Ep 1280 | Three Things the Enemy Steals From Every Man & How God Restores Them

Summary

Unashamed with the Robertson Family

Ep 1280 | Three Things the Enemy Steals From Every Man & How God Restores Them
Date: March 2, 2026
Hosts: Al, Jase, Zach
Theme: What the enemy steals from every man—and how God restores those things, with biblical wisdom, practical stories, and insight into the new heaven and earth

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into "three things the enemy steals from every man," using the story of Job as a biblical anchor, and explores how God restores what is lost. The Robertsons share reflections from recent ministry events, discuss deeper theological questions about heaven and earth, and apply these biblical truths to marriage, spiritual identity, and personal struggles. The episode is rich with scriptural connections, personal experiences, and the signature blend of humor and honest conversation the Robertsons are known for.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recent Travels & Community Connections

• [01:06–04:33]
  • Al recounts recent trips—Omaha, a church marriage retreat, and impressions of LSU fans in Omaha.
  • The group celebrates how Louisiana culture brings people together and marks the impact of sharing faith across communities.
  • Quote: “They said the people from Louisiana are awesome... They invite us all in to try their jambalayas and their gumbos.” —Al [02:22]

2. Kingdom Marriage: Lessons from the Retreat

• [05:29–13:18]
  • Al and Lisa participated in and spoke at their church’s marriage retreat themed “Kingdom Marriage.”
  • The retreat emphasized being a "kingdom man" and "kingdom woman," grounded in Christ-like consistency.
  • Discussion of Ephesians 5:33 regarding love and respect in marriage; men as respectable, women as lovable.
  • Al highlights Job 31: how the enemy (Satan) attacks a man’s possessions, loved ones, and identity—yet Job remained faithful.
  • Quote: “The evil one takes everything you have, everything you love, and everything you are.” —Jase [10:55]
  • Real-life anecdote: Al spent the retreat helping a couple in crisis, demonstrating God's appointment for us to aid others in tough times.

3. Practical Faith & Real-World Impact

• [13:40–15:02]
  • The importance of abiding in God, even in crisis and loss.
  • Faith is a relational commitment, not just a set of duties—“we’re here to stay, no matter what happens.” —Jase [13:32]

4. Encounters on the Road: Sharing Faith’s Journey

• [15:02–19:46] (Zach’s Nashville story)
  • Zach shares a “Kingdom encounter” in Nashville with someone “on a journey” toward faith in Jesus.
  • Highlights the recurring theme: people are searching, many are on spiritual journeys, not just instant conversions.
  • The tension of sharing the Kingdom message in a world full of religious questions.

5. Theological Dive: Heaven, Earth & the New Creation

• [19:46–32:31]
  • Deep discussion on scriptural concepts: “new heaven and new earth,” Jewish and Greek symbolic meanings.
  • Connection of the destruction of the temple to “new heaven and earth” language in Matthew 24.
  • “Inauguration vs. Consummation”: Jesus began the new creation at his resurrection, but its fullness is yet to be revealed.
  • God’s Spirit now dwells in believers, dispersing God’s presence globally.
  • Quote: “You have to look at the story as a continuation… it’s not like you’re leaving your family behind, you’re living into the story.” —Zach [21:14]
  • The practical tension of living in the “already/not yet” of God’s Kingdom.

6. Why a New Heaven and a New Earth?

• [24:36–29:54]
  • Why does biblical language point to both a new earth and heaven?
  • Multiple heavens in scripture, with references to cosmic spiritual battles (Ephesians 6:12, Revelation 21, Job, Ezekiel).
  • The importance of recognizing everything (heaven and earth) was corrupted, thus everything will be restored.

7. Restoration, Resurrection, and Our Hope

• [29:54–39:38]
  • 1 John 3:2 (central passage): “We know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
  • Jesus, as the resurrected God-man, is the “new creation”—and believers’ future is to be like Him.
  • Resurrection is not just about “going to heaven on a cloud.” The Bible describes a new, embodied existence—like Christ eating fish with the disciples post-resurrection.
  • The cross is not the end—resurrection and ascension are vital to the atonement and hope (Romans 1, Hebrews 9, 1 Corinthians 15).
  • Quote: “If Christ has not been raised, then we’re still in our sins, our faith is futile, and our life has no meaning.” —Jase [38:16]

8. Living in Christ’s Glory and Identity

• [51:03–57:03]
  • The “glory” God gives us is His approval, rooted in love—not just achievement. (John 17; Exodus 33)
  • The deepest restoration is our identity: chosen, loved, included in God’s eternal family and glory.
  • Many relational and personal wounds stem from rejecting or not knowing this divine approval.
  • Quote: “God is pleased with you… there's your validation.” —Jase [55:57]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “In a cage match, if you have AI versus DI, DI is gonna win—Divine Intelligence.”
  —Jase [04:43]
  (Highlighting the difference between manmade wisdom and God’s wisdom; running joke throughout the show.)
• “He takes what you have, what you love, and who you are—but God can restore all of it.”
  —Al [10:54]
• “We can’t die. Oh, but you’re going to die. But, yeah, I’m going to come back—and guess what? I’m going to eat some fish on earth if I want to.”
  —Jase [50:55]
• “Just think of us as humans… and all of a sudden you realize God’s pursuing me… He’s chosen me to be in this fellowship of love and glory.”
  —Jase [55:57]

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Important Timestamps & Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:01–04:33 | Catching up after travels, impact of LSU fans in Omaha | | 05:29–13:18 | Insights from the Kingdom Marriage retreat | | 13:40–15:02 | Marriage counseling and God’s appointments | | 15:02–19:46 | Zach’s Nashville encounter, spiritual journeys | | 19:46–24:36 | New heavens and new earth—Jewish and Christian context | | 24:36–29:54 | Why a new heaven? Spiritual battles in heavenly realms | | 29:54–32:31 | 1 John 3 discussion—what will we be when Christ appears? | | 32:41–39:38 | Resurrection: seeing Jesus as he is, embodied hope | | 51:03–57:03 | God’s glory, our true identity, last reflections |

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Conclusion & Flow

The episode weaves together storytelling, biblical scholarship, and practical wisdom, always circling back to the core message: Even when the enemy steals from us—our possessions, our loved ones, our sense of self—God, through Christ, restores and elevates us. The family’s conversational and humorous tone makes even weighty theology relatable, while personal stories and marriage tips connect concepts to everyday faith. For listeners, the big takeaway is hope: in Christ, what we’ve lost can be restored, our identity is secure, and a glorious new creation awaits.

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Ready for more? The Robertsons will continue next episode exploring the theme of “glory,” our crowns in Christ, and how these biblical truths impact marriage, family, and purpose.

Transcript

[Al]

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[Al]

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[Jase]

I am unashamed. What about you?

[Al]

So welcome back to Unashamed. We just all got back into our proverbial towns from a lot of travel this last week, and Jase on the last podcast mentioned his trip to the Triangle and beyond, which was interesting. So, Jase, I was in. I left here and went to Omaha, Nebraska.

[Jase]

Oh, I love Omaha.

[Al]

I know. I do, too. And so when I got up there, like you, I like to connect to the local people. And I was like, what's up, Omaha? You know, I kind of open like Willie and everybody claps and Jesus, were they.

[Jase]

Did you bring it? LSU baseball?

[Al]

Yep. I said, or as I like to call it, LSU North.

[Jase]

Yeah.

[Al]

And when I said that, just this big hooping and hollering went on. And so the woman who was the emcee of our event is a city council person for Omaha. And she said later, after we spoke to us sitting in the audience, we spoke and then she was wrapping up and she said, you know, our tax revenue goes up when LSU is in the College World Series. They actually can see the needle move because of so many people coming up to watch LSU baseball. So they love us up there. Florida, not so much.

[Jase]

Sounds like they love our money, Al.

[Al]

They love our money, but they love us. They said the people from Louisiana are awesome. They said they come up here with their RVs and their stuff and they cook the whole time they're here. Some of them are there the whole two weeks. They cook. They invite us all in to try their jambalayas and their gumbos and all their stuff. They love Louisiana people. They bring the Mardi Gras beads. So we were a big hit there. And then, then afterwards, this woman comes up to me and she says, because I had made a big deal about LSU baseball and so. And about the College World Series, because it is. It's a great thing that there's, like, a place known for something like that. I mean, like, that they're there. They're the destination place. And she came. She. Her dad used to be the mayor of Omaha. And she said, we, we have. We have seats the first row right behind home plate. And I thought about you because you

[Jase]

were on the second.

[Al]

On the second. So right in front of that is. This family has some there. And she says, if LSU comes back, she said, I got to see for you and your wife. And I was like, whoa. I said, can I get your number? It's like the whole. That was worth the whole trip, Sharon.

[Jase]

Jesus.

[Al]

Very important.

[Jase]

Front row seats at the lsu.

[Al]

I thought they're pretty good.

[Jase]

I mean, they've started off the season at this point in time, which may be later, by the time it comes out. They actually play tonight. They're eight. No. Which doesn't mean a whole lot at this stage of the season, but have you watched any of the games?

[Al]

I've watched a couple of.

[Jase]

And I've watched them all. I love, like, seeing. Okay, we got the new people with the, you know, the ones that were there.

[Al]

And I finally went to Internet TV pretty good. Yeah. So now I figured I had to watch them on a regular basis now that I'm. I got off DirecTV and I'm on just Internet TV now and, you know, did it. Is that Melissa? Because I just. I'm a dinosaur on tv. I just don't want to mess with anything. And, like. But then I saw how much I was paying just a fortune for. For this TV that I was never watching. I only watched, like, three things. And so she showed me how to do it on the Internet with the YouTube TV or whatever, and I'm just like, wow, it's an idiot. I've been paying all this money forever. Yeah, I just. I'm a dinosaur about this kind of stuff. I just don't get it. We were taught y' all were talking about stocks earlier. I just. You don't know anything.

[Zach]

You never got into the AI. I was telling you, you know.

[Al]

Yeah, it missed me, the whole thing.

[Zach]

Evolution. Yeah. The AI Mario. You're like, I, I. I missed the whole thing.

[Al]

Yeah.

[Zach]

But that's.

[Jase]

Well, let me just tell you this. In a, In a, In a cage match, if you have AI versus Di, Di is gonna win divine, Divine intelligence.

[Al]

And see, I'm just like my Aunt Jan. I'm living in di, not AI. Oh, yeah.

[Zach]

My mom would not participate in any of. I mean, when the Internet was invented by Al Gore, she said, I'm not participating. And she never participated. Like Phil. Phil never participated. Except Bill did it vicariously through Dan the butler and others and us and you.

[Al]

Yeah, yeah.

[Zach]

So he would kind of sit up on the perch, you know, the nest. And he'd be like. He'd perch up himself above us and say, I'm not participating. But yet he had his.

[Al]

Well, he told you. Zach. He said, Zach. He said, get me on that Internet. That's what he said. So. So I went from. I went from Omah, our marriage retreat that we. The church does. So we had to fly straight in. And it was really hairy because they had a unplanned. And I say unplanned meaning, like the day before was the first time it came on the radar. A about a 7 inch snow event the night of our event. And I'm like, oh, man. Because, you know, these things pop up like this and you get stuck places, you know, you can't get out of there. So I'm trying to get to my next stop, but we made it. But we had to sit on the plane for an hour. We almost missed our next thing because they got a de ice and you know, all the stuff that happened. But I got out of there and so we got to Little Rock and rented a car and then drove and we came in on, I mean, two wheels hot. Because the thing. The event started at 1, we got there at 1:15. So I mean, we're just barely making it to the next thing. But I wanted to bring this up because I knew y' all would love this. So the theme this year, and I didn't know anything. I was just like, Jason Travel. Like, I've been out of the loop so much at our church because I've been on the road so much that I hadn't planned anything. I hadn't been in a single meeting. I didn't even know the theme until like two days before what they were even going to be talking about or what I was supposed to do. I mean, this was literally just on the fly. But Lisa and I do marriage stuff all the time. So it wasn't like, you know, we weren't pressured, but it was just like, normally I would know, but the theme this year was called Kingdom Marriage, and it was all about the kingdom, which we've been living here on the podcast. So I was like, ooh, yeah, Kingdom marriage. I'm liking the sound of this. And so we come in. That's the theme. The stuff was fantastic. Anna and Trey Tomlinson, which Jason, you guys are close to, Anna, Trey as well. They're a wonderful couple that went through a rough marriage, like Lisa and I did, but now are amazing. They lead our marriage ministry at our church. And so they planned the whole retreat, but they just set the framework that, you know, a marriage works if it's a kingdom marriage, because you got a kingdom man and a kingdom woman. You know, people that have that. That consistent consistency in Christ and then that carries over into marriage. So that was our theme. But now it's funny because we've got, I would say probably at the marriage retreat, which is our church, that puts it on and this. They do it now two weekends because we have so many people coming. But I would say half the group there or not, from West Monroe, they're from some other place. They all drove in Michigan. They were there from everywhere. And a lot of them are listeners of the podcast. And I told you all this before we came on the air, that when I asked him how many listen to the podcast, when Lisa and I spoke, 75% of the hands went up in this audience of people. And this is only a small sampling. It was about 50 couples, but still, I was like, wow. And I was like. So I started asking, I mean, do you, like, just occasionally listen there? Oh, no, we're caught up. We just heard Sigh, you know, the latest episode, and I was like, that's 1200 in. So these folks are listening, which was great. And. But Lisa and I shared. And one of the things that we did is one of our presentations we do about kingdom marriage. And it's funny because we do this because it's out of Ephesians 5.33, which says that the wife must. The husband must love his wife as Christ loved the church, and the woman must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:33. And so you get that concept out of the same way we are with Christ, right? We. We bow down, we submit to him, and therefore, you know, then we understand his love for us and what he does. And so we make the same comparison of marriage. And so we come out of Job 31 and Proverbs 31. And I was talking about Job, and I had never framed it like this. Before, but I thought it was. Was really good. And the. And the people I talked with afterwards, it helped them. Was that Job going back to job. Because my thing is out of job 31, which is him defending his character. But if I'm that kind of guy, then I'm going to be pretty respectable. The idea is, if Lisa is supposed to respect me, I need to be a respectable man, a kingdom man. If she's supposed to be loved by me as Christ loves the church, then she needs to be lovable. So that's kind of the way we do it. But Job, the evil one, comes and attacks him. Remember, because there's a conversation in heaven and God's like, I mean, you know, consider my servant Job. You know, he's. He's a good guy. And the evil one took, first of all, everything he had, he had worked for. And then you think about that as a man. I mean, you know, you build things and you. You work hard for things and you. The. The things you accomplish, you're. You're proud of those things.

[Jase]

All gone.

[Al]

All gone in a swoop. And then he. The next thing he took was everything he loved. His children and even his wife, because she just. She totally disrespected him. Was like, I don't know what you did, but, like, you need to curse God and die. I mean, when you lose the wife, you've lost a lot. So he lost everything he loved. And then the third thing is, if that wasn't enough, he took his health. So it was everything he is. Because as a man, as men, I mean, I value my strength and my health as much as anything. I mean, it's the one thing that keeps me going every single day. And sometimes it's health's not so great, but, I mean, you have to. That's the one thing you're like, to keep going forward. I need that. And he took that.

[Jase]

Yeah, it's pretty good, Al.

[Al]

I mean, that.

[Jase]

Yeah, the evil one takes everything you have, everything you love and everything you are.

[Al]

Yeah. I was at our marriage refresh this last weekend. Jase. Some of these folks are from out of town. They had not seen me. And so they were like, where's the rest of Al? And so I told them, I said, you know, if you're wondering, you know, how much 75 or 80 pounds is, because that's how much I lost. If you're a man here, that's a sack and a half of deer corn.

[Jase]

Yeah.

[Al]

If you're a woman here, that's the top cheerleader on the Pyramid, you know, it's around that 75 to 80 pound. If you tried all the different diets, and trust me, I have. It always comes back to, do I have enough willpower? Can I accomplish this? And what you're missing and what they really helped me with at PhD was you're not really getting to the root of the problem, which is your metabolism. And so that's what they teach you. It's really good. You figure this out. If you're watching this, here's a picture of me at the beginning of the journey. Here I am now, a little over a year later, 80 pounds lighter, feeling better than I've ever felt. My blood pressure is lined out. I have hardly any blood pressure meds. Just a little bit left. No cholesterol meds. I'm off of my CPAP machine. I'm exercising, do a little weight training now. So it's a much better lifestyle. And I know if you've been waiting, you're thinking, I'm seeing if this works for Al. It's working, so you need to try. If you call now, they'll give you two free weeks in the program and pay for your food so you can finally see real results without more trial and error. If you're done with the yo yo dieting and you want clarity, call PhD weight loss now and mention Al. No more guessing, just answers. Call 864-644-1900 and say Al 3. That's 864-644-1900 or you can visit myphdweightloss.com and in spite of all that, and he questioned and he had some hard things to ask God. He had some hard times. He was like, God, I don't get it. I don't get it. I don't get it. But at the end of the day, he never cursed him. He never walked away from his relationship with God. He abided, as we talked about on the last podcast in God. So he was an ancient man. That happened that they think Job was like pre flood even maybe. But he, man, he had some great qualities to teach. So that was kind of my gist as we did our presentation.

[Jase]

Well, it kind of shows you the power of the relationship. It's not like you're doing things, you know, because you have to. You're just here to stay no matter what happens.

[Al]

Right?

[Jase]

I mean, I think that's the way to wrap your head around your relationship with God. I mean, we're here to stay. Life is filled with.

[Al]

And it was really interesting because the whole weekend I mean, there were a lot of people there, and I talked to a lot of people, and some came to meet Lisa and I, for sure. But, you know, God has an appointment always. There was a couple at our. An older couple at our table and been married for 47 years, but they were there in crisis. And so I wound up spending most of my time with them and the man in particular, dealing with their issues. But I just, you know, God puts you in places to make an impact on someone's life, and it was just interesting how he worked that out. For me to be there for this guy was like dad's mom and dad's age, but just shows you that no matter what you think you know, we've survived everything, but you never know when the evil one's going to put the test to you. And so that may still be ahead for all of us. So, anyway, it was. It was a great weekend, and we went straight from there up to Bentonville, then to visit our movie set, and we visited the actress and the actor, along with Old Coal man, our guy. We went to dinner the night before, and just really interesting meeting these young people that are playing us in the movie and hearing their motivation behind why they love the story. And it's really God's story. It's Jesus story, but it was really powerful, so it was really good. What about you, Zach? Do you go anywhere interesting?

[Zach]

I went to Jase's second home. I went up to Nashville and had to do a little business up there, but, yeah, it was good. I had a pretty cool Kingdom encounter, which I've had a lot of these lately. It's been weird. When I travel, it's kind of the same theme that keeps popping up, and the phrase is that I keep hearing is some version of I'm on a journey and people from all different kinds of backgrounds. And my opening line is, when I kind of sense it, I just say this. I'll say, are you. Are you a believer? And so I met this person. I was on one of the sets of particular podcasts up there, and they were interviewing this person. And I said, who are they interviewing? And there was a girl in the room. She said, well, that's my sister. Anything you want to know? I could tell you whatever you want to know about her. And I could just sense something about her that she was, like, looking for Christ. And so I said, are you a believer? I couldn't tell. It was kind of one of those things. Either she is, or she's on a journey. And she said, well, I'm on a journey. Not yet, but I'm on a journey. I love Jesus, but I hadn't quite made the commitment to him. And so we began to talk. And what's interesting is I know a lot of times, or you'd mentioned Jason in the podcast, in between. The podcast, which is our conversations in between recording, you had mentioned, you know, getting pushed back a little bit on some of the things we're teaching about the kingdom.

[Jase]

Well, that specifically was the heaven and earth theme. It was one of the few letters that I responded to because he was respectful and just said, I think you're. You're missing this. So.

[Al]

Well, that got me.

[Zach]

Which is fine. I mean, I think that's a fair. If you're respectful, I think we have to have these conversations.

[Al]

Yeah, I didn't mind. We always lead with we could be wrong.

[Jase]

Well, right. And not to hijack your story.

[Zach]

No, go ahead. This is helpful. Yeah.

[Jase]

But he was more saying, like, the phrase heaven and earth in the Jewish world and even in the Greek language is symbolically of like a new world. I think that's why there's so much confusion over the different religious in the name of Jesus beliefs about, like, when Jesus comes back, because, you know, you have a phrase in. I think it's Matthew 24 where he talks about a new heaven and a new earth, but he's seemingly talking about the temple of Jerusalem being destroyed. I mean, it's so graphic and contextual because it's like, see these stones right here? Not one will be left on another. And then it kind of gets into this figurative language from the Old Testament. But there's a phrase in there about heaven and earth will not pass away or whatever. And I'm like, well, in that case, I tend to agree with the guy who sent me this letter. I'm like, I don't think he's talking about there an actual new heaven and new earth at the end of time. But look, I told him I agreed with his basis that that phrase is a new world. You know, from the perspective of the Jewish world, when the temple got destroyed, well, it was a new heaven and new earth, meaning like a new environment for which they would function, because that was their life. However, where I pushed back was where we're at in our text in First John 3, when Jesus comes back and post resurrection. When Jesus was raised there, there seems to be, not seems. I mean, I believe it as fact. There was a new creation launched.

[Al]

Yes.

[Jase]

He had a body that now encompassed heaven and earth. He brought it together.

[Al]

I made the point in my lesson at the marriage refresh this weekend that the garden, because we talked so much about the garden and the first man, the first woman, the first husband, first wife, and the idea about separating because of sin, that it was a reset of the garden, I don't have any doubt in my mind. There's no doubt that Jesus came here to do that. And the Holy Spirit that was sent to live in us is then that taste, I call it that taste of eternity because the process has begun. Spirit lives in us.

[Zach]

Yeah. That's why the idea of, if you think of it as an inauguration that came in Jesus, and that's different than a consummation. Inauguration is the beginning of the office. Right? This is the beginning of the established office. The consummation is what's the end of all this. And so the Hebrew writer uses the same phrase that you use, Jason. He calls it the world to come. And he says that it wasn't the angels. This is Hebrews 2. It was not to the angels that God subjected the world to come of which we are speaking. That is the kingdom. By the way, it has been testified somewhere, what is man, that you are mindful of him, the Son of Man, that you care for him. You made him a little lower than the angels, and you've crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. And so that's a reference to Psalm 8. But I think that the Hebrew writer is talking about in this particular case, the world to come is going to be under our dominion. Now, granted, Christ is above us and we operate as vice regents under him. But the picture there is that it's not fully realized yet. So when you think about the new heavens and the new earth, like it's not fully realized yet, but it is here in the sense of that the kingdom of God is here and Jesus inaugurated that. That whole destruction of the temple, that locality of God's presence now is being dispersed out throughout the globe in the temple of us, the Holy Spirit. And so in that conversation I was having with this girl, she somehow, I love Jesus. And I mean, she genuinely had a love for Christ. I mean, it was very apparent. She began to cry as she was sharing her story. She's like, it's just hard to make the full step because, you know, my family, I want to do this with my family, my kids and my husband, and they're just not there yet. And because they were coming out of this, he's, you know, Jewish, and she's like, you know, they're in Hebrew school and whatnot. And I thought it was interesting because I think the Holy Spirit gave this to me. I said, well, you're not actually, like, leaving them. I said, you have to look at the story as a continuation. It's like that movie which we mentioned on this podcast quite a bit, Sixth Sense, where Bruce Willis, the revelation is that, you know, he sees dead people and. Or the little kid sees dead people, and he's a psychiatrist, and he's, like, trying to help this kid out. Do you really see dead people, or is this some kind of psychological issue you're having? And Bruce Willis is trying to figure out what's going on with this kid.

[Al]

He's posed as his therapist. Yeah. He's like, I wish you would have

[Jase]

done, like, an imitation where he's like, I see dead people.

[Al]

I see dead people. I see dead people.

[Zach]

I mean, that line, that kind of stuck with the generation. The movie is old, 30 years old, but it's like this really popular film from when I was in high school.

[Jase]

It was well done.

[Al]

Because you're like, oh, it's one of the few movies that got me, like, I couldn't figure that out.

[Jase]

He's like, everybody he sees is dead.

[Zach]

So starting your own business from scratch, it can be intimidating. I know, because I've started a few businesses. I'm an entrepreneur at heart, and it is difficult when you're getting out of the gate. You know, starting something new can be really terrifying. You have a dream and you wanted to bring it to market. You put all this work into it without knowing if it's ever going to pay off. In fact, when I launched this podcast business, I had all the doubts. But trusting the leap was worth it in the end. And having a partner like Shopify makes that a whole lot easier.

[Al]

Yeah, Zach, Shopify has been a big part of Duck Commander for years. It powers our store and is, you know, it's one of the reasons why we've had a lot of success.

[Zach]

Shopify also was our go to for the blind and the unashamed merch that we sold over the years. All the charts and the analytics, they let us know what you guys wanted. And it even made our customer service so easy.

[Jase]

Full transparency. I've owned Shopify shares for years.

[Zach]

So Shopify, what it is, it's a commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world. And in fact, 10% of all E commerce in the US is on Shopify, from household names like Mattel, Gymshark to brands just getting started. So you can get started with Your own design studio. With hundreds of ready to use templates, Shopify helps you build a beautiful online store that matches your brand's style, and you can accelerate your efficiency. Shopify is packed with helpful AI tools that help write product descriptions, page headlines, and even enhance your product photography. It's time to turn those what ifs into with Shopify today. Sign up for your $1 per month [e-mail] unashamed go to shopify.com unashame that's shopify.com unashamed.

[Jase]

But I think this is a good conversation because I've had people like, in the last line, I did the VIP line, someone asked this question, said, well, I get why y' all believe that we need a new Earth, but why do we need a new heaven? Which I thought, we only have 12 seconds because the line is long.

[Al]

Somebody's waiting behind you. Somebody asked that question, how do you answer this in.

[Jase]

Yeah, and I said, 22 seconds. Well, I'll do a podcast segment on it. So maybe we're here, but because you say, well, how come there's multiple heavens? Yeah, because, you know, remember when Paul had this weird encounter, Everybody thinks he's talking about himself. I'm not sure where that is.

[Al]

It's 2nd Corinthians 12.

[Jase]

Yeah, 2nd Corinthians 12, he was called up to the third heaven. So VIP line member, that would infer that there are multiple heavens. And look, sometimes they use the word for the stars and all that. Well, when you get to Revelation 21:22, he's like, well, he brings up these heavenly bodies. And Paul brought that up. Well, we don't need the light anymore because he is the light. So that's that one aspect. You also, you brought up Job. Well, you have. When you tie that in with the book of Ephesians, where the church's job is to speak truth to spiritual forces in heavenly realms. Well, we have a problem here, which is why we would need a new heaven. Because we got rebellious celestial beings roaming back and forth, not doing what they were created to do in the image of God.

[Zach]

They're rebellious. Well, I mean, to the point of Ephesians. Let me read that. Ephesians 6, actually, because you mentioned Ephesians, I think that's in 3, 3, 10. And then in 6, he says, the actual battle. Here's the battle according to Paul, in Ephesians, we do Ephesians 6:12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. That's the earthly part. Right. But against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. So you think, well, the Earth got corrupted. Well, it all got corrupted. The heavens and the earth were together operating, and they got corrupted.

[Al]

They got corrupted first because we inherited what happened there. Here.

[Jase]

Oh, exactly.

[Zach]

Satan came and tempted Adam and Eve. Well, where did he come from?

[Al]

Right, exactly.

[Jase]

Well, and you just have to make implications. And there's a weird contrast in the book of Ezekiel to this king of Tyre with the Evil one. It kind of gives you some insight on why the Evil One did what he did. He was beautiful and majestic, had a position of authority. And like humans, instead of doing it God's way, he was like, well, I think I'll do it my way here. I'm something.

[Al]

Hey. He sang that song first.

[Jase]

Lost connection to the source. And then all these things add up. But for the.

[Al]

Generally, for the Bible, there's. I would call it. There's a breadcrumb trail from Genesis 3 forward about the evil one. And it's just. We get the crumbs, but we don't really understand the full. We can't get the full picture until we get to the end.

[Jase]

But I think when you think about all the texts like Romans 5 saying, you know, as in Adam, this train started of human sin and death, and then it's like, but in Jesus, you have, you know, the spirit of life, like Romans 8. So in my response to this guy, I brought up Romans 8, but I also brought up the passage in Ephesians 2. It's like in a salvation context of, you know, we were following the spirit of the air, the evil one, doing all these sinful activities like we've all done. But then here the grace of God appears, and it's like just sharing our conversion story. And then all of a sudden he drops in and he seated us with him in the heavenly realms. Well, everybody skips over that. And so my point is, something happened to heaven and earth. When Jesus died, was buried and rose and went to the Father and unleashed the spirit from heaven, something happened. This place changed. There was a connection that happened between heaven and earth. Now, the implications of that when he comes back will also be drastic for heaven and earth, which is why I tend to believe that this new heaven and new earth will begin in that form. And here's why. Because this all takes us to me, to where we're at in first John 3, which we didn't talk about this, and I want to talk about it really bad when he gets to that part where it says we should see

[Al]

him as he is.

[Jase]

Yep. First John 3. And it says how, verse 1. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us? And that's back to that connection and remaining in Him. We're participating in the very love that was going on before the creation of the world. We're friends. Think John 17. And I want to do another thing that I've stumbled upon. I won't do it today because we're taking a different avenue. But about this glory that existed before the creation of the world that he also prayed about in John 17, that was passed on to us. So just bookmark that because it's very exciting. But then it says, and that is what we are children of God, man. We did the friendship thing. You're friends with your kids and your brothers and your wife. And we keep seeing this connection. We're sons and daughters of God, but we're friends and brothers with Jesus and we're intimate with His Holy Spirit.

[Al]

And he makes that connection right there in that verse as he goes from lavish love that we should be called children of God. There's your family connection right there.

[Jase]

Yeah. And that is what we are. We are the family of God. Connected. The reason the world does not know us is that it didn't know Him. All right, and then we get into this. Where we're at, dear friends now, we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet. Not yet been made known. And this is the source of so many distortions about what's going to happen. As Zach says, the eschatology of when Jesus comes back. And so look, there's 101 different ways to view, oh, what's going to happen when he comes back? What are we going to be? Is it going to be a new heaven, new earth, or are we all going to heaven? Are we going to have a body? But he answers this.

[Al]

Somebody told me that recently at an event. They said, do I get my own cloud?

[Jase]

Yeah, exactly. I mean, most people say, well, then we're going to heaven. But the Bible actually never says that phrase.

[Al]

Right.

[Jase]

The only implication that you could actually draw to that is in that intermediate period with the mansions in my Father's house, many rooms.

[Al]

John 14.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Jase]

Okay, so like, where are the dead now?

[Al]

Yeah.

[Jase]

That's the only phrase you could even equate to going to heaven, in my opinion.

[Al]

Somebody asked me that in a Q and A recently. We were doing. They said, well, how would there be enough room? Seems like we don't have. Oh, my goodness. I mean, that was a true question.

[Jase]

But look, let's just stick to the text. But we know that when he appears. Now we have to know in this context, he's talking about when he comes back and the resurrection occurs. Because what we will be has not yet been made known. For we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. So just think about this. If you just step back away from your religious persuasion and all you've been taught, just look at this simply. So here comes a man who's doing things that seem godly or heavenly. He wasn't necessarily claiming to be the Son of God because he would refer himself to the Son of Man, which would be Adam. The word is literally Adam, man. But other people were like, well, this looks like the Son of God. Now there's a whole nother rabbit hole that we need to go down at some point about him being declared the Son of God when he was raised. I have a whole list of verses. Romans 1, when it says. Let me just quickly read that because this is going to. I'm going to make a point about this that I think is very powerful. So Romans 1, which I read this not too long ago, but it kind of deals with the earthly side of Jesus, where he came from, and then the heavenly, because it says, Paul set apart for the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scripture regarding his Son, Capital S.

[Zach]

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[Jase]

I've owned shares of Oracle in my portfolio for years.

[Zach]

Netsuite is the number one AI cloud ERP. It's trusted by over 43,000 businesses. It's a united suite that brings financial, inventory, commerce, HR and CRM all into one source of truth. And having all that connected data, it makes your AI smarter. So it can intelligently automate routine tasks. It can deliver actionable insights, and it can help you cut the cost. So now with NetSuite AI connector, you can use the AI of your choice. This isn't just another bolt on tool either. It's AI that's built into the system that runs your business. So whether your company is earning millions or even hundreds of millions, NetSuite helps you stay ahead of the pack.

[Al]

The early days of Duck Commander netsuite would have been a huge help for our business. Just getting it off the ground.

[Zach]

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[Jase]

Regarding his son. Whose Son? Well, God's son. Well, as to his human nature, was a descendant of David. Okay. But in through the spirit, capital S of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God. How? By his resurrection from the dead. And I think that's important because most people think when Jesus said it's finished on the cross, well, they're like, well, we're done. The cross was essential. But if you don't have the resurrection, I mean, if you walk by, you happen to be on that road that day and looked up and here's three guys hanging on a cross, Jesus in the middle, what would you think? You would think, oh, he was probably a murderer, child abuser. I mean, and even if you knew

[Al]

the story about him, like what he had been doing and all this and had a following, you'd say, well, there went that.

[Jase]

I think this is important. No person who is walking by is thinking, there's the Son of God right there. You're just not thinking that it was kept hidden is my point.

[Al]

To your point, though, Jay, it's very interesting. The one person who I would call it a prophecy I prophesied about what was about to happen was that Roman centurion or Roman guard that. That looked up at him with everything that went around and said he did. He said, surely this was the Son of God.

[Jase]

Well, because it got dark.

[Al]

That's what I'm saying.

[Jase]

There are things happened that he thought,

[Al]

but also the Romans believed their gods came and went and the demigods, and some of them died. I believe that was a prophecy of what was about.

[Jase]

And my point is there were some things finished at the cross. There's no doubt about that. I'm not saying it's not. Whatever it is, we can talk about.

[Al]

Yeah, that's the last words. He said it. Yeah.

[Jase]

What is it? Well, the problem is you get some people saying it is everything. Well, no, I just read Romans 1. He was with power, declared to be the Son of God through the resurrection. It doesn't end there. Which is why Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 15, if Christ has not been raised, then we're still in our sins, our faith is futile, and our life has no meaning. That's the gist. Of it.

[Al]

Didn't we say. Was it John 19? Didn't we say that Thomas was the first one to declare it post resurrection? In writing it said, my Lord and my God, and my God. Oh, something different.

[Jase]

Yeah. So I said all that to say this. So here's this man. So he dies. You're thinking, well, it's over. Well, then he comes back and he appears to almost 500, the believer, all believers, which I think is interesting.

[Al]

1 Corinthians 15.

[Jase]

So why would he only appear to the believer? Why wouldn't he just go try to prove himself? Because it's the same reason he just doesn't come out on a loudspeake and say, hey, humans repent. Well, because it's more about the love connection and relationship, all that, than it is a fearful turn or burn. Well, we'd all turn, but then that's not love. Now it's all fear.

[Al]

And there's still this concept of seeking that takes place with us. We seek him.

[Jase]

So here's what's crazy. He dies, he's buried, he's raised. So he comes back. Well, he's never died since. He's still alive. Well, it's been 2,000 years plus. I mean, just let that sink in. He's living, he's alive.

[Zach]

You mentioned the kind of the distinction or people trying to. It's almost like people want to separate out the atonement and they want to say, oh, the atonement happens at the cross. But if you look at the Hebrew case, this is the case in Hebrews, that the Hebrew writer's making is he doesn't make a big. He lumps the whole atonement process, if you want to call it a process, in the death of Christ, the burial and the resurrection and the ascension. Because if you think about the old covenant and the Hebrew writer does this brilliantly, he says, okay, so the old way was essentially the priest, high priest on Yom Kippur. He makes a sacrifice. That's your cross, that's your death. Then he takes that into the holy place and does all the rituals and all the rhythms of the old way. Then he goes into the most holy place, and then that's where the real presence of God is found, in that place. But when he flips to Jesus, what he says is, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, with these rituals. So those. That's all a copy. This is in Hebrews 9:23. But the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these in other Words. When you see the temple system, that was a copy of the real thing, which was in the heavenly realms. And if you're going to enter into that place, the real place, like the original, the actual thing that the whole thing's a copy of, well, you better bring a better sacrifice than the blood of goats and bulls. Verse 24. For Christ has entered not into the holy places made with hands. You know, this is. Think Solomon, surely the God of heaven is not going to dwell in a house built by my hands, right? Christ didn't go into those places which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself. Now, to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly as the high priest enters the holy place, the one made with hands every year with the blood not his own, then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages. Why? Why did he appear in the heavenly place, up in heaven, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. In other words, Christ, the atonement is not just happening at the cross. It's a whole process of atonement that happens through Christ doing the whole thing. He's like doing the whole Levitical thing, but he's doing it in a different order, the Hebrew writer says, in the order of Melchizedek. But what that means essentially is that this whole process is. You can't separate these things out. It's the whole story.

[Jase]

That was my point. I want to read you this. Look in the context, a baptism of all things, really. I mean, he's talking about. Jesus has brought us this access, you know, in chapter five to God, and he demonstrated his love while we were sinners. He died for us, this amazing grace. So Paul has this kind of epiphany in the letter of light with, shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase. I mean, it's so good. Is this just a license? And so he has this reenactment of what Jesus did by being baptized. It's just fascinating. But then what gets lost in that is verse 9 of Romans 6. I'll go ahead and read 8, 8, 10. Now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. He's like, well, if you were just baptized into the death of Christ, you're like, well, that's finished. No, for we know that since Christ was raised from the dead. This is Romans 6, 9. Just let this get into your pores. He cannot die again. That's why I said he. He. He came back alive and he's still alive.

[Al]

Yeah.

[Jase]

Death no longer has mastery over him. That's over the death. He died. He died to sin once for all. There that was. But the life he lives, he lives to God. And just make it. To make a side point on it. Like when Paul said to The Corinthians, in 1 Corinthians 1:30, it says, it is because of him that you are. Here's those two most important words in the Bible. It's because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God, our righteousness, our holiness and our redemption. Well, how's he going to do that if he's dead? Yeah. And so I said all that. But to say when that First John passage says, because glory is never mentioned, but it's inferred in First John 1:1:4, because we're participating in it. But right here, when it says, but when we know first John 3, 2, that when he appears, we shall be like him. Well, what is that? I know one thing. It's alive.

[Al]

Yeah.

[Jase]

It takes you back to when he was raised.

[Zach]

Right.

[Al]

So, Jace, tell me what's the most favorite thing you like about your little poochies, your little dogs?

[Jase]

I have one who has really good manners and terrible instincts, but then the other has terrible manners but good instincts.

[Al]

So they pair well together. Yeah. Two out of my three dogs have good manners. One, not so much. But they all are instinctive when it comes time for rough greens because they get super excited when it's time to eat and they know rough greens is part of it. They get a little older and a little slower. Your dogs do. They get a little pickier sometimes. The stomachs don't always behave. And the reason why, our good friend Dr. Dennis Black, who created rough Greens, shows us that part of the problem is with traditional dog food. It's missing probiotics, it's missing enzymes, omega oils, and all the live vitamins and minerals that your dog needs to digest and absorb food. That's why he created ruffgreens. It's America's number one dog supplement. You sprinkle it right on their food. It's packed with all the live nutrients that they need. Plus it's all natural, made right here in the good old US of A. Ruff Greens is helping dogs feel younger, more energetic and healthier than they have in years. And your dog could be one of them. My dogs love ruff greens. I've noticed the difference. They have healthier coats, shinier, and they're just more energetic. Get a free Jump Start trial bag for your dog. You just cover the shipping. Go to roughgreens.com and use the discount code. Unashamed rough greens. We make any dog food better.

[Jase]

He appeared to the 500. He had conversations. He had a conversation. Remember in the Book of Acts, they were like, are we going to restore the kingdom of Israel? You know, and he's like, don't worry about the times and dates. The spirit's going to come on you. Well, keep going back. What did he do when he organized the big fishing operation? In John 20 they call it 153 or is that 21? One of those chapters 21 they catch 153 and you know, Peter jumps out of the boat and he's like, come, let's have breakfast. What? The dead guy who's alive now said, let's eat some breakfast. Well, he has to be heavenly because earthly people can't come back from the dead. So he has to have some form of supernatural. Something has happened that he's alive.

[Al]

And the closest thing we've come up with are people that come back from the dead. They don't eat fish, they just want to eat you. We got the zombies. That was the closest we could come.

[Jase]

But you see my point. The reason that I went from the guy who sent me the letter saying the new heaven and new earth is always just. It could mean anything. It's just a new beginning. It's a new world within your world. The reason that I had to expand my view of the narrative of the entire Bible, because it starts off with God creating the heavens and the earth, it ends with him coming out of heaven, creating a new heaven and a new earth. I mean that it can't be an accident. There's some kind of book in I'm on Earth, there's a heaven. And then here's this one who represented heaven multiple times. He like, I'm from heaven, I'm from heaven, I'm from heaven. His mom never had sex. How did he get here?

[Al]

Right?

[Jase]

So he's an earthly heavenly being. That's why I read the Romans one and now he's eating fish. Post resurrection to me, if there's not going to be a new heaven and a new earth, why is he eating fish on the earth as a heavenly being? Now I know that may be simplistic minded. I just have failed to hear anything that can get around that. As far as heaven and earth being a new place where once we are like Him. We can eat fish if we want to. We can have breakfast now. What does that look like? Well, what we are has not been yet made known. It's hard for me to relate, but I know one thing. He's alive. He ate some fish. He was talking. People knew who he was. But we're going to be like him.

[Al]

And also think about the next verse. Everyone who has this hope in the one we shall look like in him, purifies himself just as he is pure. How does hope purify anything unless somehow the hope and what we believe somehow has come to reside in us and therefore purifies us now?

[Jase]

Which is why I read the first Corinthians 1:30. How has he become for us the wisdom and the holiness? Because he's alive. We're connected to it.

[Al]

Exactly.

[Jase]

We can't die. Oh, but you're going to die. But, yeah, I'm going to come back. And guess what? I'm going to eat some fish on earth if I want to. Right?

[Al]

And so think about it. So we sat at this table, and our dear old dad sat right there when it was in another location. And he kept saying, as we were getting close to his physical death on this earth, he kept saying, what? The resurrection looms large. So even in the recognition of this life and coming death, unless the Lord comes back first, we realize death doesn't have a mastery over us. That's why when we spoke at his funeral, which was just a celebration of his life up until this point before eternal life, we looked at him. We said, death has no mastery over him. He's going to come out.

[Jase]

It's a very powerful thing. And the reason I keep bringing up this glory, because when I read that John 17, and I'm like, we get to participate in this glory love before the creation of the world. But I skipped over that glory part because I didn't really understand it. And when I read Exodus 33, which we don't have enough time to get into it, but I would like to, it has this whole image of this little story about when God says, hide in the cleft of the rock because you can't see my face. And this kind of thing, which he eventually becomes a face in Jesus. But there's some phrases in there that. About God revealing his glory to Moses. And he's like, my presence, which is the word, Hebrew word for face, will be with you, and I am pleased with you. Well, that little phrase got me in Exodus 33. And read that on your own. And then when we come back, On a future podcast, we'll break it. He also says, and I'll give you rest. Well, he's not talking about the Sabbath. What's he talking about? I give you rest. And I think that goes back to that John 15. You're connected to the source. You don't have to perform somehow to get his approval. You have everything he has, and he's going to go through you. But when I. And I'm pleased with you. And I heard this from a sermon from C.S. lewis one time. Of course, I didn't know what it meant. And he said, you know, I used to think glory was bad for humans, to think, oh, we want some kind of glory. But God is saying, my approval of you is a glory that you should pursue. Yeah, you should pursue that. When he said, I'm pleased with you, well, it made me. It took me back to the baptism of Jesus, which is why I think Paul brought it up in Romans chapter six. What happened? He identified him as his son. He said, this is my son, whom I love, because that's the connection that was all along. And then he said, in whom I'm well pleased. Same phrase that Moses used that was used to Moses by God in him being his representative. And I just thought, oh, oh, well, now that makes sense. Why in John 1 it says, unlike Moses, remember, he brought what he brought in. What is that? John 1:17 and 18. But the son revealed the glory, the glory of the one and only Son Moses brought. What does it say? Let me read it. John 1:16. From the fullness of his grace, we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God but God, the one and only Son, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. So I read all that because. Let me read this in John 17, just a. Where does it say about that glory? This is in his prayer, praying for all the believers. He says, listen to this. I'll just start reading in verse 20 and we'll find it. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. That all of them, yeah. May be one Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. How intimate connection is this? May they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sinned. Me, I've given them here it is the glory that you gave me, that they may be one, as we are one. I in them and you and me, may they be brought to complete unity, to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

[Al]

And he repeats it again in 24.

[Jase]

So my point is, just think of us as humans and men and being rejected in life, and all of a sudden you realize that God's pursuing me. He's chosen me to be in this fellowship of love and glory. And it's so important to know that God is pleased. He's pleased with you. And so we surrender. There's your validation. Because there's a lot of humans going around with horrible lies because they were rejected at an early age and they're just trying to be a man, you know, and prove that they're worth something, achieve some glory. Just think of all the counseling scenarios that started off when they were in sixth grade and, you know, they didn't get picked to be whatever, you know, and so they live the rest of their life. And I really think there's something to that. When he says we'll be like him now and forevermore, I just, I think it's a powerful thing.

[Al]

That's good. We'll get into that glory because I got a cool thing that from our marriage refresh about the crowns that we've been given. It was really interesting. Plays right into what you're talking about. So we'll pick up on this next time I'm going to 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.