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Jase
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Phil
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Zach
I am unashamed. What about you?
Al
Welcome back to Unashamed. This is for me. This is kids spring break week, which, I don't know, that may not matter to you two, or it should. Maybe to you, Zach, but Jace's kids are away from here, so you don't really have.
Zach
See, you assume. You assume that.
Al
Yeah.
Missy
Yeah.
Zach
But you would be wrong in this. This case, because we have the little man for. I guess now that makes sense. I didn't know why we had it. Spring break, I guess. The spring break. So this has gone on for days. And we're going to be talking about signs today. Don't. Don't get hung up on the signs. You want to be looking at what it is pointing to, right?
Al
Yeah. So saying the song when there's all signs.
Missy
Signs everywhere signs. Yep.
Al
Did that. I don't know.
Zach
I want to look it up.
Al
Look it up.
Zach
Al. There's a thing called the Internet.
Al
It was just a random thought that crossed my mind.
Zach
Maddie's on it, so. But yeah, if you don't realize what it's pointing to, which, you know. Think about our childhood, Al. Every sign that you pass going to where we were raised has multiple bullet holes in it. Yeah, that just shows you there is. I get it. You want to find what the signs are leading to.
Al
Well, let me ask you. This has been many years. I'm sure the statute of limitations has run out. Did you ever shoot a sign down there back in the day?
Zach
I have shot.
Al
I have, too. So I just. Yeah, I was just wondering if I was the only one. We've never admitted it to each other.
Zach
But there's a difference in shooting.
Al
I did sight in a rifle, but.
Zach
There is a difference in shooting a sign out of anger or mischief.
Al
I was sighting in a rifle.
Zach
Me too.
Al
Yeah.
Zach
I was like, it's perfect.
Al
It was there. Yeah.
Missy
So vandalism is okay, as long as it's.
Al
Well, we're not saying that. I. I don't. We don't encourage.
Missy
I was sighting in my rifle. I had to hit right there in the country.
Al
We didn't know they were there. We weren't exactly sure of the law.
Missy
But how many signs out in the country? Think about it. I've never.
Al
They're all shot up there.
Missy
It's just like.
Al
Well, what's funny is, what about when you're driving along here, like on interstate, and you see the signs? I'm like, when are they doing that? Because, you know, it's a busy highway. It's an interstate travel highway. And yet when you get up in this part of the country, even the interstate signs are showing.
Missy
You know what's weird, though? You're making me think about something. I'd never seen this before until I was out. There's a certain part of Louisiana that's kind of no man's land, so it's around, like, Alexandria, Jones Borough, Jonesville, all that area, and they.
Al
We call it the Badlands, is kind of the mid. Mid section of Gina.
Missy
Yeah, it's. I mean, it's no man's land, but I would. I remember when I would drive out there back in my earlier career, and you drive by a sign, and I don't know what this was, but they always had some. If you've ever seen this, it would be a string of massive flathead catfish. Like, it'd be like seven of them hanging on a sign, but they. They'd be all over the place. I'd see them all the time. I never knew. I'd never say, have y'all seen that.
Al
It was actual fish? Or just.
Missy
It was the. It was just the head and it was in the carcass. In the carcass. But they'd be strung up, so it'd be like. They'd be on top of one another and they'd be hanging from like a. Like a sign. Like a stop sign.
Al
I don't know that I've ever seen that.
Zach
Oh, yeah, I've seen it. Because I hate to tell you what. What that is. It's. You take one thing, you conquered it. Yeah. So you ate fish.
Al
Yeah.
Zach
Well, then you use that fish for bait. They hang them on a sign. They come back at night.
Al
Oh, yeah.
Zach
And then you got coyotes box.
Al
Everything going.
Zach
Everything.
Al
So those were baits.
Zach
Those were baited traps, which is why you have so many holes and signs. Then they.
Al
This one. Is this.
Missy
Is that true? Did you make that up, or is that actually true?
Zach
I cannot.
Al
Why would he make it up?
Zach
There's a. Zach specific. Are you familiar with that? We're part of a world within a world. We're members of the kingdom of God. In this world, I am familiar. Well, there's another world within the world within the world, and it's called the redneck world.
Missy
Oh, yeah.
Zach
That's what rednecks do. So it's like, you see this. Yeah. And you. You're. You're saying in one moment, these are my trophies. I'm a good fisherman. That's a redneck logic. Yeah. So then you use your trophies as bait to get another trophy. That's why you have.
Missy
It's a world within a world within it. Well, I'll go. I'll go one deeper.
Al
I did not know that I'm a redneck, but I didn't know.
Missy
There's another. There's another world, Jace. There's another world inside the world, the redneck world that I got to taste a little bit of last time I was there, and it's actually right across the hall from where you're sitting right now, called the Duck Call room. I was a guest on the Duck Car Room.
Al
Oh, boy.
Zach
Yeah.
Al
That's a world that's just on the other side of our wall here. That world within our world.
Zach
Yeah. There's a thin line between a podcast that. That has meaningful material and just a pool of ignorant babble.
Al
So you're saying they're. Exactly. We've been talking about going past the Tower of Babel. They're going back to the Tower of Babel. That's interesting.
Zach
I actually said that the last time I walked in. I said, now, over here, right next door, we have multiple men speaking one language. That is Jesus. I said, in this room, we have a table of Babel, actually, two tables.
Al
Two tables.
Missy
It was fun. I'll tell you that. It was.
Al
Zach was all. He was all. Yeah, he was all excited.
Zach
I mean, the Tower of Babel had a purpose.
Missy
Oh, yeah. There's an energy there for sure.
Zach
Lead you to men speaking one language that was fulfilled in Jesus. But Maddie, our crack staff, buried the lead here, and she sent me signs, you know, signs, signs everywhere sign. Listen to the first verse.
Al
First of all, let me tell you, it's a Canadian rock band, Maddie says, called the Five Man Electrical Band.
Zach
Well, is this the song by Les Emerson? Same song.
Al
Yeah, same song.
Zach
Let me read you.
Al
I know, I was looking at it.
Zach
Look. And the sign said, long haired freaky people need not apply.
Al
Jay says, you look.
Zach
So I tuck my hair up under my hat.
Al
How many times have you done that?
Zach
I do it often, and my lovely wife cannot stand when I do that. So watch. And I went in to ask him why, and he said, you look like a fine, upstanding young man. I think you'll do. So I took off my hat and said, imagine that, huh? Me working for you.
Al
Wow.
Missy
The ultimate.
Al
This is Jason's anthem, and we never knew it. We've totally blunted it.
Zach
And look, I left off the last word. Zach.
Al
Whoa.
Missy
What's the last one?
Zach
Whoa.
Al
Which is Sadie's punches, which is.
Zach
My dad has said many a times he'll look at something and go, whoa. That's right.
Missy
The times have changed. I was thinking of that David Allen coast song where he said, my long hair just can't cover up my red neck.
Al
And I've won every fought fight I've ever fought.
Zach
So look at. Listen to the second stand, the sign. Sign everywhere sign. There's a course blocking out the scenery Breaking my mind do this, don't do that can't you read the sign?
Al
We found your theme style. That's like, this is your song.
Zach
This is back.
Al
Thank you. Thank you, unashamed nation.
Zach
I wonder why. So this morning, to get back to the little toddler. So I've been taking the morning shift, which is kind of strange because I go to bed about three hours after my wife, because I was studying last night, and, oh, I got a couple of doozies.
Al
He's been studying signs.
Zach
Look, I had to confess to my wife this morning after I told her what had happened, which I'm fixed to tell you, I was like, I did not know these two stories were in the Bible. I guess I forgot them. I mean, the older you get, you forget, but so listen to that. That could be another song. The older you get, the more you forget.
Al
It's a good line.
Zach
You need a song about that. Zach, go to work.
Al
Zach, type that up. So look, send that to your kids.
Zach
So I think I've told you this before. That little man, you know, he had a problem going to bed and getting up. He'd get out of the bed. He's got a big boy bed now, and he's real proud of it, but he just wouldn't stay in it. And so my wife found somewhere, I guess on Amazon or whatever, this little clock that you did, I share this. It. You set the alarm. And so it lights up red and when it's time for him to get up, it turns green. And so it was 6:30, 9, 7. So that boy was sitting at bed with anticipation, waiting for the green light, waiting for the green light. And look. So he comes down and he's like, it's green. He tells me, j Rock, J Rock, come look, come look. I go up there every morning, same thing. I was like, yep, it's great. He is jumping up and down over. I stayed up late last night. Usually I'm already up, you know, fixing some bacon and we got to go through the process. Well, this morning I was tired and I had my alarm set for like 6:30 because he was going to get up at 7. So I have everything. I kind of. I take the morning shift. Yeah, well, I don't even remember my alarm going off. It did. And I turned it off without knowing it and just never.
Al
You never came out of your sleep? You just did it in your sleep?
Zach
I never came out of my sleep because I went to bed.
Al
I've done it before.
Zach
1:30 or 2. So look, I'm laying there full asleep. I mean, coma. And I jumped straight. I was laying on my side. I literally left the bed because this little boy had come into our room without anybody knowing it and said, j Rock, it's green. I jumped like I was on a ride in an amusement.
Missy
When I was in college, probably one of the most transformative books that I read was a book from Voice of the Martyrs that talked about the persecution that had gone on throughout the church's history. Unfortunately, this isn't just something from the past, it's something that's still happening today. And I really love these guys at Voice of the Martyrs. I mean, for me, seeing how the church operates around the world in the face of persecution, it really is one of the greatest testimonies to who God is.
Al
Yes, Voice of the Martyrs has been a huge impact on my life as well. And Todd Nettleton, who you and I met via a chat about them being on our podcast, is the Voice of the Mars radio host. And he's been traveling all over the world to restricted nations for over 20 years and has met a lot of these courageous Christians who live out their faith, obviously at great personal cost. He's written a book called when faith is forbidden. 40 days on the Front Lines With Persecuted Christians is kind of put out in devotional style. But the stories are powerful and impacting and remarkable, and you're going to be blessed by them. So you can request a free copy of When Faith is Forbidden Today. So that didn't cost you anything, but it will inspire you and hopefully help you to pray more for those around the world. Here's what you do. Request your free copy of When Faith Is forbidden by calling 844-463-4059. That's 844-463-4059, or you can visit vom.orgunashamed. that's vom.orgunashamed.
Zach
I got up. I mean, in my underwear, like. Like a zombie following him because he took off running to show me the green. So I trip, I fall on the way. We go up the stairs, I open the door and then stub my toe as bad as I. You know, nothing hurts like when you just full on full.
Al
Full wedge.
Zach
And I'm like, what could that be? I thought it was a toy or whatever. I found out later he wants his door cracked because of monsters or whatever, but it has to be slightly cracked. So Missy, my wife, puts an iron, I mean, full iron weighs two pounds, kind of doorstop behind the door. And my big toe, which I broke my toenail on, I hit that stumble and fall.
Al
Jase. That's gonna leave a mark.
Zach
So now I'm laying like I was in bed, and he said, it's green. And I'm like, it's gre.
Al
That's great. It's great.
Zach
So that's how my morning started. So. And it's. And I thought it's the sign for him. That's the sign.
Al
Yeah.
Zach
To get up.
Al
Yeah.
Zach
And. But he's hung up on the sign. You know why? Because he's three.
Al
Yeah.
Zach
It. It doesn't. He. He forgot that he doesn't like to get up. You know, he doesn't want to go to bed. He wants to get up. Right. He forgot all of that because he was just obsessed with the sun. But it worked. If it works, who cares?
Al
Well, and that's kind of like us, Jace. We're like, so we're in town this week, and so the grandkids, you know, we've been taking. It's a. We call it. We're calling it the spring break staycation. And so every day we've been going to somewhere around here and doing stuff you don't normally do in your hometown. We went to Surge. We go to the ice cream. But every day we got a Little adventure plan. And it's really interesting because you talk about that spring break, what they're most excited about is they get to spend time with us because we're gone so much. So it's like, it's. It's. It's the sign. It's the thing that points you. Or it's the real deal. Like, for my grandkids, it's the real say, come over. They spend the night at the house. They're up every morning, they're raring to go. It's so funny because when it's time for school, you're dragging everybody out of the bed. You can't hardly get them going in the morning. But when it's staycation, everybody's up saying, when are we leaving? When's the next thing? It's really funny to watch the psychology of it. So I'm doing the same thing.
Zach
So I've had a few days of. We've gone fishing. Multiple playgrounds in the neighborhood. We've been.
Al
Y'all were up at our house one day.
Zach
We were there yesterday. Every. Every little.
Al
Which I'm glad, because we got all that play equipment. When mine were little, they spent time on them. Now they've gotten older, so they, you know, got used to it. But now we're introducing a whole new generation.
Zach
We've been wearing my rods and reels. Cuz he really loves fishing. Look, he caught his first bass by himself.
Al
Oh, really?
Zach
Oh, yeah.
Missy
How. How old is he?
Zach
Three.
Al
Three.
Zach
And so I was over at Willie's pond, which is now. I mean, Willie's like, what are you doing over here? I was like, I'm taking a kid fish. He said, oh, okay.
Al
Jay's finally found the ultimate excuse to poach.
Zach
Yeah.
Al
Parenting.
Zach
But we were on this bridge, and I mean, we're trying to catch crappie, you know, And I got him a little court, but it's kind of complicated.
Al
Yeah. Getting them up on the. Yeah.
Zach
So all of a sudden, a bass hits a little jig, and I mean, bowed up. But he knows how to reel, which is. I mean, he's actually a better fisherman than someone like Zach.
Al
Yeah.
Zach
Which is crazy.
Al
Which is not our.
Missy
Better than me.
Zach
Well, Zach, you told the story of y'all going out into the wilderness, and.
Al
They didn't take food because they were going to catch their food.
Zach
You caught your two brim and you had five pieces of bre. And you. You basically summoned a miracle to happen, but it just didn't happen.
Al
You didn't have.
Missy
I did tell that story. You Are correct.
Zach
So depends.
Missy
But I've been on other trips, so that happens.
Zach
He gets the bass. And he got about halfway up that bridge that. That rod was bent over the line was singing. And I was like, you want me to help? He's like, no, no, I got. Do you want to help?
Al
So he wanted to do it.
Zach
He wanted to do it, but he finally just got where his arm would not work, and he's like, help, please line up.
Al
It sounds like me going on those deep sea trips. After a while, I'm so exhausted. I'm just like, okay. These deckhands. I'm like, take over because Al's done. I've caught two. I'm done.
Zach
That was the good. The ugly was. Five minutes later, I looked up, and he's tangled up everywhere. The line, you know, we left there with no baits, no courts line. All over the bridge is eye candy. And. But we had a big bass, so that was. That was fun. It's been good.
Al
Y'all want to get into this text?
Zach
Yep.
Al
All right. So we. We finished up the Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman, which is quite the story.
Zach
Well, you didn't really. I mean, I don't think you're ever finished with that story.
Al
Well, you don't, because it's such a good one.
Zach
Because, you know, it's something that hit me just before we moved to the next one. It's like we had done this on a different podcast, but there's three Ls that are highlighted as far as. Because Jesus is the image of God, the Word became flesh, which is a key phrase to keep in mind before we read this next story, because that really, I think, is a picture of what happened. The word became flesh. What Jesus says represents God and the power of God and the character of God. But those three Ls, where God's DNA is revealed. I came up with that because. I don't know a better way to say it.
Al
Yeah, that's a good way.
Zach
But we've talked about light. You know, Jesus, he. He's the light of the world. We talk about. What was the other. Ls love. Life. Yeah, love is the one I was going to get to. Yeah, life. Because, I mean, how many times, as you mentioned, you'll have life. Eternal life. Life. Life. As opposed to death, which is the problem on our Earth. It is decaying. Everything dies at some point.
Al
Right.
Zach
So. And.
Al
And he got into this woman's life to therefore talk about new life.
Zach
Yeah, well, exactly. And then. Then you have love, and you Say, well, now, John 3:16, for God so loved the world, which is the first time it's mentioned. But you also see love in action here. I mean, just think about who he chose, where she was from, what this looked like. We went through all that. But really, it is love in action. I mean, while she's just down, you can't go any lower with her shame and what she's done. And here's Jesus offering love. So we didn't talk about that, but when you talk about a love story, real love. Well, because our definition of love is so limited. And I mean, the Greeks, you know, they had four different ways of defining love.
Al
Yeah.
Zach
Because it's complicated.
Al
Well, it's. It's funny you mentioned that. I was thinking the last event we were at, we were. I went over and I was standing at our book table, and people were coming over because they were about to leave. These people are kind of in line. You know, once a line forms, people get a little impatient. They're trying not to, because especially in the setting we were in. So I'm kind of waiting on Lisa because I don't know how to operate the card reader on the thing and trying to get these books. And I look over to tell her, you know, can you come do these books? And there's a woman just crying to her, and Lisa has her hands on her, and she's praying for her in this moment. And so I look back at this line of people said, can y'all just hang on? Because they're having a love moment over there. And everybody looks over and sees her, and everybody just goes to talking to one another. It's like, no. All of a sudden, all impatience was gone.
Zach
Yeah.
Al
Because it was a one moment in time. So I think about that in this context, that's exactly what this was. I mean, this was just one woman at a well. But it really speaks to something way bigger, which is kind of what you're describing.
Zach
And I think it sets a precedent that Jesus is after everybody. I mean, he starts off with a woman from Samaria. But you're going to see, you know, through their story, I mean, Gentiles will be shared with this next story. You have this official royal official. You know, it's like you go from a Samaritan woman, a religious leader, to a Samaritan woman to some royal official. You're like, what? I mean, we're.
Al
And I don't think he's doing that accidentally, that he keeps bouncing back and forth.
Zach
And I did want to say one other point. That when he started off the conversation, he said, you know, if you drink of the water I give you, you will never thirst. Which is, you know, he's satisfying in that. And then he winds up, comes full circle when his disciples came and seen and they're like, hey, you want something to eat? Which we talked about it. They're still looking at the earthly, the physical, because, you know, water and food is essential to stay alive. And he's like turning that on its head, saying, oh, I've got food and drink that are way more satisfying. So he said that with the water you'll never thirst. But then he says about the food when he said in verse 36, even now the reaper draws the wages, even now the harvest. He harvests the crop for eternal life. So it's like he's the most satisfying in life and he can take you away from death itself.
Missy
They say the only two things in life that are certain are death and taxes. I might want to add one more to that. If you're with Verizon AT and T T Mobile, you could be saving a fortune every month by switching to Pure Talk. That's right, Pure Talk, our sponsor and my cell phone company. I use these guys. They're cutting the fat from the wireless industry. Listen to this. For just 25 bucks a month, you can get unlimited Talk, text and 5 gigs of data on America's most dependable 5G network. The average family of four saves over a thousand dollars a year when they switch to PureTalk, that's real money back in your pocket. With PureTalk's US customer service team, you can switch easy, hassle free in as little as 10 minutes. I know because I did it. You can even keep your phone number or your old phone if you want. Or if you're looking to upgrade your device, you could do that as well. Before I switched to PureTalk, not only was I paying more money, but I was also dropping calls all the time. And now since I've switched to PureTalk, no more Drop calls. And I'm saving a lot of money as well. So do go to PureTalk.com Unashamed to make the switch and you'll save an additional 50% off your first month. Again, that's PureTalk.com Unashamed to start saving today. PureTalk Wireless by Americans for Americans. When he gets to John Six, he says, I am the bread that came down from heaven for the life of the world. I give my flesh for the life of the world. You know, I think that, that when you, John six, is Going to be amazing when we get there. I don't want to get too far ahead.
Zach
Well, we were tracking. I was going to mention.
Al
No, and that's exactly. But by the way, John. I know he was being carried by the Holy Spirit. But John is a brilliant writer.
Zach
Oh.
Al
Because he's so good at introducing themes that he later goes and fleshes out. That's what a good writer does. You know, you read it and you're like. You see some things that spark your interest and then you get four chapters overnight. Oh, that's where he was going with this.
Zach
That's why I was promoting the Chosen, that two episode one. Because it. That is the hub. It's like, how did he come up with this? They did a whole episode about it. Which by the way, the Chosens. It's out in theaters now. Season five.
Al
Right.
Zach
Go watch that movie and support.
Al
So it's funny you mentioned the Chosen because when I look at this chapter four up to where we are today, I see this story told in three acts. You just kind of view it from an idea if you were going to produce something and how powerful a story there's a movie or whatever would be. And you've got this woman engaged as Jace was describing. Then you got the people his own disciples that. That missed the whole point. Which how many times do the people of God miss a moment that God is doing because they're so locked into their little ritual. That's what happened here. And then the third act is the most powerful part of the story because the one single woman who seemed to be isolated, had nothing to offer, goes back to the town and then shows them the way out of everything. I mean, it's like it's the ultimate story.
Zach
Well, and we didn't say. But she had had a relationship problem her whole life, it seems. And we didn't make a point of it. But Jesus, I think what is the word prophetically. Was saying, how about you marry me?
Al
That's right.
Zach
And I'm not talking about anything physical because his whole point there.
Al
Well, you know, the most disappointed guy in the Samaritan village was the old boy that she was living with. Oh yeah, I get. I can almost guarantee you that relationship was over after this.
Zach
Well, they. That's interesting because in that season too they actually addressed that. But they assumed he had all. She had converted him.
Al
So maybe that wound up. Oh yeah, he's a character. I remember.
Zach
He's a funny kid.
Al
That's right. That's right. I forgot about that.
Zach
They just assumed they made Things. Right.
Al
And maybe they. That's a different way of looking at it.
Zach
They, you know, they're giving you a picture which, you know, a lot of people, the religious police, who don't like the chosen. They don't like that if something's not in the Bible.
Al
Right. You portray that, you imagine, but they.
Zach
They put a disclaimer. It's just like when we study the Bible and you imagine the scenarios or what happened. It's basically what you're seeing on. On film. They get the big stuff, Right?
Al
Yeah.
Zach
And then you think, oh, we can connect the dot. That's what we all.
Al
First time I met him, he's on the podcast because he was talking about this. This was way back at the beginning, so he was talking about the criticism. I said, well, Dallas, you just need to tell him you got a verse for everything you're doing. He looked at me funny. He said, what is it? I said, Ephesians 3, 20. It's more than you can ask or imagine. I said, you're imagining a lot of stuff. But look, that's what makes it interesting. I mean, like, we've been living for 2000 years since all this happened, and there's.
Missy
He's not. I don't think he's claiming that, hey, this is Scripture.
Al
Of course he's not.
Zach
They put it on the disclaimer on there.
Missy
Yeah. If you. I have thought about that. That the logic of.
Zach
Of.
Missy
Of the argument against the chosen would. If you took that logic and philosophy is called argumentum absurdum. You push it out to the. It's in conclusion, then what would happen is you.
Zach
You could.
Missy
There's a cricket. You could never pontificate on anything about the Bible because you just have to read it straightforward. You just got to read the scripture. So we're all kind of indulging in trying to make sense of the text. And on the Not yet now podcast, we had a guy on the episode we posted last week or a few days ago, Brian Rice, Dr. Brian Rice. And one thing he said I thought was good. He said when he went to seminary, he had a class, and they said, you need to master the text. And he said, what a horrible idea. He said, no, the text needs to master me, but the text needs to execute my life. The text needs to look into me. And I think that's the problem. That's what we're trying to do. We got cheers there.
Al
Yeah, you redeemed your crickets with some cheers. That was a great line.
Missy
Yeah.
Al
It's not that we're Text masters me.
Missy
We need the text to master us.
Zach
Well, it's. Why when you read verses like the word of God is living and active, why is that true? Yeah, why is that true? Because it's a person.
Missy
Which. Which I. I'll tell you a funny story. Shameless plug again. I was on Chad Wright's podcast, and I talked about this on his podcast. And one of my friends who I really been praying for that would come to know Jesus listened to that podcast, and I'd said something on there that he said, I, I want to study the Bible. Was that. Because I'd never heard a Christian say this. But what I said was on the podcast, I said, you can make an idol out of the Bible. And as shocking as that is, it's true. Jesus testifies. He said it. You study the scriptures diligently and by them, you think you're saved, yet you miss me. And so I think that's the thing that we have to remember in reading the Holy Scriptures is that they point to a person. You can't worship the sign. The sign is pointing us to a destination, and that destination is the person of Jesus Christ.
Al
Now, we. Jason, I knew some guys one time that basically had the scripture as the Trinitarian. It was the. The Yahweh, the Father, Jesus, the Son, and the scripture. And the Holy Spirit was only active if you were engaged in the. The third part of the Trinity to these people, which was.
Missy
Did they say it that bluntly?
Al
Yes, they did. And they said it so bluntly that they went through their scripture and every time, they marked out where spirit was and wrote in words. So.
Zach
Well, there was a guy who memorized the Bible backwards, and everybody was just wowed. This guy's a genius. And I thought, what an idiot. That's the biggest waste of time in the history.
Al
You talk about missing the whole point. If you went back to front, that'd be a bad way to go about it. Yes, it would be confused.
Zach
Guy's an idiot.
Missy
I think Thomas Jefferson did something similar. He cut out a lot of the Bible that talked, that had the supernatural Holy Spirit and tried to create a Bible that told.
Al
Jefferson was great, but he needed. He needed old field.
Zach
He was an Epicurean.
Al
Yeah, he. He missed him.
Zach
Which meant that God left and was no longer concerned about the matters.
Al
All right, Jason, want to read this because.
Zach
Sure.
Al
Yeah. Read the. Read this next text. Where we go from here? Where are we starting? Verse John 43.
Zach
Four. I'm gonna read it four. The Internet.
Al
Okay.
Zach
All right. So after the two days. So he spent two days there. I mean, it was quite the buzz. And that was coming off this. We know this man really is the savior of the world, which is John's whole case, how you view Jesus. So then, verse 44. Now, Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
Al
So he's heading back to home, by the way. So that's why he said, john says this.
Zach
And so we're going back to Galilee, where now we're going back to where he did the changing the water to the wine he called Philip and Nathanael. But most of John is about what happened in Jerusalem, which is unlike the other three Gospels, right? So then in 45, when he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, which seems like. Let me just stop here, because it seems like. Well, I thought.
Al
Contradictory.
Zach
It seems contradictory. And I think that is the point of this story is because they were welcoming him back for the things that he could do, the signs, Right? Rather than like the Samaritan saying, this guy's the savior of the world.
Al
Because, you know, how many. How much had the word gone around about what he did at the wedding?
Zach
Exactly.
Al
I mean, it was like this guy, you know.
Zach
Well, and the deal with Nathaniel, he read my mind. He knew what I was thinking. And, you know, all these things. He. He claims to be Jacob's Ladder. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem and the Passover festival, but they also had been there once more. He visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum, which.
Al
Is like 18 miles away. I looked it up.
Zach
Yeah. And I looked up the scholars to see if this was a Jew or a Gentile. And half of them said one thing, half of them said, so. It doesn't sound like that.
Al
I thought the same thing. He was a royal official for sure, but they're not sure if that was in Herod's camp or if he was something else.
Zach
So verse 47, when this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son who was close to death. Verse 48. Unless you people see signs and wonders, Jesus told them, you will never believe. Which goes in with this idea that they were just looking for the things he could do. So he kind of gave a general thought there. However, watch what happens. The royal official said, sir, come down before my child dies. I mean, there's a child dying here.
Missy
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Al
Yeah, I've got the southern layer and so we needed to spruce up the place a little bit. And down there, fruit trees do great.
Missy
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Zach
Go. Jesus replied, your son will live. The man took Jesus at his word. There's your phrase.
Al
That's the bumper sticker.
Zach
The word became flesh and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, yesterday at one in the afternoon, the fever left him. Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, your son will live. So he and his whole household believed this was the second sign. Jesus Performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.
Al
Let me just right off the bat, say something that I had never realized until this particular study of the text. This guy, when it says that he took Jesus word and departed, he really meant it because he waited around for at least a day and a half, if not two days, before he left to go back. Now you think about this. If you had asked this and you believe that he did it, the first thing probably one of us is going to do is hightail it back. It was 18 miles away, which they've estimated that as about a six hour walk.
Zach
There was no buses, there was a.
Al
Two hour chariot ride. Chariot ride was like Cadillac and back in the day. So. And he probably came in a chair because this guy was a royal official. But you'd have found he'd have hightailed it back to check and see, but he didn't. He apparently stayed there. He was there for business, probably he did his business and then he talks to the guys and they tell him, but we know a whole day has passed because they said yesterday at 1:00. So to me, it just really struck me as like, no, this guy believed it so strongly he went about his business and just assumed the kid was good.
Zach
That's what I was going to say. This is one of the rare times you see that Jesus doesn't say anything about his faith or he didn't say, you need to believe in me. You didn't. You literally saw faith in action.
Al
Yep, that's it.
Zach
And which is really what our faith should be. Yeah, move. He said it and that's it. And I'm taking off. Which I think took a tremendous amount of faith because imagine what he's actually doing. Some guy is saying that he'll be healed and you're just going to take him at his word.
Phil
Right.
Zach
And take off 18 miles.
Al
Because you remember his first ask was come to him and heal him. So his first assumption was Jesus had to be in the room with him to heal him, lay hands on him, whatever for, based on what he had already seen. So he assumed that right off the bat. And Jesus was like, oh, you're the man, all right, your son is healed.
Missy
I think it's like James makes the point very clearly that faith without effort works. Movement is actually not faith. It's dead. But for whatever reason, I think in our, and I think I understand it, but we look back and we want to overreact to maybe a workspace gospel. So we want to like remove any type of effort, movement, work, pursuit, out of it. But I mean, if you just can't separate the two, you really can't. I mean, that's. I think what we're seeing here is it's always going to. True faith is always going to result in movement.
Zach
Well, just think, go back to the garden. If, if Eve would have. Would have trusted what God said, because you remember the evil one, what the first question was.
Al
Did God really say.
Zach
Did God really say. He said, don't eat of that tree of the knowledge of heaven.
Al
How many times has temptation been started with that question? I mean, just think about it through.
Zach
The years, which is our point about the Bible. When you read this, especially the red letters, I mean, I've already compiled. We haven't made this point yet, but we're in chapter four. And just think of the four questions. I think there's four at this point that Jesus has said. If you just took them in each of the contexts, he started off the first red letters in John, what do you seek? If you ask yourself that question as a human, in light of Jesus, what do you seek? And you remember in John 2, why.
Al
Do you bother me?
Zach
Why do you involve me? Well, I think involvement. Just think if you were asking you, why do you involve me? It's a very good question. And then in John 4, to the woman at the well, he said, will you give me a drink? I mean, this is. When you start analyzing this, it starts becoming scary for me because I'm like, what do I seek? Why do I involve Jesus? What are my motives? Would I give Jesus a drink? Would I Would certainly. I mean, if he came up and then what was the fourth one? What was the one we just read? Was there a question here?
Al
No.
Zach
No. So that's. That's three. We're at three so far. I have another one that's coming up somewhere. Oh, I know the one. Yeah, it's in the next. We'll get to that. Next. When he asked the guy who'd been laying that the pool for 38 years. Here's the question. I'll go ahead and give it to you. Is chapter five and verse six.
Al
Do you want to get well? Yeah. That's good, Al.
Zach
We're getting a pretty good sermon here.
Al
I'm writing it down.
Zach
Four questions. I mean, is this. You think John. Do you think John is doing this on purpose?
Al
Yes.
Zach
I mean, if you got up every morning and asked yourself these four questions in the context of reading these stories, and then you apply it to your life.
Al
Life.
Zach
I'm telling you, it'd be life changing.
Al
It would be.
Zach
So we got the point of it was trusting what he says. So then you get in this idea of, are you following Jesus for the signs or you trust in what he says? Yeah, I think that's the point here. And this is the second sign. And this is a disclaimer. From here on out, John assumes you're going to keep up.
Al
Yeah. That you're coming up.
Zach
He doesn't say, this is the third time. We'll read the next one. Which I think is interesting. It's kind of from a literary viewpoint. He's like, okay, you got that? Just follow along and you'll see another sign. Well, what are these signs pointing to? Which I'll give you a hint. It just said that the Samaritans were so filled with joy because they had checked Jesus out for themselves and they had concluded that he was the savior of the world. Yeah, he's the savior of the world. Which. The reason I did those questions is you're going to conclude that God wants you to live eternally with him. He wants to dwell with you forever. This is the point. So don't get hung up on all the signs along the way, especially when they're just earthly signs. So I did something interesting. You're going to like this. This. This has precedent in the Old Testament about signs. And I found two of the most fascinating signs that are imaginable, and I did not realize they were in the Bible. I would like to read these. And. And it kind of went in with this idea of when Jesus said, I am. When he. When he. He first introduced that thought here to the woman at the well. When he said, I am, I am. Because she said, oh, well, when the Messiah comes, he'll explain that. Because she still hadn't got it.
Al
Yeah.
Zach
Which is why he asked her the question, would you give me a drink?
Al
Which, by the way, that's Jesus's ultimate mic drop. Yeah, I am. We see that throughout the book.
Zach
So the first. First precedent I want to go over is in 2nd Kings 20. I know I'm springing this on y'all, but, Al, you're pretty good at the Old Testament. You'll probably remember this story. So this is Hezekiah.
Al
Yep.
Zach
All right.
Al
Remember him? Well, what was the reference?
Zach
2Nd Kings 20.
Al
All right.
Zach
And we're talking about signs, so watch. He's. In those days, Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. And look, he was a pretty good king by all.
Al
Yeah, there were only like six, and he was one of the good guys.
Zach
So. So the prophet Isaiah went to him and said, this is what the Lord says. Put your house in order because you're going to die. Yeah, you will not recover.
Phil
That's what it says.
Zach
It's like, oh, no. Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully starts giving his pitch with wholehearted devotion. And have done what is good in your eyes. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had left the Middle court, the word of the Lord came to him. That's why this is. You see how I got here?
Maddie
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Zach
God gave him a word. Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, this is what the Lord, the God of your father David says. I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you on the third day. Ooh, on the third day. So you were supposed to be dead, but on the third day, watch what I'll do, which I just don't believe this is an accident. From now, on the third day from now, you will go up to the temple of the Lord. Oh, another interesting tidbit. I will add 15 years to your life and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. So not only will he give him 15 years, he's going to deliver his enemies. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David. Then Isaiah said, prepare a poultice of figs. They did so and applied it to the bowl. So now you realize why he's going to die. He had a bowl, had a bowl, and he recovered. So three days later, he goes to the temple, which the temple would be. Jesus. One day, in three days. Remember what he said about the temple? Think that's interesting?
Missy
Rebuild it.
Zach
Yep. Hezekiah had asked Isaiah. Now look, here's, here's, here's where we get into the same thing. What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the Third day from now, he wanted us sign, which, look, I'm going to stop here because I don't have time to go through his whole story. But actually, when you go, he gets healed. He gets 15 years.
Al
Right.
Zach
But he didn't do well. You read in 2nd Chronicles 32, he got puffed up with pride. He did something terrible with the Babylonians, you know, and now look, he eventually repented and humbled himself, but he set.
Al
The stage for them being taken into captivity.
Zach
Exactly. And look, three years after, into the 15 years. This is going to get technical, but this is really cool because a lot of people, because I started reading a lot of things about this story. I went way down deep in it, and I got on one of these chat boards somewhere where they was discussing this, and they're like, actually, God shouldn't have given him 15 more years. Somebody made this argument, because three years into the 15, he had a son named Manasseh who turned out to be terrible.
Al
He's one of the worst kings.
Zach
Evil, one of the worst kings. And so they were making a big deal about. Because this was obviously not a believer.
Al
Yeah.
Zach
And then somebody who's been reading his Bible said, well, yeah, but Manasseh is in the genealogy of which would come Joseph, which became the father figure.
Al
Right.
Zach
Of with Mary.
Al
The royal line.
Zach
Yeah, the royal line. And, you know, that worked out pretty good because Jesus came, you know, and it was like, get the cricket button.
Missy
Yeah. It turns out the plan actually worked.
Zach
The plan actually worked. So.
Missy
Yeah.
Zach
But I want to read the sign. So he wants to sign it. And I'm just saying, I do think that that was part of Hezekiah's problem and why he wandered away after. Because you think God gave you a replete. Think how many people that if you're dying, you're literally fixed to die. And God saved them. And I wanted to tie this into a lot of people when I say, what's your story? When I'm studying with them and they tell sometime that they thought they were going to die and God saved them, you know, because they're like, I was healed.
Missy
Yeah.
Zach
And I'm like, well, that's not what changes your life.
Al
Yeah.
Zach
God's story in Jesus, him dying, being buried and being raised. So I've had that happen hundreds of times. People's salvation story was that God saved him. Kind of like Hezekiah. Well, that didn't even work real well for his heart. You would think he would have never walked away. But he did read 2 Chronicles 32. What I did find interesting was the actual sign. And God gave him a sign. And here's what it is. Verse 9. I did not know this was in the Bible. All right, Isaiah answered, Verse 9. This is the Lord's sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised. Shall the Shadow Go forward 10 steps, or shall it. Shall it go back 10 steps? And I'm like, what are we talking about? First I thought Peter Pan, you know, when his shadow would follow him and then it would. It was like its own entity. I came to find out that they didn't have clocks back then, and they used this shadow of the sun at various places in their house or temple to tell what time it was. So in this case, verse 11 explains that. Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord and the Lord made the shadow go back the 10 steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahab. Now, that's the end of the story. So, look, when you think about the time and all these scholars, I read what they think, and they're like, somehow God made the sun go backwards, went back in time. He literally. Now, he might have done it in the region, or he might have just done it in his house, but that was the sign that he was going to do it. He made time go backwards, which he.
Al
Had done before, way back in Joshua as well.
Zach
Well, that's the other one I was going to go to. Good Al. I didn't know that was in the Bible. In John, Joshua 20 is the. Is a similar thing. And, boy, you're talking about a story. But there was a battle, and he. He calls the sun not to go down for 24 hours. And look, an angel of the Lord. One Angel killed 185,000 of the enemies of Joshua. It was quite the story. I'm just saying there are signs and then there's these signs. Because when you talk about. I am. If you have the power to stop time itself or the earth from rotating, or you can make the earth rotate backwards in a limited fashion, or I don't know if the whole thing was spinning backwards, but in the story of Joshua 20, it actually says, they'll never be another day like this.
Missy
Yeah, yeah.
Zach
So which makes sense.
Al
And I do think it's interesting. And, man, it's probably a lot bigger topic that we can deal with at the end of this podcast, but when you talk about God being bigger than time and space, you start to understand and realize how powerful that really is, that he operates with the plan that he had before creation. We read about in Ephesians 1. And yet we're all involved in the play as it plays itself out, because we don't know. What bothers people is, well, why does it matter? If all this stuff, if God knows everything, then why does it matter? But look, Hezekiah, all he knew was the boy was about to kill him and he wanted more time. And God said, okay, you're going to get more time. And then he knew how that was going to play out. It's not like he was surprised by Manasseh.
Zach
Well, exactly. But what I'm saying is, my whole point is everybody wants a sign, and they were following him for the signs, which is going to be a common theme that you're going to see the rest of the way. And even people on Earth today say, you know, if God just whispered in my ear or if he saved me from this myth, then I would follow him. But how can you get any more incredible than this? And the humans who saw the sign still struggle. That's why Jesus came to Earth, that you want to change your life. God in Jesus, the word becoming flesh. And what he did and what he does and what he's doing actively and what he will do, that's the game changer for your life. It's his story and not you searching for something. Because if I started seeing the sun go backwards or the clock go backwards, literally, you would think in your mind, oh, oh, he's real. He's real. I'm gonna follow him. It doesn't work that way.
Missy
Which is why Paul gives the way. Paul positions against signs. Not the signs are bad, because they're good, because God obviously use it throughout the entire Bible. But Paul in First Corinthians, he pits something against the signs people who. The Jews, he says, demand signs. He says, but you know what we preached? The crucified Christ.
Zach
Yeah.
Missy
And I mean, he didn't just say Christ, he said the crucified Christ. And I think what people want out of the signs is what they're really saying is, I want. I want the benefit of God. I want the kingdom without the king. But you can't get the kingdom without the king. And to get the kingdom with the king means you got to live a life that's willing to sacrifice. That's what Christ did.
Al
I love it. So we'll end it here. And my last line will be, the light's green.
Zach
It's green, it's green. J Rock is green.
Al
Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by leaving a rating and review on Apple podcasts 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.
Podcast Summary: "Ep 1065 | Jase Dubs Si’s Podcast the ‘Tower of Babble’ & Are You Looking for a Sign from God"
Released on March 28, 2025
In Episode 1065 of "Unashamed with the Robertson Family," hosted by Tread Lively, the Robertson family delves deep into the theme of seeking signs from God. The episode intertwines personal anecdotes, biblical narratives, and theological discussions to explore the essence of faith beyond miraculous signs.
The episode kicks off with a provocative question posed by Zach: "I am unashamed. What about you?" (01:01). This sets the stage for a broader discussion on the human tendency to seek tangible signs as validation of faith.
The Robertson family seamlessly integrates personal stories to illustrate their points about faith and everyday miracles.
A substantial portion of the episode is dedicated to analyzing biblical narratives to understand God's intentions behind providing signs.
The Robertson family engages in a deep theological discussion about the role of signs in faith, referencing various biblical passages and theological perspectives.
Al and Zach discuss the portrayal of biblical stories in media, referencing "The Chosen" series and its impact on understanding scripture.
The episode wraps up with a reaffirmation of the central theme: true faith requires trust and action beyond seeking divine signs. The family encourages listeners to focus on the teachings and person of Jesus Christ as the foundation of their faith journey.
This episode of "Unashamed with the Robertson Family" offers a thoughtful exploration of faith, encouraging listeners to move beyond seeking signs and to immerse themselves in a life led by trust, action, and deep engagement with the word of God.