Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 323 | Phil Prepares to Give Dusty Hill’s Eulogy & Jase Destroys the House to Kill a Fly

Episode Date: August 6, 2021

Phil gets ready to deliver a eulogy for ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill, and Al and Jase look back on the family's relationship with the band. Jase remembers when he almost ripped his hair out during a squirrel hunt and recalls the time he was stung between the eyes by a yellowjacket. Phil describes one of the great benefits of having a beard. Jase holds a fly-killing bootcamp after he nearly wrecks his house to kill a fly. Al and Jase explain why it's OK to celebrate Halloween. And Phil discusses why unbelievers feel free while believers feel locked up by rules and regulations.  -- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? So, Dad, so you did an appearance last week, didn't you, since we've done the podcast? I went to the great tower in Missouri, St. Louis. Yep. Oh, the arch. St. Louis, Missouri, great people. They wanted to buy and sell and rent pieces of property for hunters, you know, especially

deer hunting all across the all across the south and uh there's probably four or five hundred there i think it was clay clay mcconnell's brother yeah lined it up but uh you know jace i always like to talk about it but when i walked up there to go to the mic i got a standing oh so i thought i said these people they are some good people it's pretty good when you hadn't even said anything they get you yeah by me on the premises most of the time they don't get up on their feet instantly but they did, but I preached gospel to them and told them it was a great way to think. They said, we want to incorporate our faith into our business here. I like that. I thought, hmm, because I said, who am I speaking to? And there was a little scramble for two or three days

for somebody to identify what they do. What was your opening line? My opening line was I asked him a question. I said, what year is it? They all kind of look funny. That's funny. I said, it is now 2021. Well, I know where you're going. Yeah, which takes on new meaning when you're saying,

I wonder what happened in one that we, to this day, count time by it. That was kind of another way I opened it up. I did take my duck calls. Did you do that as a joke also or did you just, because that it would be your first impression they say sometimes is, I mean, you're looking like you do saying what year is it? It was silence. It was like, oh, they didn't laugh. I would have laughed. No, not, they didn't like. They just kind of looked around like. So they give you a stand over. I've only had a stand ovation before I spoke maybe twice. And my first line both times were,

lower your expectations. They were some of the best people I have rubbed shoulders with since I've literally been on the earth. They received the message with great enthusiasm. We made the picture taken in groups of 20. We'd have 20 at a time, so to speed that up. to stand there for five hours. Ben made sure that.

It gets tough when you... I mean, I know they mean well, but to stand there for four or five hours, two or three at a time, it just... And it gets harder the older you again, right? Yeah. Oh, it's exhausting. I agree.

I mean, you hate to say it's exhausting. They were very good people. And I had a little duck call demonstration for them. I said, I brought my duck calls. I haven't done this in years. I said, but I figured while I was here, I just show you about hunting and july. general. Oh, it's biblical. I said, hunting, fishing. I said, it's biblical to the core of

its being. I mean, spelled out, arise, kill, and eat. I said, it's there. I said, so I want to commend you all for being able to make a living. I said, incorporating the gospel in with your land business. I said, you're wise to do so. Well, you think about it. I mean, Jesus made that illustration, you know, that he came as a fisherman. He's like, I'll make you fishers of men. Yeah. I mean, trust me, he liked fishermen. I mentioned that. I mentioned that I started out commercial fishing. I mean, John 21. He's like, watch this. I did tell them, and they did roar when I said, you know, I'm just giving out the background. I told Ms. Kay, I said, look, we're going going to fish the river. I'm going to fish it. We're going to sell the fish. I said, we're not going

tear the woods up. I said, as far as money goes, I said, but we stay the course. And I said, I'll get the duck call on the market. And I said, so I looked up one day after the plan was implemented and carried forth. And I said, ha, I said, I'm a multimillionaire. I said, you never know. I said, I just took out on faith, work hard, mind your own business. So you want to be dependent on anybody, work hard, trust in capitalism. I said, it will work. I said it'll work with you all as well. Well, tell us about where you're going to market. Yeah, because you're not going to be here for the podcast.

We normally record on Monday Tuesday, and so I got a note from Dan that said you were not going to be available tomorrow, which that hardly ever happens because you don't ever go anywhere. But then tell folks what you're doing because I found this to be fascinating. Well, I'm kind of sad. Well, you know, when we, Duck Dynasty was at its peak, our theme song, was played by ZZ Top. Yep, sharp-dress man, which was always good for life, you know,

because, you know, the rednecks, you know, make it and make it well. Well, and they had the long beards. It was a good connection. They, they, uh, we had a meeting with them one time. Billy Gibbons and, uh, Dusty Hill. Yep. And they came down and they requested that we have squirrel. They wanted to eat some squirrels.

Yep. Which I thought, now, now that's, I figured him get to our pickers. I figured they were top of the line, but now I know they are. So Ms. Kay fixed them a big pot of squirrel and dumplings. So we had squirrel and dumplings. Dusty has departed. Yeah, he passed away last year. To be with the Lord.

And someone, I think, guess his wife asked me, but I come down and I do the eulogy. So say some kind words on behalf of Dusty. And I said, sure. so Willie and I are going down. We're going down to Houston in the morning. You know, I thought that was really interesting because we really only met them the one time. They were on our final episode. Yeah, they came in the parking lot one time.

Remember we had the outdoor. Well, they were in our final episode because they... Yeah, but remember we were hanging out back there and they kept trying to film, but we were talking because he wanted to know I'd blow a duck call. We were giving them a duck call to us. And I was sitting there thinking, you need to be filming. this. This is the gold right here.

But we finally, you know. I'll probably remind them that Dusty and Billy both, and they're picking, their descendants of Jubal, who was the father, the father of the streamed instrument. So between Gibbons and Dusty, I said, I tell you what, I said, they pulled it off. I said, because they had great talent as far as stringed. Densomers go. You're going to have more people going to look up Genesis 5 than ever has before. I will explain to him and for him to request me to be to do that. I thought it was fascinating. She said that he requested his wife requested that and he did too I think yeah I mean I think it was in his

will he had some type of disease I don't know what it was I'll find out I guess I hate to ask it was was he the shorter one or the taller one I can't remember. Short a one short one yeah the tall guy is his givens and then the drummer his name is ironically beard is his last name, but he's the only one that didn't have a beer. Of course, he and I bonded on set because I was the bearded on ours. Well, they, uh, I think he played mainly the bass side. Uh, right. I think Dusty was, was the bass man. But, you know, they played some great tunes. To this day, I love them. Oh, they're, they're great. I was trying to, I was looking up on the, there was, Willie said something. I was trying to find it. It's on Fox News,

but I can't, I can't find it now. He had some kind of tribute to them. I just saw a break-in-thing Dynasty Star gives tribute to Dusty Hill, but I can't find it. I don't know what the deal is I was going to read it. Well, I'll remind them that Jesus is the one who said, you know, whoever believes in me, even if he dies, yet shall he live? And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. So he has just departed from his body. His body's asleep. His soul is alive in good hands with the Lord, soul and spirit.

And when Jesus shows back up, he's bringing Dusty and others like him with him. And there'll be a resurrection of the dead and they'll receive their glorified bodies, which is very soothing, in my humble opinion. So he's in good hands. Here was Willie's line. He said, our beards bowed down to him. That was his way of saying that. So I thought that was pretty good.

Our beards bowed down when we got in their presence because they had been running that look way longer than we had for sure. So I guess they checked with them when they were. Where are we kind of met because we just looked similar? Right. Yeah. And then really, and now for dad to get this opportunity, I mean, I just thought it was really cool that you meet someone a time or two. But it was such an impact on them that they felt it, you know, worthy for you to go and say something. You know, which I think that's pretty.

I was honored to speak at Dusty's funeral. I really was. Yeah. So I can't wait to hear about it once you do. So that's so dad won't be here tomorrow because of that. And so I'm going to keep mine. It won't be tomorrow in your time. Well, I haven't shaved, cut these in a while, but I'm going to keep it about no longer

than a foot because in the entanglements and the brush that grows in North Louisiana. and the river bottoms, there's so many thorn bushes and saplings and trees that you can get these things hung up on. I'll try to keep mine. Well, there was a guy. There was a guy in the Bible named Absalom, which is quite the story. He had long whiskers. He had long hair and it led him to his death. He hanged by his hair. He got tangled up in a thicket. I think he was riding a horse. I didn't mean, I don't remember Absalom, but I mean, now I know the story, but I mean, because of that. Well, well, the last major haircut I had was during a squirrel hunt, which is weird that we're telling these stories. Because I got chasing a squirrel, and my hair was really long at the time.

And I just, you know, my adrenaline was pumping. I was running it, turned into a chase. And I wound up, literally hung up in a briar thicket by the hair. And I just, I could not move. And I thought about that story in the Bible. I was like, you know what? Don't put the Lord God to the test. I think it's time for a haircut.

It's good if you run up on a ground yellow jacket thing. It's just a hole in the ground about the size of a pencil. But inside that hole, that hive is underground. That's where they do all their mischief and raising, underground and the hole is so small that you wouldn't know the hole was there, you couldn't spot it. Yellow jacket,

you run over that with a bush hog, and all of a sudden, they begin to descend on you, and they're like hundreds coming out of one hole. And it's just a swarm. Well, until you get away from them, I mean, get away from them in a hurry, they're just peppering you.

These whiskers, they hit the whiskers, but they don't get to the chin. They're stinging the fire out of you, but they're all, they're caught up in your hair. So you need to get up like this like I have right here. It helps. What about, Dan? He didn't quite have any defense system. Dan, I mean, he's been stung repeatedly for years.

Right behind this house, I had built a fort, and I was trying to get a mattress, an old mattress y'all had thrown out, which was probably a bad idea. If you threw it out. I was trying to get it in the fort, and I was moving it around. Well, I came up on one of them holes. I got popped two or three times in the back as I'm running away. So I went and covered my entire body. I had a football helmet. I had every possible thing covered up, and I had a can of wash spray

and some kind of flashwater in the other hand. And I just went up on that hole and hit it. And as they came out, I was just fogging them because I was mad. It already stoned me. Yeah. And they literally just kept coming in a straight line and to their death, just falling just immediately. And when that spray went out of spray, the last thing I saw was right between the eyes. The only place not covered.

Hit me right there. I could not see for three days because he stopped me right in the bridge on the nose. I rate them as the roughest insect sting. Yeah, it hurts. Above everything else. When you say anything that can swell your eyes shut for three days? They really hurt when they sting. They have a lot of poison in them.

Yeah, I'm just like you, though, Jay's. Let's take a break. I'm just like you. It makes me so mad that I go on the warpath, whatever. I was a kid, but, you know. I mean, I still do it because I got, there was a clothes line. used to be a clothesline behind my mom and dad's house. And I was walking back there and I bent down to go under the clothesline.

That was a big old red wasp. And he just, he didn't even fly. He just dropped down. He got me right on the crown of my head. And I mean, it took me to my knees, you know,

because right there in your head. So I went and found, I started fogging through that thing. And I mean, I bet you there were 50 wasp in that, you know, in that tube of that, you know,

clothes line. They're bad, but the ground yellow jacket is there. Yeah, By the way, if you do that, you take a little honey, which is interesting because honey bees, stinging bees, their own honey is the best thing you can do for our wall sting. Take the sting.

Just to put a little honey. It would help a whole lot. Somebody tell me vinegar helps. Honey helps. One thing, I mean, one thing I had to apologize to my kids for one time, we had some people over and there was a fly. and I told my son who was, you know, he's a young kid at that time,

my middle one. I was like, kill that fly. He went over and he just kind of, just kind of tapped him. And he flew off and I thought, well, we got a problem here.

I didn't embarrass him in front of the people. When they left, I said, I'm going to, look, when we go after a fly or something with a stinger, we come with authority.

I said, that was embarrassing. And so I sent him on, like a weak boot camp of killing flies in the house. It was so funny because Bissy got mad because I was overdoing it for impact, you know. A fly would light in the middle of a candle set. Wow. I'm just, I am literally destroying all the furnishings.

And Missy was like, why do you keep tearing up everything? And I'm like, I didn't raise these boys to play patty cake with a fly. in front of people. I've interested apologize. I was like, okay, maybe I'm taking this too far. But I just remember, I thought he was just going to wham. And I was going to say, that's my boy. But he's just like, tap.

I was like, nope. You were disappointed. I would rather you break that glass out of the side of that because it was glass. And he was thinking, I don't want to break the glass. I was like, I'd rather you break the glass than play Patty Cake. I'm the same way with my grandkids now. That's like you don't get in trouble if you break something because you were trying to kill a fly. Yeah.

That's like you get a free pass because I hate those. I killed a big old gray belt. So if you're in a state where you don't have a fly problem, but down here I'm going to tell you it is a problem. Would you agree? I agree. And I can't stand them because they get it. So that's a good lead in.

So when do you, when do you draw the line, because the kingdom of God? I want to hear this connection. I want to hear the lead in. Here's the lead in. Within the kingdom of God. not so many but you do have them you have the 4.0 mind meaning straight A's and Jason's got a son he makes straight A's your second son the young youngest one so you have those types you have

some that are very spiritual you have others who are C plus like myself you have ones a lot of people are in the D and the F category. You work with a homeless. They're on the streets. They have a kind of a pecking order type thing going. But they're members of the kingdom of God. They put their faith in Jesus. We work with them all the time.

But all these various personalities and a lot of people coming up, they had no rules to any kind of regard to behavior. And you have all the ones that are kind of like, they're careful of what they eat, meaning some people won't eat meat, some people will. In this case, you have a whole culture among the Jews who were under the law of Moses, which had strict, strict, strict food laws. And you can imagine they look with disdain upon anybody who would eat a hog. You see my point?

They're like, yeah, I tell you. Well, now we're in the kingdom of God. where there are no food laws. But we stay with it and we hang on to food laws. Certain days of the year are sacred to some, but some who weren't raised in that type environment, there's like, well, what are you doing? And they don't take your sacred day serious at all.

Well, what do you do when you come, all of them come together, and you said something about to start this discussion in the book of Acts, you know, starts out there we had everything in common, When you look at Acts 2, 3, and 4, you don't see any disunity. Everybody's happy, meeting every day. The trouble has not started yet.

No trouble until you get to Acts 5. That's right. We see the story of Adonis and Safari. You've got someone who's greedy and a liar. They lied to the Holy Spirit, Peter said. And all of a sudden they get struck there. Immediately that brought a lot of unity. But at the same time, everybody was like, whoa.

So fast forward, a couple of hours. years, Al, have we done so far on accepting him whose faith is weak without passing judgment on disputable matters? Now, in America, you talk, Al what isn't a disputable matter anymore? I mean, it's just rampant. Well, within the kingdom, what kind of people should we be, learned to be based on Romans 13 and 14. Well, and that's the point. Now, I give the floor to you and Jace. So that's the point.

So another thing in Acts, Dad, so you get to Acts, you get to Acts 6, and you start seeing the first clash between the Greeks and the Jews, because now they're all Christians. And despite everybody saying, we're one, we're one. At the same time, these Grecian Jews, you know, who had a Greek background, all of a sudden, they're like, well, you know, you're not treating us the same. And look, and the Jewish Acts 2, all Jews, the first 3,000, all Jews. Right. You're like, uh-oh.

So what are we going to do now when we got these people that we have disdain for? Right. Remember Peter even said, I don't know about this. You know, he had trouble. Well, I found it interesting as you follow that track, and that sets this up, is that then you had the killing of Stephen by Paul who, who was as, you know, racist a person as there was on the earth. He hated the Greeks. So, so you have, so you look back at Acts 7 and Acts 8 and you see Stephen is martyred. It was interesting because it scared everybody to death, I was it, but it scattered the church.

But one thing about it is you notice it unified them again. Because then you figure out what's the most important. When people start dying over their faith, you quit arguing about, you know, did I get enough food for the widow? You did I, you know, is there all these little disputes? So then you get to Acts 10 and then you see the Gentiles first come in. And then that's when the problems really led to all this because you had all these schisms in each group. You had the Jews having issues about food laws.

You have the Greeks because someone sacrificed meat to idols. And then we can't eat that meat because it's, you know, it's not, it's tainted now. So you got all these issues that we read about throughout the New Testament. So how much has changed? give my response. All right, which is okay. Okay, that was Al's. So if you take Romans 14, because I'm one of the simplistic members among us,

if you weeded out all the disputable matters that's here, we've already addressed the dates and the foods. Right. But it could be, let's face it, if you read this, it's not so much what you eat because it could be where or how. That's right. Or, I mean, he used these for an example, but. the list could be quite lengthy yeah and he is yeah so if you weed those out i'm just going to

do something that we normally don't do but if you look in chapter 14 in verse four and you see this phrase that a person would stand for the lord well then if you look in verse six it says he who regards one day a special does so to the lord so you see that phrase to the lord well, then he says, he who eats me, eats to the Lord. And then later on it says in that to the Lord. And in verse 8, it says if us, none of us, what does it say to the Lord again there? It's at the end of it. If he lives, if we live to the Lord.

We belong to the Lord. Now, we're starting to see this come up a lot here. Look in verse 9, that it might be the Lord of both the dead. And you keep going down, you're going to see this over and over, you know, even to 14, it says, as one who is in the Lord. So here's my point. So the gospel brings us all together. Well, my point is, you have a choice when it comes to Jesus and church and religion. You can focus on the rules or you can focus on the relationship in the Lord.

and it's always going to be that contrast. Is it the method or is it the person? Is it because that's what gets lost? God knows your heart. Is it the creed or is it the crashed? Exactly. In every disputable matter, that's going to be the answer. Let's take a break.

Because we're never going to agree, which is why he came to fulfill the law, which we just covered in chapter 13. Talking about love. Well, who do you love? You don't love, well, now, you'll say that. You say, oh, yeah, but I love fried shrimp. But do you really? They don't, I'm going to love you back.

I mean, you love them so much that you're going to chill them up, send them down the hatch, let them stay a while. The way I've, then flush them down the drain. That's not a love. The way I've described that, though, is the Greeks had five different words for love. And that was why, because I love, you know, chicken a different way than I love my wife. Right. But the reason we get in so many disputes, because I love eating young deer, backstraps.

But then somebody comes over and says, no, no, red meat's going, you're not going to live as long. And I say, I'll die happy. Me too. And more soon than you. But you know what? I'm eating that backstrap. That's right. Because it's good.

I don't care. if you showed me a scientific report with 100% accuracy. Guess what? And the Apostle Paul said, I'm going to take my chances. The Apostle Paul says, you, by eating the deer backshap, should not be judged by others on disputables matters. That's one of them. You said, well, I like young deer.

And they said, well, you shouldn't kill deer. Well, right. It's not right. You shouldn't eat meat. And you say, why? But guess what? They could be, they could have found some. documentation to prove that eating deer was wrong.

And then they were going to run and tell me and they ran too fast down the steps, trip and fall and die on their way to tell me that I'm going to die sooner, which is my point. It's a disputable matter. And it's something that I know I have the right to do. But the bottom line is in all these matters, in all these disagreements, I can't come on so strong as to make the Lord not proud of me and how I'm handling my character and my speech and my behavior.

I mean, if I'm breaking the tables in my argument and telling them to get out of my house because they want to just eat vegetables, well, what happened to this? I'm a representative of the Lord because he wouldn't have done that. Yeah. What they do is they write down not the scriptures. But they say, this is what we believe.

This is what we believe. And if inside that belief system, when it comes to food, you say they make a rule, we don't eat this on this certain day. This day is more holy than yesterday. You say, let's see here now. Let me see about this road. We're going down. To some, it's a big thing this particular day.

A holy day. for them, but to a lot of others, they're like, what are they doing? What happened on that day? So the Apostle Paul is addressing that. Don't come together on that. Let it, let it go. Let it go. I didn't learn all these principles until I started visiting different church groups. That's right. Then I realized we have way more in common than I thought. And all the big stuff, and I mean big stuff is the relationship. relationship-oriented stuff, love God, love the Lord. Jesus is the son of God. He lived a perfect life, came from a virgin, died on a cross, was raised from the dead.

The Holy Spirit was poured out and is available for everybody. They all agree with all that. So I'm like, well, why are we, why do we think you're different? Because you do things in disputable matters that I don't do. Well, that just makes you, in my opinion, a brother or a sister who does things that I don't do. And they're disputable. So who cares?

Well, the phrase agree to disagree is that's what applies here. And yet that's becoming a lost cause, both in the public square and inside the body of believers. I just agree to disagree with you. Just look at what the non-believers in America. Look what they're saying now. Then you get to the believing Americans and you see the. friction between the various groups.

We don't believe in this. You believe in that. And food matters, you'd think that would finally not be an issue. But to this day, what you take into your body is still a giant issue. I see a similarity between Romans 13 and 14 and the sermon on the Mount. I'd like to share that, which is in Romans 13, in verse 8. He says, let no debt remain outstanding except to continue with death, love one another,

for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law. Then when we get to 14, we got into this disputable matters about eating and drinking. And he comes down to verse 17, which we all agree is the kind of the key verse of this chapter. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, peace, and joy. in the Holy Spirit. Now, if you go back to the sermon on the Mount, where Jesus is now providing this new way of looking at God, which is, he said if there's a God and you're looking at him,

instead of following this old law, he's fighting with the prophets and the Pharisees. Well, in chapter 5 in verse 17, he says, do not think I have come to abolish the law of the prophets. I have not come to abolish them. but to fulfill them. Well, we know what he's talking about. He's going to get them to love.

Because Romans, that is the fulfillment, and Jesus would it. He loved everybody. He proved it. He eventually died. But he also said in that first phrase, notice what he said in verse 6 when he starts all, blessed are the poor and spirit. There's the kingdom of God.

Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meat. But he said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, which is the same thing Paul said in Romans. He's like, it's not about eating and drinking, but it's about righteousness. Well, Jesus, I wonder where you got that.

I know where you got it. It's more important, not what you put in your body to eat and drink. Because most especially young people, this leads them around by the nose. They get up and they're like, what are we going to eat? That's all they care about. You know, what are we going to eat if they're not thinking, spiritual what i'm saying immature but it's more important to to hunger and thirst for these spiritual

qualities that are righteous acts because of the spirit that's what it's about so you think about what that encompasses love joy peace patience patience kindness goodness faithfulness self-control well if you practice all those things you would get along with everybody as far as it depended on you you are correct and let's take a break and on the other side of the coin you said well Yeah, but we don't really have a holiday issue. We don't because every time we've ever done Christmas things or Easter things or whatever, I always get people that are saying, why are you celebrating? We don't know exactly when Christ, we don't know exactly when he came to the.

And so they're like, so we can't celebrate it. Well, that's back to the disputed days again. They feel that way. Okay. But I feel we're going, I'm okay with it. You're not okay with it. We're going to have to agree to love each other. But I've had people say, no, that's sinful.

That's wrong. Oh, I've had the same thing. Halloween. So they're focusing on when we celebrate instead of who. Because theoretically, you should celebrate Jesus every day. And they'll say that. Yeah. They'll say, but you can't single out a day.

Sure we can. We're doing it for the Lord. Whatever we're doing, we're doing it for the Lord. I mean, even I made a pitch one guy. He's like, I mean, I can't believe you let your kids. trick-a-treat on Halloween. I was like, I didn't let them dress up like witches and anything evil. I said, but if they want to go get some candy from the neighbors because they love their

neighbors and the neighbors love them, and then I tell them, let me tell you where Halloween got started, wasn't a pleasant thing, but we're going to do it for the Lord. We're going to flip this on its head. Tell you what, why don't you go as one of the disciples? So the point is, if you feel strongly that you don't want to have anything to, do with Halloween. Okay. Exactly. That's what I'm saying. If you say I'm out, fine. No problem. If I want to put a, if I want to put a spiritual test. I'm not going to make you do it. Yeah. It was the point here. If I want to take something the world invented as a pagan thing

and turn it into something spiritual, I think I'm being more courageous, you know? Right. But I, I'm, the Lord knows my heart. Right. Am I, am I worshiping demons and, uh, no? You said, well, how do they know? Well, the Lord knows. That's all. I'm worried about. Because, you know, if you start down the rule thing, I had a sister one time tell me, she came in and she was saying, you know, I just, I hear people say things and it's just not right. And I was like, so I thought she meant like curse words.

Yeah. And she said, I mean, they're upset or they're mad and they use words that start with the letter G. And that's just awfully close to using the Lord's name of vain. And I was like, so any word uttered in an exclamatory fashion that start to the Lord's starts with the letter G is out for you. And she said, yes, that's too close. And I thought, well, I got rebuke one time.

That's pretty style right there. I mean, you know, good garden seed. Nope. I had a pastor sit me down and rebute me one time because I said, freaking. I said it in a sermon. And he's like, if you look that up in a dictionary, it has the F word, you know. And I think he thought I was going to say, oh my goodness what have i done and i said well look i have a lot of problems and i made a lot of mistakes

but saying f-bombs has never been one i've never said it i said you're looking at it like you're too close i said but i've never used that word i've never said that i said and i chose not to i use something as an alternative freaking too close he's like that's too close i said according to who I said, even society says it's okay. I was like, you're trying to make a law. Of course, look, I felt weird because he was a man I'm respecting. You're supposed to obey your leaders. Although I did not agree with him.

But to his credit, the more we talked, he said, well, just think about it. You know, I'm not judging you over it. I just think you'd be better off not saying that. And I was like, I respect your opinion. I disagree. I said rock and roll one time in a sermon and an older man, again, a man I respect said, you shouldn't say that. I said, I shouldn't say rock because I was like, we're going to get it.

Let's rock and roll. We're going to get after this thing. It was like, do you know what that word meant in the original? And I was like, rock and roll like music. And he said, oh, no, it meant sex. Yeah. And I was like, well, I wasn't meaning it that. Yeah, but that's, I mean, you know what I'm saying?

I have hundreds of stories that have. Right. I said one night that my wife. and I said, I was speaking. And I said, you know, later that night, we did a little dirty dancing. Ooh, boy. And, boy, got to the back of the building, you know, and his guy's like, okay, number one, there was a movie out with, I never heard of a movie, you know, talking about dirty

dancing. Of course, I was like, typical, I should have just relaxed, but I was like, well, what were you doing watching the movie? I've never heard of the movie. So evidently, I'm in a better. So you rebukes his rebuk. I'm in a better spot than you are. And can I not dirty dance with my wife?

I think that's God sanctioned. He said, yeah, but you said dirty. I was like, well, that's my dirt. We're one. This is legal. I felt like that in that movie, you know. So he ends us up. Now look, so he finishes Romans 14 up, and here's what he says.

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean. I mean, you can eat anything you want to, regardless what anybody says. All food is clean. There's no food loss. That system is gone.

But it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone to stumble. So what's how this reads? he's better not to eat it is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that will cause your brother to fall anytime salvation as far as foods is concerned salvation becomes an issue this is what he's saying whatever you believe about these things what's this keep between yourself and God. I think he's saying, look, instead of making an argument against somebody

on these issues, just whatever you think on them, just keep it between yourself and God. Just don't make a verbal issue of it. I think this, I think that. Blessed is a man who does not condemn himself by what he approves, but the man who has doubts

is condemned if he is condemned if he eats because his eating is not from faith, and everything that does not come from faith is sin. Now, figure that one out. Well, I think it goes back to the relationship thing. He's saying you're trying to make a law on a sheet of paper or any other written thing that you're enforcing. And you want everybody to follow.

Instead of trying to look at the Lord and saying, how do you want me to do a righteous thing here? What is the best thing according to you that I need to do? And you're looking at the person saying, even though I have the freedom to do this, I'm not going to do it because I want you to have this same experience with the Lord. So you have this freedom, actually, to make all these decisions and all these situations that are all different. But you're trying to do everything the Lord wants you to do, and you're trying to help others see the Lord and have this same relationship.

I think that's what he means. I think he's saying, too, instead of making a rule, why don't you just keep your mouth shut? Yeah. He actually says sometimes, but keep things to yourself. I mean, he actually says those words. Yeah. You know, I mean, and when it comes to disputable matters, I think that's true. It's not worth a lot of stuff that's argued over in the grand scheme of things with religious people out.

In my humble opinion, they're not worth arguing over. No, because they hurt the cause. Let's take her last break. So that was my point. I went a step further, and Paul doesn't say this in the text, but I went a step further and said, this is all of the evil one. Because when you look back at the history of Satan, and I use three examples, one was the garden, where he came in and because of a lie, he divided humanity and God, a husband and a wife, and a family.

In one fell swoop. Yep. That's what he did. Then he was so bold about it. And then I talked about Elijah. We talked about that in a past podcast because he had him all depressed. And he shouldn't have been because, you know, God had just won a great victory. But again, he was isolated.

And he was like, I'm giving up. And then he had the audacity to go out when Jesus was in the wilderness there right after he was baptized. And he tried to divide Jesus from the Father and the Spirit. He sure did. And so I thought that's his MO. That's what he does. So why wouldn't he take the same time? tactic into the church because these people are stealing souls away from him. And so, of course,

what's one of his greatest tactics division? And if it can be over something stupid, that's all the better because people all get, you know, all got their panties in a wad, you know, all tightened up over something that just doesn't even matter. And it's amazing how they'll live there and camp there. So I made the point that the evil one is behind the division. I know where it comes from. Well, I mean, that's how he tempts us, but we're the ones that make the decision to go along with it. But, I mean, you remember that point in the garden. I mean, it was only really one rule. Don't eat from the tree in the middle of the garden.

Because if you do, you'll die. Of course, they didn't know what death meant because they hadn't experienced it. So the evil, his lie was, you remember what he said. You will not. Yeah, he said, well, you won't die. but then I think what he said next is my point about the relationship part of it because he was the he was just focusing on that rule he's like let's take this rule he said don't do that there's one thing it's like but you won't die he's not looking out for what's best for you that's right so you you want to sever where you're getting your moral compass from so then he says for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So you think about what he was saying.

You can make your own rules, which is this is all about disputable matters in Romans 14, which is what happens. So they're like, oh, wait a minute here. Number one, God don't want the best for me. I'm not going to reach my potential here doing it God's way. So that was kind of the underlying thought. And I'll be like, God, because in essence, when you're defending your beliefs like the woman who came to you and said, well, I just don't think you should.

She basically has become God in her moral judgments, not based on the true living God, not based on scripture, but just based on whatever they just feel right. Don't you think, Al, that when Jesus said, look, you'll know the truth and the truth would set you free. I personally think that Christians have a tough time for some reason. reason or another. They're so rule and regulation-oriented law that they don't realize how free they really are. We're way more free than what we've we develop these creeds and try to hold every member to the exact same thing. This is what we believe in this day here we're going to

set aside to honor the law. And they they put this information in the people's head. And it kind of adds up to being legalistic about the whole thing. Yeah. Oh, I think the number one. God's saying, look, exercise your freedom and be fortunate, most fortunate that you've been free to live your life and you don't have to worry about every little shot and tiddle on what day you remember or what you put in your mouth and goes out of your body. What are you doing?

I said the number one lie in life is that people in the world think they're free and people in the church think they're locked up. Yeah. That's true. They think they're in prison with all the rules and regulations. That's my point. And the people out who are, they're like, well, we're doing this because we're free. I'm like, well, you're not free.

Some will say, well, you boys sitting down there, you know, on the riverbank down there. Y'all are just getting people stir it up because they can't do this and that and the other, you know, and y'all are not. But I don't think holiness is about rule. keeping. I think it's about what he did and said in Romans 13. Love your neighbor enough, not to keep arguing with him over disputable matters. It's not worth it. As the church yesterday has said, has disunity in the American church, has that helped us or hurt us impact our culture? What do you think in 2021? Has having a church building on every corner was splintered off because this group says you can't do that, disputable matters. Has that helped us?

or hurt us in our culture. That was a good point to make in your sermon. It's not good. It's like disunity is never good. The Bible taught so much about unity because, again, without it, you can't focus on the gospel and what's important because it's just human nature to want to start focusing on something that doesn't matter. After theologian, after theologian, after theologian, they've come up with these parameters

and all these matters about food, and in a lot of ways, Al, they'll. they're still operating based on a mindset of law instead of grace. Right. Exactly. It's just, they're saying, well, if you loosen up, you know, what do y'all see and we do then? How about loving God and loving your neighbor? I keep it kind of right there and say, just do that. And if you love him, you won't be y, yeah, yeah, all the time with him.

Well, and we said, I think that's been the success of our podcast is because we've stayed focused on Jesus and Scripture. Because if you can keep it there, then you can stay away from a lot of this stuff. And look, I expect people to disagree. And so did Paul. He said, look, if it's disputable, it's okay. It's okay to disagree with these people over here. Well, I think that's why. Let it go.

That's why Jesus did the sermon on the Mount. he basically turned your view and our view of law and rulekeeping on its head. That's right. Because he actually just dramatized everything. It's like, you know, you've heard it said, don't commit adultery. But I tell you, even if you have a thought, it's the same thing. Well, all their heads started spinning because these were the teachers of the law. Yeah, let's see.

I'm going to free you from Satan. I'm going to free you from sin. I'm going to free you from the guilt of it all. I'm going to free you from the law, and I'm going to free you from the grave. What are you arguing about? And I'm going to do it. And I'm going to do it because I love you. Not because I had to, which is the fulfillment of the law is God's love for us.

I mean, this is whether you like it or not, because some people like rules. Yeah. But when you encounter God's love and allow that to motivate your decisions, even if you do things that other people view as not wise, but it's disputable, you know what, it's all right because in the end, God's love is going to win out, and we don't all have to agree on every single thing in life. As long as we're basing those decisions on God's love and let that trickle down into our human relationship.

We get back to your point a while ago and said, you know, you look inside the body of Christ and you see people who are locked up instead of being freed from. I mean, it's one of the most sad things I've ever seen. So Jesus's response all three times to Satan in the wilderness was, I trust, I trust my father. He kept coming to that. It is written. It is written.

And if you look down there, Romans 15, everything that was written, he brings it up, Al. Right. In the past was written to teach us so that through it. endurance and encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope, not arguing about them. That's right. And look how he closes this thought out in verse 13 of 15. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's it. So we trust in him, no matter what our disputes are indifference, we're going to always come out on the right side. If you got some whacked out

ideas about what you ought to do in certain days, you ought to do it. Just remember, I love you and I don't care. Perfect close. Thanks 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.