← Unashamed with the Robertson Family
Unashamed with the Robertson Family
Ep 1307 | The Robertsons Expose the Devil’s Most Overlooked Strategy: Your Busy Schedule
00:55:54
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- [00:02]
Jason
I am unashamed. What about you?
- [00:06]
Al
Welcome back to Unashamed. We left off the last podcast with a major cliffhanger because Jace took us right up to close with his epiphany about life. And so Zach, he has asked for our comments. So I'll start, because first he asked
- [00:24]
Zach
if I was with him. He said, are you with me?
- [00:26]
Jason
And then after a short yawn, you said, oh, yeah.
- [00:30]
Zach
I yawned. And he said, oh, okay.
- [00:32]
Al
I guess this the one thing that Zach can do a lot of things that Jay can ignore. But he doesn't like the yawn. He. Because it makes it seem like Zach is bored now.
- [00:41]
Zach
It's so funny that since all that happened, I'm not kidding. Like, it's like I got PTSD from the scalding that I got from J over that every time I yawn now, I found myself doing it out of my nose because I'm like, I'm going to offend somebody by doing this, and I'm going to.
- [00:57]
Al
Oh, he doesn't like that.
- [00:58]
Jason
Well, Zach, let me put it in this mind. The other night when I was at the event, and I was like, we are connected. Partnered in fellowship with, participating in the God nature. Our Lord is Jesus. He holds the keys of death and Hades in his hand at that moment. Because I had my voice raised more than that.
- [01:28]
Al
Yeah.
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Jason
If somebody would have just gone, You know, it would just kind of debilitate.
- [01:37]
Al
It's very hard for speakers to have people uninterested in your audience.
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Zach
I've been there. But I will say this, that a yawn is like. It's kind of like a sneeze. It's like you. It's not a.
- [01:48]
Al
It's involuntary is what you're saying.
- [01:50]
Zach
You just got to get it out. And I do it a lot to help clear my ears. And I was looking at a picture on.
- [01:55]
Jason
But it's contagious, Zach. It is contagious. Just like the love of God is a contagion.
- [02:02]
Zach
So is when you asked me that, I was actually reading the news and there was a picture of Tiger woods in a cop car. New found footage after his arrest. And he was like. He was yawning, and it made me do it.
- [02:16]
Al
And it was because he was drunk. In his case, he was drunk.
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Zach
So I'm not drunk. I'm completely sober. I've been hitting up the coffee.
- [02:24]
Al
This could be. This could be a whole. Zach could do a. Write a new book. In Defense of the Yawn by Zach. That's pretty good.
- [02:32]
Zach
But I wasn't Yawning at what you said. I actually thought what you said was great. You might want to paraphrase it so that. Because if someone wasn't listening, and then Al and I, we can respond. If you give us a short.
- [02:44]
Al
Yeah, give us a. Give us a short recap and then we'll. In case somebody's coming with this out of sequence.
- [02:50]
Zach
If you're going to sum it up in a paragraph, what would you say in a paragraph?
- [02:54]
Jason
I would say that in the first creation, the first world, the problem was man's sin and then death. I think death was a consequence of their sin. And I don't think it's an accident that the Evil One showed up during that transition. And ever since then, it seems like the Evil One is really concerned about death.
- [03:24]
Zach
Yeah.
- [03:25]
Al
And his name tends to be regarded with that. So you brought up a couple. My response to the whole diatribe that you did on the rabbit hole is I concur 100%. I think the garden was as much about, in fact, more about physical death than spiritual death. Not saying that they don't occur consistently together. Because they do. The idea that they were cut off. But you made a good point. But they were still having conversations. So it wasn't like we say, separation. It wasn't like all of a sudden they didn't know who God was. They did know immediately after sin because they had a conversation. I like that.
- [04:05]
Jason
Well, but Al, I want to interject something. So it's like when we get to. Maybe I should have said this, but my presentation was pretty long. It got long. But when it says in First John 5, which we'll get to that the whole. Let's see, what does it say? Under the control of the evil 1. That's 1 John 5. 19. We know that we are children of God and that the whole world. Because we all started this in saying Jesus from another world, introducing a new world in the old world. He says, we know that the whole world is under the control of the Evil One. I would submit that it's because we die.
- [04:53]
Al
Correct.
- [04:54]
Jason
We physically die. That's what he. That's why he was accusing. That's why he wants to control people's death.
- [05:03]
Al
Yes.
- [05:03]
Jason
And have that power.
- [05:04]
Al
And he even made that same claim to Jesus of all people in the flesh, when he tempted him in the wilderness. He said, these kingdoms are mine. I control them. You know what I'm saying?
- [05:19]
Jason
What did he tempt Jesus to do? Remember he said, throw yourself down. He wanted him to die.
- [05:25]
Al
That's right.
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Zach
Which.
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Jason
How Did Jesus ultimately defeat him by using death? Because he thought, well, that's what he's all about. And that's usually Satan gets blamed for our sin, and then we get blamed for our death. We're like, well, you were dumb out there fishing during a lightning storm, you idiot. You know, but I'm saying the evil one is way more concerned about that death than anything else.
- [05:54]
Zach
I think if you go back, you had mentioned the garden in last. The last podcast, and when you were making your point, and you also ended up in Revelation 1, where John, ironically, when I yawned, Jay said, I felt like I'm with John on an island by myself. Which is the picture of what you quoted in the last podcast, that Revelation 1 passage where John has this vision of the resurrected Christ who is victorious and basically says he conquered death. So here's where I think this ties in. I think the interlink between Genesis, the fall of man, and the final resurrected Jesus presenting himself to John in Revelation 1 is found in Hebrews 4. But I think the way you get there is this, that if you think about the fall of man and how death entered the world, death entered the world through essentially Adam and Eve choosing to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And it wasn't that God was like, I don't want you to have the knowledge of good and evil. It's that I think the better way of seeing that is that they chose to do that apart from God. So the way God had designed it was that they would turn to God and be like, okay, God, is this good or bad? And God said, oh, that's bad because it leads away from me. You don't want to. You don't want to touch that. So when they. When they deviate and they had to have that knowledge for themselves, apart from their relational trust with God, that was the separation right there. And that separation, the way that it just naturally unfolds is in hiding. That's what they did. They. They ran and they hid. So when God found them, he came looking for him. He says, what are you doing? They're like, well, we were naked, so we hid. He said, who told you you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I told you not to eat up? And then they go into the whole thing. But. But notice that what man and. And mankind does when. When we. When we eat from that tree apart from God, is we. We can't help it. I mean, we lose our confidence before him and we go and hide. I mean, that's what hiding is. Hiding is a lack of confidence. It's, it's. I don't have the confidence to be around you because if I'm around you, I'm going to be exposed and you're going to see me. And so I got to hide from you because you're going to see who I really am and then the fear is you'll cast me out. And so that was really what happened in the, in the first sin, the original sin of mankind. So when you get to Hebrews and the Hebrew writers making this incredible case that all this is fulfilled in Jesus, he has this weird thing when he gets to Hebrews 4. I just found this so weird how he says basically in 4 11, let us therefore strive to enter that rest. This is something about the rest of God. Now what he says next is interesting because if you were going to tell somebody, you know, are you tired? Are you, Are you, are you worn out? Are you sick of hiding? Are you just. You need to enter God's rest. And then this is the description of that rest. Just listen to this because it doesn't sound like rest to me. So that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword piercing the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him whom he must have given an account. I'm like, that doesn't rest. I mean you're talking about like. Like somehow I'm gonna connect. To enter God's rest is to be filleted open that have a sword that has two edges on it that penetrates so deep that it separates my joint from my bone. It separates, it can judge the. It pierces through and fillets open. Not just my thoughts, but the intentions of my thought that nothing is exposed before this God. He said, man, that doesn't sound very restful to me.
- [09:58]
Al
So Zach, I saw a picture of your beautiful daughter. And every time I see her I just am always touched. Because she is a pro life story,
- [10:08]
Zach
I can't imagine our life without her.
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Al
She's.
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Zach
She has been the greatest blessing to. To the Dasher family, that's for sure.
- [10:14]
Al
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- [11:47]
Zach
which, which brings us to the the revelation passage. In Revelation 1 when he said, I mean, listen to the the language in Revelation 1 and how similar it is to the passage in Hebrews 4 when he says, I, I, I, I heard the voice behind me. It sounded like rushing waters. I turned to see that voice that was speaking to me and I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man, Daniel seven, by the way, clothed with a long robe that sounds like a priest to me. And a golden sash around his chest. Well, that sounds like a king. The hairs of his head were white like wool, like snow. His eyes like a flame of fire. His feet like bronze, burnish, refined in the furnace. And his voice was like the roar of many waters. And in his hand he held out seven stars. And here it goes. Out of his mouth came a sharp two edged sword, same sword from, from Hebrews chapter four. His face was like the sun, shining in all of its full strength. I mean, you read that and you think that's the image I got when I read Hebrews 4? I didn't read an image of rest. So what's he talking about? How in the world am I going to rest if I'm coming into that type of exposure with a living God? I think what I would do is not rest. I Think I would do exactly what John did. And this is what John did when I saw him. Verse 17 that said, I took down, took a nap. He didn't say, I got. I've climbed up in his arms. And I was just like, thank you, Jesus. He said, no, I felt his feet as though dead. That's the response when you read something like this, because it's the complete obliteration of everything that you think that you have and have done and constructed. And your intelligence, your moral integrity, your whatever, it is a complete evaporation of confidence when we, when we come before a holy God like this. So then the question is, well, how in the world can the Hebrew writer say, strive to enter his rest if this is what we're going to face when we cut. When we come into his presence? Here's, here's the answer to that question. But he laid his right hand on me. He laid his right hand on me saying, fear not, I am the first and the last and the living one. I died and behold, I'm alive forevermore. And I have the keys of death and Hades. And so you think, how do I enter into this confidently, because he touches you. He touches us. That king, that priest, that cornerstone temple that's all fulfilled in Jesus is the one who puts his hand on us and says, I have overcome. Which goes back to what you said a few weeks ago about the story of Lazarus. Jason, you brought this up. What does Jesus say about the resurrection? He says, I am the resurrection. I. So everything is personified in him. And so our confidence, according to the Hebrew writer, it's not in our own ability, it's not in our own merits, not anything we've done. It's the fact that that king God, that the, the. The God who became king puts his hand on your shoulder and says, do not be afraid. Come to me. That's when we can have true confidence. And that's when that Genesis 1, 2, and 3 can actually be fulfilled and now we can enter back into his presence.
- [15:06]
Al
So let me add in my point, Jay, to the epiphany and the rabbit hole you had that I hadn't thought about before, that helped enhance that with me, because I agree with your conclusion, is that the tree of life is providing a nourishment into eternity. Now, you had all the other trees in the garden providing physical nourishment, right? Just to live in the day, in the moment. But there was something special about the tree of life that was somehow a connection. Who Jesus says later, is him. To your point, in John 5, and in Romans 5, by the way.
- [15:42]
Jason
And it's a gift.
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Al
It's a gift. And so they have this gift all of a sudden because of Satan. Death enters because of sin, and then sin reigns, as we talked about. And people died, and they. They've been dying ever since, until. Until the Son of God comes back, resets our world, our kingdom, provides himself as the example, then dies, but then is resurrected. But here's the key. And then sends his spirit into us, who Paul said in Ephesians 1 was a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of our bodies. Right. Same thing we see about in all the other verses about redemption and the resurrection. So now all of a sudden, that nourishment is back. And I love that you brought up in John 6 that he compares it to manna. Manna was from heaven.
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Jason
Yeah.
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Al
That was heavenly bread. You talk about angel food. I mean, angel food cake. This. This is. But it was only to provide from day to day of physical nurture that wasn't the same as the bread of life. And that's why you correctly said, when he says, you feast on me. Well, how does Jesus get in you? And I know a lot of you out here will disagree. It's not that somehow you're transcending the bread into flesh to then go ingest into your body. It's the Holy Spirit that now lives in you that brings that about. That's what he's talking about there. That's how he gets in there. So in other words, he is in you in terms of the Holy Spirit. So that was a nice way on your whole thing. I was just thinking about that idea. But that's how the Holy Spirit works. And now I'm not so sure that that was even a provision in the garden of the Son and the Spirit through whatever was on that tree. I'm not so sure.
- [17:28]
Zach
Oh, I agree.
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Al
What that was. I don't know how to explain that.
- [17:31]
Jason
But the Son manifesting himself in the tree of life.
- [17:36]
Al
Right, because it said he was there from the beginning, so.
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Jason
And he's there in the end.
- [17:40]
Al
Right.
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Jason
You know, all of a sudden, when you get to Revelation 21, 22, guess, guess who makes an appearance back. Right. The Tree of Life. It's back.
- [17:49]
Al
Yeah.
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Jason
With the sun.
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Zach
Well, and. And the Picture of Revelation 22 Is. Is sounds a whole lot like the temple picture in Ezekiel. When you have the water that's coming out from under the. The. The door of the temple, and it. And it turns into a river, and everything it touches turns to life. And then you have. In Revelation 22, you have water flowing out, and. And there you got the tree there. And everything that that water touches turns to life. And so it. Then you think, well, what is? Well, if the water's coming out of the temple, well, who's the temple? Well, Christ, the CornerStone. That's Revelation 21. I didn't see a temple looking around. Oh, because Jesus is the temple. And so you. I think that this is the thing John Piper wrote a book about. It's called God is the Gospel. And one of his main points in the book is that if you could go to heaven and experience all the things that heaven has to offer and Christ was not there, would you want to go? And the answer should be no. Christ is heaven. And I mean, you have to see all of this being personified in the person of Jesus, who is the incarnation of the triune God. This is not about us going to heaven. I mean, NT writes so clear about this too. We're not going to heaven to have an autonomous existence. This is about a participation in the life of God through Jesus. That's what the whole thing's about.
- [19:16]
Jason
Yeah, and to your point about the presence of God and resting, you read Hebrews 4 and Revelation 1. But if you read Hebrews 2, which I read every three podcasts, because
- [19:29]
Al
it
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Jason
explains exactly the role of the evil one, the power that he has, the freedom that we lose when he says Hebrews 2:14, since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death, he might destroy him. Who holds the power of death, that is the devil and free those who are all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. Well, this makes sense now, once I consider the Tree of Life, because he said, you're free to eat of all the trees, including the Tree of Life, and live forever. Yeah, but what happened when they sinned and they were separated from that tree, the evil one then took control of death. Yeah, because they have no access. And he uses that. So he uses it in revelation by threatening or having other powers or other kingdoms kill people who profess their faith. Which in a practical way is why people are scared to share Jesus today. Because they're worried about what people think. Well, what if. And it may not be death, but in some countries it is death. But it's the same principle. If you don't want to speak up for Jesus because you're scared of what other people will think, well, who's Kemp? Who's influencing you?
- [20:55]
Al
Who's Going to control.
- [20:56]
Jason
Well, exactly. That's the evil one. But I have to bring up. So you brought up Revelation 1, but in Revelation 12 and whatever you think of Revelation, there's obviously two camps, two teams that you can be on gods with his son Jesus looking like a lamb that had been slain and his holy Spirit. And then you have the evil one and all these evil humanly powers. Only one team wins. Choose wisely. We know that. So with that as the basis, when he got to Revelation 12, remember when he talked about this war and the evil one being hurled to the earth, leading the world astray. That's Revelation 12.
- [21:43]
Zach
9.
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Jason
And then he hears a voice in verse 10 saying, the accuser of our brothers, speaking of the evil one who accuses them before our God day and night has been hurled down. But they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they didn't love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
- [22:12]
Zach
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- [23:25]
Jason
Why would he bring that up? Yeah, it's the same principle.
- [23:28]
Al
Exactly.
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Jason
The evil one is using that fear to get you to shut up. That's right for Jesus. That's what he's doing. Which leads to the point you made, Zach. I'm probably sure that you know this is in Revelation, but about the setting your hearts at rest in his presence when he gets to Revelation 14. And I won't read the whole thing because it can get real confusing, but he sees these three angels and one of them, I can read verse six. That's pretty self explanatory. It had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth, to every nation, tribe and language. And he said in a loud voice, fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the springs of the water. Well, the second angel was talking about Babylon, the nation, drinking the maddening wine of her adulteries. Then the third angel said in a loud voice, anyone who worships the beast and his image. So this is worshiping anything other than God, earthly power. And watch what happens in verse, verse 10. It says, he too will drink of the wine of God's fury. This is people worshiping the beasts who have not put their trust in God. They'll receive his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. There's. Look at this. No rest day or night. There's no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image. You say, what's this got to do with anything? Well, watch in verse 13. Then I heard a voice from heaven say, write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Because we know from Jesus Word, you're not dead to him. You're alive. All you need is a little patch up. Yeah, you're not dead. And then what it says. Then look what it says. Yes, says the spirit. They will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them. Yeah, I think that's pretty interesting.
- [25:50]
Al
Well, and when you think about that idea of no rest and evil, it's like I mentioned this at dad's funeral because one of the songs he used to love to sing that was conflicting for him when he was not a Christian was the Eagle song. Take it to the limit one more time. And the idea was is you never find the fulfillment that you're looking for. You got to go one more time. But it's still not enough. You got to go one more time. There's no rest in that.
- [26:18]
Jason
That's what I was gonna go Ahead.
- [26:19]
Zach
Yeah, that. I think that's like the hedonist way, which I think Phil was probably would have been like a hedonist. We just. There's a YouTube clip of him talking about that when he was younger and he said, well, we were like the old eagles just taking it to the limit one more time. He had a higher pitched voice back then that was pretty funny. But, but, but he said that's what they were doing. But I also think, like, when you think about entering God's rest and you. Through his presence, which Jace mentioned, and that was in the book of Revelation as well, the. Here's how this looks in real life when, if you've ever been caught up in any like, like real sin in your life, and I mean, like, not everybody has this story, Al. You've got it. I've got it. I've got. I had those moments where I was steeped in just dark sin and, and this happened several times in my life. And. And there's a moment when you come back into the relationships that have been estranged because of your sin and you in some capacity are like, would these people or this person even take me back? Would they. Even if they really knew what was in here, would they. Would they really love me? And you probably think they wouldn't, which is why you've been hiding from them. And then something happens and you go into that setting and you just, you vomit out the truth, because that's what it just comes out. And your wife's sitting there and she's hearing for the first time that you have been looking at pornography or maybe you've been having an affair or whatever it is, it all comes out. And is it painful? Yes, it's very, very painful. But once the smoke is cleared and once everything has been laid bare and that person that you feared was going to leave you is still available, not that they're okay with your sin, say, oh, you can keep doing that. No, it's not that. It's like I'm. Yeah, that hurt. I'm deeply wounded by that. But I, but I'm here, I'm present. And they don't leave. You feel a real weight and a rest that you hadn't felt in years. Yeah, that story is. Everybody who has that type of transformation, who comes to Jesus in that way, what the way that they would describe it is, they would say something like this, I just felt a weight lifted off my shoulder. They're describing rest. And the reason why this matters is because when you read the whole book, the whole Bible, that's the picture is that Christ sees us in our hiding and he doesn't say, it's okay. Don't worry about it. Yeah, I'm here, man. Keep doing what you're doing. I was never mad at you in the first place. Just keep doing what you're doing. That's not the call. The call is what you're doing is ostracizing yourself for me. I'm not leaving. But you're leaving. When you do that. I see you in your brokenness. I see you in your nakedness. I see you in all of your flaws. I see you in your character weaknesses. I see you in all the disgusting things that you have done to rebel and to move away from me. And I'm like, I am not moving from you. And when you can be seen in that way, now, all of a sudden you can experience rest. Because it's like, I don't have to hide and pretend this. This person, this God, he sees everything that I've done already. And think about that. God sees everything that you've already done. He has witnessed every thought that you've ever had, and he knows the intentions of those thoughts even better than you do. And he still says, I want you. If we can understand that central truth about how God feels about us, then we can actually enter into his rest to the degree that we can believe
- [30:00]
Al
that which really goes into Jace's point about life, then leading to light, in the sense that we want that so much, we want to follow him. And what's it based on? His love?
- [30:13]
Jason
Well, that's why it said in that Revelation 14. I thought it was good. It was like their deeds will follow them. And that just comes from Jesus turning the light bulb on. Because I think we have the Evil One wrong, which is a bad thing to get wrong, because it's our enemy. We only think about, oh, he wants us to be bad. No, he wants you to be dead. And one of the things he uses that is not really involving sin is, I'm convinced, in your idea of rest, Zach, is he wants you to be busy. Because people get so busy, it's just a distraction. And you're just turning your wheels because you know what time is on his side. Get them so busy and tired and exhausted, even if they're not cutting up the whole time, where they're not looking to God for the answer. Time's on his side.
- [31:12]
Al
If you look at it the antithesis of everything you said in the first three, then the Evil One is about death. And he's about darkness. And then lastly, he's about hate, not love. In other words, the idea is whether that becomes from distraction or whatever it is that he gets you to where you're more about hate than you are about love. Which is ironic because when we look at the garden and we see the results of it, we only had to go into the next chapter in Genesis 4. And what's the first thing we see? Brother turning on brother.
- [31:42]
Zach
Oh, yeah.
- [31:42]
Al
And killing him. Over a sacrifice of all things.
- [31:46]
Jason
Over jealousy. Well, that's what I was saying. Now, when I was young and sharing Jesus with everybody, everybody had the same kind of thing. It was all about bad behavior. All my friends were getting drunk, having sex with whoever would be willing, and that's what it was all about. But now that I'm my age, now most people I'm sharing with that are my age, it's more that. Because they figured out pretty quick if you keep that lifestyle up, you either be in prison or dead. So they. They get it that. But then they get so busy with doing just worldly things or, you know, making enough money to whatever it is, you know. And that's why I say it's the evil ones. He's more clever than you think.
- [32:32]
Al
Well, that's why there's a list of sins. The acts of Symphonicia are obvious. And you look down that list and they apply to different seasons in your life. There is the immorality and all that, and that may affect people their whole life, but then you start seeing greed and all those different things that are represented in the self.
- [32:49]
Zach
Selfish ambition.
- [32:50]
Al
Selfish ambition. Vain conceive.
- [32:52]
Jason
Well, I'm saying this because I'm trying to disciple a bunch of people digitally. The biggest problem I have with that is they're like, well, I don't have time. Like, all right, read this section. Get back to me a month later. Hey, I've been busy. I'm like. I'm not quite this forceful, but just for application, I'll cut to the chase. But I'm really feeling like if you can go a whole month without reading your Bible or reading the Scriptures, I guess as we defined it. Now, that may be a problem.
- [33:25]
Al
Yeah, maybe you may have too much else going on.
- [33:31]
Zach
So all day comfort for me, it feels like being able to move around a little bit, not be, you know, so tight up in my clothes. I like soft clothes. I like soft jeans, like soft blankets matters. We've all had our experiences with items that feel awesome the first time, but over time, it turns out that they lose their luster which is why we love Cozy Earth. Their socks, their sheets, comforters, they're just ridiculously soft and breathable. The kind of everyday comfort that's long lasting, just like you've always been looking for. We all are big fans of Cozy Earth.
- [34:03]
Jason
My wife, she doesn't like this stuff. She loves their products. Her favorite is the bubble Cuddle blanket. And I'm shocked that they still have them in stock because she is a big fan. It's the greatest blanket I've ever experienced.
- [34:20]
Al
For us, Zach, it's the sheets. Lisa and I love the sheets. They're amazing. They're fantastic.
- [34:25]
Zach
Oh yeah, the Cozy Earth bamboo sheets. They got the pajamas, they got all of it. It's absolutely incredible. And with a 10 year warranty and a 100 night trial, you really can't go wrong. But there's no way you're going to want to return these because I'm telling you, they are the best ever. Big fans of it. Discover how care in every detail transforms simple routines into moments of true comfort and ease. Head over to cozyearth.com use our code unashamed. You get up to 20% off. And if you get a post purchase survey, be sure to mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here on the Unashamed podcast, that's cozyearth.com use our code unashamed. Experience the craft behind the comfort and make every day feel intentional. The lie is that, here's the lie that we, we believe that there are these benign, neutral cultural liturgies or habits or rhythms and there's, they're not, they're not neutral. And so you just go, I'm just going to live my life. I'm going to take the kids to the ballpark. I'm going to do the travel ball thing. I'm going to miss church every Sunday for that. I'm going to, you know, I'm going to go do this, go on vacations, I'm gonna do all these things. I'm going to go to movies, entertain myself to death. And you think that's not forming you, that's forming you. And in the same way, if you're like, it's so funny the things we used to make fun of like 10 years ago. Like, I grew up in one of those churches where it was all about reading your Bible, saying your prayers and going to church. Well, it turns out those three things are pretty important and that they shape an individual into the kind of person that God wants you to become. And so I think when you start thinking about, like, even just the rhythm of reading your Bible in a meaningful way that does shape you. That shapes you into a particular kind of person. I don't know how you do it without. Without doing that.
- [36:08]
Al
Well, I mismet a guy on this last event that I mentioned, the last podcast in North Carolina, and his wife said, oh, I got to get a picture of you guys together, because he listens to you guys every day. I mean, he must have a long business or something, because he says on a mower every day. And then he did. He shook my hand. He said, dude, you guys have been such a blessing in my life because I listen to you every day, to your point. So a lot of people that are. Most of you, obviously, that are listening to this podcast today, you're regular listeners. And so we're preaching the choir to you because you're hearing this every single day. The application of the word of God.
- [36:48]
Jason
Well, after our last podcast, which what the viewer doesn't see is because by the time they put it all together, it'll look like we were all sitting here. But we lost Zach. You had an emergency.
- [37:01]
Al
I had prostate issues. I'm sorry. It's our. For me to go 48 minutes.
- [37:06]
Jason
So it looked like I just talked for.
- [37:08]
Zach
It's like a leather bag. It's worn out. There's no elastic.
- [37:11]
Al
I mean, the resurrection looms large for
- [37:13]
Jason
all it looked like I just talked for 40 minutes. But I'm just saying it wasn't as it seemed.
- [37:19]
Zach
You carried the water for us.
- [37:20]
Jason
And. But my point is, that came from a long Bible study that went on for hours, where I'm like, I think I missed something here. Not that it was something grand revealing, but it's just like, oh, I'm trying to figure out what this is saying in this moment. And it's real easy for preachers just to get up and make a little statement. Even like when we did the thing about the Bible, you're like, what's wrong with that? Well, nothing, but it's just not in the Bible. We just came up with that. And. But it leads people to get off, I think, on what this is actually saying.
- [38:02]
Al
I do want to interject one point here, because you just brought it up. I think it's so important, everything you ingest that helps you grow spiritually. I just want to issue a challenge to our audience. What you should be thinking is, how do I share that with somebody else? The idea is that this is never for us in a vacuum.
- [38:23]
Jason
This.
- [38:23]
Al
That's why we get so excited about this. Because we get to talk to you about it. We love studying. But if we were just. Jason was just doing all this for his own benefit, I mean it would be pretty limited in the effect it can have. But the fact that he's doing that and wants to share it with all of you and then anywhere he goes
- [38:37]
Jason
and Sunday, well, I was excited.
- [38:38]
Al
Oh, that's right. Well, I'm the same way. Like I'm excited about preaching Sunday. So everything I'm soaking in, it goes out. So I just want you guys thinking this way that are listening. Man, we are excited. This builds you up spiritually. But think about who else you know in your life that needs to hear this and know this. So let this be a conduit, you know, because that's really what this is designed to do. This new kingdom life is not for just us to say. This is for ourselves. But the kingdom of God is expanding and it should be expanding.
- [39:05]
Zach
Go ahead, Z. Yeah, that. I. Yeah, that, that's, that's, that's. That's key Bible text there. I mean that's. The whole garden is expanding and so the naturally flows out. But when Jace was talking about like the. When he was younger and his friends were, you know, they were all having sex with whoever would let them and whoever was willing getting drunk, doing that whole thing. And then as. As they age, you know that that gets a lot less attractive. And then you're like, well, you know, 50 years old now. I mean, well one you limit. You're getting limited in who would want to have sex with because you know you ain't done nothing with your life. But it's so funny because I had this conversation with Bear this morning. We were driving to school and this must my 17 year old and he's. He's had issues with his vehicle. Well, he wrecked my truck. I think I told you all that story. And then he.
- [39:54]
Al
You told us part of it. Then you withheld it for other insurance purposes.
- [39:58]
Zach
But I'll just say this. It's been a saga with him in the vehicle. So. So he's finally got a vehicle that works and then the brake lines go out. Well, I'm like, I will pay for the brake lines. Because he's like, I'll do it myself. I'm like, nah, when it comes to that kind of safety, I'll pay for the brake lines. Getting this truck. Get the brake lines put on the, on the vehicle. This thing. He spent fifteen hundred dollars on it. That tells you how, how nice it is. And, and he tells me today that he wants to buy rims and tires. Like, like new rent. Not new tires, new rims. And I just stopped. I was like, what are you talking about? He said, I gotta get, I could get them cheaper that way. I said, new, like you have a fifteen hundred dollar vehicle and you want rims on? Like, what are you, like, what is this? I said, played Pop Warner football and I show up to the worst team in the league. Y' all couldn't win a ball game. And every one of those seven year old kids, they show up with $500 worth of gear representing like they were athletes. But I'm watching you play and none of y' all are athletes. Like, I'm like, this is not time to represent rims. This is time. We got to get a vehicle that works. And I sit there like, I'm like. And I, and I pointed out one particular, one of his friends. And I said, what about this guy? Remember that guy that was around when you were 7 and he had the best gear, he had everything. I said, where's he at now? He dropped out of high school. I don't know what he's doing. He's, he's living, he's doing drugs. Like, see, but, but, but at seven years old. Oh, he was killing it.
- [41:33]
Jason
He had to look.
- [41:34]
Zach
I was like, you got to start thinking in advance. And because, but, but then I got convicted because like I said, you're virtue signaling, basically. Which if you buy rims on a $1,500 truck, you're all that is, is a virtue signal. I mean, that's all it is. I said, I, I'm all, I got this great thing that. You don't have a great thing. You have a $1,500 piece of junk with $3,000 worth of rims on it. I said, we're not doing that. But I started thinking about, but I, but I, I struggle with that. I struggle with my 401k, feeling like I got security. I struggle with other things. And so I think wherever you're at in your journey and with, with Christ, the temptation is always going to be to focus on the thing instead of the person. And so I want the, I want the kingdom, but I don't know if I want the king. Yeah, that's. First you say to me, I want to, I want to look like I'm, I'm an athlete, but I don't want to put in the hard yard to actually spend time practicing and develop, developing a muscle memory. And that is a, it's a poverty mindset and it will lead to spiritual poverty. And I think what, Jace, what you're ultimately getting at is that if this is true about the. The gospel, that. That the gospel actually centers on a person that is inviting us into relationship, then there is no. There is no. I'm too busy. All that like that. That's. It's not about that. It's about being in relationship with heaven itself. Who. Heaven happens to be a person. Eternal life happens to be a person. The one we call Jesus.
- [43:07]
Al
Well, to show you the lies of the evil one, we look at, you know, we want to put forth something scary. We'll. We'll do something like the Walking Dead, which is zombies, which are scary and they look terrible and they're decaying and they're trying to eat your brain and all this stuff. But in reality, the walking dead or the. Is the guy that's past his prime, but he's still driving a sports car and he's got fake hair and he's got a spray tan and he's got the top down and he's got all the jewelry on, and he's trying to look like he's still relevant, but he knows he's not. So he's projecting something. But just think about it. How do you feel when you see that person? I mean, do you think, man, that's what I want to be? I want to be, like, dying and know I'm dying, but try to project that I'm full of life and I'm still 18 years old and running after the chicks.
- [43:55]
Jason
It looks like somebody has been believed. A delusion. Yes, because he's dying and acting like he's not exactly.
- [44:05]
Al
Like he's got. Like he's binging my button and going the other way. So that. That's the reality of what the evil one does. That's. That's the illusion. That's the fake part. And I did it for dudes because I'm a dude. But ladies, I'm sure the same thing. You've seen the same thing in women. The thing is, when. When we have this, when we have the holy spirit of God in us, none of that stuff really matters. I mean, like, all of us, we try to take care of ourselves as best we can, but that doesn't matter. I mean, that's not the ultimate answer. The ultimate answer is we know that even though we live and die, we live.
- [44:39]
Jason
Yeah.
- [44:39]
Al
Which was his own.
- [44:40]
Jason
That's what I was getting at. It's hard to wrap your head around what he says. And, like, all the Characters who are involved, like the evil and how he. He deludes us. But it's more about having you die outside of Christ, because then you're just, you know, that's his motivation. I mean, I don't know. The fury that he fell, he's going to be alienated.
- [45:09]
Al
I think that's his motivation. I mean, just guessing, yes.
- [45:12]
Jason
Revelation 12. He's filled with fury because he knows his time is short.
- [45:19]
Zach
Hey, guys, I want to tell you guys about something that's really cool we're doing with our Hillsdale Friday episodes. We're going to pick one listener to come down to Westman Road, Louisiana, to watch a live recording of Unashamed. And we're going to pay for it. We're going to pay for travel and lodging for you and a guest, up to $1,000 each. All you got to do is take the Ancient Christianity course with us. We're doing that every Friday. Finish all the quizzes and send us your certificate of completion. You can sign up and take the course for free@unashamedforhillsdale.com then you can upload your certificate@watchunashamed.com and you'll be entered for the drawing. We'll pick a winner in June. So you guys stay tuned.
- [46:01]
Jason
So one thing I wanted to bring up, that Zach brought up, you know, of all the sin that I have had in my life, you know, the one thing that we did God's way, me and my wife, was we waited till we got married, you know, before we had sex and all that, that kind of situation. But we were talking about this this morning because I heard your buddy John Tyson preaching, and he just made a small comment, had nothing to do with the lesson, but it got my attention because he had. He had gone back to Australia and he said, you know, I'm always nervous when I go back because I don't want to bump into anybody who knew me before I was born again. And then he just went on with whatever he was talking about. But I thought, man, it's been. I was doing the math on how old he is, and I'm like, you're still bringing that up after 30 something years. And it caused a conversation with Missy and I, because I think this is a glimpse of what we get in Christ is this new beginning. Because here we, you know, I'm with another person. And what we do in secret is our business, you know, because we're married. We've only known each other. There's no female in the world that I could bump into who Would say, oh, yeah, I remember that. Well, you know, that's a pretty good feeling. And I'm not. I'm not bragging. I'm saying, take that times a thousand ways you could screw up. And that's what you have in Jesus. You have something special so you can do other things that are good. I mean, because we finally realized. To go back to my buddies who first came to the Lord, you know, part of their struggle was realizing that when they turned 50, not doing that stuff is not the end game.
- [47:55]
Al
Right?
- [47:55]
Jason
It's like, we don't do that anymore. And I'm like, well, half of you couldn't. You know, you'd be dead before the sun came up if you went and
- [48:03]
Al
did what you used to do.
- [48:04]
Jason
But it's not just not doing wrong. I mean, yes, there are benefits from that, but he wants to use you. And I think that's where the evil one comes up in trying to shut you up by your fear of death, which is really what a lot of revelation is about that we don't really talk about, because we don't have that problem. Most people are just like, oh, just clean yourself up. And when God comes back, you know, you'll get to go to heaven forever. That's kind of the line we get. But he's calling us to be outspoken out loud on purpose, however you want to depict that, without that fear of what the people think.
- [48:45]
Zach
But that has to be, again, personified. Because when Jesus conquers death, he says, I hold. I hold the keys to death in Hades. That's. That's the phrase he uses in Revelation 1, like, I beat death. I've overcome the grave. But then he's got to read what. In the whole interaction with Mary during when Lazarus died, she's like, what I would just bring up. Bring on the. The resurrection. He's like, I am the resurrection. So he personifies the resurrection. Then you go to John 14, he says, I am the life. And so when you think about the contrast between life and death, a better way of framing this up. And this also evaporates the temptation for us to believe we're going to heaven some place that's detached from the person of who God is. Jesus says, he is the life. So life is Christ. Death is outside of Christ. I mean, that. That it's that simple. Like, life is Christ. Jesus says, I am the light. That's not a. That's not a metaphor. That's not like a clever thing that he came up with that he is. He is life. He is the Source of life. He is life. To be. To live is to be in Him. That's the whole thing. So when we talk about the conquering of death, the way that Christ conquers death is that he personifies what life actually is, and he is victorious because he is the personification of the resurrection.
- [50:19]
Al
Let me reset. Because we're running out of time, we kind of ran off Jason's epiphany from the last podcast to this one. Now let me reread our text that we left off. In light of everything we've said in two podcasts, I want you to think about it in terms of we're talking about this life, the Spirit in us, the whole garden analogy. Listen to this again from 1 John 4:13. We know that we live in him and he in us because he has given us of his spirit. I mean, that's all over this, what you've been talking about, Josh, for two podcasts. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. See how it works both ways. And so we know and rely on the love God had for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him. Now, looking at it, look how much he says it over and over and over.
- [51:24]
Jason
Exactly. But it's like, you can't take. The living has got to be the foundation.
- [51:30]
Al
That's the most important part.
- [51:32]
Jason
You can't love because, like, some people should read this, I'm just being honest and think I'm dead. Yeah, I'm just dead. Because without Jesus being Lord and living in you, you're just dead.
- [51:46]
Zach
You are.
- [51:47]
Jason
You're a walking dead person.
- [51:48]
Al
And the idea is to live in Him. He is holding that for us. It's like, remember the old Seinfeld show where he makes a reservation for the car rental? This happened to me the other night. We get there and they said, oh, they closed at 12. And I was like, but we got here at 12:15. They knew our plane was coming. You see, anybody can make reservations, but the holding of the reservations is the most important part. Right? In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment. Because in this world, we are like Him. This is that idea about fear. We have confidence. We are not fearful.
- [52:25]
Jason
Yeah, and that's why I brought this up, because of this one verse. He goes from living and loving and him loving us to us loving one another. All of a sudden he goes to the day of judgment and he's like, you want to have confidence? You're not going to be confident then if you're not confident now.
- [52:45]
Al
Exactly. And then he says this. There is no fear in love, but perfect love. Complete love, as we made the point, drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. That's why we're not worried about it. The one who fears is not made perfect, complete. In love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, I love God, yet hates his brother, he is a liar, like the evil one. For anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command, whoever loves God must love his brother. So he brings it back to that idea of sharing which we talked about earlier. That leads us to where we're going to eventually get to in chapter five. And I want to give you just a hint ahead as we go, because Jay said this at the very beginning of the very first, the last podcast is this comes about because of who we believe in. That's what changes us. And so he's going to return back to that theme in chapter five of faith and victory and testimony. Because those three things are what happens when we first get into this life, which then leads us to light and to love. I mean, it all goes together.
- [53:50]
Jason
Which is why he also brings up the idea of being born of God. I mean, this verse jumps out that he who's born of God overcomes the world.
- [54:00]
Al
Yeah, which is kind of back to the John 3 theme when he told Nicodemus that, remember?
- [54:06]
Zach
Yeah, exactly.
- [54:07]
Al
About the idea of being born of water and spirit.
- [54:09]
Jason
Well, and I brought this up many times. I think that's why society is so obsessed with zombies, because it's our subconscious. We're functioning without Jesus. Like zombies.
- [54:23]
Al
Zombies. That's it. That's what I'm saying. And it may look like a guy in a sports car, not a guy trying to eat your brain. So just recall that. Remember that. Alright, we'll pick it up here in First John 5 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.