Ep 1251 | Phil’s Gift of Prophecy Lives on & Jase Proves You Can’t Follow Jesus Quietly

Summary

Unashamed with the Robertson Family

Episode 1251 | Phil’s Gift of Prophecy Lives on & Jase Proves You Can’t Follow Jesus Quietly
January 20, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the Robertson brothers gather to share stories about family, faith, and their life in Louisiana, reflecting on how their walk with Christ shapes their relationships and daily choices. The conversation moves from lighthearted teasing about duck hunting and beards to deep discussions on living out faith boldly, the authenticity of confession, and the importance of proclaiming the truth about Jesus. Jase shares his personal experience as a young, quiet believer learning to be unashamed and outspoken, even when facing ridicule. The family emphasizes that genuine fellowship with God transforms both our private lives and our willingness to boldly stand for truth in a skeptical world.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Hunting, Family Life, and Louisiana Camaraderie

• Plans for Duck Season: The episode opens with the family discussing upcoming duck hunts and the tension between family events and the close of hunting season. Jase describes the rain’s impact on duck spots, promising to update the group on the results.
  • “You realize that’s the last two days of duck season.” – Jase (01:38)
• Food, Hospitality & Cajun Culture: The group jokes about negotiating over meals (especially crawfish pie), Southern hospitality, and bringing something to the table—a metaphor for contributing rather than just taking.
  • “When you come forth with open arms saying, ‘Can I go?’ and you have nothing in your hands, it’s hard for me to jump on that, because that is the yuppie way.” – Jase (18:47)

Generational Discipleship & Spiritual Growth

• On Crafting the Next Generation: The family notes the progress of Christian and John Luke, sporting beards and camo, and how mentorship is helping shape a new generation into bold followers of Christ.
  • “About a year and a half into it—it’s been bumpy.” – Jase on mentoring Christian and John Luke (20:00)
• Personal Impact of Apologetics: Zach reveals how his own approach to apologetics, though seemingly without direct results, actually inspired John Luke’s faith deeply.
  • “That almost brought me to tears...He said that shaped his belief in his faith in Christ.” – Zach (20:33)

Theme: You Can’t Follow Jesus Quietly

• Jase’s Transformation from Quiet to Confident: Jase unveils his journey as a teenager from being a quiet believer to boldly proclaiming Jesus, even when it cost him at school.
  • “Those two years, thinking just the Christian faith was not doing wrong—which that’s about as far in my immature faith…” – Jase (24:47)
• Facing Persecution & Embracing Boldness:
  • “At some point it just hit me that I’ve got the spirit of God in me. I’m gonna live forever. I’ve had enough. I am not taking any lip from people who have no plan.” – Jase (27:47)
  • “I just found it impossible for me to live as a disciple of Jesus quietly. They just wouldn’t let me.” – Jase (43:34)

Scripture Study and Spiritual Authenticity

• The Power of Fellowship & Walking in the Light: The heart of the episode is a deep dive into 1 John 1:5–2:2, examining the reality of God as light, the necessity of living truthfully, and the genuine community that comes from walking in the light.

  • “If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” – Jace, reading 1 John (46:39)

• Calling Out Hypocrisy and the Transforming Power of Truth: The guys drill down on how people often claim faith while living otherwise. They urge listeners to bring their lives into alignment with confession and the reality of God’s nature.

  • “He’s not giving a list of bad behaviors here. John is describing reality itself. He is the light.” – Zach (31:42)
  • “The confession is not...transactional...What you’re actually doing is you’re agreeing with God about reality and what’s real.” – Zach (48:08)

• Living as Witnesses, In Spite of Sin: The discussion stresses that moral perfection isn't required to proclaim Jesus—what matters is honesty, humility, and fellowship with God.

  • “None of us can claim to be without sin. But...are you walking in the light?” – Jay (45:16)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Owning and Exposing Sin:

  • “All humans who are adults, they’re like, ‘Yep’…You can cut to the chase: I know y’all been cuttin’ up.” – Jace on Phil’s direct approach to sharing the gospel (36:04)

• Wisdom on Faith & Community:

  • “We don’t have to agree on everything for us to be friends.” – Zach (10:38)
  • “The kingdom of God is bigger than parties and political ideology, that’s for sure.” – Jay (10:26)

• Cultural Humor:

  • “When you have a beard...does no good to grow the beard if you’re going to try to trim the hedges and shave the neck. Just let it go.” – Jase on authentic beard growing (06:06)
  • “You don’t grow beards. They grow themselves. You just get out of the way.” – Jay, quoting Dad Dasher (06:09)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:38] – Duck season, humor, and family priority conflicts
• [06:00–09:00] – Beard banter, authenticity, and family culture
• [20:00] – Generational discipleship & impact of teaching apologetics
• [24:47–28:08] – Jase’s journey from being quiet to boldly owning his faith during high school
• [31:42–33:33] – The nature of God’s light and what it means for authentic Christian living
• [44:13–46:21] – Sharing faith despite flaws; walking as a witness
• [48:08–50:33] – True confession, aligning with God’s reality, and the power of testimony

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Closing Moments / Special Guests

• [53:15] – Shoutout and prayer for Hunter and his family, a special guest inspiring the Robertsons and listeners with his faith and strength

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Final Thoughts

This heartfelt and humor-filled episode drives home that true discipleship isn’t just about not sinning or staying quiet; it’s about openly and honestly living in God’s light, confessing failures, and speaking truth in love—even when it means risking ridicule. The encouragement is clear: you cannot follow Jesus quietly or halfheartedly. The spiritual transformation starts internally but must overflow into confident, loving action in the world.

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Memorable Quote Recap:

• “The fellowship that God is welcoming us in is deeper than you think. …if you truly believe that you’re housing the same spirit that was hovering over the waters in the first two verses of the Bible, it’s now living inside of you… the fruit of that will be a mouthpiece to the world.” – Jace (21:17)

Transcript

[Zach]

I am unashamed. What about you?

[Jay]

So welcome back to the Unashamed Podcast. Zach, I meant to ask you on the last podcast and I forgot you had mentioned a while back about Max and Layla doing some touring with their old buddy Larry Flea. Is that still happening? And because I've had a few people ask me about it and where can they go to find out where to where they're going to be?

[Zach]

Yeah, they're going to be all over. They're going, I think they're doing, I don't know, 15, 20 cities. Go to Larry Fleet. I just pulled it up. Larry fleet.com Now, Jill and I, we're going to be at the Bristol, Tennessee, because that's not too far from the house. And we're going to do the Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia show and then we're going to go to the Raleigh one. So if you're in those areas and you listen to the podcast, we want to come hang out, go check it out. We'll put the, we'll put the link in the show notes too. But it's LarryFleet.com you got all the, you can buy tickets right there. So, yeah, they're going to be touring with him. We're fired up about it. It's going to be fun.

[Jay]

That's awesome. I do want to mention, too, Lisa and I are doing our first event of the year, January 30th and 31st, and we're going to be in Olney, Illinois. So if you're from that area, the event's going to be at the Elm Street Christian Church, but it's for a group called the Full Armor Christian Academy. It looks like they've got a way to get tickets on their Facebook page. So if you want to try to search that out, if you're up in the Olney, Illinois, I think it's about maybe a couple hours north of St. Louis is where this is going to be. And so we're actually going to be there for two days doing two separate events because I think this 01 out, but I'm not sure.

[Jace]

So you realize that's the last two days of duck season.

[Jay]

I do realize that, Jay. So I'll be, I'll be cheering you on.

[Jace]

You know what I call that?

[Jay]

Poor timing, Poor planning or planning.

[Jace]

No, I'm kidding.

[Zach]

I got, I just, Larry just text me, ironically as we were talking, and he said, I'm headed down to, to south Louisiana, south of Lake Charles, gonna do some duck hunting in the marsh for the next couple of days.

[Jay]

Wow.

[Zach]

He said, is Jace Killing any ducks.

[Jace]

Sounds like he's trying.

[Jay]

And he listens to our podcast, so speak directly to our friend.

[Jace]

He's acts like he's trying to say on the way, what do you do?

[Zach]

No, I responded back. I said, well, I'm going down next week. How long? He's. Well, I've only got a couple days. I gotta get there. He's. I gotta. I hired a. They gotta hold. He's. I gotta get ready.

[Jay]

Let me tell you something. Cameron Parrish is world famous for their ducking. I don't know how they're doing down there, but that's some good duck hunting in that area where he's headed normally.

[Jace]

Yeah, I think they're doing pretty good. I think up north and way south, the parts in between has been struggling due to lack of water. Yeah, but we just got a rain. I'm going to hunt our hole for the first time since the big rain tomorrow. So I'll give you all a report next time we're together.

[Jay]

And since we just are doing one podcast right after the last one, those of you that felt my excitement over the teal wraps that are coming in, my future have not happened yet because that's hopefully going to happen tonight. So.

[Zach]

So I'm going to be down there next week. Jay. Jay. Since I need to get with Jay, I know you said I could hunt, but I need to make sure that we still. Are we still good? Is everything still.

[Jace]

Well, the reason you're going to get with Jay is. That's yet to be determined. So I don't want to. The way we do it. You don't understand that. Here's that way we do it. Jay is the buffer. Because it would be awkward if I told you right now. You're out when you get your feelings.

[Jay]

Bringing it up on the podcast, get your feelings hurt.

[Zach]

You're crying.

[Jace]

I don't think you would.

[Zach]

I don't think that would bother you to hurt myself.

[Jay]

It really wouldn't.

[Jace]

But when we create this buffer and we follow the plan, we do that so that Jay can kind of not say anything false. He can feather the news, which is.

[Jay]

So funny because yesterday we recorded for Hillsdale in this room. Jase and I mentioned this to you in between the podcast. And Christian came in. They came straight from the dump line like you did today. He and John Luke, which I was super impressed. The next generation. Your work on the new show is apparently working.

[Zach]

And he's growing a beard. I mean, they look like he had a beard yesterday.

[Jay]

He had a camo shirt on. And he had a beanie, A black beanie. And he sat in your chair and he wanted to make fun of Zach.

[Jace]

He.

[Jay]

He. He felt it. It almost came out because we were telling the story, but he couldn't quite pull the trigger. And I thought, well, Jace will have to like, tutor him over that last hump. Which is. It's okay to make fun of Zach. He's got a thick skin, you know.

[Jace]

Well, and he's. He's basically ET Incarnate, which is. I know it's extraterrestrial, but we use it for easy target because he has yuppie tendencies.

[Zach]

Are you talking about me or you're talking about Christian?

[Jace]

Oh, I'm talking about you, buddy. This is what.

[Jay]

This is the part Christian couldn't quite get over the huddle.

[Zach]

You know, it's funny you say that, but here's the truth. If you saw the town, I grew up in it. When. When you think of. Of the rednecks in Louisiana. And would it put that in a ca. And you go to where I grew up. It's a whole nother level. I promise you. There was no yuppies in Trenton.

[Jay]

You know? You know, you're right, Zach, because we plucked one of those Florida rednecks up from there from your old stomping grounds and he is now working in our duck call room. Cades.

[Zach]

It's a different breed.

[Jay]

Am I admit he country. He is.

[Jace]

You still show yuppie tendencies. Yeah. Now when you have a beard. But the problem is when I see it, I have the same feeling when I pass by some of my neighbors and they're out there on their hands and knees and they're premeditating what their yard looks like. And you're doing the same thing with your beard. I told you, it does no good to grow the beard or allow it to grow if. Then you're going to try to trim the hedges and shave the neck. Just let it go.

[Jay]

This is godly.

[Jace]

This is the way he designs it.

[Jay]

In the words of dad Dasher, you don't grow beards. They grow themselves. You just get out of the way.

[Jace]

Yeah.

[Zach]

I mean, Jill says that looks like a walrus. She said you look like a walrus and she said you got to keep it trimmed up. So I mean, it is part of the.

[Jace]

You gotta remember the biggest form of crime that you can commit is premeditation.

[Jay]

And so like when he's out in his flower beds.

[Jace]

This is not a beard slaughter. It's just a premeditated. You're trying to say Oh, I want to have a beard. I like the idea, but I want you to look at me and say, oh, that looks nice.

[Jay]

I don't think I told y' all this, but when I was. We had a little bit of a break during the holidays, and so I was in Gulf Shores, and I have. I took my shaver, and I took it all the way down to shave level just to see, because I hadn't seen what's underneath here in about 10 years. And I was going to make my decision, do I shave? Because Lisa kind of wants to see it all the way clean. But when I got it down to the lowest level before the razor, I looked in the mirror and I thought about you, Jase, when you took yours off, you know, right after the show ended and then caused such a stir and you raised some money doing it. But I thought, nope, the things happen to a man's face from 50 to 60 that nobody needs to see, so it'll never come off. It's staying on the rest of the way. Let it go.

[Jace]

So what's happening is Christian is way further down the line in his rehabilitation than you are, Zach. He's quickly passed you by. He's got the black beanie. He was this. Was his beard manicured? It was.

[Jay]

I think it was let go for him, but it wasn't.

[Zach]

It was kind of a starter beard.

[Jay]

He's young.

[Zach]

Phil called it the Yasser.

[Jay]

He called it the psychiatrist beard. Or the Yasser Arafat is what he. That's the splotchy one is the Yasser Arafat. So we just had a group of rednecks come in here. I'm looking. I can barely see them behind the lights over here, but I'm seeing beards back there. This looks like our group back here, our people.

[Jace]

We have a studio audience today.

[Jay]

So they're from Kentucky and Tennessee.

[Zach]

Oh, you talking about rednecks? Those are kind of like hillbilly back in the holler. But that's a whole nother level, too. You start talking about Kentucky, that's like, on the. That's on the same level where I grew up, North Florida.

[Jay]

They were giving me possum recipes yesterday.

[Zach]

Oh, it's backwards, boys.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Jace]

Here.

[Zach]

But here's the thing about the Christian. Those guys. So they. They have the opportunity. I don't. I don't live in an area anymore where there's any duck hunting. So if I. If it's a deal, I mean, I make a. A journey. I mean, it's a pilgrimage back down to the. To the homeland. Or I go to Arkansas or somewhere like that. Or I went to Nebraska last year, which was nice, on the North Platte River. And that was us.

[Jay]

We.

[Zach]

We did kill the ducks. That was. That was pretty awesome.

[Jay]

But, Zach, you live where you live now. You talk about yuppie land up there in Black Mountain and Ash for area, but you think it's.

[Zach]

Would you say yuppie? I would say more hippie.

[Jay]

Well, I guess so. You're right. It's more hippie. Yippee.

[Jace]

Maybe call them yippee.

[Jay]

Yippees. Yippees. There you go. There's a lot of yippies up there where you. They had a big. They had a big no Kings rally the last time I was up there. Of course, that group of yippees. There wasn't anybody in there. I'd have been a youngster if I'd have waited up in there. It must have been some of your older neighbors there, Zach. They were. They're not big Trump fans up there now.

[Zach]

They're not. But actually. And that's funny, the neighborhood. I mean, we're all friends, but there's a pretty diverse opinions in the neighborhood, for sure.

[Jay]

Did they know about you? Do you just. Do you get in there and mix it up?

[Zach]

It's one of them deals like, yeah.

[Jay]

Your son does that bear.

[Zach]

Oh, wow. Bears.

[Jace]

That.

[Zach]

Yeah, the secret's out with bear. But then they would. One lady was, like, moved in down the street. She said, yeah, I went over there to, like, say hello to her. And she's like, yeah, I googled your name. And she said, we're not going to like each other.

[Jay]

Oh, oh.

[Zach]

And I was like, why not? And she's like, well, I'm a raging liberal or something like that. So, I mean, I don't look. Hey.

[Jay]

You should have said, hey, I don't mind the liberal. Let's just tone down the rage. I don't need any rage out of me.

[Jace]

But I put.

[Zach]

I put the charm on her. I said, hey, we all have our. We all have our positions. I said, I'm gonna. But I'm gonna love you just like Christ would. I'm a Christian. And. And hey, you know, you could. You could. You're welcome at my dinner table anytime, you know, And I love it.

[Jay]

You're right. The kingdom of God is bigger than parties and political ideology, that's for sure.

[Zach]

She was taken back by it. She was like, really? I said, yeah, really. Like you. She said, you would have me in your house for dinner? I said, yeah, absolutely.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Zach]

So we don't have to agree on everything for us to be friends. And so it was. So, yeah, it's kind of interesting place to live, but. But I'll be back down in the homeland. So I was thinking, Jason, can you.

[Jay]

Slip on your redneck when you come in? Just like putting on an old blanket, it's default.

[Zach]

I could go back real quick, but I would like one more request and I'm just throwing it out there. Jace.

[Jay]

Oh, boy. Here's how. This is how it goes, Jace. This is the one that leads to two. Jase, you've been talking about your relationship with your animals.

[Jace]

Yep. I know one of their favorite treats is rough greens. And so if they'll just take care of their business outdoors like dogs should do, I will reward them handsomely with some rough greens.

[Jay]

That's right. Rough greens is a great product. Our good friend Dr. Dennis Black came up with this product. It's packed with live nutrients that work from the inside out, which gives your pet the foundation they need to thrive, because, let's face it, they get sick, they have all these issues. You take them to the vet, you kind of get in this cycle and, you know, it just doesn't seem to be able to be solved. But it can be because most of the problem is a weak immune system that comes from their food. It's this processed dead food year after year that causes the problems. So we want you to get off that vet visit. Merry go Round with America's number one dog supplement. Thousands of pet owners are seeing the difference. They have more energy, they have shinier coats and fewer problems. Jason and I both nosed it with our pets. They're excited about this product. They line up and so we want you to give it a try right now. You can try it yourself with a free Jumpstart trial bag. You just cover the shipping. So go to rough greens.com, use the promo code unashamed to break the cycle today. Ruff Greens.com promo code unashamed.

[Zach]

And I want the. I was thinking about that crawfish pie. Just, I'm just throwing it out there. You keep thinking, come hang out at your house one night. We can, we can pray together, have a Bible study and maybe crawfish pie. I'm just throwing it out there.

[Jay]

He's down the menu. See, this is where it goes. Now you're putting.

[Jace]

Crawfish pie is life altering.

[Jay]

It is fantastic.

[Zach]

I'm serious. Is there any way I'll be in town for about five days, Just one meal at your house with the crawfish Pie. That's my.

[Jace]

I'll tell you this, I found something fascinating. We had the Van Norman's in. They stayed three days. Yeah, I guess. And so was it, Was it true.

[Jay]

What Benjamin Franklin said?

[Jace]

What's that?

[Jay]

That guest house guests were like fish. They begin to stink after three days?

[Jace]

No, no, they were great.

[Jay]

That's what Benjamin Franklin said.

[Zach]

He did say that.

[Jace]

Now, no problems on that. But what I did find ironic is Missy makes this surprise crawfish pie for lunch and she. What she does with the crust is she makes a little cross and puts it on there. And so crust design. We go all in there and get a piece of the pie.

[Jay]

I'm intrigued.

[Jace]

We sit around a round table kind of Duck Dynasty style and say a prayer and offer thanks and.

[Jay]

Was there a camera rolling?

[Jace]

No. Devour the piece. Well, I go back in there because I thought I might go back in.

[Jay]

Tap it again.

[Jace]

Tap it again. Well, I go in there and look. I look at this pie plate and there's a cross in the middle and that's the only thing left. I thought, boy, these Van Normans, these Aggies, they literally just consume that, which is an incredible cross amount of pieces. But then they just felt bad and they thought, well, we're going to leave that cross. They didn't want to desecrate.

[Zach]

Well, you should have read those scriptures from the last podcast about our consumption or our participation in the Lord's Supper. We're in.

[Jay]

Jeff, you coined with that crawfish pie.

[Jace]

That's why I ate the cross, because that's the only thing that was left. But I just thought that was psychologically funny. They thought I probably shouldn't eat the second and third piece because I don't know how they got. I mean, they just engulfed the whole pie. Five humans. Because the crawfish pie is a little heavy, it lingers. So I try to eat a little less than what I think I should eat because 30 minutes later, the Van.

[Jay]

Normans had the same philosophy as Al. Which is why I had to get on PhD because after a while it caught up with me. Is that the one who eats the fastest has the potential to eat the most because what little. We didn't always have a lot of leftovers back in the day Jays, when we had a room full of teenage boys in our house. And so if you ate quickly, there was a chance that there may be one piece of chicken left or something somebody didn't get. So I, I ate way. I eat way too fast. I can't slow down because it's just now the way I've been doing it.

[Jace]

Well. And look, it came right out of the oven. And you know how those crawfish pies are.

[Jay]

They're hot. The.

[Jace]

Well, it was molten lava. And the youngster, Lake, he's. What is he, 17?

[Jay]

17.

[Jace]

He's like, my lips are stuck together. I was like, that's the skin that has burned because he ate two pieces before I got halfway through. And I was like, you're probably going to need to get you some chapstick on the way out. But anyway, it was. It was good. Well, I'll see what I can do, Zach.

[Jay]

Well, the backup plan, Zach, could be what we had last night. So it was Lisa's birthday, and so I got Old Stone, before he left for Jiu Jitsu, to. I went and bought a whole tenderloin ribeye. You've done before, Zach. You know how good they are.

[Zach]

Oh, yeah.

[Jay]

And this was a bit. This was an eight pounder, eight pounds of tenderloin. And he hooked it and put it in that smoker, and then he put his probes in there, but he had to leave. So it was up to me and Nan to get this thing right. But now it's pretty foolproof because you got the probes. They tell you the temp. We. We pull that thing off the grill and put some butter on it, let it rest. Perfect. Medium rare. And then Vinnie and Alex have started making dad's crawfish. Or last night it was shrimp, because Lisa doesn't like crawfish. Shrimp and crab au gratin. And they've got. They're getting it. Every batch is more and more like Dad's. And last night was on time. And then we pour that over the steak.

[Jace]

I've done it.

[Jay]

It's like a salve, a sauce. But you talk about good. I mean, that thing was larping. So we had mom and Aunt Ann there, and so we had the. The old ladies, and they were lapping it up. They were loving life. Mom is doing great. We've been kind of giving you updates on her. So it was a great feed. So that maybe can be the backup plan if you don't get the crawfish pie, Zach, maybe we can do a tenderloin for you.

[Zach]

He's given me a soft commitment, so I'm gonna. I'm gonna assume that I'm getting the crawfish pie.

[Jace]

Don't call me. I'll have a guy reach out and we'll try to work it out.

[Jay]

Get your people to contact his people. Zach. We'll do lunch.

[Zach]

I'll text you the dates that I'm coming in. And Missy will be on the text as well.

[Jace]

No text, Jay. And we'll go from there.

[Zach]

I'm talking about the crawfish pie. That's a separate deal.

[Jace]

Who do I got to go through Jay first? He's the enforcer.

[Zach]

Even on the crawfish pie smell.

[Jace]

A no cover here, not on the premises. You know, Missy's got that from K Tendency. She's now getting to where she's cooking these pies. And because I smell them, I go in there and I'm like, where's it at? She's like, third cabinet behind the. I was like, babe, me and you are the only people that live here.

[Jay]

Now. She's hiding them from you.

[Jace]

Oh, she's hiding them. She said, well, I just didn't want somebody to walk in because we don't. We have a no knock policy and just consume it. I think the Van Norman center reeling, you know, because we went in there and I was like, they ate that entire pie. It was that good.

[Jay]

So, Zach, I got an idea for you. So Jase loves my cream cheese pie and Missy does too. So if you can make a side deal with me, maybe I could trade one of my pies for a crawfish pie for you.

[Jace]

Yeah.

[Jay]

And we could do a little training.

[Jace]

Now we're getting into negotiations because, Zach, when you come forth with open arms saying, can I go? And you have nothing in your hands, it's hard for me just to jump on that, because that is the yuppie.

[Jay]

Way to bring something to.

[Zach]

That's why. And that's why he calls me a hustler. In the last podcast, he said I.

[Jay]

Was a hustle on an ad.

[Jace]

I'm serious. Here's how this got started. Because I did the revival, Duck Dynasty, and I'm sitting down with these producers and they. They're like, what do you want to do? And I said, well, in life, there's two kinds of people. There are givers and there are takers. And I said, right now, these. These Duck boys, they take.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Jace]

They have nothing to offer.

[Zach]

That's right.

[Jace]

And they have a lot to offer. They just don't realize what. Oh, yes. And I want it, you know, sweat equity. Just do something. Give me something. I was like, we need to do about a six part series on that transformation. And so that. I think that's your biggest problem. That's why you're having to go through the buffer.

[Jay]

Well, when I saw Christian and John Luke walk in here with beards in camo yesterday for our Hillsdale episodes, I thought. I think Jason's tutelage must be working.

[Jace]

About a year and a half into it. It's been bumpy.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Jace]

Willie's actually.

[Zach]

I was proud of him. And John Luke gave me one of the biggest compliments. I had said in the podcast that I'd never seen one person, at least in my ministry, come to Christ through apology, through my presentation of apologetics. And John Luke say, I'm gonna push back on that. And I never even knew that he was in there listening. He said he had listened to all those classes when he was a high school kid.

[Jay]

Y.

[Zach]

When he's a high school kid. Said that was very.

[Jay]

That shaped his. His belief in his faith in Christ.

[Zach]

That almost brought me to tears, I thought. I didn't know. I never knew he was even in there.

[Jace]

Yeah.

[Zach]

And that. Funny.

[Jay]

That shows. You all right, you ready to get first out?

[Jace]

Oh, I'm ready. Because I think if your apologetics better lead you to Jesus and the protection.

[Jay]

And that was what we made the point in the. In the podcast. It has to lead you there, because the story of Jesus is the story of Jesus. It is who he is.

[Jace]

That's how God speaks.

[Jay]

That's what led C.S. lewis to Lord, which obviously led to what he did as well. So we're in one John one. And, Jason, the last podcast, you took us on a little. What we call a little journey through the New Testament with this word koin.

[Jace]

Rabbit holes for Jesus.

[Jay]

Rabbit holes for Jesus.

[Jace]

The fellowship that God is welcoming us in is deeper than you think. It makes God more real. I mean, I know this is done through faith, but if you truly believe that you're housing the same spirit that was hovering over the waters in the first two verses of the Bible, it's now living inside of you. Not only will he raise your dead body, but the fruit of that will be a mouthpiece to the world.

[Jay]

And so your point was from our opening text here and then into what we're going to read today, which is kind of. Then the lifestyle that follows that is that eternal life is in Jesus, and His Holy Spirit now lives in us. And so that bit of eternity is already in us. I call it the portal. And so no matter how much time we get here on this earth, it could be a little time, it could be a lot of time, but even a lot of time. As we discussed in previous podcasts, it's not going to be long, but we're already into the Next step of eternity because we're in Christ. So the life has now begun.

[Jace]

Oh, that's it. Now look, we appreciate y' all staying with us to this point in the study of one John because it's been a little deep because this is hard to wrap your head around. Being yoked together with the creator of the universe. I mean that's pretty hard to wrap your head around. This one thought, where he's going is what changed my life. Because I get to 14, I saw my parents lives transformed and I'm like, well, what caused this? It took me a few years to kind of process that. I read the book of John, I fall in love with Jesus, I believe he's the son of God, and I end up surrendering to Christ. But we were going to a little country church. My dad wasn't the preacher. Al, you were there. And it just seemed like I'm reading the excitement and the joy of who Jesus is. But I'm looking around thinking, what's wrong with these people? They don't seem real excited about this. And you know, think old country church now. My dad was excited and my mom, but it just the fluff around this.

[Jay]

And dad was just kind of flexing his ministry muscles like he had been a Christian a few years and now he's got enough in depth of discipleship from Smith and others that he's now beginning to kind of say, okay, I'm going to start sharing. He'd been sharing it with everybody, but now he had some knowledge of the Bible and he's beginning to teach a little bit.

[Zach]

So y' all going to Wise Ferry Road and then.

[Jay]

No, no, we had left WF they had said I was a prodigal. And then when I came back to the Lord, this is where the family was.

[Jace]

Yeah, Al had kind of checked out, but he came back, I came back. And so there I was thinking, I mean, there was only one person within two years of my age.

[Jay]

There was one family that had a few kids that was a girl.

[Jace]

And I thought, I guess if I'm going to get Marri, going to have to be with this girl. Cuz that, that, that was the only pool to pick from, you know, and because, I mean I was going through.

[Jay]

My teenage years, when you're picking out of the pool, you want there to be a little more fish in the pond.

[Jace]

I just thought, boy, this is.

[Zach]

It was a numbers game is what you were telling me at that point. It's just a numbers game.

[Jace]

So now I've given my life to.

[Jay]

Christ and all, and, and the girls in this family are crazy about us, but we were, you know, to catch.

[Jace]

All my friends at school were just hellions because I was hanging around the hunting and fishing crowd because they're all. That's the only thing I could do well. And my dad was making a name for himself in the hunting world, so that kind of was the only thing I had in common. But these boys were rough. And so my first two years of my faith from 14 to 16, was just survival. Now, back then, I didn't say a whole lot Al can testify to that. This is the quiet chase. Very few words came out of my mouth.

[Jay]

Boy, how times have changed.

[Jace]

But look, I was just taking a beating at school because I was just being persecuted mercilessly because I wouldn't participate in what these boys are wanting to go do because it was all vow. And I'm reading verses like this. I can't claim to live in the light, live in the darkness. And all these boys, the lights are out. And so that transition, me being persecuted those two years, thinking just the Christian faith was not doing wrong, which that's about as far in my immature faith as I was thinking. But I kept reading and I kept thinking, why am I taking this kind of abuse from these people who have no plan, who have no life, are completely miserable. They seem angry. They're all scared to die. It was just kind of sad.

[Jay]

They're just hoping they survive the lifestyle.

[Zach]

So if you guys are stressed about getting out of debt, let me tell you something. It's go time. Al, you actually struggle with debt early in your marriage.

[Jay]

It's a. It's a bind, it's a burdens act. And it's something that you just tend to dig deeper if you don't find some way to get on top of it quickly.

[Zach]

So if that's you, I'm telling you right now is the time. This is one of those moments where timing actually matters. Because done with debt is one of the best I've seen at navigating debt relief. 2025 was a record year. They enrolled over $102 million in debt. For our listeners and others. So here's why I'm telling you about this now. Because according to the Federal Reserve's last survey, many banks that they've tightened their standards. And so right now may be your best window to negotiate settlements before lenders tighten even further. So done with debt, what they do is they track credit card and loan company behavior. They're experienced at knowing who is negotiating and when and what it takes to get you the biggest reduction possible. So Whether you're carrying 10,000 or $500,000 in debt, this may be the best chance you'll get all year. So don't wait for the lenders to tighten up their policies. All you have to do is schedule a free consultation. No pressure. It only takes a few minutes. Share who you owe and they'll tell you if this is the moment that you could see a major reduction in your debt. Imagine waking up without that weight on your shoulders and doing it without taking out another loan or filing for bankruptcy. Done with debt helps you through the debt relief process so you can keep more of your paycheck every single month. So go. Donewithdebt.com right now. That's donewithdebt.com.

[Jace]

And at some point it just hit me that I'm like, I got the spirit of God in me. I'm going to live forever. I've had enough. I am not taking any lip from people who have no plan. They're scared and they're just acting like a bunch of idiots. And so I started talking to them. That was the transition.

[Jay]

They call this idiot evangelism. That's what they call it.

[Jace]

No, I was 16 years old.

[Zach]

16 years old. I mean, honestly though, I, I, to me, we have to recover that kind of masculinity. Yeah, 16 year old boys can be men, and they can. And that was a rarity. I remember being a lot younger than you, but like, for me that was, you know, I know I bust on you a lot, but I mean, I, that was an anchor for me just to see when your, your conviction, especially at that young age, I always held onto that. I was like, man, I don't want to be a weak guy. You know what I mean? I don't want to be someone who's afraid.

[Jace]

Exactly. And that's why I made a point last podcast. We set all this up to get to right here, the practical life, because that's where he goes. He goes to how you walk, what you do, and how you should be.

[Jay]

And how you can't keep one foot in both worlds.

[Jace]

And so even though when I was 16, I didn't notice this passage, but other passages that say the same thing. That's why I pointed out that he, in his letter, he said, we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard. And then he says it again, we proclaim this. And I'm like, I need to proclaim this. I need to quit this trying to survive. Because I was just getting Ridiculed. And when I started proclaiming it, they started scattering. It scared them. In fact. They thought I had gone crazy. I mean, they were like. Because I started asking them questions, you know, how'd you get on Earth? Y' all answer this, and I'll go drink with y'. All. I'll buy the beer. You know, this kind of logic, that's kind of how it was. And they were talking about what they were going to do with this girl, and they were getting. I was like, yeah, I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going to wind up in a hospital getting a shot, because this is what's happened. Because I got into Phil's little take on all the STDs. Well, they're looking at it.

[Jay]

Hey, Jase. Things will rot off. I mean, that was microbes, boys. Microbes.

[Jace]

This was not normal in the conversation. Our conversation changed. And so the point I want to make is. And here's where the light switch went on for me in one John, he talks about how awesome this encounter they had with the Word of Life. Like, we saw him. We want your joy to be complete. And then. So then he gets real practical, and I'm going to read it. It says, this is the message we have heard from him and declare to you. Which is not unlike what I was telling my buddies. Here's the message. Here's what you need to do. God is light. In him, there is no darkness at all if we claim to have fellowship with Him. The reason we spent the whole podcast talking about that is because, man, is it awesome. We're participating with the creator of the universe. We're fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit of God in an intimate way. Well, if you claim that, yet walk in darkness, well, you're lying and not living by the truth. Now, at first, I was having trouble wrapping my head around this, but you notice what the problem is? You're claiming, like, what you're saying is not adding up with what you're doing and how you're living.

[Jay]

And that's why he said he was a proclaimer of truth. That's that same idea.

[Zach]

What's the reason why you're lying is. Think about the argument here. He says, this is the message. God is light. In him, there is no darkness. So that what John's doing, he's not given a list of bad behaviors here. John is describing reality itself, and he's saying, no, no, God is light. So if you claim to have fellowship with him, if he is the light, but you're walking in darkness. He's like, something don't add up, boys, because he is the light. He's not, like, projecting the light. No, he is the light. So to walk, to have fellowship with him, you can't possibly. This is like a statement of, like. This is like reality. Like, I can't be in the pool and not in the pool at the same time. You gotta pick one. If I'm in the pool, then I'm in the pool. If I'm not in the pool, I'm not in the pool. And so he's saying, if you're in, if you're walking with him, guess what? There's not gonna be darkness. There's gonna be light.

[Jay]

Because he is light. There's an implied nearness in what he's saying. You have to be near this light. And when you fear in darkness, you're nowhere near the light. You're lying to himself.

[Zach]

Which is. That's. That's Jason's point on this idea that he kept talking about in a previous podcast about participation and fellowship. Because what he's doing is. Is that. That this is not an association with God. It is a participation with God. It's not. That's the picture here. And I think this understanding of it makes sense. But you have to take these concepts like truth and light, and you can't separate them out there and talk about them as something that God does or something that God, he doesn't do. The truth. He is the truth. He doesn't project the light. He is the light. You have to root all of this in reality itself. And then the question then becomes, are you actually participating in reality, or is it some kind of gaslighting farce that you're participating in? It's one of the two.

[Jace]

Yeah. Well, and that was the big transition. Why I said, when I started speaking, it came from me reading verses like this with my buddies. This is 1st Peter 4. 11. Listen to this. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. Well, that's why I started talking, because, you know, my buddies were. You know how it is when you're in high school, Everybody's claiming they're doing things that they're not doing, right? And I used to trick them all the time. They'd be like, telling me, telling the group, you know, oh, I slept with this girl the other night. And so I just started saying, well, that's funny. He's like, why? I was like, because I asked her about that, and she said, she slapped your face now look, I didn't know that for a fact. But you know what? I knew he was lying.

[Zach]

So he lied. You lied to expose a lie. Oh, yeah.

[Jace]

And so that was our conversations for two years. Because I'd say, are you born so in the darkness?

[Jay]

You even lie about what you're doing in the darkness?

[Jace]

Well, that's what we do. That's why he's addressing you make these claims we're really good at just spinning yards and lying about because he's trying.

[Jay]

To look good in the eyes of the other buddies.

[Jace]

So I just took the gloves off because I'd say, you scared to die? We'd be having a Jesus study. And they were like, nope. I was like, you're a liar because I've seen you operate. Oh, you'd be crying the loudest. And you know what? They didn't deny that. Yeah, they are scared to die. This is just a cover up because.

[Jay]

You know, you're in the dark, you know you're not right.

[Jace]

Exactly. And it really. This echoes what we. When we studied John chapter three. And I want to read that again.

[Jay]

Yeah, that's a good point.

[Jace]

Oh, this is similar to what he wrote with Jesus when he was quoting Jesus. I mean, listen to John 3:19.

[Jay]

And remember this is the context of Jesus saying, this is a nighttime conversation he had just had with Nicodemus, who.

[Jace]

Was a religious fellow.

[Jay]

Exactly.

[Jace]

Jesus comes out there and just says, you need to be born again. I'm paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it. Now, who tells a religious person that he needs to be born again?

[Jay]

And it blew him away so much that he's like, how can I go back at my mother's womb? I mean, he was like, what are you talking about?

[Jace]

But to my point, I think he looked at Nicodemus and said, your claims, whatever they are, are not matching up with your lifestyle. Because if it doesn't include me, you're lying.

[Jay]

Exactly.

[Jace]

And that's really what law keepers do without Jesus. So which is what I was for a couple of years. That's why I said I was just trying not to do wrong, thinking, oh, I'll justify my behavior. So watch what he says in John 3:19. This is the judgment, or it's translated here, verdict, but same word for judgment. You want to hear a judgment from Jesus? Light has come into the world. But men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. And it's always my dad, I used to think he had a talent because he would sit down people almost every night and share Jesus with them. And he would say, now I know y' all been cutting up. And I'm thinking, how does he know that? And they were always like, yes, sir. And then he's like, what about it? What you into? And here they. I thought, how does he. Every time, you know, I thought it was, like, prophetic. Well, right. I thought, well, there's got to be some people out here doing it, right? Oh, no. Well, he. You know, my dad read a verse that says, all men sin, and he just believed it to be true. Therefore, he's cutting to the chase, saying, I know y' all been cutting up. Well, guess what? All humans who are adults, they're like, yep.

[Jay]

So Jay says, I enter into my 61st year on planet Earth. One of the big differences from last year when I turned 60 to this one is I lost about 80 pounds through PhD weight loss. And I have to say, life is good without that extra 80 pounds.

[Jace]

Al, if you keep this up, I'm going to move you to top scout, because now I think you could actually walk a couple miles without passing out and calling 91 1.

[Jay]

I'm breathing much better. Thank you, Jason. And I am exercising more than I ever have, doing some hiking. Went out to Oregon, climbed up a mountain. Here's a picture of me at the beginning of the journey a year ago. Here I am now, obviously looking better, but much healthier, off a lot of my meds that I was on before. No CPAP machine anymore, which is a great blessing as well. So you're probably at that point, you've been watching me and you're saying, okay, at work for Al. He's keeping it off. I may be ready to jump in. I'm telling you, now's the time to do it. If you want to understand why your body isn't cooperating, call PhD weight loss now and mention fix my weight loss to unlock our New Year's special book, your consultation. It's free, it's personalized, and it could explain everything for you. Call 864-644-1-900 and say, Fix my weight loss. That's 864-644-1900. Or you can visit my Ph.D. weight loss and be sure and tell them that Al sent you the skill. Jace. The. The special skill data was that he could have that conversation and they would just admit to it and continue the conversation. That was the skill.

[Jace]

And the handful of people who said, nope, you know where he went? He's like, well, we figured out your.

[Jay]

Problem first one liar.

[Jace]

You're a liar. And they're like, yup, yep. We'll add that to the list too.

[Zach]

You gotta be patient. You gotta be patient with the.

[Jay]

You.

[Zach]

You throw it out there. You're like, I know what you boys been up to. And then you just let it sit.

[Jace]

Yeah.

[Zach]

And, I mean, I do it all the time. My kids. I probably shouldn't say this on the.

[Jay]

Podcast because don't worry, they're not listening.

[Zach]

No, they do a lot of their friends list. Oh, yeah. There are a lot of their friends listen too. And so they're gonna know the tactics. So if you're listening, I'm gonna go ahead and tell you. But, like, I'll. I'll do that. I know what you boys have been up to. Go ahead and spill it. Tell me what it is. I already know. And. And most of the time when you do that, if you'll sit there long enough and not give up, they will con. They'll. It'll start coming out.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Jace]

Look, I've learned that just from. Because in our weird world where somebody sees you on tv, they'll hand you anything to sign. Well, where I draw the line, and it's usually young people, they'll hand me their phone. Well, I know what's in that phone. And they'll say, will you sign my phone? And I'll say, is there anything illegal or immoral happening with you and this phone? And they pause, which is your answer, which most of them then say, what do you mean? I was like, immoral, not moral. Sinful behavior, Illegal. Breaking the law. And they're just quiet, especially if their parents are around. And I'm like, well, here's the deal. Because we already know the answer to that by the hesitation.

[Jay]

Yeah. The pause.

[Jace]

If I put my name on here, I don't want anything illegal or immoral to ever happen.

[Jay]

That's pretty good.

[Jace]

And it's not my name that's making that true. It's who I am in Jesus. I'm representing him. And now you want me attached to your phone? Yeah, I don't want to go to your phone and what you're doing.

[Jay]

I'm not endorsing your phone.

[Jace]

If you'll agree with that, I'll sign it. And I've had all but one say.

[Jay]

Okay, One said no, one said, no.

[Jace]

And I was like, well, when you repent, come back and I'll sign it. That was a real life story.

[Jay]

I appreciate his honesty, though.

[Jace]

That was good. Well, that's what I thought. I was like, you need to pull the book of John up on your phone. So let me finish reading 19. I don't know why we're getting so worked up today.

[Jay]

We got guests, that's why.

[Jace]

Verse 20. Everyone who does evil hates the light. Have you noticed that while we're participating in the sufferings of Christ, they don't like you. And look, my friends from 16 to 18. You think, oh, that's great, Jase. You shared Jesus with your friends. Yep. And guess what? None of them came to the Lord in the two year. Yeah. Now through the years, most of them have come to the Lord, which is great. But it was hard for me to deal with that because you know what they started doing? Making fun of me, getting away from me, making up stories about me.

[Jay]

You became Jace the Baptist, like John the Baptist.

[Jace]

Exactly. And so it was a couple of years of wilderness there. So then it says, everyone who does evil hates the light. But listen to why they won't come in the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. So it's the COVID up. And because, you know, it's human nature, we cut up and then we want to cover it up.

[Jay]

Right.

[Zach]

I just.

[Jace]

That just hit me. That, yeah, that'd be a good shirt.

[Jay]

There you go, there you go. Sure. People cut up, cover up. Yep.

[Jace]

And then something where Jesus covers it up and so we can confess it. I don't know. There's something in there. So then it says, but whoever lives by the truth, because light and truth go hand in hand, comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. And that's why this hit me. If we claim, well, we need to let Jesus do the talking here. And I think if you're studying your Bible and you realize you have the spirit of God and you're meeting people, especially in high school, public high school, I just found it impossible for me to live as a disciple of Jesus quietly. They just wouldn't let me. I'm like, just leave me alone. Let me do my own thing. You know, separation of church and state. Guys, you know, just back off, wouldn't back off. So you know what? Then I started bringing it and drew the line in the sand. It took a couple years and then they start coming back one by one, because you know what? They realized there's no future in it. Evil behavior. It's ruin and misery, destruction.

[Jay]

And Jayce lays out a really good. In this analogy he's making of his own life and these relationships and the Koinia that was there because these are people he obviously some of them, some of your best friends and still are. So it's not like he didn't care about what happened to them. You generally hoped they would do the right thing.

[Jace]

Oh, it hurt me. I mean, the first guy I shared Jesus with was my best friend, right? And he declined.

[Jay]

He declined.

[Jace]

And I said, why don't you want to do this? And he said, well. And he said this girl's name. I knew she was prettiest girl in school. And he's like, she's, you know, I'm fixed to go out with her. Which I knew what that meant, what he wanted to do, which made me want to go warn her and say, stay away.

[Jay]

So what Jace is describing, and this is what John is describing, the thing that differentiated him from them was, was the fellowship of the light. In other words, it's not that Jason didn't have his own sin, which. He's going to say that in the next paragraph. You're not sinless when you're challenging people about a lifestyle of sin, but you're. What you're doing is you're challenging them of who they're having fellowship with and what your life is. You were challenging a lifestyle and your lifestyle was different, which is why they noticed.

[Jace]

Oh, they noticed. And it bled over.

[Jay]

Because my point is, a lot of times people out there think, well, I can't share. I can't do that, Jace, because I've messed up. You're like, wait a minute. This isn't about whether you've ever sinned or not. We are all sin. None of us can claim to be without sin. But the idea is, who is your fellowship with? Are you walking in light? Because then all of a sudden, you've got a track record of, I'm not going to live this way. You were painting the picture of life.

[Jace]

And through the years, I grew enough to be able to share that and talk about that. But, boy, when I started off, it was all animosity. And it bled over into all my, you know, playing sports. And I got out there on the football field and somebody, you know, we're trash talking. Well, before, I never said a word. I was quiet. But now I'm like, I got the spirit of God in me. You're not. What are you thinking? You're. You're wanting to take on a person who's filled with the creating agent of the world.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Jace]

So they're like. I mean, it scared people because I was a big trash talker for the.

[Jay]

Lord, you were the Larry Bird of our schools out here.

[Jace]

Well, I was. So then it just infuriated them. So I think you see that in this first section, 1 John 1:6, with that as the backdrop, John 3. So let me read this again.

[Jay]

Yeah. And then read all the way through 2:2, because that's where I want to get.

[Jace]

This is the message we've heard from him. This is 1 5, and declare to you, God is light. In him, there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, this is what you're doing. You're walking in the light, not just making these claims as he is in the light. We have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

[Jay]

There's your line. There's your line.

[Jace]

Now, is that good news?

[Jay]

That's good news.

[Jace]

We have trouble believing that. I mean, God's grace is so amazing that it's just hard for us to say, you know what, he's just forgiven us completely.

[Jay]

And that's why you see those words. The Hebrew writer, John himself. You can approach the throne of God with confidence. That's where he is.

[Jace]

I think we should go through Hebrews after I read this. So verse eight. If we claim. Well, here's another problem. We're saying one thing and doing another. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. So you see, the reason this is confusing, you're like, well, I thought he said he purified us from all sin. Well, yeah, but you're acknowledging that that's.

[Jay]

Happening, that that's what's going on.

[Zach]

Well, the confession. The confession is not. Again, we use that word transactional. It's not a transaction that. Okay, I say my confession, and then we transact. And then I'm now good. When you are confessing your sin in this particular way, what you're actually doing is you're agreeing with God about reality and what's real. That's what confession. It is a participation. And so when you think about what you said earlier, Al, about like, people say, well, I got all the sin, you know, my life or my past or even my present. I just. I'm not qualified to. To share what Christ is doing in my life or I'm not I'm not qualified to share this. Well, well, if you're living in a spirit of confession, you are. Because in Revelation, when the accuser was coming at God's people, John the Revelator said the way that they overcame him, the accuser, was through the power of their testimony, by the blood of the Lamb and the power of their testimony. That's a form of confession. So my confession actually is one of the ways that I'm agreeing with God about reality. And then when I go in and tell people about what he's doing and what he's done, it was never about my righteousness anyways. It was about what he is doing in me. And so my confession is. It's a realigning me with what's real. That's what. That's ultimately what it is. It's a realignment of what is real. Because I'm the one, as the song says, prone to wonder. My heart is prone to wonder. And so God's continuing through the Spirit to bring me back. Me back. He's there. He never left. He's just. Don't. No, no, go there. No, don't go there. Realign, realign. Remember what's real. Remember that I am light. Remember, I am truth. Come back to me.

[Jay]

You remember Peter's words in Luke 5, when he realized the power of Christ and who he really was in that boat? He said, go away from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. His first reaction was confession, and he was right on target. But you know what Jesus said? You're going to come follow me, and I'm going to make you a fisher of men. In other words, I'm going to bring you into my light. And Peter struggled and he denied him. But at the end of the day, guess who was up there preaching that first sermon?

[Jace]

Oh, Peter. Well, and he did experience the resurrection in the Same Miracle Part 2, where they catch the fish in John 20. You remember that?

[Jay]

Exactly.

[Jace]

And now all of a sudden, he's jumping out of the boat, trying to get over there on the shore, which is very powerful. So it says in verse nine, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse or purify us from all unrighteousness. But you notice what it says. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just. Well, that's the opposite of what we are when we make these claims. We're not faithful or just or just. So really, this story becomes about. Is this about you, or is it about what the Lord is doing in you this fellowship. So I always say that when people say, well, I'm going to share my story, or they'll say, come, you know, come share with us, Jason, share your story. And I'm like, well, my story is going to be filled with sin and death. God's story is the good news of that. So. But I'm going to be honest about my life. Verse 10. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word has no place in our lives, which is an interesting concept. So then he's like, let me clear this up. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. The motive is we don't want to sin because that's anti character of God and in him there is no sin.

[Jay]

And nothing good ever comes from it anyway.

[Jace]

Right. And then he throws this in. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense. Jesus Christ, the righteous one. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world.

[Jay]

We've said this a couple of times, but that description of Jesus as being the righteous one, as the paraclete, which is the same word Jesus used talking to John back in John 14:16 about the Holy Spirit.

[Jace]

Yeah. When it says that word in our defense, that's the paracletus, which means walking alongside. So the four times he uses it in John is describing the Holy Spirit.

[Jay]

It's a defender, it's a counselor, it's a guide, it's a teacher in those settings. And then here we get to that. It's also one who defends and walks alongside, which, again, that's what keeps us in the light. That's the portal. That's the connection that makes it. And so that's how we make it as well. Jay's. You're going to have to save Hebrews, because, believe it or not, 48 minutes. Yeah, we have. We have run out of time.

[Jace]

Maddie, what happened? Did you fast forward?

[Jay]

She didn't, but it was. But keep that. Keep that fervor for the next time we get together. I do want to let our audience know the. That group of rednecks I described that came in is Hunter's family. And Hunter, we talked about you in the last podcast. You weren't here, but Hunter's the one we want you guys to pray for and his family. And we mentioned in the last podcast, Hunter, that you inspire us by your faith and your strength and your confidence. So thank you, brother. It's been great to have you here in our presence. So Unashamed nation, pray for Hunter. Add him to your prayer list and his family as well, because this is a strong young man of God.

[Zach]

God.

[Jay]

So awesome.

[Jace]

Amen.

[Jay]

We'll see you 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.