Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 355 | Phil Helps a Demon-Possessed Woman & Jase Realizes His Grandfather Name Has a Major Flaw

Episode Date: October 1, 2021

Jase is still pushing for his grandkids to call him “Rock,” but Al points out Jase might not be happy with what they really end up calling him. Phil shares the story of a demon-possessed woman and the path she took to become whole again. Jase reveals the only two rules enforced in his house. Phil highlights the uptick in satanic behavior. Zach and Al share the story of a cousin who died after losing his battle with addiction. And the guys discuss the relationship between substance abuse and demonic possession. - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? The biblical times, you had many names. I think in stages of your eyes. But you like many names now. I know. I call you slick. Not enough. I need more names. You just... Your grandkids are going to call you rock. You know, we've, you know... You know what? I'm getting closer to pushing that three. Missy, the last time I talked to her, her will had had... had bent.

I wouldn't say it's broken, but it's bent. It just shows you, if you lead, if you lead, they will follow. Because I hadn't got off of it. I said, look, I'm, I don't know why you think this is so ridiculous when the savior of the world was known as the chief cornerstone. I got that from him. You got a problem with that, I'd argue with him. You remember what he told Pils?

Peter, on this rock. I'm going to build my church. Rock is the ultimate grandparent name. And now I have, I've quit denying it. I am now pursuing it. I want to have a bumper. I want a bumper sticker and say, yeah, I'm known as rock. We let some celebrity steal that name.

But so, so listen, this shows you how a woman thinks so, Joe. So I was like, well, you know, I kind of liked. I mean, I laughed when he first said it because I thought he was joking, but I kind of like it too. And she said, children can't pronounce their R's until they get a certain age. So he'll be called walk. What had sold my wife. And I was like, you know, I never thought of that one, is that? Well, wasn't there a group of people in Star Wars named Wach?

The Ewarks. EWOX. They were EWOX. But they got that from a probably they had the idea when they were cooking some rice in a walk. And they said, oh, let's, I got it, honey. Let's name them Ewox. They're from the country. Planet.

They were from a planet. They're from a different planet. Oh, wow. Star Wars, you got to expand your universe. Well, anyway. So we're talking about names because dad met a guy yesterday. We were trying to remember his name. This was hard at this discussion.

This is how we go off the rail. You met a guy from Jerusalem. You had more than one person from Jerusalem at your churches. Yeah, one of them that spent time in the Middle East. He was from France and was converted. Well, good. The French need it. And Stephen, I think it's Carly, Carly out there.

His last name, I'm probably butchering your last name, Stephen. Does he listen to the bucket? He was more. born in Jerusalem and I found a scrap of paper on the road one day and picked it up. And he said he read John 316. He speaks about three or four languages. Wait a minute, he found a scrap of paper that had John 316. He said he found a scrap.

In Aramaic. Yeah, yeah. At Aramaic, yeah. And he picked it up and he said, hmm. He said, so we investigated, you know, for God's the love of the world. He sent his only begotten son, whoever believes that it won't perish. but have eternal life. He looked at that.

He said, hmm. So he investigated him, and he said, that's how he was converted to Jesus. Well, now that's a story. Now he's surrounded by, what shall I say, a lot of hostility.

You know, Jerusalem is a, you know, Israel, you know, the Palestinians in Israel, these wars have been. Oh, I was there. And constantly, I was lowering my head looking around. He's been beaten,

he's been beaten severely. lost family members, lots of gunfire inside the place where they were meeting, lots of beatings. So out of that, his faith is strong, and he's trying to create a revival situation. In Jerusalem, I think there was about, he said, about 30,000 Christians are left there. But the mighty throngs out there, you know, you got, you know, Islam and Christianity. and Judaism, all in a mixture right there in close quarters. So it's a pretty daunting task. But they're trying to raise some finances to get something going over there,

you know, like a beachhead of evangelism. He's kind of working through the Southern Baptist right to do it. I asked him when he showed up yesterday morning. I said, why don't you do the Lord's supper for us? As a Jew, you probably appreciate this. I thought that was interesting. shows kind of the, what would you call it, the spontaneity of dad's group over there on Sunday morning.

You know, the sky was coming. It's like, hey, why don't you do community? Well, the difference in Phil and most church leaders. Was it good? Oh, it was fantastic. But I'm saying the difference in Phil and most leaders, if that would have started going down a wrong road, Phil would have just said, hey, all right, that's good. He would have got the cane out.

the old hook. Well, the guy was already impressed, Dad, tell me, because Dad has your AR there, right? Oh, yeah. So he sees the AR and he was like, hey, I feel like I'm back home. Yeah. With the old AR here next to me when I'm speaking. We laugh about that, but to all the people who have lost their lives,

either just going to some kind of concert or just going to meet with God's people on Sunday morning, then somebody bursts in, you know, kicks the door in and starts shooting. Happens every day. It happens a lot. So because of that, you know, so in a lot of ways, we're no different than the Israelis over there who are Christians. But didn't you tell me that they carry, these people carry around a thing looks like a coat hanger? That's what he said. Yeah, you said, and then he snaps it out, and then they'll just beat the fire at it.

You get the old 40 minus one. He took a beating himself, and he said they just beat him. And so some of his kin folks, but he said they just beat him down to, it was horrific. But it's hard for American Christians to kind of realize what people around the world. He has been persecuted. I mean, I saw the day we all went to the wall and the celebration on the, I guess, the Sabbath, you know, we went. And, I mean, I saw several young lads get whacked just in normal proceedings. Oh, yeah.

And so, I mean, not only were they whip. you, they'll do it in public. Not whoop, that was just a whack. A lot of these things going on in the Book of Acts has reached all the way to us and some of our brothers. And in Jerusalem, and in Jerusalem, it's a daily,

it's a daily keep watch, be vigilant. I told you the story when we went and had our worship and service in Bethlehem. And, you know, that building had been bombed 13, or 14 times and it was just a whole different attitude when you're sitting there thinking at any moment this could blow up yeah he wrote a book living in jesus the backyard of jesus

oh yeah that that that's where well that's a good name yeah oh yeah living there and what it's like two thousand years later and uh i've already hadn't read it all but i just started reading it i said boy this is this is really something here so he's on a mission i'll get i'll be we'll bring some of his paperwork that people then contact them. So know about how to help him if you want to. Yeah, it's really interesting because, of course, this guy has showed up. You get to meet them, but you realize how many stories and things are happening every day you don't know about until you run across it, right?

You hear a guy's story like that, and you're just like, man. And it's very biblically oriented because it's just what the, you know, it's been going on like that for 2,000 years in someplace. So we're in Matthew, chapter 8. I wanted to say something we didn't say in the last podcast, but there's a couple of instances, like in Matthew 8, when the centurium, which we said this was kind of the introduction of that Gentiles could be saving, not only Gentiles, one that's commanding an army that is viewed as our enemy for the Jewish people. Which, by the way, ironically, it was also another centurion, Cornelius, in Acts chapter 10, that because, He and his family become the first official Jewish converts post-Christianity, which was really interesting. So again, to your point, these guys are, they're occupiers.

I mean, people hate these people, you know. Oh, yeah. But I was going to say, you know, a lot of churches you hear these people say, oh, that was a good word. Or they say, they use that in a way where, like, somebody says something that was like, this word came from God. but I think they get that from this terminology that I was going to bring out when the centurion, he told Jesus in Matthew 8, 8, when he said, but just say the word and my servant will be healed. Because Jesus said, I'll go and heal him, but he's like, well, you don't, you don't even, I'm not even worthy of you to even be, just, just say the word, which is, I think, pretty cool,

because when this centurion gives the word in his, in what he does, that, yeah, but he's like, your word is greater. But I noticed also in chapter 8 and verse 16, because then after he had just healed Peter's mother-in-law, and said when the evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits. And then you see this phrase again, with a word. and healed all the sick. And the point I'm trying to make is

Zach and I were in agreement that Jesus is greater than the miracle. And his word is greater than any other word. And that's why John, I mean, he crafted his whole account of what Jesus did and who he is, where he started in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh, someone had the bright idea to put Jesus's words in red letters, which I am in full support of. And so I was just going to make that point that throughout these miracles, you've got to realize who he is, and he gets to his motivation in the end of chapter 9, which will eventually get there, because he looked at them and saw that they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. And that's why, you know, John 10, he's the good shepherd. And so I think when you, you don't want to get too bogged down in the trees of the miracles where you miss this overall introduction of, yeah, there's a God, you're looking at him.

Yes, there was a law. I'm fulfilling it. But I'm doing this because I love people. And my word is more powerful than any other word you can come up with, which is why we put our faith and trust in them. The world's full of pontificators on certain levels from the philosophers and all of them, all Socrates, Aristotle, they've had these people, you know, philosophies, you know, they're, they're saying what they think and crowds gather up. But to this day, one person that you could rely on to be the final word, he's, I'm looking at it like final word,

It's him. Jesus. That's right. One person, whoever lived. That's pretty rare, Al. Yeah. Well, I'm talking about a needle in a haystack. It shows his true nature.

And Zach talked about that before last time. It shows that he is truly unique and different from anything or anybody that's ever lived or ever will. That's it. Because he's divine, you know, human being, which is powerful. Well, I think it was interesting, Jason, you brought this up before we get to the two demon possessed men and the pigs. We kind of alluded to it last time. But they had the little instance where they were in the boat, and Jesus was just going

to sleep through it because he wasn't worried about it at all. But of course, they were afraid they were going to get swamped. So they wake him up. And it's almost like he's a little bit like when we used to wake up dad. You know, there was a rule when we grew up. You don't wake dad up. You know, it's like it's the old Jim Crocey song, you know, you don't spit in the wind. I carried that over into my my crew.

Yeah. They don't wait me up. I had two rules, basically. Don't lie, and don't wait me up. And if you wait me up, don't lie and say you didn't do it. Well, they don't lie. Offered Grace on anything except lying. Let me hear it.

Well, Billy Red Dog Phillips was working for us at the time, and Leonard Skinner called me up. We wanted to come together and have a duck on or something, but I'm going to know it to me because I'm in there taking a nap. Well, mine's because they had instruction, don't wake him up. I got up, and when I woke up, Billy Red said, you know, Leonard Skinner called, and I said, well, they want. And he said, well, I don't know they just wanted to talk to you. I said, well, what's their number?

He said, well, I just told him, you're taking an hour. And I said, let me explain something to you. You don't wait me up unless the president of the United States or Leonard Skinner calls. But you should have, either one of them called, give me the telephone. You should have clarified that. Look, when I was a kid, if the president of the United States would have called and you were taking a nap, I would have said, can I take a message because he's taking a nap? I wouldn't know. I wouldn't have awakened you.

Yeah. Well, to my point, that's kind of doubt. Give me the information I can get hold on for want to. At least take a number. Let's take a break. So I don't know that Jesus was perturred, but he's, so when they wake him up, he says, you have little faith. why are you so afraid? Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves and it was completely calm.

They were amazed and said, what kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obeyed. What I find was interesting about that was he had just, he's been healing doing all these great things. And they seem shocked over this particular thing. And maybe you're right, Des. Maybe it's just because it was the first time nature. That's what I think.

Which does drive fear in people. I mean, you see people when a storm is coming. I mean, people get. But I mean, what I'm saying is if you, even in the witchcraft world and there's all these remedies and that's where we get all these movies about this. Okay, you can heal some people. You've got some tricks here. And okay, you can do a seyots and remove demons. But, you know, a hurricane's a hurricane.

Wait a minute here. I really think that's what the problem was. Because if you were in the storm, I've been out on the water before and a storm come up. And that day with me, you and Tom, and we were duck hunting. somewhere and Tom had this bright idea. Oh, the wind's not that bad and we get out there. And I'm like, we're going to die out here because the waves were so big. And I was like, well, I guess when the boat turns over, I'm just going to grab one of these trees and hope somebody picks me up because we're not going to make it.

We're going in the water. Oh, back in this day, he can just go in the storm. Right. Plus, you get to look at these readings and you say, how could mere men have invented such a person? And I'm thinking it's impossible to invent this. Yeah. Well, and to my point, Phil, when it says he rebuked the winds and ways.

So what did he say? Whatever he said, who, I think other. There's some of the other parallel passages. They'd be quiet or be still. Even when we get to the pigs, you know, he just said one word, go. But when Jesus says go, things happen. Old Thomas Jefferson, I always bring him up when I get to these readings because when he got to this part, he said,

I have no argument with what he said, the greatest words ever spoken. He said, but I can't make that next leap. So he would have loved the sermon on the Mount, not so much the, you know, proving of the authority. But my point was when somebody says, do you have a word from God? I say, yeah, Jesus. Because I'm going to use his words. His words are more powerful than my words.

So you get to know Jesus and what he said, and that's the way to have success. And by the way, it works both ways. Jesus calmed it with the word. But you look back in the Old Testament and, you know, also God should, he conjured weather in events with a word. I was talking about that. You know, it hadn't rained in three years. And Elijah, you know, after he defeats.

And so now God's going to bring rain on the land. And it said a cloud came up about the size of your fist. I mean, it hadn't rained in three years. And all of a sudden, this little cloud comes up the size of your fist. Then, of course, just in no time, it's just raining everywhere and replenishing everything in Israel. It hadn't rained in three years. So he has the power both ways.

Not only can he calm the storm, but he can bring a storm, you know, or a plague or whatever, you know, turn to Locust, lose turn, whatever. So it's fascinating. Think about it. What struck me is he got into the boat with his disciples and even his disciples having seen that. Correct. And also the man with leprosy and the faith of the centurion and Jesus heals many and cost of following Jesus and the loaves and the fishes, whatever. But you just add all that up. But to show you the frailty of the human mind,

they still didn't believe in him. They still didn't believe in the resurrection. They were still not quite sure of what he was fixing to do next because they wouldn't have deserted him. Right. So if you look at you, say, after all that, you would have thought, like Peter was saying, I'll never forsake it, but he did.

Yeah. So it shows you the frailty of the human race. Right. Takes a lot to win them over, Al. It does. And to keep them won over. Even the miraculous. It won't bring them.

I agree. So Jay is on this 28. He arrived at the other side, so he's on the Sea of Galilee. And you've been there. Do you remember them saying that you were where this happened? I was wondering if they came up. Yeah, there was one. They said there's a cliff there that kind of matched it.

But to me, the whole Sea of Galilee is kind of a bowl. Yeah. I mean, any cliff. would have suffice for this, even 2,000 years later. I can see them. I had literally envisioned that. Of course, I'm sure every tour guy wants to highlight everything. Yeah, that's what I gathered.

I mean, everywhere we went, it was like, no, this is the place where they think Jesus was crucified. And I was like, well, the same guy said that three miles down the road here. And he did it for half the price. If I'm going to be told a tale, I just said. do it at a discount which is a I mean that's kind of the way it was I mean every cave which these caves were cool every cave

we went into now this was probably the cave where they think you know so they had the one for Jesus's birth they had the one for his resurrection I mean it probably wasn't this but it was like this but I mean look it doesn't matter what the exact because it gave you the

sense of being there what it would have looked like which is I will I will tell you this every place we went there were people in tears be and i know to me i'm looking at things more from a spiritual perspective and they're looking at this physical place yeah but even that it is powerful that two thousand years later there are people in large quantities gathering and tears are flowing just be it in the very just the general area right of where this went went down which I think is really powerful.

But I get that because it... Stephen said to this day, the feel of it as a father of Jesus, who worked his way out of Judaism, he said, to this day, you're walking around where he walked, and there's a feeling that comes over you life. Yeah, I mean, I get that it would spark a strong emotional response to that. Because, you know, you go through a life-changing event by following him, And then if you get to be the place where he was and see it,

I mean, that's pretty awesome. I'm hoping to get there myself. So anyway, he gets to this region of the gatherings, and there's two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs. So obviously, back to our outcast themes, these guys are living in the cemetery, which, by the way, is another unclean place.

That's not, you can't be hanging around there. This is another violation of the, you know, once you're there, out where the dead people are, No good. I think, too, Al, also, when you look at how he describes the opposition, you know, and the last one, the storm was furious. And in this case, it says they were so violent that no one could pass that away, which in my point, I think a lot of times. Everybody just went around them. Yeah.

But a lot of times we blame God for a lot of things that the evil world is responsible for. And in this case, it was causing violence, which is a problem in our society. a day. Big one. And when you say like, I mean, I don't know about y'all, but if I'm in a big city and I'm walking and I see a group of people there and they seem like they're out of their mind and they're yelling at people and they're they haven't bathed and it smells terrible, this little, I tend to cross the street and just, you know, I tend to avoid, you know, engaging. I guess what I'm, my question is, where in the word of God and we have. Matthew, then next Mark, Luke, and John, when did the demon possession end?

I want to us talk about that because a lot of people are going to ask that. What we today... Yeah, this is the way it was there, but that's not happening. We call it mental illness today is how we've termed what is being described here. Now, I don't know, you know, I do know some people that have been mentally ill. Is that, was that demon possession? What do you think? I think the world's response is, you know, let's do something.

about mental illness, which we're all for. I mean, but the world never addresses the spiritual, right. The spiritual side of things, spiritual illness. Because it seems like the assumption is always that it's mental or physical situation. They were violent and they were doing a lot of shouting. Well, Zach, what's your take? Hey, Ann, let's take a break.

Yeah, I mean, I think there's obviously legitimate mental illness. I mean, our grandmother, Phil's mom was, you know, diagnosed with bipolar disorder and manic depressive. I think is what they called it back then. So, I mean, I'm not discounting that. But I do think that, you know, we do want to attribute spiritual sickness. We're like, we can't go there. So we got to sometimes conjure up and want to make everything a physical illness.

And it's just not true. I mean, there is a spiritual sickness. But Phil, I mean, you've, on the podcast. You've talked about your encounter. You've had several encounters with people who were demon possessed. And so, I mean, it is still going on. No doubt about it. I mean, and you're not somebody.

When you told me the story of the woman at the rehab that you met, and then I talked to another guy who's in a ministry with women coming out of certain types of drug addictions and stuff. And he said, I see it all the time. You know, I see it all the time. So, I mean, yeah, I think it's still happening. No question. about it. No doubt about it in my mind. And the solution is still the same. The word, Jesus, is the one who replaces a demon in a person's life. I mean, how many times you hear people say?

Well, that's what we got to agree on that. Because you've got a lot of people running around claiming to have all these spirits and all these powers. I mean, it's like the people who say they can be bitten by deadly snakes and then they put them in the ground. And they're like, whoops, you know, but I know where the power source is coming from, but just as a person living in the world, I mean, we still have leprosy today. I looked it up. There's, they said 200,000 guesstimate, people have leprosy. Well, it's curable today.

And even like you mentioned, you know, our grandma, she actually was rehabilitated. Now, you can say the Lord healed her or the medication got right, but her last few years. Yep. She never had an episode. Yeah, she was basically healed. Now, you can say, well, science did a wonder, maybe so, or maybe just the Lord healed her. But I'm looking at this saying, we still have leprosy today. There still seems to be an evil presence in some people that's indescribable.

McPhil's had his moments. I've been sharing with people that I thought, okay, if they don't have a demon, I'll be shocked. I mean, and you just look at, especially in some of the prison ministry that we've done, I mean, they're just, you run upon certain people that seems to be, either they've seared their conscience or they have no soul or they have a demon. I mean, I don't know how else to describe it. And people listening to that say, oh, how do you know that? There's just something about sitting across from a person.

And until you sit across from that person, you probably wouldn't know where I'm coming from. But it, I mean, you're just like, I got. nothing besides maybe a demon you know you know when you see it you can't maybe define it but you but you know it when you see it and i think that there is a direct link to some of the uh the drugs that are out there like crystal meth i mean you see these people that we see them all the time at church that come through or in particularly where phil's preaching out over in the inner city i mean these folks man some i mean they're out of their mind a lot of times and uh and i think that they're inviting in this demonic realm one thing that you can know about demons is this though

I think this is interesting. When Jesus kicks out the demons and they beg to go into the pigs, I think it's interesting what the pigs did whenever the demons entered them. It says here in verse 32, they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. I mean, that's really where the demonic realm leads you. It leads you to death every single time. and what Jesus offers is the opposite of that.

Jesus offers peace and life through the spirit. So whatever fear that you come across with this demonic realm, I mean, we can all agree that the name of Jesus is more powerful. And Phil, you saw that with the girl at the rehab. As soon as she heard the words, I know what she was cursing by saying, And I know what that blankety blank Bible says. I said, no, you don't.

I said, you're doing what you're doing by the power of the devil. Well, when I said those words and she heard them, it's when the wildness and the sequence of events started to unfold, running, projectile, vomiting. I don't know. I don't know what all went on there. We were just watching. and 15 minutes later she walks in,

she's sweating profusely. And she said, in a meek voice, she left. I knew no good MFA cursing. 15 minutes goes by, she walks back in, and a meek little voice said, can y'all help me? Can you help me? I said, we can help you.

We pointed it to Jesus. And she left. She left a daughter of the Almighty. The next day, she was immersed. We baptized her. And she was actually hard to recognize because her facial, everything had changed. She just looked like a normal little girl after that. She was contorted and twisted physically.

Contorted and twisted, yep. A lot of people that are. My buddy was looking at me like, what in the world is going on here? And I said, demonic. I've just whispered it. to it. Well, a lot of people say, well, why don't y'all tell these stories, you know, more often or how come they're not part of your speeches?

But ultimately, it's God's power and the one who has this power who can do this. His name is Jesus, and it's not us. I don't have to understand every single detail on how this works. Right. But, you know, I know who has the cure and the answer. It got my attention. I'll put it that way. Big time.

I mean, that's the point. That's the point of this story here is not even, I mean, we can ask whether this still goes on the day, which it obviously does. But the bigger question is, does anybody have authority over it? There's somebody who has authority over it. Well, look, besides Jesus. To that, to the point, Zach in verse 29, the demons recognize who he was. They said, what do you want with us, son of God?

have you come here to torture us before the appointed time? And they knew it's going to end. That's right. Yeah, that's a great question because they're saying there, we know that we're on borrowed time here. And in the end, you're running the show. Right. But you showed up early.

That's right. It's not time yet. It is an acknowledgement. Which we mentioned that with Satan and the temptation back we were in Matthew 4. you know, Satan is probing because he doesn't know what he's doing here either. But he knows who he is. But he knows he's doomed. But that's why a lot of people, there's a lot of human beings like that.

They're doomed. Because I used to think, well, nobody would say, I'm just doomed. I'm not going to make it. But I don't care. But when you read this, you're like, yeah, they do it all the time. That's right. I have no chance, no hope of living again. and anything that could happen in the afterlife would be bad the way I've lived my life.

But yeah. So what? Right. No. It's just a fact. I took a brutal cursing within the, during that, when that started to unfold, the cursing came first for no, no real. I never had said a word. When she turned and saw me standing there with the Bible, she started in on me, you know,

and she called me every vile name you can be called. And then she takes off running. and we'll ask that rehab woman who was talking to her when all that cursing took place. I said, do you think she would sit down with us for a while here? And she said, you want to talk to her after that cursing? I said, yeah, we'll talk to her. Just tell her when she sat down.

And that's how that whole thing started. But it ended up, she's daughter of God, and just as meek and gentle and calm and sweetest little thing you ever seen. But that day, the day before, who. Yeah, it took some boldness through that. Let's take another break. Well, I know one thing for Max 20, you want to make sure you're putting Jesus out there first in front of you because the sons of Skiva tried it on their own.

Yep. And they just got the firebeat out of them. They left naked and bleeding. Jesus, we know, Paul, we know. And you remember the woman. Some woman was following the apostle Paul on his little entourage and they were just back behind them. Yeah. And she kept hollering how great they were.

Yeah. I said after about two or three days, Apostle Paul got tired of it. And finally rebuked her as demon possessed. But she was not saying anything bad. She would just, what's the word, bothersome. Yes, I've said before this, the first time in the history of casting out demons, they got cast out because she was annoying. Yeah.

I mean, Paul just was annoyed. So he's like, get out of her. And then, of course, he got the fire beat out of him because she was making money for these people. Because whenever she had some kind of gift with her demon possession. So it's pretty amazing when you read about it. But you're right, Dad. I mean, it's very common and understood in this context. They were much more open than people are in our culture to even the notion or the idea.

And I mean even believers. By the way, I've seen, for some reason, I must say in all this, I have seen an uptick and this type of behavior just trying to sit down with people and point them to Jesus. in the last decade, I've seen way more look like what we're discussing here than I ever did before. So I don't know what that means, but I think it's the drugs. I really think that it's opening up something. I mean, you walk the streets of Asheville where I live. I mean, it's like they're just on the streets, just standing there just completely out of their mind,

just rocking back and forth or they're tweaking or wigging out. I mean, it's, it just looks bizarre. And I think that a lot of these folks have no hope. And they just descend into this abyss. But, man, I also, Phil, you see that. But you also see, you've seen an incredible harvest over the last five years. So it's kind of cool how God is opening that healing up. It's an uptick in conversions, too, by the way.

Well, because the need is there. And, of course, there's a lot of theories. But one of the theories is because Jesus, was on the earth during this period of time, that we realize what a chaos it caused on earth, him being here. But think about the spiritual realm as well, because like I said, they're on borrowed time. Evil knows, they know that there's going to be an end. So it caused quite a bit of chaos in the spiritual realm.

We have a culture now where Satan is entrenched in an organization where they actually worship the devil instead of Jesus. I mean, it's, they have, they have lessons and how to pull it off and whatever. Well, you even see that in like the teenage world, a lot of them go through this Gothic. Yeah. Everything's about it is. Even, and like in the sexual world, you have this, I don't even, can't even pronounce it, but they got the whips and the bondage and all this.

They try to attach violence and sex. I noticed that's coming out of all the commercials and watching the NFL and football games. I'm seeing more and more of what you're talking about just on the commercials. And I'm like, where in the world did all that come from? Yeah. Well, it shows you how quickly it descends. Zach is right. It descends into darkness and chaos, which is an opening for more evil to be able to thrive.

Because remember when Jesus told the parable, or was it a parable? When you was talking about the, when you cast out a demon, you've got to make sure you, you get the right thing in there because seven more will come back worse than the one. I'm just one man on human being on planet Earth, but I've seen a gigantic leap on people, satanic behavior more and more and more. The further I go here, I'm 75, I'm looking at it. I said, boy, that's been a big change.

It's became satanic worship now is mainstream. Yeah. It's mainstream. That's right. You know, our old pal, Zach, that's on the Blaze, Jason Whitlock, who I love. He was a sports guy, but now he's kind of more of a political, cultural commentator for Blaze, which I want to get him on our podcast sometime because he's amazing. But I've been seeing him in interviews lately, and he's been saying the same thing. It's really interesting because he's using a political context, but he says, I just, you know, I'm not going to apologize. by saying this, but the way I would describe this is satanic. I mean, he puts the onus back on that these are spiritual problems. Because you know, everybody's talking about, how can we do? The politics, what can the Democrats, Republicans? And he's like, it's satanic. Meaning that there's only one thing that'll solve that.

And that's what we're seeing here. You have to have something bigger than that to cast it out and to replace it. That's why I'm seated right now with my Bible in front of me. That's right. And surrounded by your sons and nephews. That is exactly what I'm doing here. It's exactly right. Trying to head it off.

Let's take our last. We baptized four yesterday morning, by the way. We were born again, so. Hey, it works. Let's take our last break. So verse 34, I thought this was interesting. How do you think people respond to this, dad? Look at 34.

Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus, because it would be a happening. Because everybody's been afraid of these guys. now they're normal. The pigs have run off and drown in the water. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region. I mean, you think he said, hey, why don't you hang around? Because we got some more, you know, things to do.

Nope. And I've always wondered, was that because they were afraid of him? Or was that because all their pigs just died? Or, you know, was this a financial thing? I don't know. Why would they have asked him to leave? I think because they knew that a lot of these demonic people were going to take it out on them. Well, I didn't thought about that.

You know, because the demons didn't die in the water, by the way. The pigs died. They might have thought maybe he don't like pigs. But I do say there's something there to be said about people are more. I mean, look, we love animals. and but when you get that out of whack, people are more important than animals. That's right. This may be a subliminal point on that, but there's no doubt about that.

He was concerned over these two guys who, by no decision of their own, I'm assuming, they were being possessed by a demon. But when you asked that question earlier, is there a demon possession today? I think the difference is, I think before Jesus died and was buried and resurrected, I do think the evil one could come into a person in a demon possession way. This is my opinion, but based on what I'm reading, without their consent or he could just happen. But I think once that happened, then you got in the New Testament and you got verses like resisting, many will flee from you. I think Jesus gave you the power to stop that from happening.

I don't think he can come and possess someone unless they're willing. that's just my too. I think that's true. I agree. I think that is true. And I think to Zach's point, you can, I think there are things you can do to yourself, to your mind and to your body, that make you more vulnerable for evil

to not only rule, but also, I guess, enter and rule, you know, which is what people do. Well, the, uh, the relations five, and it gives the acts of the simple nature, um, one of the acts is witchcraft,

which, um, the Greek word is pharmacia, which is similar to kind of our word for pharmacy. And I think that's potions and things that they were ingesting to put themselves in a psychedelic world, you know, to alter their state of mind. So I think when we do these things, I think I really believe that's one of the big gateways. You know, Chad Johnson, who has the ministry that with the women, And he thinks that sexual abuse and generational sins like that,

that also are gateways in, you know, things that, like, you're bringing this into your families. And so, I mean, I think it is, there are situations where people were abused maybe, so they didn't necessarily invite something in, but something happened to them. But either way, I mean, again, I go back to the point that, like, Jesus is bigger. Jesus, he's bigger than the demon possession. and anybody can be redeemed and delivered. And I think that's what was happening here.

The presence of God has showed up on the scene, and that's why those people want to him to leave because they got nervous in this presence. They're like, if you're an evil person, you don't want to be, you don't want the son of God in your region. You're like, get out of here. And I think that's what was going on here. I think Zach's on to something.

Even in Hollywood, they're making a big push to make movies about psychedelics. And as an answer to the mental illness, They're trying to come up with a drug, which would replace the power of transformation that Jesus and his spirit offers, which there's a big push. And there's a lot of companies trying to research and getting all this money to try to figure out, oh, maybe it's the psychedelic world that is the cure. But, I mean, you don't think that's a push in our world today. That's where they're, that's where they're camping out in, which I think is the wrong move. I mean, even I think that's why marijuana took off because they're,

like, well, if we can just get people to calm down, quit being so angry. But, you know, to Zach's point earlier about the pigs, it's true because when the opioids moved in big time in America, what followed? Suicides? What exactly? Death. I mean, young people totally, you know, losing their future in their life. But out they, in a different way.

It cost them their life. In a weird different way, even in the sex realm, the same thing happened. When they come up with the little blue. pill. Well, they never thought about extending people's life to where they could have sex again. Well, then they started dying of heart attacks because their body wasn't able to keep up. But it made me think, you know what? They missed out on the idea that our life is in seasons. Yeah. At some point, the sexual revolution for you is stopping unless Jesus gives you a pill.

Seriously. Yeah. But people don't, they're just so temporary minded that that's where our culture is. But it's weird that you brought up that word because I was thinking the same thing because of the movies that are coming out with this psychedelic counseling as the answer. You get all whacked out on mushrooms and then you somehow can find your. You find deliverance through that. But you, yeah, it's a fun.

I read some about. Cole Kimman did a show. or something about that. I don't know the name of it, but I remember reading something about that. The ultimate counselor is for you to get in a psychedelic state with drugs. But you think about it, that's not only witchcraft. That's, you know, shamans, the Native Americans and a lot of their religious practices,

you know, include these coming up with these things you ingest that then put you in this state of mind to see things, to conjure things, to, you know, whatever. And so you're right. I mean, you're now entering the realm of spiritual realm, evil forces. So sometimes they bite back, you know. Well, they got that idea for music because they're like some of these whacked out drug-induced songs that came out, which were great. They're like, hey, pink Floyd pulled it off.

You know, I'll tell you what, the last time, the last time that I saw our cousin who committed suicide who was hooked on fentanyl was down at Phil's house. He had escaped rehab and watching this brilliant person that I knew growing up all my life who was a brilliant accountant, super sharp guy and seeing what he was reduced to in those final months of his life just completely out of his mind. And I'm looking at him and Phil, you were there that night. And it just wasn't him. It was not him. He had been taken over by that addiction.

And I think it was demonic, you know, that I think ultimately it led to him taking his own life. It's sad. But it's happening all over the country right now. That's an epidemic. Yeah, I agree. And in fact, I have the burden of speaking at his funeral. And it was really interesting because I was sitting there.

And, you know, I had things prepared. I was going to say. But obviously, you know, we were super close at one time in our lives. And so I was a little bit like probably everybody sitting in that room. I was not only deflated, but I was angry because I thought I was angry at the evil one. I was angry at him. And so I'm just sitting there. But then they started rolling the pictures at the beginning when he was a boy, when he was a kid, when he was a teenager,

young man, he was married. And it was really good for me personally because then it humanized him again in my mind that he was a good guy that got on a bad path and the evil one got it. into him, and that's what happens. I mean, James has mentioned this before. He diligently studied the scriptures, and he could quote them.

If I started out on a Bible quote, he would finish it. He knew the scriptures, but he just didn't know Jesus. He refused to come to Jesus. Right. And you introduced him to Jesus in a process, and he did great for a while in there.

Yep. Till it, and that was back to that parable, till the seven came back in worse than a breath. I tried with God's help. And it, you know, but. But you got to remember, Phil, when you get down to chapter 9 and 34, and Jesus drives out another demon with the Pharisees, you know what their response was in verse 34?

He is a demon. It is by the Prince of Demons that he drives out demons. That's why a last podcast I brought up the idea of model prisoners in our prison system, and we have some churches in religious. religious people that are, they're model prisoners. They, because they're not looking at Jesus and his grace being offered. They're still trying to base it on some kind of human performance, which can never be done.

So the best you can hope for is be a model prisoner at a church bill. Still behind bars. You're still behind bars. And this is a classic example of them. It's a good point. Well, we've run out of time, Zach. That wasn't by quick. I don't think we ever got to where we were initially trying to get to.

Well, the good thing about it is we got next time. The Bible's thick. The Bible's thick. We'll do better next time. 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.

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