war. Because usually we've killed so many snakes on our roads, they stay away from where we travel. And I thought, he's got it.
Zach Dasher
And this one's got his head straight.
Jase Robertson
Up, straight toward the four wheeler. And we got closer and closer. And I'm like, there was some debris to the side of it that was white. And I thought, what is this thing snooping around in the trash? And when we got about eight feet, safety's off, fixing to fire, we realized that this is not a snake. Someone had an emergency bowel movement. And it looked identical to a cotton mouth, including a discoloration of the propped up head.
Zach Dasher
Oh, man. Gosh.
Jase Robertson
Oh Lord, have mercy. Forgive us.
Zach Dasher
Forgive us, Lord.
Jase Robertson
We started laughing so hard because the white debris was actually toilet paper. So we get back home and we were telling Phil's like, you're not going to believe this. We stalked a pile of poop that looked like a cottonmouth. And Phil said, boys, I had eaten some Mexican food.
Phil Robertson
I have to take a break.
Zach Dasher
You can't write. You can't. You can't write.
Jase Robertson
No, we've lost it. We lost control. True story. And now Phil is confessing. He said, boys, I gotta apologize. He said in my angst, I couldn't even get away from the road. And look, here's the most incredible part of that story. That evidence of a bad Mexican food stayed there in that road for three months, untouched, repelling the rain. And I thought, man, what. What a.
Zach Dasher
Oh, you gotta stop, ma'am. Oh, gosh, I don't know how we get back into the Bible at this point. I mean, I feel like whatever you've done has ruined.
Phil Robertson
So, Jace, we were in the school of preaching and. And you're the first person to introduce me to early Christian leaders who were martyred for the cause. And it impacted you so much. It's also impacted me as well. Yeah.
Jase Robertson
At that stage of my Christian growth, I was just so impressed with the fact that these guys would give their life. And it made me realize, well, who would do this if it was all just a sham?
Phil Robertson
There's a book, and it's called when faith is forbidden. 40 days on the Front Lines with Persecuted Christians. It's written by Todd Nettleton, who is the voice of the martyrs radio host. I have to Say Voice of the Martyrs is a group that I began to follow. Read their newsletter and see the work that they're doing. They're amazing. This new book that Todd has written invites you on a powerful journey to meet those bold believers and to hear stories. And this is a 20 year journey that he's taken into restricted nations. And these stories that are in here are so fascinating. And these are modern of people that continue to lay their lives on the line for faith. And here's the beautiful thing about it. You can get a free copy of this book When Faith is Forbidden today. So you don't want to miss out on the opportunity. Request your free copy of When Faith is forbidden by calling 844-463-4059. That's 844-463-4059 or visit vom.orgunashamed that's vom.orgunashamed him.
Jase Robertson
Look, we had a studio audience. We've lost them. They're just.
Phil Robertson
Yeah, they're from Kentucky.
Jase Robertson
So that was a true story. But I mean, it just shows you what happens in the wilderness when you're terrified of snakes. I mean, that was not an embellished.
Phil Robertson
Story out it happened. It.
Jase Robertson
That was a true story.
Phil Robertson
I've actually seen a picture of it because Jay took a picture of that.
Jase Robertson
Oh, boy. I didn't know that.
Phil Robertson
Oh, yeah, There's a picture.
Jase Robertson
Yeah.
Phil Robertson
I don't know that we want to show. Maddie said no show. Yeah. Wow.
Jase Robertson
I kind of like to see them.
Zach Dasher
Again, but I don't know. I don't know how. Let me, Let me tell an intermediate story to help us recover.
Jase Robertson
Okay. Because we. To get to the Bible.
Phil Robertson
But I mean, look, it's just. So snakes came in this. It's a bit.
Zach Dasher
It's a bit. But the point is, is that snakes are a big part of our, our lives. My mom got bit by a snake when she was a little girl.
Phil Robertson
She was eight years old, I think.
Jase Robertson
Eight years old. And I say that we're acting like we're talking about low brow. Thank God created us to do that. We have bowel movements. Deal with it. I just want to throw that in. You know what I mean? It's like, oh, we can't talk about that.
Zach Dasher
I probably won't use that if I ever preach this text. But I think the story. I didn't know the story, so you shocked me. I did not see that coming.
Jase Robertson
I thought we had told that story before.
Phil Robertson
I don't know that we ever have. But. But if it did, it wasn't as funny.
Jase Robertson
It's been told around many a campfire since it happened and we always laugh about it, but I mean, because it's just funny, you know. But that's a true story.
Phil Robertson
Yeah, yeah. But Jan got bit. She was running through the front yard. Luckily for her, she was only 8 years old. Only one fang got her was the way Granny always told me the story. But she got super sick and you know, could have died. I mean, small could have died.
Jase Robertson
Well, I mean, back to this. It does seem when you first read this, it's like, well, God's being mean here because he sent. I mean it seems like a lot of people read this and it makes them uncomfortable. They're like, well, God is a God of love. And all of a sudden he sent poisonous snakes. He's rescued these people, he's blessed these people and they've turned their backs on him. And so.
Phil Robertson
So let me get back to the point.
Jase Robertson
Yeah.
Phil Robertson
So the people came to Moses. So to your point, Jason, they said, we sin, we spoke against the Lord and against you pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us. So they've realized in the moment that their grumbling and complaining has led to this moment. So Moses prayed for the people. Now it's interesting because God could have just taken the snakes away. I mean, he allowed them to come in. I don't know, they were probably.
Jase Robertson
And I wanted to say this, he allowed them to come in. But look, you still the real wilderness people out there. Probably. I mean I do well with snakes just cause I've been around them my whole life. He still gave you a chance to work this out. You want to battle some snakes?
Phil Robertson
There you go. There you go. You deal with it. So the Lord said to Moses, here's what he decided to do. And this is where I think the point that even way back then, obviously because Jesus brings it up, there was this idea that you had to have faith and believe in who God is. Because think about the context of this moment. They didn't believe he would take care of. Yeah, that's what they.
Jase Robertson
That is the point. Are you going to trust what God says?
Phil Robertson
Exactly.
Jase Robertson
And that's what leads up. I don't know if you've read verse eight yet.
Phil Robertson
No, I was about to. So it says, make a snake and put it on a pole and anyone who's bitten can look on it and live. Now that's an odd way to choose to do it, but that's what God told him to do. So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. And then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. So he came up with this kind of, from our perspective, inane, crazy process. But Jesus compared it to the lifting up of the snake to look up at it as him being lifted off the earth on a cross.
Jase Robertson
And I want to interject this. Now, look, I know this is not a rabbit hole. This is just Jewish literature. If you go back and look at Israelite behavior and their view of snakes, which it's not like mine, but they. And I think it came from Egypt, and they. They viewed snakes as healing slash, new beginnings because of the. The snake, you know. Have you ever seen a snake skin?
Phil Robertson
Yeah, yeah.
Jase Robertson
It's like they become new. And so that process enamored that world. And it's like you can reinvent yourself, like a healing process and like, take off your skin. So they. They tend to. They called it. I forgot what the term is they called it, but they. They used snakes in the form of it as a way to worship, like the God of healing and regeneration, you know, with the new snake skin. So that's how the medical world. Because it does seem weird because I actually found one treasure hunting one time from life, 1950. It was a little medical symbol with the two snakes.
Phil Robertson
Well, there's two different ones.
Jase Robertson
I gave it to the owner, or I would actually show it to you. But it was spectacular. I mean, it was like a piece of jewelry worth a lot of money. But it was the symbol of healing with the snakes wrapped around the floor.
Phil Robertson
It's called the Rod of Asclepius is the Greek one. And then there was one called the Caduceus. And one of them is a single snake, and one of them has the two snakes. But to this day, they're still used as a symbol, but that's where it.
Jase Robertson
Comes from with the shedding of the sin.
Phil Robertson
And probably this story as well. I mean, because the story's been around a long time, the idea that if you look at it, there's healing. So the concept is there. But I think the point is this story in numbers was a reminder for the Jewish people that all things, all true cleansing comes from the Almighty God. The water of life comes from the Almighty God. And so Jesus is using those old stories and illustrations from the desert, as Jay's mentioned, the Red Sea crossing, all of it, as the idea that everything has been pointing now to this time, that I am the water, the spirit is the wind, the healing comes from me. I mean, you see all this stuff kind of coming into view and he's trying to explain this to Nicodemus. He's like, you should know this from all these stories.
Jase Robertson
Exactly.
Phil Robertson
But to Nicodemus credit, I mean, how many of us would understand as well. They had it in their minds.
Zach Dasher
There's also this, this idea. If you think, go back to that numbers 21 passage. What's weird about it is that what was the thing that caused them to be sick? It was the bite of the serpent. And then the thing that was healing them was the serpent.
Jase Robertson
I'm laughing because a while ago a story caused you to be sick. I mean, you literally gagged. That was our first gag reflex. I mean, you're making a great point. But I just couldn't help but think that you're like, what caused him to be sick? I'm like, well, sometimes you just hear the story about it and it makes you.
Zach Dasher
Sometimes you hear, yeah, you hear a very, what you call low brow, A low brow story. But, but it is interesting, I think it's a emblematic or representative of, of Genesis. Right. That the serpent was the one who, you know, made them sick, so to speak. And so when the, there's that imagery in the Old Testament in Genesis and you know, which is. Some people consider that to be the first gospel where the, the Jesus will crush the head of Satan. And so what you're getting a picture here of the full scheme of redemption that Christ is to look up at Christ. And that's the irony of that. That bronze serpent is actually what they're saying is this is God's defeat of the serpent. And so you're seeing it played out with Jesus, who. His heel will crush the head of Satan and his heel will be bruised. As the prophecy in Genesis chapter three, that's being accomplished here, that's the story. Look up, you're looking up to the Son of man, who now is that bronze statue of the serpent who will defeat the serpent and the sting of sin, which is death in the end.
Phil Robertson
I do want to give you one little Paul Harvey, the rest of the story. Because this bronze snake wounds up, making the trip into the promised land. And it winds up being the ark of the covenant with a lot of other things from the trip because God wanted them to remember what he did.
Jase Robertson
Yeah, this is fascinating.
Phil Robertson
So we get in 2 Kings 18, and guess what happens in this time of idolatry? The people start worshiping the bronze snake.
Jase Robertson
Exactly.
Phil Robertson
And so Hezekiah, who was the king at the time, said, cut that thing into pieces and spread it out all over Israel where we won't worship the bronze snake. So it just shows you the idea that even the symbols, people tend to want to worship them. So I've made a decision to lose some weight this year, and it's been going great. Not because necessarily anything I've done, but the good friends at Ph.D. weight Loss have taught me a lot about losing weight. I'm losing weight, I'm doing great. Our good friend Dr. Ashley Lucas, who's been on the podcast, is the founder of PhD Weight Loss and she's a registered dietitian. She has a PhD in sports nutrition and chronic disease. And she really does a fantastic job of explaining the science behind weight loss, what it means to burn fat, the reasons why you're not doing it, and it comes down to what you eat. I mean, I know that sounds very simple, but it's true. Thousands of her clients have had very much success. I am now one of those that's had success as well. They teach you what to eat, when to eat, and they work on your relationship with food. And it's not just about losing weight now. It's about keeping it off for your entire life. If you're watching this on YouTube, here's a picture of me when I started. I've been on now for nine weeks and I'm down 30 pounds. There's no gimmicks, there's no pills, there's no shots, there's no side effects. I'm not eating rabbit food and I'm not hungry all the time because the food satisfies. They provide 80% of it. I don't have any more indigestion and problems like I was having before. So I'm a big proponent of what these guys are doing. They give you support and they tell you exactly what you need to lose the weight and to keep it off. So join us on our weight loss journey. Schedule your one on one consultation today by calling 864-644-1900 or you can visit myphdweightloss.com that's 864-644-101-900. Tell them that Al and Zach sent you.
Jase Robertson
It's so tempting to say, well, there's America, because I'm kidding. But I'm saying, even us, you forget that it was God who saved them. It's not like the building where we go, you know, it's because people in our religious culture, they somehow attach what happens in the church building. It like the bronze snake, you know, it's like, oh, and they forget.
Phil Robertson
Well, they don't even use the terminology from the old temple. Like, we got the sanctuary, we have the altar. We have the. You know, we bring forward all the.
Zach Dasher
Things to go into a old church that's been sitting there a while and. Or they. Or they're stuck in their tr. Like they're stuck in their way. And you take. And you try to move a. A tapestry or you try to move a pew. You move a pew. I mean, it's like, whoa.
Jase Robertson
I mean, it.
Zach Dasher
But it's because we hang on to that structure because we want to be able to control it. But it is kind of the same exact thing. Like, nothing wrong with the church building. I meet. I'm eating one every Sunday. But when the thing becomes even, I mean, us, the gospel itself, like, you can turn the gospel. We've talked about this on the podcast, into a formula. It's the Christ of the gospel over the gospel of Christ. It's the. It's the. The God of the Word over the word of God. It's always God. He's central to the whole thing. But we. We take the things of him, and then we. We. We see power in that. We misappropriate the power, and then we start to worship the thing that's bringing it instead of the one who sent it. You know what I mean?
Phil Robertson
Which was.
Jase Robertson
It leads to a person. And that was the point about baptism. That was the point about the spirit. I mean, he's wanting God. We're going back to the beginning. God wants to dwell with people. And, you know, my clothes in line of my. At the event was like, look, God. God wants a family. And this whole thing's about getting. Getting his family back to him.
Phil Robertson
Yeah.
Jase Robertson
I mean, at the end of the day, you got to kind of look at the big picture here. That's why Jesus came here.
Phil Robertson
Right. I mean, which is why he go for the rest of this text. And his last, like, closing argument to Nicodemus is basically, I think, a recreation of how John started this book in John 1, 1:18. Yeah, he goes right back through that because he uses all the same terminology. Begins at creation. He goes into life and light. That's where he's going to go in those same ways.
Jase Robertson
But just look at the picture today. I mean, when you try to live your life without God or giving thanks to him. I mean, think Romans 1, you know, or acknowledging God, it's the equivalent of going out there and battling poisonous snakes, you know, and you can't do anything about time. And, you know, you make all these analogies. I mean you can try to do everything right. You know, Missy said the other day she was listening to a podcast. It was a political. Well, I don't. I guess she's political. Megyn Kelly. And she had a guest on who Rich guy. Not a believer, I don't think. But he lived by a mantra of staying alive. I mean he went, what was that movie? John Travolta, Staying alive. And he basically spends $2 million a year on his health care. And he.
Phil Robertson
I've seen this guy like stories about his.
Jase Robertson
He had the numbers of the rate of as it is to time, like on how long you live. And his had it graphs and all. And he's aging less than all other humans.
Phil Robertson
He's got this regimen.
Zach Dasher
Brian Johnson, they call him the billionaire biohacker.
Jase Robertson
Yeah. And Missy just goes through this long story about all this and we laughed about like we did a while ago. Of course this is not going to be as funny because you would have had to build up. She's talking about all these things rattling off.
Phil Robertson
This is not as low brown.
Jase Robertson
All these, all these facts. And I just said after she talked for 15 minutes on what this was about because she was just like, can you believe this guy? And I said, well, what happens if he gets hit by a bus? And she just busted out laughing, you know, because it was like she was missing the forest from the trees. You know, it's like he's done all this stuff and yeah, probably get hit by a bus one day.
Phil Robertson
Yeah.
Jase Robertson
You know, there's no. This is not. This is your plan. You're going on well known talk shows and podcasts and everybody's enamored that you've somehow stopped the age of life by 0.3 percentage points. You know, and it's like.
Zach Dasher
But they call it. They call it deceptively they call it anti aging. But I'm like, but you're not anti aging. You may have slowed the decline, but to be anti aging is actually to say we are going to overturn the second law of thermodynamics, which is.
Jase Robertson
Yeah, that's my point.
Zach Dasher
You can't. I mean. Yeah, but to your point, I mean even if you could, you still got. What if you get hit by a bus?
Jase Robertson
I mean it's probably gonna happen. It's.
Phil Robertson
Would you say just the people who are in great shape are gonna die healthy.
Jase Robertson
They're gonna die healthy. And everybody always thinks, should I laugh at that? Because they have put all their emotional stability on the fact that they're in shape, eating right, and they're working out. They're like, I'm good. I'm like, you're really not. You know, you will just die healthy by a bus or.
Zach Dasher
Which is great quality of life matters. I think these are great discussions to have, but when you start talking about anti aging or. Or reversing aging out, because I, I talk. I knew I was talking to someone the other day. They said they were doing into reverse aging. I said, but, like, do you actually reverse aging? Well, no, no, we don't actually reverse it, but we can slow go down. I said, okay, why don't we just start there? But that doesn't sound good. Probably for marketing, but. But it is. I mean, it is kind of the thing that everybody is up against. And I think that in. In John 3, it's interesting that that's. I think this is kind of what we all try to do, which is essentially we want to take the thing, whatever it is, aging or whatever. And I want to said, I want to make sure I can like, build my container around it so that I can hold it and manage it and control it. Which was, I think, the problem that Nicodemus had coming into even the discussion. Because he. When he comes into this whole discussion where Jesus unfolds this dialogue, his whole point was, I. All he said was, I just see you're a man from God. Like, God's with you, because there's no way you could do the things you're doing. Jesus is the one that turns the discussion to the kingdom. He's the one that says, well, yeah, you can't be.
Jase Robertson
Yeah, he planted that seed of the kingdom. And then I think this is the transitional verse, when he says that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. Key word, everyone. Because then he doubles down on it. Now he was talking about Israel's history. He used the snake on the pole. I believe he referenced the Red Sea and the wind. And then he's like, I mean, you need some kind of drum and crescendo. Because he's like, everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life, which that perished to go with that story. Now it kind of has some legs there to it, you know, I mean, they started perishing by snake bites. And now here's Jesus for everyone.
Phil Robertson
That's why I love the idea of being lifted up. And I go with the second Corinthians, 5, 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. So that ladder we talked about in John 1:51 between heaven and earth is Jesus lifted up for all of mankind to be able to trust in and have salvation, which is his point.
Jase Robertson
And don't you think that in verse 13, when he dropped that in, when he said, no one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man, that that was another prediction on what was going to happen. Because not only did he come here to die on a cross, he came here to die on a cross, be resurrected, go to the right hand of God, think the book of Hebrews, and then open up the portal to God's presence for all humans. Him with a new glorified human, human body representing the humans. That. I mean, that is. That is incredible.
Phil Robertson
It's re established glory, which we've talked about a lot. So. So we'll finish up this part in 3, 16. Then we'll get into some of the back and forth that we kind of teased with John the Baptist and Jesus disciples. Next time on Unashamed. Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by leaving a rating and review on Apple podcast. And don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube. And be sure to click the little bell and choose all notifications to watch every episode.
Release Date: March 13, 2025
[00:01 – 01:18] The episode kicks off with the Robertson family embracing their mantra of being "unashamed" of their Christian faith. Jase Robertson introduces an analogy about time, setting the stage for a discussion that intertwines personal experiences with spiritual insights.
[01:19 – 06:16] Jase shares a relatable story about struggling with changing the time on his phone during the daylight saving time shift. Frustrated by the absence of an old-fashioned alarm clock in his hotel room, he humorously considers a business idea to sell such clocks on street corners. This leads to a deeper reflection on trust:
Phil adds to the conversation, emphasizing the challenges of relying solely on technology and highlighting the importance of trusting in Jesus over man-made devices.
[08:03 – 19:34] Phil delves into a sermon he delivered, focusing on Ephesians 4 and the theme of stealing—not just in the literal sense but metaphorically representing the desire to take something for oneself without rightful ownership. He relates this to personal experiences and struggles with addiction:
This segment transitions into personal anecdotes where Phil and Zach confess past acts of theft:
Phil Robertson: "When I was a teenager living apart from the Lord, we decided to steal car batteries to buy beer." [11:37]
Zach Dasher: "I stole 22 years ago... I hope the statute of limitations is up." [14:02]
The hosts use these confessions to illustrate the transformative power of faith and the importance of making amends.
[06:16 – 55:35] The conversation shifts to a deep dive into biblical passages, particularly focusing on John 3 and the concept of being "born again." Jase and Phil explore themes of time, faith, and eternal life, drawing parallels between Old Testament stories and New Testament teachings.
They discuss the symbolism of the bronze serpent in Numbers 21 and its representation of Jesus' sacrifice:
The hosts emphasize the necessity of faith in Jesus for eternal life, underscoring the gospel's central message.
[28:03 – 38:35] Adding a lighter tone, Jase and Zach recount their humorous yet frightening encounters with snakes. These stories serve to humanize the hosts and provide relatable moments for listeners.
Jase Robertson: "We thought we were dealing with a venomous snake, but it turned out to be toilet paper." [32:38]
Phil Robertson: "I almost got snake bit, but he was like eye level." [31:11]
These anecdotes lead into discussions about fear, humility, and relying on God during unexpected challenges.
[40:09 – 43:37] Phil brings up the misuse of symbols, referencing how the Israelites began to worship the bronze serpent, leading to King Hezekiah's intervention in 2 Kings 18.
Jase expands on this, cautioning against turning the gospel into a mere formula and emphasizing the centrality of God in their faith practices.
[43:37 – 55:35] The hosts reflect on the unpredictable nature of life, using the metaphor of battling snakes to illustrate the futility of relying solely on human efforts without faith in God.
Phil ties this back to biblical teachings, reinforcing the idea that true salvation and understanding come from recognizing and accepting Jesus' role in eternal life.
[55:35 – End] As the episode wraps up, Phil and Jase hint at exploring more biblical passages and stories in future episodes, promising deeper dives into themes of faith, redemption, and the Christian journey.
Jase Robertson: "I only trust Jesus... What if it didn't catch the memo? Because I'm not missing this flight." [01:53]
Phil Robertson: "You steal because you want something... It's easy to hustle and sell drugs because you want to do drugs." [09:05]
Phil Robertson: "Everyone who is bitten by a snake and looks at the bronze snake lives." [40:09]
Phil Robertson: "People tend to want to worship the symbols instead of the Creator." [42:23]
Jase Robertson: "When you try to live your life without God... it's like battling poisonous snakes and not trusting in a higher power." [50:05]
Trust in Jesus Over Material Reliance: The Robertson family emphasizes the importance of placing faith in Jesus rather than relying solely on technology or human-made solutions.
Personal Redemption Stories: Sharing past mistakes serves as a powerful tool for illustrating the transformative power of faith and the possibility of making amends.
Biblical Symbolism and Its Modern Interpretation: The discussion on the bronze serpent highlights how ancient symbols can have profound spiritual meanings relevant to contemporary faith.
Humor and Relatability: Personal stories, even those involving fearsome snakes, are used to connect with listeners on a human level, making faith discussions more approachable.
Avoiding Idolatry: There's a caution against turning faith symbols into idols, maintaining that the focus should remain on God rather than the representations of faith.
In this episode of "Unashamed with the Robertson Family," the hosts masterfully blend personal anecdotes with deep biblical insights, creating an engaging narrative that underscores the essence of their unashamed faith. Through humor, confession, and theological exploration, they invite listeners to reflect on their own trust in God, the importance of faith over materialism, and the continuous journey toward redemption and eternal life.