Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 300 | Jase Gets a Black Eye Without Leaving the House & What NOT to Do When Someone Is in Pain

Episode Date: June 25, 2021

Jase walks through a closed door, and Missy didn't quite have the reaction he was hoping for. That leads to a discussion on marriage, people who choose not to marry, and temptation before marriage. Al admits he moved his wedding date up because biology was about to take over theology. Jase learned the hard way that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Phil doesn't believe Jase's story about a girl who came on to him in high school. The guys discuss what people miss about predestination, why Jase believes in God-orchestrated encounters, and remembering to look at things from God's perspective, not yours. Al closes with the best advice you'll ever hear about how to help people who are hurting and what kind of help they DON'T need. - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? So we were trying to see if I had a black eye. Is it this? Yeah. But this happened days, days ago. I don't know. Jace, you look so rough. It's hard for me to tell when you've got an ailment or something else. I take that as a compliment. I mean, you look beat up all the time, no offense. So my daughter's at camp, and my other daughter from Nicaragua, she's at college. and my boys have moved on.

So I looked around. So Koreans don't be here this summer? She normally home. No, she's got a job. Oh, really? Oh, I'll tell you, look. I got teary out over this. This was not the story I fixed to tell you.

I'll get back to that in a second. But I got teary eyed. Story alert. Jay says a new story, just for our audience to know. She sent Missy a text, and it was a pitcher because she has a job during the summer. This girl works. And it's one of the things I love about. about her and if if none of y'all works joyfully she she has I've never seen it does she

ever have a like a bad moment because I've never seen her when she wasn't just like genteel and you know where is that Hebrews 13 where it says be careful when you entertain strangers could be an angel I thought that for a while and the only other person that I've ever thought that about to my knowledge was my wife before while we were dating I thought this girl, because I kept looking for, you know, the skeletons in the closet. You thought you were going to be like the Nephilim. You were going to marry one of the, you know. Yeah, never know.

Tell me of some athletes. Dad's thought the same thing about Stevenson. Remember you said? Are you, or are you an angel? Of course, that gave me a choice. Are you an angel or something else? So if I haven't told you the story about Karina, you know, she was stranded. She had worked her way.

She's an orphan girl raised by her grandma, grandma. grandma passed on and then a guy from a church down there in the uh i think that was in the dominican i get that's where we first met up so much but anyway a stable that we met in a guy okay a guy who loves the lord kind of mentored her but look she just had every reason in the world to quit and just be a statistic in a third world country happens every day she just said no not going to do it. So she's worked and basically through the internet, educated herself, got scholarships to high school in Germany, and then a college in the U.S. She got stranded during a civil war in Nicaragua. I got a call in the middle of the night saying, can you get her in the country? And if so,

because she had a visa, but it was a time. I was like, get her in. We'll take care of her. And I didn't have a good attitude about it because they told me she was 24 and she was 17. meet this girl and I'm like she's a rock star she loves Jesus she has a great attitude she would get up before daylight and like clean the house and I was like hey you don't have to do that here I mean I appreciate it guess what she's never stopped she just she's grateful she won't she won't take a handout in any way and she's just awesome but she sent missy a picture of her desk because she got a job and she just went on and on and missy come out there and she was telling me she's like i mean korena she's like send me a picture of this yep that that's what we do korena we we we

we work but i told miss i said but you know what it is i said she's moved by that because here's a girl an orphan girl from nicaragua who has a place in america that this company set up for an actual, it's just a, to us, it's just a desk and a chair. Yeah. But to her, she's like, she's proud of that. This is a place that I've worked and they set this up for me and said, here is your place. And I thought, well, there's a spiritual connection there about belonging. And then Missy, we, I could saw that lip start quivering, you know.

And I was like, yeah, this is good. She's doing good. And so I had to forgive her for, she's, she booby traps our house without knowing it because I'm a, I'm a night out. This is the story I was going to do. That's what I'm where you were getting. Yeah. So we had, we had Zach, I think they were filming something for you. And Zach's my cousin.

And he had this crew. That was like five or six of them. Well, they stayed at our house. And they were three more at my house, by the way. Because everybody was gone. So for some reason, I wasn't there, and I came in. It's late at night. And, you know, as human beings, we get in habits.

And so I don't go to bed until 1 o'clock in the morning. That's just the way it is. That's why I texted you at midnight last. And I don't sleep late, which is weird. I go to bed late and get up early. It's just where it is. So I'm going, I thought of it, just walking to the bedroom. but the door's always open because there's nobody there.

And so I didn't, I had forgotten that there were other people there. I walked through our door that was closed. And when I mean through it, I went through it. That's why I had a black eye for a few days. I have this little scar. You crashed the gate. I went through the door, hit the floor. I mean, just, I'm scrambling around on my hands and knees.

I have my phone. and just felt I wouldn't have known whether the door was shut or open. Why would a man? Because it was dark. I didn't have a light. I turned the lights off as I went in. And so I scrammed around trying to find my phone, which is what I should have had.

But it's always open. I close it if I want it closed once I go in. And so I look in the mirror and I'm like seeing if I'm bleeding. And then, well, here's the fascinating part. Missy's in the bed. I rip the door, the little door jam that makes the door a club. That's in pieces. I went through the door.

I was like, how was I walking that? That's what I said. You must have been rolling. So I ripped that off. That's laying there. Did it wake her up? Never woke her up. And so, but I didn't even say anything.

You know what's funny about, I guess when you get married 30 years, I have a black eye. She never said, oh, you have a black eye. How'd you get that? And I never told her. Or why is the door destroyed to our memory? Never came up until, so two nights later, she cleans out a closet. And, of course, now I'm checking that door, which it won't close anyway. Well, now you don't have to worry about it.

Yeah. So she had bagged up a bunch of stuff that she was going to give to Goodwill. Well, guess where she puts it? Right to the left of the door. Well, I tripped and fall over that two nights later. Just in a heap. Right knee. Thought a tour my ACL.

So I thought, you know what? I've had enough. So the next morning I said, hey, what is all this stuff? And you know why the door? So I tell her all this. And she's like, I never woke up. And I'm like, why is this about you?

So it didn't go well. Because I'm like, your conclusion for me having two altercations in this doorway that were violent is how come I didn't wake up? Are you okay? Sorry, Jace. I closed the door. She said, well, there were seven. Thieves would have a much easier time in your house than in mine.

I can tell you that. I don't know why I'm telling you that. I just thought, man, how do we, you know, we told last podcast about Kay getting bit by our own dog over on a good night kiss. Right. And I'm like, things just happen. You think, how does that happen? Well, how do I have a black eye and tear my ACL going to the bed in two different nights? What's going on?

The Apostle Paul had it right. those who marry will face many troubles in this life and I want to spare you this and it may be even trying to get to your own bed it's amazing how that's your go-to in any married situation I've been using that one a lot because most people say that's not in the Bible is it said if you marry there's more troubles where is that where is that more trouble is it in first 1st 3rd and 7 I want to make sure it's not your translation because I've heard you say that many times I've actually But you've never double-checked it? No, I never did.

He just took your word for it. I did want to see that that's in there. Verse 28. 28, but if you do marry, you have not sin. That's right. If a virgin Mary, she is not sinned. That's why I never noticed this.

Because once I read that, I thought, what's he talking about? But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you that. How do you find that verse? I just ran up on it. Because I got to talking to a lot of people, and they kept saying, we have so many troubles.

It just trouble with trouble. I said, yep, the Apostle Paul told you. People do marry. They face many troubles. I don't think he was talking about walking through a door. Because you didn't know your wife. That sounds pretty trouble. It's real easy.

If you're single, you don't have a woman in there sleeping. You don't have the door shut. I guess so. You just fix the door. Nobody will ever know it. Most of the time, most women, if you tear the door down, getting in there, most of them will wake up and say, Who is it?

No. Oh, you could, look, you could, I could step, I mean, a flea could run across, you know, the living room floor and Lisa's going to wake up. You talk about a light sleeper. I mean, one light goes on. She goes around. We go in a hotel. Of course, we sleep in so many hotels. And so there's lights going.

I wake up in the middle of night. She's up there. She's like taping the thing, the drapes to the deal. She can't take any light, any sound. I mean, it's got to be perfect. Weird is like we all our kids at various occasions would get up in the middle of night and come to our bedroom. I think that's a normal, universal thing. Well, she hears those little feet pitter-patter on carpet.

She would be the one, I wouldn't hear that. She would say, what do you need? And then I'm like, what's happening here? And then you hear the voice. And I'm like, so that wakes you up. Ripped through the door, do a belly roll, cry out in pain, nothing. That's Jace being Jace. That's exactly right.

We had this conversation. I see where you fit on the scale of consideration. The argument came up because I brought up the kids. I'm like, I don't understand why you wake up on that. I'm riving in pain over something you calls and I get nothing. I don't even get a raise of the eyebrow and think, are you okay? It's a tough life out there, Jace. used to it. Your verse makes perfect sense. So thanks for sharing it. Yeah, Missy, you married a woman

that has some, some robbers and tendencies there with little compassion. My favorite place, Dad, used that verse, Chase, was at Sadie's wedding, like, to the whole audience. They're up there fixing it tight or not. And I just, somebody said, you want to say a few words? I said, yeah, I'll say a few words. That was this opening live. I was as uncomfortable in that moment as I've ever been. When you read that, I thought, What is he doing? First, she was shocked. She said, did he say what I think he just said?

She lied to you. She said she loved it. She said she loved it. She said it put her and Christian at ease because she thought, oh, well, here we go. It's the Robertson wedding. So she says it after. I thought, what is he doing? That was my thought when you read that.

So what do you want me to tell them? People who marry will never face any trouble. Once you get married, the troubles are over. It's not that I didn't agree with you. but I know how women can be about weddings. And I was thinking, Phil, they're not going to like this. I was thinking, Corey and Kay, I thought they're going to get you. That's why I stress when people are searching for, you know,

to live a life of peace and quiet and tranquility. And first one thing, and comfort. God's the God of comfort. But you do have to remember, if it's you and you're just single, it's not as burdensome. So I tell people who have decided not to marry for whatever reason, I just tell them, I said, you know what, good to go.

You have every right. You don't have to marry. Yeah, I agree. And if people say, what's wrong with you because you're not married and you're 35 years old, I just tell them, said, don't let that bother you. Yeah, that's a good advice.

And, you know, churches, and especially women in churches, I saw Lisa do it for years, is they put a lot of pressure on single people to get married, and you shouldn't do that because if you have a gift to sell them, you know when I met my wife? All you single people are there, you have every right

to say, I'm not going to marry, or at least I'm not worried about it. Rock on and don't worry about it. I met my wife. Hang on, Jay on, Jess, let's take a break. I met my wife a day after I declared that I'm going to go single the rest of my life. I was like,

that's it. I'm done. I just, because I just come off a bad dating situation. I was like, you know what? I'm done. Of course, then God said, now, what about this girl? Most people don't understand that what Jesus was saying,

some people are eunuchs because they were born that way. They're just not attracted to. They're not going to marry. Well, you know, I always tell when I was... You know, buddies, what's his name over in Texas? He's a eunuch, but I mean, old bachelor. But you don't know that. I mean, just

don't, I don't know. I mean, I like the same. He's riding when he's says but the same time it's like, but who's to know. Hey, they just may not want to get married. Right. And that's fine. Plus some people wait till they get to be. Somebody tell me not long or some guy got married at 72. Oh, yeah. Finally married. Yeah. But what were you rascal? It happens sometimes. You owe rascal. You old rascal. You're old rascal. Well, I always describe, even with me, like, so I had had so many problems and it was me. I was the

problem from 14 to 18 with girls it was you know we talked about that in the last podcast kind of when you have that first awareness as a person like and I almost remember the day I was on a school bus I was going to the 10th grade and like a girl walked on the bus and I went to school with the year before but she walked on the bus she had changed a lot you know that summer yeah and I remember in my mind thinking whoa in five seconds you said I think I'm in love that's exactly right so and she wound of being my girlfriend. But here's what happened. I mean, I went on a carnal, you know, lifestyle for four years. So when I became a Christian, I thought, you know what? I think I'll be a lot better off not going the women route because that had been my biggest mess up. It wasn't too hard to walk away

from alcohol and all that, but I thought I can't do this. So I was just going to just pull a paw. But what I realized about two months in, it's not my gift. I mean, then I started the Tim Tate started. So that's when I actually called Lisa and we eventually connected and got married. But I just knew. Apostle Paul did say, and he just said, I wish all men were as I am regarding marriage. I'm not married. I wish that. However, there's so much immorality, each person should have his own wife and each wife.

And he said it's better to marry than burn with passion, meaning that if it's not your gift. So you were describing those years. Oh, and look, when Lisa and I got back together, we made a commitment not to, because we had already been immoral, we made a commitment not to, but look, the wedding day got moved up because my biology was taken over my theology in a heartbeat. But, you know, I've got, but y'all you've said about me because y'all know I waited and I got married. And I speak about that in my speeches because I wish there would have been more speakers

when I was 14 to 18 who would have said, do it God's way, it's okay to be single, don't. Yeah. Because you're getting so much pressure. now in our culture it's magnified a thousand times that is correct but i've i've never viewed that as a gift even though you need to remind people of that jays you can wait till you get married before you have sex but i've always said it wasn't that i felt like it was a gift i felt like it was i had a good plan which my plan was confrontation right off the back which was i'm not going to touch you in a

Marital way, you know, I think I would say inappropriate or whatever I would tell them, and I would tell them I love God more than I love them. And I mean, I just gave a speech every time. So I set the tone where that was going to go, which the people, the girls that I dated, who were not believers, no matter what they said, that quickly got resolved. Because I brought it up. I was like, this is who I am. Oh, yeah.

And it just was just not. And he looked up pretty quick and they weren't there. As in five minutes. Or five seconds. It just. Well, there you go. I remember this one girl. I mean, look, beautiful.

That's why the old guy with the GQ magazine said, do you really expect somebody to believe you didn't have sex with your wife, your girlfriend before you married her? You really think we're going to believe that? Jason's reply was, I don't care whether he believed or not. But this tall, beautiful girl on high school, remember and she I gave her not the formal speech but just we were sitting in class together and I mean I was interested in and and she just got so offended when I said that she's like

well you just you never have you never have had this if you if you do you'll I'll change your mind yeah well which kind of made me like I was more scared then because I was thinking Rightfully so. Right. Microbes, Jay's. Micros. And I was like, well, no, I'm, trust me, I'm not interested. Let me make this clear.

Jay's her parting thought was, what a jerk. Yeah. Well, what she said. All this flesh here and he claims, no. What she called me was the equivalent of a same, you know, same sex. I mean, she was like. She used a slur on it. Which, yeah, I thought, here I am getting that response just because I'm trying to do it God's way,

which made me think about this culture and being so magnified. Hell hath no fury as a woman's going. I turned her down and all of a sudden she was doing what people view as homophobic. She was attacking me. She was like, I'm so good luck. you I'm not allowing you to turn me down you know what you know what this was you there's an old say in the old days she wasn't marrying stock son not so you were you were you were a living example of genesis 39 because when Joseph was in potterford's house

mrs potterfer was not used to being turned down and so and it said he was well built handsome young guy and he's a teenager. And so she comes in and says, sleep with me now. And he says, he gives her a little speech. He says, how could I do such a thing as sin against God?

Yep. Which is basically what you said, you know, and look, and then she tried to just. She's tearing his apparel. And then claims he raped, tried to rape her and got him thrown in prison,

which would have meant death. Boy, she'd have made him a good woman. Do you know that old girl? Later on that year, I started dating another girl. And then she had the gall, because I was sitting right beside her in class.

She was like, yeah, saw who you turned me down for. So she didn't get over it. No, bitter. But I found some power in that because it bothered her to the point where she had made conversation about it. And I got some energy from that. In a positive way, I thought, yeah, I will forever be the rest of your life,

the guy who said, Not a chance. How does that make you feel? I wonder how that old gal's life turned out. I bet it didn't turn out very well. I would love to know what happened, but I'd just be scared to do the research. So the reason I used the word gift, Jace,

is because in 1st Corinthians 7-7, Paul said, I wish that all men were as I am, but each man has his own gift from God. One has this gift, another has that. But he wasn't married, and I eventually got married. But he viewed that as an ability to not. I just think you.

Maybe you're right. I'm just saying I struggle with that because I just thought, well, I got to get back. Well, look, it wasn't like I wasn't attracted. That, you know what I mean? I just thought it's amazing how small a conversation you think is. But if you weren't having that conversation, I just, because it's awkward. Yeah. To just come out and say that.

But I don't really care. I'm saying. And to dad's point, our culture has made it where you either have to like opposite. There's something wrong with you if you don't. It's either opposite sex or same sex, but there's no in between. If you don't do wrong with me, there's something wrong with that. That's right. And I've got two friends.

You mentioned one of them. I got two friends. One's in his 70s and one is in his 60s. And neither one of them have ever been married. They're Christian men. They just don't seem to have any desire to want to be with a woman to be married. They're, kudos to them.

That's what I'm saying. It looks like to me, they're a picture of this. Well, that's what I'm saying. Where's the balance? I mean, look, I remember another time I was sitting at a basketball game and I had my hands out like this. I'm watching the game. I got, you know, a couple.

Were you like an airplane? You were trying to be a. Yeah, I was just, you know, I was being cool while I was young. I was teenage. And so I'm just kind of loungy. I'm watching the game and a smoking hot girl that I know that I never dated or anything. She sits on my hand.

Like, I mean, and I go to pull my hand and she's like, no. And I look at it and she's like, how's that feel? Huh. This is a true story. You're not making this up, right?

And I said, what I said. But it made me nervous. I know that. Yeah. Can I have my head back? And I didn't answer the question.

And I just acted like it didn't happen. But I thought, it wasn't like I didn't like that. And I wasn't flattered. And I wanted to pursue that more. But I just thought what you said while ago, this is not marrying material. This is way too easy. This is way too fast. This is too quick.

For all you young guys out there for curve, You were right in your assessment, but most people at that age. See, to me, the... Hang on, Jess, let's take a phrase. The flesh, the flesh, what is it? The body. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. But, Phil, in that moment, this seems scary to me. I was more like, this is happening too fast. Well, biblically speaking, it is a scary thing. Well, it is. That was not a feeling. But I do like what you said. about making a plan.

It's interesting because so some of the things, Elise and I taught in our last marriage seminar, I do some stuff out of Job 31. And I mentioned this before. Job 31, 1, he says, Job says, I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. That's a plan.

In other words, now our listeners today, there are many of them. Y'all are going to have to face up to it. They're thinking right now, Jason is lying. They say he's not telling the church. I don't care.

You can't tell me if he didn't succumb to it. He didn't wait it out. He didn't wait until he got married. I think at 51, though, they're like, you know, why would he even make it up? But maybe you're right. But I wanted to say this, because I think in our culture, they were, I was talking to a guy who runs a Christian youth camp not long ago. And it's like used to the main problems where, as you can imagine, drugs, alcohol. And if you can get somebody to talk about, you know, there's moments of sex that comes up.

People want to talk about. But now the way our culture is, it's like this gender identity is the number one issue. Yeah, yeah. Because it's already awkward for everyone. Even me when I was doing that, look, the hail, and I mean hail as in hailstorm of persecution, that I was getting from my buddies was off the charge. Because they're there and they're like, what are you doing? And they're trying to justify what they're doing.

Well, but they're like, you idiot. She sat on your hand and you acted like a little girl. I mean, what's wrong with you? And then they would assume that I must not be attracted to girls. Yeah. And so now I could. So you got around to converting many of these guys. Well, later on.

Yeah, that didn't make me feel better about myself, though, in the moment. And what I'm saying is the hail of gunfire that I'm getting from them about, and it always went to the same-sex attack. They're like, well, you don't like girls. But, you know, even I'd like to say I was confident in myself and my decision, but as a young teenager, you know, I would question, I was like, maybe there is something wrong with me. I mean, they were just, I mean, just abuse every day, every day.

And so it was tough. And so I get it. And now... That might be one of the reasons, Jase, when the Apostle Paul was talking, but stuff like what Jace is talking about, sometimes the Almighty starts young and sets them apart for a reason. You know what I'm saying? Because you said it while ago, it's a gift.

That's what Paul said. I mean, it seemed like he, because of what he was going to have to do, that gift served him well. Which means... Which means when all you young people out there saying, well, it can't be done. Right. Well, talk to Jace. Yeah, it can.

Well, it can be. I think, I think since I don't. He was a better man than me. Well, people have different reasons. You know, it's like my friend, Hawk, we were talking about earlier. You know, I asked him because we're really close. And I said, why did you never want to get married? Because, you know, I know at one time, you were in college and you probably other people put in pressure.

And he had an interesting answer. He said, well, you know, I looked at my parents' marriage. and, you know, they stayed married for over 50 years together, but it just wasn't good. It wasn't what it should have been. He said, and I just never wanted to get married. I just thought, you know what, I don't want to live a sham of life of somebody. And so sex and all that in every minute is mine. He just saw an example he thought he didn't want to do that.

And so, you know, people have different motivations for, you know, why they do it. By the way, he had every right to. Well, yeah. And obviously, he was, it wasn't going to be a problem for him like it would be other people. But, I mean, even in Romans, you know, when he was making a point about being under grace, he used an illustration from marriage, you know, in Romans 7. Yeah. And at verse 5, of course, this is right before he gets into the what I don't want to do,

I do, and I have this battle going on. So, look, I got the same battle going on when I was a teenager and everybody else does. But if you don't have a God conscience and you don't have a plan, you're not motivated by grace, and you don't have God. God's Spirit, and that you have this marketing campaign going on with our globe that's like, well, if you don't, if you're struggling with who you are and you're not acknowledging, which they don't say this, but it's the hidden message, if you're not acknowledging that you were made by a living God on purpose, well, why wouldn't you question, why wouldn't you

try something different? Especially there's just so much marketing coming at us from every angle. Yeah, I think people get swept up. I was going to read this 7-5 because he said, for when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the laws that we serve in the new way of the spirit. Now, I know he's talking about living under the spirit compared to the law, but you got to remember, you can't underestimate having the Holy Spirit.

When I look back on it, I just don't think, because Paul never was married. Right. I don't, I wasn't like that. I feel like I had the Holy Spirit. It was a struggle. It was daily. I did have doubts. I did question what I was doing because of the hail of persecution that happened every

day. But I do think that it was the power of the Spirit that was leading me to suppress these passions that I had and that were aroused. It's like when the girl sat on my hand, look, I was thinking, this is nice. But at the same time, I was scared thinking, this is way too fast. I was wanting to do this later. I mean, just not right off the bat. It's kind of like the old, we call it the notice and dismiss philosophy.

Because, I mean, a good looking woman walks by, and especially if, you know, if they're not very modestly dressed. or you're at a beach and someone comes by, I mean, as a man, you notice, the question is, what do you do next? Do I, do I linger? Do I think about, hmm, what would that be like? Do I, do I, it's, it's, or do I just dismiss that and think I'm not going to look back. Because if I'm not careful, I will commit adultery with her and never touch her.

That's right. Because in, in here. Well, it comes down to the struggle. I mean, I think you can even look. And then look, I'm not going to lie. I justify just looking when, especially when I was a teenager. Thinking. At least I might do it.

I mean, yeah. I mean, and right or wrong, you can make your own decision. All I've said is it was a war. Yep. And even with Ms. and I, which we didn't struggle the first, I don't know, a couple of years, just because I was dull, I was not going to get married, even though I was dating her. You know, and we just had a spiritual foundation that we built our relationship on. And, but look, I've told this story many times.

I didn't see her for three months before we got married. I just couldn't keep my hands off over. So I was like, I'll meet you at the altar. If you got a need, call me. And that's basically what we did, which created, created drama. I think it was good. I mean, and once I got used to it, it's fine. Let's take another break.

Well, I think it goes back to that Job 31. After he said he made a covenant with his eyes, then he said, and I don't lurk at my neighbor's door. He said, if I, if I, if I, if I, if I, if I, if I, if I, if I, if I, if I, if I, if I'm, if I'm going to be unfaithful to her, then why would I expect somebody not to be unfaithful to me? Yep. And I like that idea. As Jason said it well, it's about making a plan for yourself, not to put yourself in bad

situations. You know, we wind up in these situations where you start talking to this woman, maybe it's online, maybe it's some other way. And then we wonder why all of a sudden we're in a situation where we're wanting to go to bed together. Well, you should have stopped that way back at the beginning when you were lurking at the door. That's where you get into the problem. What's so tough now compared to back when we were teenagers is now you have the internet, which is just all this filth and porn at every turn just being thrown in front of it. That's why I never went down that road. It's a bad road. Which it makes it so

awkward to have a real meaningful relationship because now you have a skewed view of, you know, sex and what, yeah, and what women would actually, you know, do with you in real life, you know. She'd say, hey, no, what are you, what are you, what are you an idiot? But so I think that's difficult. I mean, there's a difference in that and noticing real life women, like what you're saying, you're putting yourself in a position to fail if you're, you get hooked. And people, that's all they do is they get hooked on it. It's the idea.

So read through them 10, 10 verses. that's a good starting point on what you have to gain and what you have to lose. Romans 8, 28, and following down in about verse 39. So someone read that. When do you all read that? Well, those first three starting in verse 28, and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love it. And I actually like the variant reading a little bit better if you, in your margin, it says,

and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God. I like that idea that if we're following the plan of God, things are going to work out, even if you go through something bad. Who have been called according to his purpose? For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son, and that he might be the first born among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called, those he called, he also justified, those he justified, he also glorified. Well, unfortunately, this passage is the positives are missed because there's been so much debate in the religious world. Right, about the predestination. Yeah, this means because he throws in that he also glorify, which to me there's no difference in what happens here.

And the same in Ephesians too, where he goes through that we were outside of Christ under the control of the kingdom of the air, meaning the evil one. but then God saved us by grace, not of ourselves. And then all of a sudden he throws in there and seated us with him in the heavenly realms. And then it says we're not that we don't work, but he created works for us to do before the creation began. You remember what he said in Romans 4, the God who can do all things and that calls things that are not as though they were. When you're outside of space and time, this is what most people miss. God, of course, sees the whole picture of how everything's going to work out. Exactly.

So the idea of foreign knowledge shouldn't freak us out, like, oh, he's the only chosen this group or this group. It's just that he knows how it all is going to play out because he's outside of time and space. So when he says he fore knew something is because he sees the whole thing, including the time when Jesus is going to come back. Yeah, it's hard for people to get their mind wrapped around Jesus' famous nickname, which is I am, before Abraham was. So he's, he basically is not bound by space and time. Correct. And, and you think, well, time and distance in every other relationship is a barrier. Yep.

So you can't be close. Like if someone dies, obviously, you're, you can't be close to them. Or somebody moves away. Right. Or they were here 100 years ago. And so all of a sudden, you got a pattern. message like the one in 1st Peter where it says though you have not seen him talking about our relationship to God you you love him and are filled with an inexpressible joy well it's hard for

people to have that experience because they're looking at God as as having the time and distance barrier because most people maybe I shouldn't say most a lot of people think God right now is a million miles away at least. Right. So they're like, why? It's a time and distance. That's why they're functioning like he's not watching. So when you get a passage like this, it's hard to have all the qualities of God if you start

naming his characteristics. He's eternal. He's all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present, which is not bound by space, I guess. Right. Everywhere it works. All righteous. There's no. So somebody will say, well, you know, I just, I have trouble praying because I don't feel like

my prayers are getting past the ceiling. I was like, well, the ceiling has nothing to do with it because God's not above your ceiling. He's right. Trust me, you think it? He knows it. I mean, but it's hard to, I think the biggest problem is people. And then that word predestined scares people. But think about it.

He says predestined to do what, to be conform like Christ. The predestination is the Jesus component. That's why in Ephesians 1, it says in him, we were predestined. It's through a person that he saved the human race. That's right. So the part that's set there for us that was set before creation was even happened was that we would have an opportunity to make a challenge. And he gave us the model before this whole salvation started.

That's exactly right. Grace didn't start to the model of grace. And you follow that chain. Then he says he calls them. But think about it, if you're called, then you have an opportunity to answer the call or not. I mean, you would think, but it seems so simple to me. It does to us, but there are people probably listening to what we're saying who are like,

you've got it all wrong. If you didn't have the helm there as a model, you wouldn't have known how to be predestined to meet him. That's right. Because if you don't know him yet, you say, so he gave you his life. That's why I think people miss it is they see the predestined. in the person as opposed to Jesus the person. That's right.

That was the whole thing. So when we make a decision to get into Christ, that's the key. Let's take our last break. I try to explain it like this, because would you say that another quality of God, this was where I was going with this, is that God is love. Is he love? Is he all loving? First John four says he.

So where this is going to go for you people who like debates is you get to a point that where you got a group of people who are not looking at the positive ears, but are, in my opinion, but they're saying, well, God chose these people before the beginning of time, and he knew who they were. And he does know. He does know. And so they'll make the jump to say, well, then God doesn't love the ones he didn't choose. Correct. Yep. But the reason I went through the characteristics of God, and you have 1 John 4 is clear, God is love. So when you all of a sudden step in and start saying who God loves, and they'll bring up the Jacob and Esau illustration, you know,

and so you say, whoa, whoa, what does that mean? It's a completely different context. And we're not saying that God doesn't hate the actions or sin because he is righteous. That's another one of his qualities. But he loves people, and he creates. people and that's universal because it's a characteristic you can't undo you can't pick and choose and so when I read something like the Jacob and Esau illustration I think yeah there's an illustration to what happened on the action side of it but don't ever doubt you can't all of a sudden

pick and choose what characteristic from a God personality that you that you want because once you say he doesn't love some well then he no longer is love That's right. He was like, and what is it mean when Peter say that won't work? What does it mean when Peter says God does not want anyone to perish? That doesn't mean anyone just the ones who have been caught. But I've had these debates with the, and you know, you know, I have. Because I was like, well, let me give it you.

I want to have open mind. I've listened to. You know, and I want to listen. And there's always, they're always trying to change these things to fit a narrative that a group of people have got. together and say, well, we believe different. And if a lot of you are saying, well, what's the big deal with that? The big deal is we're trying to figure out God's personality with our choice. That's right. Because he gave us the ability to choose. And that was evident from the very first man and the very first woman. Our choice. Because without choice, you don't have, there's no way to

believe. There's no way to have faith. You know, all the elements. You talked about love. Think about faith. I mean, what difference would faith make if I didn't have to answer the call? So I think when you look at it, his foreknowledge is his power. The predestination is the idea that it was in Christ. We're called. And then if we answer the call, what happens next?

We're justified. We're free from accusation and all those texts that we read. Yeah. And then when you're glorified, Jason is right. The glorification, he already sees us that way. That's what I think. I think it's from his perspective, which is really what this whole debate is about, is that when he says in 30, those he predestined, and you say, what does that mean?

He knew, and that's why I believe that God uses us, the ones who he's chosen, that we chose him, he uses us to spread the message of Jesus. So that's why I believe that he arranges encounters. That's right. Because you then tie in the Act 17 where it says he determines the time set for them in creation when he created us. And the exact places where they should live. Well, why did he do that? It says so that we would reach out for him and seek him.

That's pretty evident to me. Right. Which it always gets back. Every time I have this discussion, it always gets back to one reason. It's why we're here now. It's why this keeps going on. Now, there'll come a day where he's like, huh, okay, that's good, whatever.

I don't know if it's a number. You know, we have one of our instructors who said that. He kind of based it off a passage in Revelation. Yeah. Or it's just time, but I know one thing. He knows, and I'm just good with that. I don't have to know. He has appointed a day when he will judge the world with justice.

He's given proof of this to all men by raising. Why it's that day, I don't know. You get glimpses of it because in Hebrews, he mentioned all those people that lived by faith before Jesus came under law works. Yeah. But he says, together with us, they were made. So he had no problem crediting righteousness all the way back. Why would he have a problem crediting glory to us who understand that? In fact, the rest of the passage, and I'll just read it in our last few minutes.

Well, let me say one one thing, Al. You know, I had a weird encounter. I mean, why am I calling that weird? I had a God encounter, I think. I was a metal detecting, and a guy recognized me, just facial profiling. I'm out there in somebody's yard, you know, and he pulls in there.

Well, old Murray, who you brought to the Lord, and I hate to interrupt you, but I think it really goes on with what this verse says. I just feel like I need to say this. you know, Murray's all the time trying to get Jesus into people. And Murray's like, I ain't going to be here much longer, you know. You know, he'd overcome cancer. He's all kinds of stuff.

So it's like every moment that somebody comes, he's like, get him, Jase. You know, I'm like, you do it, Murray. And he's like, no, no, because he feels like he's not worthy to do it or whatever. But I'm like, just tell him about Jesus. But he came over and the guy said something about the podcast. And he said, well, you know, I had given up on God because my daughter was taken from in a car wreck. And she left a two-year-old daughter, his granddaughter, he said that we raised. And he said, you know, I was just angry at God.

And I mean, all of a sudden this got real, real quick. I mean, it got awkward. We're in the yard. And he said, you know, what bother me is he quoted this verse, this Roman. is 828. He said, these, these Christian people come up to me. Of course, Murray and I are these Christian people sitting here, but we weren't in a church building. We're out here. Which is why he felt like he could share. And he said, these Christian people came up saying, you know, God works to the good. And he was like, and look, I mean, he was, be like, well,

I mean, he was using profanity in this analogy, but, which didn't bother me because I was like, he's angry. Yeah. And he's like, you know, they did that. And then they just went on. He's like, they didn't. In other words, just deal with it. Well, right. He was like, where are you at now?

I mean, you just weren't around. But he read this verse that when I read this verse, we know that God works for the good of those who love him. We're excited about it. And this guy is, he's mad. And I could tell. But he said, you know, I got to listening to y'all's podcast, and I thought, hmm. He said, I think I had a wrong view of God.

And the point he made was, he's like, what I looked as bad, he said, because she is a believer. And we got to raise this grandbaby. And he was bragging on. She's a grown woman now, a lawyer. And he was being positive. And he's like, I basically realized that I was just. looking at it through my own eyes. And I thought, you know what, if that's not the point of the first eight chapters of Romans,

which is my point about this being a controversial passage, make sure you're looking at it from God's perspective and not yours. Because this whole Romans 8, what you were fixed to read, is all about him. He's saying, if I'm for you, who can be against you. It's a picture of my son. It's a picture of what Gloria looks like. But look, what you just described in this gentleman that you talked to was exactly what the passage is talking about. Because, again, because you spend a period of time angry at God, doesn't mean that somewhere down the line you're going to figure out that, you know what, without hope, without a realization that you can be with your daughter again.

What do you have a life of anger and bitterness? That's what the evil one wants. So the only way you can figure out what the good is is to do what he did. and he finally saw it through a divine lens. He said, you know what? I'm going to see her again. She was a person of faith. And so what you're seeing is him release that anger

because now as you embrace God who is love, you don't have space for anger and bitter. And I think it was a God orchestrated. It's a great illustration of what this is about. I mean, I was like, what do you do? I was just curious. I'm old yards. And I don't know, not that that's not extravagant,

but I just thought, There's a guy mowing yards that come up. I'm an hour and a half away from where I normally live, and we're talking about some pain that happened years ago. Sorry. Over this passage, and we quoted the 37 through 39, which said in all these things were more than conquerors through him who loved us, for I'm convinced that neither death, me as think,

that's what happened here, nor life, nor life, neither angels, demons, the present, the future, powers, neither height nor doubt, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. It sounds pretty glorious. If you don't experience that, I mean, I hate to read a sign, but they got this one right. If you don't experience that, who moved? Because he's saying, that's not going to separate, none of that will separate my love for you. And I'll close with this.

death itself. I'll close with this. It's a good reminder of those you listen because we have a lot of believers that listen. Don't, don't, you think you're helping people sometimes by a quote in a verse in a moment or people in pain.

I found it best to say, I love you, I'm here for you, what can I do for you? Yeah. That's not the time people are ready to get theology when they just experience something. Exactly. I never say, oh, God's got a plan.

God needed another angel. That's why your child is dead. Don't do stuff like that because it can wound people for a long, you think you're helping. I get it. I've heard it so many times in my life. But clips and phrases and, you know, colloquialisms is not what people need in that moment. They just need somebody to hug them. I'm here for you. What can I do to help you? That's the best way to approach people and tragedy. And it's like he said, you say something that sounds good and then

they never talk to you again. You never check. I mean, and I get it. It's awkward. It's hard to say something. So you know what? Just don't. I find just being there helps the most. So, yeah. All right. It's up to you next time. for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by rating us on iTunes. And don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube and be sure to click that little bell to get notified about new episodes. And for even more content that you won't get anywhere else,

subscribe to Blaze TV at blazedtv.com slash unashamed.