Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 1177 | Jase Sees Signs of Awakening as Young People Flock to Church & God Doesn’t Live in Buildings

Episode Date: October 1, 2025

Jase confesses that a single word in a church service had him mentally checked out, but his distraction sparks a bigger conversation about what’s happening in churches today. The guys marvel at the surprising revival that has young people pouring back into humble, overflowing gatherings while ornate cathedrals sit empty. They dive into verses in John where Jesus breathes peace and new-creation life into his followers before sending them out to their mission fields. The guys agree that true revival isn’t about where you worship but who you worship, and the Spirit is stirring hearts back to Jesus. In this episode: John 17, verse 18; John 20, verses 19–22; John 14, verses 1–3; 1 Corinthians 3, verses 6–16; Revelation 21, verses 9–21; Romans 1, verses 20–25; Exodus 33, verses 14–16; Genesis 1, verse 1; 1 John 2, verse 6 Chapters:  00:00–09:28 Will We Have a Mansion on a Hilltop? 09:29–19:23 Empty Churches & Overflowing Hearts 19:24–28:58 Jase Pushes Back on the Idea of Golden Streets 28:59–40:02 Why God Chose Mary to Birth Jesus 40:03–50:54 God “Breathes” His Spirit Into Mankind 50:05–57:40 God’s Mission Is More Important Than a Mansion — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? Welcome back to Unashamed. It's one of those deals for me, Zach. It's good to be home. We had the Nashville run. I'm in the middle of like a barnstorming the country tour, Lisa and I are someplace every week. And guess where I'm coming this way, Zach? Good old North Carolina. We're ready. You're going to preach at our church. I am. I'm excited about it. I have a time. Is it a house? Is it a house? Is it a building? What is, Zach? I don't even know. The church is not a building. We meet in a building, though.

We do meet the building. You passed the test. He's smarter than he looks. I knew you were setting me up on that one, although we were at capacity on Sunday and spilling out into the four-year area. So I don't know what we're going to do next. You've got to get a new building or something.

What do you think, Jason? I would start building new buildings. I didn't say build. We are the building. Christ. built the church on this church, on this rock, I will build my church. Most of them go to multiple, you know, services.

No, we don't want to do that. You get hung up on bricks, mortar. I mean, it's a good problem to have because people are wanting to come and hear the gospel. I mean, you know, which is exciting. Because I think there's a massive thing going on in the culture right now. People are going back to church.

I mean, it's like, I mean, I don't think It's just us. I hear a lot of churches are just overflowing with people right now. Well, I saw, yeah, it's funny you said that, Zach, because yesterday morning I saw on ex, Erica Kirk, said, go to church. Well, that was her post. Technically, although. Can we go?

Because we are. We are. But I knew what she meant. See, Zach, I mean, right now, when you sat down in your chair and I looked up, of course, what's funny is Zach started talking, but he was on mute. and he just went on quite the speech. Oh, he was just finally, Al said, one of the best speeches I've ever given.

Your own mute. And it just told me, you know, I was like, you can look like you're doing something. He was very passionate. Nobody knew what you were saying. So that is the equivalent of a complete waste of time. But I saw, since I couldn't hear you, I was looking at you.

And I thought, this is what happens. when a 100% yuppie dad marries a woman who was born in the wilderness which was my dad's sister, Jan. Because then one day you look at Zach here he is.

He's the product of that. Approaching 50 and he said, I'm going to wear a camouflaged shirt today. You wouldn't notice when I wear a camouflage because I wear camouflage all the time. But Zach, that's his inner self wrestling with that. I try to figure out which way I'm going to go.

But to be fair, there is a reason why I'm wearing this shirt. It's because it was free. And so, there you go. One thing that always trumped Zach's life is cheapness. That's the one thing. It's always there. Well, since you, I have to confess yesterday, Al, I did something that probably shouldn't have done. I mean, it's kind of embarrassing.

Days has been doing a lot of confessing on this podcast. I know. I just, well, look, we're all humans. We all make mistakes. I make plenty of them. And so yesterday we met, I thought you were preaching because you were in town. Yeah, I made it back. And so I just assume, usually when you come in, you're preaching.

Because I'm here so little. We had a little man, so we're trying to teach him how to behave in a public setting. So we're doing that at three and a half. Doing pretty good with that. Oh, Lulu, who's my wife, Missy, but her grandma name is Lulu. She runs a pretty tight ship on that. And so we sat down. Did that name just come about because did she pick that one out?

Or did that just the oldest one started calling her that? You put me on a spot here. I don't know if I want to divulge my wife's middle name, but it involves the phrase loot in some capacity. That's like a closely guarded secret. I'm not going to tell her middle name, and I don't want people looking it up. but so what a weird what a weird person that but as he was saying it I was doing the thing that he doesn't want people something somebody told me this I did they did the research

half the things that are spoken about me on the internet are not true are false yeah now that was a team of people that brought that to my attention so she that's how so her middle name just got to be Lulu okay and but we have a Lulu already in the family, which is my cousin. Which is one of our favorite cousins. Well, let me tell you. We love Lulu more than Zach.

But it may not be true, but I mean, literally the website that popped up was called duck dynasty fandom.com. And it has all, I mean, it does have a name on here. Don't advertise garbage. Look, I don't know if it is or not, but it may be. So stay off the internet and go outside. All right. So here's, you're hijacking my story. So I go there and now, the first song, we went to the Acapella Service.

At our church, we're a lot like Zach's living in this yuppie world, dip my toe into the outdoor world. Because where we meet, they have an acapella service and an instrumental service. Right. Right. And they run simultaneous. That's a nice way of sales. saying we couldn't work it out. Some people do either or, some do both and. That's the world both and kind of turn.

It wouldn't be so funny if we're a little bit sure. That's funny. For the record, I would rather go to the contemporary service, but my wife likes the aquaella because I feel uncomfortable because it's not that I can't sing. My wife told me. She said I can't hear. That's why my scene sounds more like a distress call. So I get there and I'm like, but let's just say the

archipella service is a little bit more laid back than the contemporary. First song, out of the gate, one of my good friends in the world, his name is Perky. That's his last name. And he is Perky. Yeah. I call him Snap, Crackle, and Pop because since there's no instrument, he supplies all.

all the accompaniments. He surprised the percussion. He is a percussionist. He played the drums in a margin. That joker will snap, clap, he slap, beep, and pop. And so I'm like, okay. So anyway, I love that guy, though.

And so guess what the first song he leads? You're not going to believe this. First song out of the gate. I'm like, here we go. I'm here to worship. I've got a mansion just over. the hilltop. Oh, no.

And I kept, while we started singing, of course, I got a little man there, I started saying, well, well, and Missy's looking at me. Look, well, she's, and look, we said. And we've established, by the way, for those of you long-term listeners, or remember that well, means I'm not agreeing here. No, and I found that. The one time, I was the only Caucasian, well, me and my couple of buddies in an African-American, church one time that we were at a funeral.

And that's where I discovered that. I leaned over. Because I thought it, I heard it as well at different times through my preaching career. And I always thought they were like saying, yeah. Yeah, that's what I thought. So I leaned over. And because one of my best friends in the world, who happens to be black, he was in

my wedding party. I mean, he's one of my best friends. And I leaned over. I said, what's up with the well? And he said, well, no joke. He went well. And I thought, what is he fakes to say? He said, that means that they have a different point, a different interpretation of that application of the scriptures.

And they're going to talk to the pastor later. I said, there's a lot of wells going on here. I found that fascinating, but I really liked that because, yes, when we started singing that song, so if you don't know, it's like it's the streets of gold, a mansion over the hilltop, but they're singing about heaven. And I'm like, we're the mansion. We're the street of gold. I mean, what, we're going to all have little, I mean, I'm not against mansions.

I just don't know how we got. to that point of that song. I'm not sure theologically I agree with that album. When it came from our study of John 14, which we talked about. And others. We are the building.

Because my whole point, I'm going to say this again, because I know I'm making people uncomfortable because they love that song. It doesn't matter the stone and the brick that you're living. It's who you're with. Yeah.

My first house, my mortgage was $350 a month, which you think, oh, what great deal. It wasn't worth that. But that was almost half of what I was making. It was a dump. Yeah. Now, it's been fixed up since, but it didn't matter. You know why? My wife was there.

I mean, I'm in this, I live in a tent. We can be roamer. I was in love. My first house was $8,500, and it was the little house, a little fishing camp next door to mom and dad, and it didn't have a bathroom. So it had an outhouse behind it. If you read Revelation 21 closely and you see this bride of Christ coming down from heaven, this holy city, which is a depiction of who, Al? Us. Us. And then it describes the Holy City with all these jewels and jasper and there's streets of gold.

It's talking about the bride of Christ coming down out of heaven. And when the bright lights... It looks a lot like a temple. It looks a lot like a temple. When the light shines on it, we shine. I could be wrong. I'm just saying if you read John 14... A lot of those songs we sing, they do give the impression that we... We are going to heaven. It's somewhere out there.

We're going to it when I think the biblical picture is the new, it's coming to us, right? Like, the new city is coming to us, the new Jerusalem. Well, that's what it says. But I do want to push back. I do want to push back on this. I think that when people say, well, I think they actually mean, I agree. I want to push back on that. I think it's agree.

That's what he told me. He said, so I don't know. But another thing, first song I ever led in church when I was about six years old was that song. Mansion Over the Hilltop? Mansion Over the Hilltop. That was the first song that I led. Let me read this. There was a little debate that came up in a little place called Corinth, and Paul wrote a letter there.

And there were different people following people that were not named Jesus. And so he starts chastising them. And he gets all the way to 1 Corinthians 3 in verse 6. And in our garden theme, he brings up, there's a lot in here about seeds and gardens and planting. And this all started in a garden, and it seems to end in a garden. You say what? Life itself.

And God dwelling with people, him coming down from heaven. But anyway, in verse 6 of chapter 3, 1st Corinthians, he says, I planted the seed, Apollos watered it. but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. The one who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

And he's talking about sharing Jesus, planting the seed, and God making it grow. Verse 9, verse Corinthians 3, for we are God's fellow workers, you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation. Who's the foundation? Who's the cornerstone? Sounds like Jesus.

I'm going to build my church. And someone else is building on it. Each one should be careful how he builds, for no one can lay any foundation. foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. So I've got a mansion over the hilltop. His name is Jesus. He's the cornerstone of that. And people are the walls and the ceiling.

Living stones. We're all on the foundation. So somebody write a song about that. Zach, get on that. So look, when Pink Floyd famously sang the song, which I agree with, because if you're just in the world and i mean in the world that the evil one is in control of we're just all bricks in a wall bricks they break apart yeah they crumble remember that yeah we're just another brick in the wall dad one of dad's favorite the building we're a part of in the world not this world but the world jesus

created as the foundation the walls are people who have the spirit in them. Yeah. I like it. So what did you do? Well, I will say that at the second coming of Christ, when John has the vision of this city coming down, I do think that that what has started as a temple in people will actually become a temple that will encompass the entire globe. So it will, it will grow into something outside of ourselves that we'll.

will encompass the entire globe. That's the not yet part. That's the not yet part. But here's why I'm saying that. Back to 1st Corinthians 3, verse 12. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw. Let's say even if you build a mansion, his work will be shown for what it is because the day, will bring it to light.

It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. I'm not making this up. He's the one using this illustration. Don't put your hope in a building that's built by, what did it say, gold, silver, stones, wood, hay, or straw. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.

If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he'll suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only is one escaping through the flames. Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, well, who is that? That's us. Yeah. God will destroy him.

Now, and you know, you see it even practically because, like, I've traveled all over Europe. You go into these huge, old, amazingly beautiful buildings, but they're like a big museum. There's no people there, you know, and people usually pay just to walk around and look in there and take pictures. And then I've been to Haiti to literally a group of people that were meeting. on what used to be garbage that became land because it just, it was a dump. And there were 500 people meeting there, Zach. And they didn't even have a roof over it.

They were just out there seeing. I mean, it was so just spirit-filled and powerful situation. You look at those two. Most people take the picture of that mausoleum as the ultimate place we should be. And I was like, well, that seems kind of dead. Oh, exactly.

That's why. I mean, that's the whole. teaching of Jesus and Stephen was, you know, and Paul that God didn't live in the temples or buildings built by the hands of them. There you go now. When we went to Rome, it was interesting that we got to see the ruins of the Roman Empire, which are honestly staggering to think about even though we're looking at the ruins of like the Colosseum and we're like, this thing is huge.

Isn't that something? The most powerful nation. I mean, think America back then. Rome on steroids we're the beast and that's why when you read that

I didn't finish reading that verse but 17 when it says and you are that temple 1 Corinthians 317 you are that temple

I mean and that temple God's temple is sacred yeah I mean okay that was my I felt like I needed

to read I know we didn't plan on going there but you brought it up and so Al what I did here's confess to say

So the confession was not just the well. 17 minutes later. What happened was when they started singing, I got a match down to the hilltop. I just started studying my Bible. I sat down and I thought, I haven't had time to study. You're surrounded by people,

but now you've got your little private study going. And here's what I came up with that led to a series of events. Now, I didn't know the service was over until the guy was leading the closing prayer. I missed everything from mansions over the hilltop to the closing prayer. I was engrossed in my Bible sitting there. You weren't even a passive listener.

I don't even know if little man was a good boy. I got, I was studying. It was so exciting because here's what, look, we've been studying the prayer of Jesus in John 17. You're about to lose Acts 2 there. I see that. I am. But that's a good sign now. I've spent a lot of time in Acts 2.

It's real. John 17 there's a statement in verse and here's why I didn't notice this in verse I know we were moving so while other people were preaching and praying and singing this is what you were doing I went to John 17 18 I was reading the whole prayer but in verse 18 it says as you sent me it's Jesus praying into the world I have sent them into the world. Now, the reason that stuck out to me because I thought, well, he's going to say that again, and I was familiar with this verse. In John 20, in verse 21, Jesus said,

now we're at post-resurrection, the empty tomb. Remember, Mary had just mistaken Jesus for the gardener. Yep. And she got to be the first one to declare in verse 18. I have seen the Lord. He was dead. I have seen the Lord. Which is a great inside, almost an inside joke that Jesus would appear to a woman first.

Yeah. And so then he comes up in verse 19, says, peace. I come in peace. And he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. And he said, here he is again. peace be with you. Why does he keep saying peace?

Because if you can't die, you're experiencing real peace. Take out any thought of ever dying. There's a certain peace that we can't wrap our head around and that's it. If you don't have to worry about death, if it's no longer a problem,

we got peace. You remember in the hippies movement in the 1960s, and they were like, peace, man. This piece that we're discussing, way better. Yeah. Way better. So your big beef with the song, though, is what's your main beef with the song? My whole, my beef with the song is that we've come together as the temple of God in one place

to celebrate the cornerstone. Jesus, the resurrection of the dead. we're going to live forever together. And we're going to start off saying, oh, I'm excited because one day I'll have a mansion. I'm going to get a mansion. What? I think the mansion, though, is, I think it's a picture of the New Jerusalem.

That's what I think it is. I think that's what the song means. I'm not 100% sure. I didn't write it. Well, I didn't know I had to interpret a metaphor when singing a song. Sounds like to me. that somebody wrote that song in a time when times were hard, and he was living in a shack,

and he said, I'm going to follow Jesus. And they're like, and I tell you one thing, now you may look at this old dive I'm living in now, but one day, I'm going to live in a mansion. And I've heard people preach this. They're like, they'll go to Revelation 21. And I heard a fiery preacher one time. He said, there are streets of gold.

Heaven is expensive. And I just was thinking, what? I don't care about gold. I was thinking about First Corinthians three. I thought, I mean, and I'm a treasure hunter. And when I find gold, I found gold. I was excited. But that's nothing compared to living forever with the people I love.

And God, his presence being there. And we're going to do this. But John uses that language in Revelation 21. He talks about a wall built of jazz. While the city was pure gold, like clear glass, the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was Jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate. Who is that describing? That's describing the place we're going to stay out or the people?

It's describing both. That's what I'm saying. I think that's the point. I think of Revelation 21 and 22, he does say, I saw no temple for his temple was the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. But I would respectfully disagree with that depiction of this passage. But that's okay. I guess we've got to live somewhere. But if we're not bound by time and space, I just don't feel like that's a big issue.

Well, you see this language in here about the cleanliness. Nothing clean will come inside. Nothing unclean. Nothing unclean will come inside. So there's the picture that he's painting here is that the new heaven. heavens and the new earth will all be a temple. And so that's centered on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ himself, the temple. Right. And we're living stones. But the whole globe, the whole universe will be God's temple. Look, I'm all for it. It's awesome. I know we're going to live somewhere. I'm saying

put the emphasis on who you're with, not where you're at. That's true. That's true. It's going to be spectacular. It is. But we already have a spectacular planet. And my point is that's not working with a lot of people.

Romans 1. They're looking around and they're saying God didn't make this. They're looking at the place because they've been disconnected with the creator. And he said,

the biggest problem in life is if you start serving created things rather than the creator. I'm not coming up with this on my own. I'm saying the hub of the Bible is relational. Make it about who you're living with in the mansion, and then I'm back in.

I'm just saying. Well, that's biblical, because you go back to the Exodus. That's basically what Moses understood whenever he was in that moment where they had built a golden cab, and everybody's kind of freaking out because what they've done, primarily Moses, and Moses is like this is bad and God's like okay I'm gonna I'm gonna let you go to the promised land still but here's the only catch so you're going in other words you're going to the place I'm gonna give you the place I told you I was gonna give you the only catch is I'm not gonna go with you I'm not gonna be there and

Moses and actually Moses is like well if that's the case I don't even want to go like I'm if you're not going I'm not going like you have your presence has to go with us. And I think that is a picture of how we should probably view, not probably how we should view our salvation as not going to the place heaven slash promised land. The reason why heaven is heaven, the reason why the promised land was the promised land was because the presence of God was going to go with Israel. The presence of God will go with us. If he's not there, then it's actually it would be hell. And I think that is a good thing. So we agree. And I'll give you a practical illustration of just what Jay's was describing.

So 12 years ago, we bought what in my world would be a mansion for us. I mean, like we bought a big house in town, and we moved in, but we moved in with Anna and Jay and two of their daughters. And then as their family grew, we wound up buying a double-wide trailer out back, which is now where we live. You bought a mansion for somebody else. I bought a mansion for somebody else. But look, the reason that matters is because Anna and Jay are on one side of me and their three daughters, and now a grandson-in-law, and Alex and Vinier on the other side, I'm in the double-wide trailer, but I'm as happy as I've ever been because my grandkids surround me.

Like, it doesn't matter that I'm in a double-wife versus the mansion sitting next door. And you did move to Alabama too. Well, I have another place. They don't like that song. I'm in a double-wide in heaven. guess what if I'm there that's right that's my point I mean and it's pretty fine when you're there it's like your house and everybody wants to stay in my double eyes I just never thought we were going to have to argue this

but for some reasons that thinks I'm wrong on this but I'm just adding a little a little bit of nuance for you a little protection on the other side of this well people have asked about this because I was thinking about John 17 when it first starts remember he looked towards heaven when he started that prayer. So the idea, there is this idea that beyond here is something, and yet here is something as well. So I mean, it's... Well, I think the whole point, though, is it's connected through him. Yeah, I agree. I mean, he, in the beginning, that's the key. God created the heavens and the earth. Which is the cosmos. So, so, yeah, just, well, hang on here. if what we're going to heaven he created that right i want to be with the creator

yeah he's going to bring heaven and earth i think it's symbolic of the separation that occurred because a man's sin and in cahoots with the evil one right he's going to bring it back together the key point is that he's now dwelling with people yeah forever you're like what's it going to look like yeah i i think what i was pushing back not i'm not saying you were saying this, but this is not a Gnostic view of the world where the physical world doesn't matter. It's actually quite the opposite. The physical world now has real meaning. It's interesting that I made this analogy the other day that if I told you, I preached this at our church,

I said, if I told you that I had a place that you could go and live forever, I mean, forever, would you be interested? and everybody would probably raise her hand, yes, I'm interested. Then I say, well, the only thing is about this place, it's a 10 by 4 by 2 foot box, the size of about a coffin. You get inside of it, I nail it shut,

but you'll live forever, you'll be sustained, you'll never have to eat any, I mean, you will live forever in this box. Would you still be interested? And everybody would say, no, that would sound like a living hell to be trapped inside of a container like that for eternity. And then I said,

What if I expanded that box to maybe a 10 by 10 room and maybe one chair? Would you be interested in? No, I still wouldn't. And no matter what you expand that box to and what amenities you put in there, given enough time, you will have exhausted everything inside of that world, and it would eventually become your own hell. It would become claustrophobic. You would hate it.

It would be miserable. And the thing with the kingdom is that the reason why the king, them eternal life is eternal life is not that you're going to exist in a box forever. It's that you're going to be in a relational community forever. And by the way, I think that that actual physical box is going to expand forever. And we'll be having dominion and cultivating and building things and creating cultures. And we're going to be doing things forever and ever and ever. And we'll never, ever fully exhaust the creation that God has given us.

We'll never fully exhaust his glory. will never fully exhaust our relationship with him. And I think that is one of the key characteristics of heaven. All right. So let me, I don't know how an argument broke out here, but it did. So as good as that metaphor was, you're missing my point. Because I'll see your metaphor with another metaphor. Because that metaphor does not depict my thoughts on this.

No. I think it's a great metaphor for someone who's outside of Christ. Okay. Yeah. But here's going to be my point. Let's say that you are promised the same metaphor, eternal life. And it's not just a deserted island. It's the most spectacular.

It's better than anything on earth. You're free to roam tens of thousands of miles. You're not bound by space so you can travel. universes. So same metaphor, except you have to do it by yourself for eternity. Would you do it?

Right? I'm saying, you're going to run into the same problem. And that's my point, because I'm focusing in on the relational aspect of the Bible, not the said... Oh, that's what I've said.

No, no, but you have me in a box. Now that... I'm claustrophobic anyway. I'm saying you're free to wrong. But I was using a rhetorical device to, I started there because people would answer the question that you just gave. Most people would say, yeah, I'll take that. Oh, yeah. But they would be wrong because if you were by yourself, because it comes back to why Jesus said at the end of John 17,

I look forward to having the love that we had in the beginning. Yeah. Yeah. Love, it can't be forced or it's no longer love. We get into that same concept we talked about as truth. If you're forcing me to do something through violence, where's love in that? Yeah. Like, you know, Caesar saying, follow me or I'll cut your head off.

well we've lost love here you'll follow him and you'll do what he's saying and that is the truth but it's there's you've lost love yeah and so it can't be forced and it must be shared yeah and so that's why i gave the illustration of you have an eternity in the greatest heavenly atmosphere of all times if you were by yourself it would not be fulfilling at some point you would either go crazy or try to figure out how to end your life. Yeah. Who wants to be alone forever? Right.

Okay, that was my argument. I tried. Well, I think what makes Earth so special is comparatively to the heavens is, one, God made it, and it is a fantastic place, but two, what really makes it special is that the creator of the cosmos decided to come here. One of my favorite lines that I like to say when I was speaking on behalf of the unborn in a pro-life setting is that the creator of the cosmos could have come to earth however he wanted to because he made it. But he chose to come here through the womb of a teenage girl in from her perspective and her betrothed husband and unplanned pregnancy. I mean, here we are doing this on behalf of the unborn. And it's like, that's how God came here.

So bringing potential scandal. Yeah. To their lives. Right. Because anybody's like, ooh, yeah. The people around Nazareth and up in that area, they didn't believe that. Scandalous. Scandalous.

So I was going to, I mean, I guess this podcast is going off the rails. It is officially off the rails. I'll tell you this, Zach, I'll compromise. If you'll change the word I to weed. I'll go with the song. We've got a mansion. It says I. Yeah.

Okay. Say, I don't like that. Living by yourself in a mansion. There's a lot of people on this planet right now living in mansions by themselves, wondering where it all went wrong. That's right. They're not happy people most of the time. And I would probably add, we've got some mansions because we've got more than one. It's going to be a whole city.

So it's not just one mansion. Okay. It took you a while. But you're anti, what was that phrase, gnaustic belief. Yeah. Are there any Gnostics still left on the planet? Oh, yeah. Okay.

I don't want to call out who they are, but I got some ideas on who they are. I haven't met any. But I don't want to label a whole group of people, but I got a few years. So now since we just have gone nowhere, I'm going to tell you a story. All right. So I read John 2021 while I'm listening to Mansions Over the Hilltown. Other people are worshipping. you're reading.

And here's what's funny. When I looked at, I forgot why I looked up in the Greek, that verse, the Greek lexicon. So, and I brought this up a million times. Because you didn't read that. You said peace be with you. And then the next line is, as the father has sent me, I am sending you, which is a repeat of what he said. Repeat, repeat. And there's other places he says that.

So here's the creator of the universe who says, I'm going to bring a new creation, a new humanity, I'm going to go back to the Father, but I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit, thus connecting heaven and earth in some capacity. And now, I'm not going to pray. I'm not going to say, take them out of the world. I'm going to leave them there and pray for protection. And I'm going to send them as you sent me, him praying to the Father. So then he says that in John 20 and 21, and either symbolically or literally.

Literally, when he said that in verse 22, he breathed on them. The only time that word is used, which I've said this a few times and somebody said, why do you keep saying the New Testament? But I'm basing that in Hebrews that a testament does not go into place until the guy, given the truth, dies. So the New Testament. So I realize at this point, he has died and has been buried and is raised. So don't try to correct me. Somebody asked me about that.

They're like, you keep saying that in the Gospels, you keep calling that the New Testament. Well, I'm doing that on purpose because after he died, this is the New Testament. So even though we're in John 20, right? Yeah. Based on Hebrews. I think that's common sense. Anyway, I had that interaction. So he says,

receive the Holy Spirit. He breathed on them. Well, that's the only place in the New Testament. We use that word breathe. Well, that's the same word that is used in Hebrew when God breathed into Adam life. Remember? He took the dirt and he breathed.

Well, this is the new creation. And he breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit. Don't you find this fascinating? This actually goes in with our last podcast about the garden, the new creation. So I look this verse up. Here's what I found interesting. This is the story.

Man, I don't have a long time to tell it. So you see those two, the words sinned as the father has sent me. Yeah. I'm sending you. Right. Let me tell you something fascinating. Two different words. Did you know that?

Yeah, you told me before. Oh, did I? Yeah, you still, you told me. I didn't know it. It's two different words. So I thought, oh, wait. Now, in our English, we just, if somebody is sent, they're sent. We just said, that's why it's translated,

as the father has sent me, I am sending you. But it's two different words. And they're not even spelled anywhere near alike. So one of them is, of course, when I saw that, I thought, have I missed something here? Because why is he using two different words? So I went on a little rabbit hole, and I looked up everywhere these two words are mentioned. And they seem to be interchangeable because in the John 17 prayer, well, he used the same word. Yeah.

Which is the, it looks like apostle. So one of the words, as the father has sent me, the word looks like the word apostle. Which is just the one who has sent. Yeah. Let me say, I think I wrote this down. Yeah, I did. I wrote it down. So in this case, it's like a apostolus.

Yeah. I'm terrible at pronouncing Greek words. and the other word. So I'm just going to say pimpo for short. But it has variations of that. Yeah, that's the root. Yeah, that's the root word of it. So like in John 2021, it's like, as the father sent me, the apostellus, I am sending you, which is the pimpo word.

Okay. So I started looking at the definitions. The problem is people who define Greek, well, they're just kind of giving it their best shot because none of the people that I'm reading are from Greece. Remember him? Phil's joke. When he used to say, I'm going to check the Greek on that. Well, he actually knew a woman from Greece.

And he would say, hey, this word. He would call her. Which, look, she knew the language. So it was very helpful when she would say that. Yeah. So I don't think there's a big theological narrative I'm trying to get to here. But I do think, number one, he did that on purpose. John, when he's recording that, because one time in John 17, he used the same word.

Yeah. And so you obviously know what that means. If I said define apostle, what does that mean? One sent forth. He has the authority. So that's why it's always used for Jesus' mission because he's on a mission from God the Father, which is over and over he says that.

So I think there's something to that. When he was sent, he had authority from God. And think even at the end, based on his resurrection, when he said all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, and then therefore go. Now I'm sending you. Great commission. On the pimpo, it's used more,

not even in the context of our job as spirit-filled people in the mission, which it is here. But in other cases, the word is used as in, I'm going to send you down there, like, send over, I'm going to send you over and remember about the donkey. And he's like, tell him I need that or whatever. I'm sending you over there. So in its context, most of the time, it's like a temporary errand, you know, that you're running. in that case it would be descriptive of you're doing it for him

in other words tell him I sent you so that's the best way to describe it it's like God has a job but I think this is powerful because it gets back to what we were talking about last podcast we were created for a purpose

and now Jesus is tying this into the very purpose you're supposed to reflect the image of God and now I've given you the resources to do that. It's called the new creation, and not only that, here's the key. I'm giving you the power

to do it. I'm going to give you my spirit. It gets a little wonky when you start reading what all the scholars think about this, because they're real careful, because they're like all these verses that say, like 1st John

2, I think it's verse 6. Whoever wants to live a godly life must walk as Jesus did. Well, that's what we're like, well, we can't. Your first reaction is, I can't do that. I can't. I can't.

Perfect. He's giving you his spirit. And as he was sent, he's sending us. And I think it makes perfect sense, even how we got the Bible. God used flawed people as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit to write this book. Right. And so that's why you have, like, take the four gospels. Well, you have different, the same story.

but it's a little different. You say why? Because he chose people to write it as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. So that's why when you share Jesus, you're doing the same thing. You have flaws, but you have God's spirit. So that dynamic is what he's capturing,

but it goes to the overall view of the entire Bible, which this is why we're here to make Jesus known. And so I found it fascinating, but I was trying to find out I want to know from somebody who knows this language good why he chose those two words. So every resource I went through

didn't work and one of our buddies that we went to preaching school with I asked him about it and he had a good idea. He said, why don't you ask old Larry Bowles? He spent a lot of time in Greece.

So I thought, perfect. So I sent Larry, y'all remember Larry, he's been on the podcast many times. So I sent him a text. I'm trying to find it. Basically describing what I've just described. I'd like hope all as well. And then I put, ask one of your Greek-speaking friends if you have any.

Ha. That was good. What is the best definition for the two different Greek words for scent used in John 2021, Apostello and Pempo. They are used a lot in John separately, like sending the Spirit in John 1426. Pimpo. He said, I'm going to send you the Spirit.

So it's on a mission. And the reason I think it's used temporary because it gets back to the not yet now. We have a mission. Now, we're declaring Jesus to the world. When that's over, we're all going to be resurrected. light shows where you're at in Jesus. Some people are going to live eternally.

The rest? Not so much. So that's my text, basically. And I was like, no biggie, you know, whatever you think. So he's like, hello, dear brother. We are actually in Athens now. I'm like, perfect. All he's got to do is walk outside and say, hey, get over.

Greek speakers everywhere. Of course, then he rebukes me because he said, I got your text at 4 a.m. our time, it woke me up. But I'm going to work on this, and I still love you. He's mad that I woke him up. I was like, oh, my bad, no biggie. So the dude sends me a word document, and he said, I got a friend, a scholar that's in the UK on Greek and Hebrew. Blue Language, and he formed this word document, and they broke this down. The reason I'm telling you this story, because I think it's crazy.

I'm listing the mansions over hilltop. Look at this. Now, I'm in touch with Greece. He's out of sleep. By the way of the U.K. This is the rabbit hole of all rabbits. He starts off. It's a rabbit hole collapsing on a rabbit.

It was a mansion over a hilltop, and he ends up at Oxford in England with a professor of Greek studies. document with every time it's used one of them's used over a hundred times 80 times they're now collaborating he said now this is so exciting this is what i'm fixed to teach i want to thank you brother because this is now what i'm fixed to speak to the persians and send them back this is exciting that god has included in this and and relayed his message that he sent Jesus, this is what we do. So it really, the intensity enhanced a lot.

And he basically went through what I'm saying, which I was so excited that he did all this and spent so much time because this was 24 hours later. He said, I've studied this all day. I've been on a Zoom call with the guy from the UK. And so here's what I did to sum this up. So I said, for you doing all this, because he said, And now my interpreter, when I went over there and spoke Jesus to the underground churches in Iran, he said, it's his birthday today.

Well, I've been to Athens, and I said, here's what you do. Because Larry is like, Zach, he's tight. And I ate this crappy food in Greece the whole time. And I said, is there any nice restaurant around here? And he's like, well, there's one on the beach. And I thought, one on the beach outside the city. he's like, but it's really expensive. And I said, I'm buying.

And so we went there and they brought fish freshly caught on a platter at my request. Because I said, what kind of fish you got? They show it to you before they could. Well, they don't normally. But I said, can I see them? And they lined up a bunch of waiters because I said, I'm buying. And they brought all these fish out there that they had just caught. And I said, now we're talking.

And I said, I want that one. It was a big old grouper, which everybody else said, well, we want that. And he said, that's the only one we call. I was like, well, that's mine. Now, everybody else will get the other. And it was fantastic. So I said, since you did this, I want to pay for that birthday celebration. Y'all go to that beach.

And so they sent me pictures. Oh, they're living it up on my dime, which it costs me $300. So me going down this rabbit hole and being inspired that we're out on a mission The same mission that Jesus had, it cost me $300. And it was worth every penny. It was worth every penny because I feel global excitement that as the Father said Jesus, he's sending us. The Holy Spirit. The rabbit hole that collapsed in a rabbit hole.

I don't know. We'll try to clean this up next time. I didn't know where you're going with that story. Was that not a crazy story? That's a crazy story. Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. help us out by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. And don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube

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