Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 390 | Uncle Si Blames an Imaginary Tree for His Bad Aim & Phil’s Unusual Comedy Advice

Episode Date: December 3, 2021

Zach explains why his jokes during sermons always fail, especially when it comes to pop culture. Jase recalls why Uncle Si believes he is missing ducks. Jase and Zach discuss why reading your audience is the hardest part of being a speaker. Jase’s awkward laughing moments. Phil dives into why the Roman people did not see Jesus as a higher power as we do today. Jase reveals the prerequisite to finding God. And Zach clarifies why we should never live in the past, but with God, we should always look toward the future.  https://philrobertson.substack.com— Sign up for FREE to get Phil's blog posts & chapters from his new book delivered directly to your inbox - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? So our last podcast, I never said anything about Al not being there. And so y'all brought that to my attention. But to tell you the truth, I don't know where Al is. And I guess he's going to be gone for multiple podcasts. Do you know where Al is in? I do know. I do know.

I assume that only because, well, he asked me to fill in. and says, I want you to take the reins, which, you know, sometimes there's, there's, I got a couple people out there that every time I jump on, they're like, why is he on here? So to you two people who constantly comment, I'm sorry, Al asked me to be here. Yeah. He has abandoned us. He didn't tell me why, but I saw it on Facebook because his wife posted he's in the Bahamas working. No wonder he didn't tell me where he was going. How embarrassing is that. So he's, he's working in the Bahamas. Who in the world would go to the Bahamas during duck season? Someone who's lost their way. I tell you, Philly's your son. I'll tell you this, if I'm in the Bahamas during duck season, I'm going to ask both of you all right now, please pay the ransom.

Yeah. Well, I'm sure he's having the time of his life. Yeah, the picture I saw he was on a plane with some other couple, and they were all masked up. So you saw the proof of life. Yeah, you've seen that. I did see it. Have you gotten any phone calls in the middle of night?

No, no phone calls. The way he initially put it to me was that he had an event or I forgot how he's, it was real vague. It wasn't like, I got this thing I've got to do that I didn't know it was vacation in the Bahamas. So I was abandoned us. Well, I'm sorry I brought it up. Now that's depressing. Well, he's my brother. Maybe I should do an intervention.

I think I need to have an intervention. I made it my policy many, many years ago. I don't do beaches. Yeah. Have you ever been to the Bahamas? Never been to a beach of any kind. Of any kind? I went to the beach over in France on D-Day.

I went to that one. Yeah, well, that was different. So what our troops had suffer going across that. That was pretty powerful, though. The sand is hot. It gets in every orifice of your body. The heat is pretty well. You need shade.

There's no trees much. So it's just in the ball open out in the sun beating down on you. Have naked women running around. It's just this side of hell is what a beach is. Yeah. Well, Phil, I'll tell you this. maybe it was half-naked back in your day when you were considering their beach, but a lot of them now, they're just naked.

That's what I'm talking about. They're just naked. Yeah. I don't do beaches for a lot of reason, but that's one right there. Okay. Fair enough. What are the odds of Al being on a nude beach right now? I don't know.

But I just never would. I mean, I just think you're raised in a family, duck hunters and owl duck hunts he's been to a three times this year yeah but to schedule a trip on purpose during duck season he loves it though he loves the beach and borderline we need to have a talk a sit-down talk so yeah missy said that when al's not here she said you lose your studio audience oh al brings a lot and i said what does she tell you about me and phil yeah i said what does that mean she said, well, a couple times you told her, I thought it was a funny story, and Zach and Phil never even chuckled. And I said, well, I took that to mean that it wasn't very funny.

And she said, no, it was actually funny. I laughed. I'm trying to laugh now. I think me and Phil are too much alike, and like we will get in an intense Bible study. And too, when I laugh, I typically, I'm like laughing on the inside. It doesn't come out, but I think it's funny. Let's do this. When you preach, because you preached out of Matthew 21, I'm not sure you even got to your sermon last time. You hit the high point. Did you have any humor in the sermon?

Was there intentional humor? Did you tell a joke? I tried. It didn't go over very well. Well, tell us the joke, and let's see. Let's analyze this. I think this will be fun for our listeners. Yeah, and I'm not good at the jokes in the sermon thing,

but I try to add them in there for comedic relief, and they always bomb. So I'm telling the story of, like, to the point last week, which is that these Pharisees, they'd read all these prophecies, but they only would hear what they wanted to hear. So I was trying to find an analogy of, you know, what that would look like of somebody who would only hear what they wanted to hear. And, you know, good story.

You got to tee it up. So I said, I was real serious about it. And I said, I want to tell you about one of the most tragic love stories that's ever been told. And some of you may have heard this story before. And I'm real serious about it. I'm like, I mean, there may be a sadder story out there, but I don't know of one. And it's about a guy named Lloyd Christmas who professed his undying love to Mary Swanson. And this guy, Lloyd, had overcome all.

Who are those people? Go ahead. Who are those people? Well, that's part of the jokes. I thought they would get the joke. I thought they would get the jokes. I said, yeah, I'm telling how they're overcoming all odds, and they travel across the country.

It's the movie Dumb and Dumber. And, you know, the scene where he professes his love to marry Swanson, and he says, what does he say? I don't really remember that. But see, right now in the joke, I'm thinking this, if I would have put those two things together, I would have been thinking, why is this guy watching Dumb and Dumber to a point to where he remembers

parts of the movie that were forgettable. But go ahead. No, it's not forgettable. It's the most iconic part of the movie. I've seen the movie and I don't remember that part of the movie. Do you remember the part of the movie when he says, what are the chances of a guy like you and a girl like me in the gap together? I do remember that.

That was the point. So she says, not good. Yeah. And then he says, not good like one in a hundred. And she says more like one in a million. Yep. And do you remember his line? So you're telling me there's a chance.

So my point was, Lloyd Christmas heard what he wanted to hear, and that's how we are. Sometimes we hear what we want to hear, even though in the face of all reality, it doesn't make any sense. Did they laugh? Everybody in there under the age of 40 laughed, which is about half of the church. And everybody else was like, what is he talking about?

Yeah, I would have been in the, what is he talking about, camp, until you got to the, they're telling me a chance. Well, you broke the Cardinal rule. Who is the most famous person who only hears what he wants to hear in our family? Who, Phil? Is that how you're going to say?

No, I was going to say Sy Robertson. Okay. I mean, sigh. Why do you say that? I'll give you an example. This morning, a duck comes in and lights on Phil and Cy's side. I mean, how far? Fifteen yards.

I say kill him. Well, Sa had never gotten down. Everybody else was down. He hadn't gotten down because he wanted to be the first to shoot. Because he told me last time, I'm not getting down because when y'all say kill him, by the time I get up, it's over. I said, but you're risking, flaring the ducks because you're standing up. And he's like, well, as long as I don't move, they'll think I'm an old tree. I said, okay.

Now, look, speaking of hearing what he wants to hear, so the duck comes in, he shoots, I'd say the first shot was four feet to the left. It flies out. Now, I thought other people were going to join in the ship. shooting. No, so he shoots the second time. That one was closer, but because I'm seeing where the pellets hit the water. And now he's getting on out of range and he shot again. And I said, what happened? And he said, a tree got in my way. Did he not say that? He said, a tree got in my way. I said, three times. He said, the tree got in my way. And I said, three times? And I said, three times?

he said hey the tree got in my way so i i just took that to me and he's only hearing what he wants to hear hey i should have used the side story then well that's what i'm saying pick a story he's invisible i tried yeah you know i tried okay well i think i've said this before every time i try to be funny in a speech it's not but there'll be times throughout the sermon people will laugh and I'm thinking what are they laughing at i wasn't that was not a joke and usually if i say something that i intended to be funny and they don't laugh i say i thought that was funny and then they laugh so you can always use that line i see old courtesy that well i did that i said yeah that's supposed to be a joke and then they

I got some courtesy last one some of the older crowd. I hadn't seen the movie. You could use, you could use Phil's line because I've heard it for years. When Phil says something that he thinks is funny

and people don't laugh, do you know what your line is? Do you remember? You said it 100 times. I don't remember. He said, I think you need to go to Walmart and buy a sense of humor. Yeah.

And guess what? They laugh at that. Yeah. But if you look at the pattern, we are to duplicate to be like Jesus, you know, if you notice, he didn't do a whole lot of joking around.

He did do some, I think. He did a few tongue-in-cheek things. Yeah. As far as like joking, he, he was, I think the seriousness of the matter at hand sort of just took, took a first seat.

You should what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah. I think there's different kind of preachers, too. I mean, Al's great. Al is good at, like, working the crowd, telling funny jokes, the top 10 stuff. I've just never been good at that. But if you just want to get, like, writing to the word, like, that's more my vein.

I know it feels like that, too. I mean, I just think it takes different kind of people with different types of styles, you know. I tried, though. I did try, Jace. I think the best thing you do, because I tend to do the same speech at different events. And so if they laugh at something, you know, then I think, oh, that must have been funny. So the next time, I'll just do that same thing.

If they don't laugh, I was trying to be funny, I say, you know what, that wasn't funny. Well, after a while, all your stuff is funny. Well, there's a John Piper clip on YouTube where he's speaking to a group of mental health workers, and he's not trying to be funny, but they keep laughing at his jokes. And every time he would say, I'm not trying to be funny. They thought it was a deeper level of the joke. And they would laugh even louder. And he's like, wait a second.

I'm telling you, I'm not trying to be funny. What's wrong with you people? And he's getting upset. And the more upset he gets, the more they laugh. And it's one of the most awkward exchanges. But he, yeah, I mean, it was pretty wild. He was trying to tell him he wasn't joking, but they kept thinking that he was. So it's hard to read your audience sometimes, though.

Well, I think, though, the hardest you laugh at any time, we were talking when we were having Thanksgiving Day, somehow it kept one of the hardest times I've ever laughed was years ago Missy's parents invited us to this workshop. And it was like a Christian work. They called it a Christian workshop. It was just a big gathering. They had classes and all.

And he asked me to speak at it. Well, the first thing that was funny about it is we stayed in their hotel room because we made the point that back then we didn't have enough money. to actually buy our own room. So I'm in a hotel staying with my in-laws. Well, I hear a sound during the night, and I thought, what is that?

Well, it's Larry snoring and, like, painful. Like, I'm in, I call 911 type of sound. Well, I get tickled and start laughing. Well, Missy hears me laughing because she's not sleeping because this guy, they're hearing him in the next room. But she starts laughing. And the more we got tickled and we were trying not to laugh because we didn't want to wake them up, well, Larry's wife, Mrs. Mom, she wakes up and hears us laughing because she's

used to the snoring. And she starts laughing. Well, then Larry wakes up and he starts laughing. But the funny part was he didn't know why we were laughing, which that's, that's That really made it funny then. Because now, I mean, he's laughing like uncontrollably. And I'm like, you don't even know why we're laughing. Once I got that line out because I was laughing too hard, then we laughed even harder.

Sorry to me, y'all ran out of something to do. So it's just laughing. I mean, you know, it's like the hardest I've ever laughed. I mean, it's like if you had just, I mean, there's been a couple of occasions. when I was traveling where I just acquired violent diarrhea. And here I am going into a public restroom. And I'm like, I'm going to try to do this quietly. Look, it's the hardest you will ever laugh.

Because they're all, look, they all get quiet. Everything stops. You just hear me laughing. Hold on. Let's say you quick. Let's take a quick break. So you're in the stall laughing? I'm in the stall laughing because I'm trying to do this quietly.

And then I start laughing and I think, you know what? What the heck? And you just blow it out. And then the thing you hear is that if it's a door, you hear that door opening and closed because people are getting out of there. You've never heard that happen, food? No. No.

Boy, y'all need to live a little. I think Phil's wondering what is going on in the podcast today. I'll tell you, he wasn't laughing. For a good transition, it was Jesus in the temple. Tell us your servant. Yeah, tell us your servant. We're in Matthew 21. And it seems to be one of the most awkward passages in the Bible.

Because a lot of people say, well, I thought Jesus never sinned. yeah peter said he committed no sin and no deceit was in his mouth so i know from one thing when you read matthew 21 12 through 17 it's it's not wrong to get upset and even angry yeah right or wrong yeah there's well right there's there's a godly anger for sure i think too jesus is i mean we're not jesus i don't know if we can exert this kind of anger i mean it was his temple. It was his temple to be angry about it. So I think it made sense. But I didn't get into the temple.

I stuck with the triumphal entry of Jesus and more about all the different prophecies that are in the Old Testament, as I mentioned last week. And the overarching point that I was trying to make was that we, the reason why the Pharisees missed Jesus, even though they knew the prophecies, was the same reason that we missed Jesus. today, it's that we don't like the idea of a sacrificial Savior primarily because we don't want to sacrifice.

And so, you know, anytime you start talking about like somebody dying or giving up something or laying down to self, I mean, that's not stuff that we like. So my point was out of Luke 24 when Jesus says, you didn't believe all of it. You just believe part of it. And then he went on to explain the rest of it of how the son of man had to suffer in order that the Christ rather should suffer that these things would happen that he could enter into his glory.

Same thing with us. Like sometimes you have to suffer. And so that was an overarching point of what I was talking about. I didn't get into the temple, although I think that there's a direct correlation to what Jesus was angry about when he went to his father's house

and saw what they had made of it. You know, he saw that they had really bastardized the temple, you know? Yeah. Well, he quoted that Jeremiah 7-11, and I brought it up last time, where it says, has this house which bears my name become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching, declares the Lord.

But I went ahead and read the next couple of chapters of this exchange in Jeremiah. And what I found interesting is, you know, in verse 15, which I think is the point where it says, you know, if you're going to a temple to worship God without the presence of God, without acknowledging the presence of a real live God, well, you've missed it all together. And he says that in verse 15. But he did also say a couple of other things, Jeremiah in verse 23, it says of chapter 7. But I gave them this command, obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people, which I don't know how you could make an emphasis anymore on the relationship status of what God desires.

His desire was not for us to build a building somewhere and go through the motions without acknowledging that he's our God and we're his people in the relationship. So then it says, Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you, but they did not listen or pay attention. Instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. And then this is Jeremiah 724. Listen to this statement.

I thought this was perplexing. It says they went backward and not forward. Yeah. Now, since you brought that up, I've been meaning to just interject several things. Big picture. when when when and look if you if you went back and you read all of them it would really stack up and make a long list you've got god in flesh walking around on planet earth and up to now he's performing amazing miracles he has a lot to say about the kingdom how you behave so

when they got all fired up about, you know, I want to be at your right hand and your left hand, you know, sent a mother down there, you know. It's when the 10 heard about this, about Jesus said, you'll indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those.

So when he said that, the 10 heard about it, they were indignant with the two brothers. So Jesus talks to them trying to line them out. Just past that, a couple blind people. Lord, son of David, have mercy on us. The crowd rebuked them. So the crowd turned on them, told them to be quiet.

They shouted all the louder. Lord, son of David, have mercy on us. He heals them. Then you get to 21. and after Jesus comes on his triumphal entry, the crowds answered when someone says, who is this? The crowds answered,

this is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth and Galilee. He entered and turned over the tables, the money changes. He went on to the table. The blind and the lame came to him at the temple. He healed him. But when the chief priests and teachers of the law

saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple little children singing the praises of God Hosanna the son of David they were indignant here's my point you start there and you just start looking at the reaction Jesus moves on the he taught he burnt the fig tree up Friday it but just but a touch he entered the temple while it was teaching the chief priests and the elders of people came to him by what authority of you doing these things. Here's my point. No matter what he did. And he did nothing bad, sinless. He's teaching them, trying to. But these reactions from them just keep adding up and adding up and

adding up so much so. They said, kill, get rid of him. That's the reaction Jesus Christ got from the crowds in the days of the Roman Empire in spite of all the prophecies and it was led by the Jews, the Gentiles, went along with them for the most part. But I just thought it was amazing as much good as one person could do and they were indignant

and they were tried to ploddy to kill him and they said, no way, you're not God. I mean, they just, rejected him over and over and over and over, which brings us to people who believe it. We're saying, why is it? We look at God in flesh and all we see is pure goodness, love, but the world around you, I mean, get him out of my face. What's the, is it just sometimes what I'm saying is we tend to forget that because moved to modern day and we're laughed at and scorned by many out there. So we shouldn't be surprised when scorn and indignance and

poking fun, we shouldn't be surprised that that response coming from the human race after looking at the way they treated Jesus Christ. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John recorded. the whole thing. And if you added up all the time where it was rejection and hatred and just like you said, they were moving backward instead of...

I mean... Yeah, well, I thought, what does that mean? Because one of the prerequisites were not acknowledging that we're coming to worship a being instead of experience

a ritualistic process. One of the things... It's amazing. The qualities that Jeremiah said that was is looking backwards instead of forward. What do you think about that, Zay? Yeah, I mean, I think to, I don't know exactly what that line means. I'd have to look into that, but just off the cuff, I think it, I think that it's the same thing that these guys here are doing in Matthew 21, you know, it's, it's, in fact, let me take

a quick break. It's, it's the same thing they're dealing with here. When they're listening to verse 14. of 21, and the blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. That's what Jesus was up to. He was healing people, the blind and the lame. But when the chief priest and the scribes saw, listen to this, the wonderful things that he had done. Yeah.

And the children who were shouting in the temple, Hosanna to the son of David, they became indignant. And they said to him, do you hear what these children are saying? and Jesus said to them, yes, have you ever read out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes? You have prepared praise for yourself. And he left them and went out to the city of Bethany and spent the night there. So I think what's happening is they're stuck in the past. They're stuck in the old way. Jesus is the future.

Jesus is the coming age. Jesus is the new wine. And they just didn't have room. Their wine skins were crusty. They were in the past. You see the same thing happen. Go ahead. Think about it too.

Like in repentance, if all you're doing is thinking about the past or you're bitter or even if something happened that wasn't your fault, you know, difficulty or you can't change the past. But if you're stuck there, I mean, I agree in this case, I think it was that here they couldn't listen because they thought this is just the way it is. so they weren't open-minded. Because you think one of the prerequisites for coming to God, you've got to be seeking. I mean, seeking you will find.

There's a draw to find in a relationship with God. I mean, he put that in us. When you read Acts 17, we read many times, that there's a lure that we're finding God. So you've got to be open-minded. I think part of the answer on it, too, is when he entered the temple courts, and he was teaching the chief priest and elder love, they came to him, and they questioned his authority

about what authority are you doing these things? The amazing thing he came back with, he said, let me ask you. I'll ask you one question. If you answer me, I'll tell you about what authority I'm doing these things. You want to know who I am and the authority I have. He said, let me ask you a question. John's baptism.

Where did it come from? Was it from heaven or men? It's a simple question. Look, they discussed it and look, they knew it came from heaven because if we say from men, we're afraid of the people, but if we say from heaven, he's going to say, well, why didn't you believe him? If it's from heaven, why didn't you believe him? So they had already established this stubbornness towards Jesus on everything. So he finally says, John's baptism, where to come from?

Heaven or men? And they sitting there saying, well, let's see. If we say heaven, he's going to say, well, why didn't you do it then? Why wouldn't you let him baptize you? So they said, we can't say that. But if we say it's from men, all these people that, they hold John up as a prophet. He's a man from God. So they're going to get mad at us.

So then they just lie. They say, we don't know where it came from. And he said, yeah, and I'm not going to tell you about why to throw them doing these things. But to deal with that kind of mind, that it would be difficult. But for him not to answer at the end is to me, goes to my point, is he wanted them to be open-minded and seek. Because most teachers are preachers, they would always give an answer because that's just what they do. Yeah. He would make them look like idiots, which, I mean, that wasn't in his intention, but that's what happened.

Because now they're just like, well, we can't say so we want. And then he doesn't tell them. So what is the lesson? You need to be open-minded to what's happening. I think the reason why he didn't tell them was because he knew they were not searching for the truth. And it didn't matter what he said. That's what I'm saying. He just healed lepers.

He just healed blind people. And they're lighten up. That's why he gets in this whole thing about blasting, what you've talked about before, to blasting the Holy Spirit. You know, what's going on with that? Well, yeah, he's like performing on these miracles. It's obvious this guy is who he says he is. And they're like, nah, no, you fulfilled all the prophecies.

I get that. Yeah, you're doing great miracles, but you're doing that of the devil. Never enough. It's because they heard what they wanted to hear. And to your point about the past, I was thinking about it when you're saying this, you think about this. If you're fixated on the past, and we all, know that guy that we went to high school with that every time you get around him, he's like, I mean,

he remembers every single football play. I mean, he remember, I mean, he's, he's 45 years old, but he is stuck in at senior year of high school at the championship football game. He can't, he can't get out of that, that he's still fixated on that. That guy's not living. You're not living if you're stuck in the past. You're living if you're in anticipation of the future, because that the future is something that we're building. I think that's what makes eternity so appealing to me is that it's always looking forward to building something even more than what we've already done.

We've already experienced God in this way, but there's going to be another moment that's going to eclipse the last moment, and it goes on and on for it. God is always the future. I think that's why it's so powerful. These guys here, they couldn't see it, because they were stuck in their own power structures.

Yeah, I think that's what Jeremiah's point. was he said they had evil hearts they weren't acknowledging the presence of god they were always looking backwards instead of forwards well you see that and even in our country how much do they attack the past to try to go back and destroy statues that were 100 years old what good is that going to do none nothing it's just you're causing mayhem and you're stuck and you're not living life because you're hung up on what happened but look i wanted to give you another point that he made that because you got to remember i think jeremiah i mean you're talking about relentless faith acknowledging the presence of god he preached almost 40 years without a convert and was just ridiculed mercilessly that's what really the whole book is about

and whenever he would feel like he needed to stop talking about the lord you remember that famous verse where it says his word is in my heart like a fire i just i can't help it i where's that german Yeah, was that 20 and 9. But look, also another point, he said they went backward and not forward. Then in verse 28 of chapter 7, it says, therefore say to them, this is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord, it's God, or responded to correction. And remember, this all came from him saying, you've turned my house into a den of robbers instead of experience some presence of God. So then watch what he says. Truth has perished.

It has vanished from their lips. So just think it's like another quality. They're not looking to the future. Of course, they're not looking to the one who built the house. They're not looking to the future. And now the truth has just become something that you make up, the truth to you. There is no absolute truth in this.

Which if you take that further into when Jesus was here, he would eventually say, I am the truth. And so to me is a more powerful way to look at it than trying to figure out what the truth is. God said, look, I will embody the truth. You want to know what the truth is? Listen to him. Let's take a quick break. Once the mission was accomplished as far as what he said he would do,

I'm going up to Jerusalem. I'm going to die, be buried and raised from the dead. And they're going to, the chief priest and the teachers of the law are going to condemn me. When Paul talked to the Colossians, this is when the kingdom is getting on his feet, and you can read about in Colossons 1 and 2. And he talks about their baptism, the very thing he asks, where to come from, heaven or men. So the Apostle Paul said, Colossian 212, whatever, wherever it is.

Oh, it's from heaven. But I think that little dissertation in chapter three, since then you've been raised with Christ, the way we're looking at it. And we're saying all this struggle with this mindset that Jesus was going through, the Apostle Paul said all of us who follow Jesus, in which these people condemned him and never followed him for the most part. Set your hearts on things above. and that's in direct opposition to what you said, Zach, about they just get stuck. They were just stuck in the past. They just couldn't look toward heaven and look at the broad scheme of things.

Set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. When he left, he's seated at the right hand of God, mediating for his people. set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. They had a real struggle with that. For you died, speaking of your baptism, you know, and why you do it. Your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you'll also appear with Him in glory. We read those texts and say, yay, Jesus, but when he was on the earth,

I've never seen such a mistreated human being who was God in flesh. I've never seen such a backlash and shows you how brutal the evil one is, the forces of evil, what they can do, Zach. Well, that's why he chose the new birth and adoption to represent this transformation, which, by the way, if you're all the time looking backwards. It's a process. If you're looking backwards, there's no transformation. The looking forward allows you to see the power of God work in people's lives, whether they're in a structure or just out trying to live right.

But what I was going to say is, you know, going back to this authority thing, is he spoke as one with authority. Authority keeps coming up. You know, in 729, it says he taught as one who had authority. In 8, you remember the centurion? He said he had this authority to tell men what to do because he was leading a hundred men. But he said, but you give the word and it'll happen. Because he had acknowledged that Jesus had authority. And you remember nine, eight says the crowds were filled with all because who had this type of authority over men?

That was after he did a miracle. In 10-1, remember because of his authority, he gave his disciples the power to drive out demons and heal sickness. And then in Matthew 16, when they had the discussion on who he was, and Peter said, you're the Christ, the Son of a living God. Then he said, whatever you bind on earth is bound, whatever you lose. So he gave them authority. So then 17, the transfiguration happens.

And God says, listen to him. Why is he saying that? He has the authority. And so when you go all the way to 28, you remember, remember after the death, down resurrection, which we're getting there, that's why when he said,

all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Of course, this is post-resurrection. It's obvious now. If you've got the power to remove sin, you've got the power to come back from the dead,

you are the authority. Yeah. On everything. Yeah. Anything and everything imaginable. You got it. So you just, I mean,

I picked just a few of those. Was it too big from? grasp at the time? Was it just too big a... I think it was more about, if you had all this authority, why are you riding on a donkey? Why are you hanging out with tax collectors and centers? This is not how religion is... Why are you concerned with little kids?

They don't have any sense. Why do you bring up little kids? And then he goes on, even after the... You know, this question about authority, when they question there's authority about John's baptism. Yeah. Then he tells the... parable, it's just a quick parable of the two sons, which it's kind of like the Luke 15.

This goes against everything religious people thought. They're like, I mean, he's basically saying, I'd rather have the people that appreciate grace than people who think they don't need it. These people were the most religious people on planet Earth, Jayce. Yeah, I want to read this. These Pharisees and teachers of the law, just think about it. I want to read this 21, 28. So after this authority question, what do you think?

There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, son, go work today in the vineyard. I will not, he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, I will, sir, but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted? The first they answered. Jesus said, I'll tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the

kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe in him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. So I was going to bring up that about living backwards instead of forward. That's why repentance popped into my head. because here they are. That's why that response of their indignance and scorn,

that's why I just kept on flaring up, flaring up, flaring up. They're looking for the Messiah, the son of God, the king eternal, and he's literally standing there in front of them. That's right. And they're not acknowledging it. Well, the same thing's happening in our world. That was my point, while I did it on my whole little question here, that was my point.

You know, how could you get that far down the ladder on no matter what you do. That's why when you're not looking, you're not acknowledging that all these little details of him not only healing and doing the miracles, but also quoting all these prophecies that happened hundreds of years ago, it's just filled with these books. And if you start looking at the history of all this,

well, how do you explain it? How do you explain this guy pulling off all the prophecies, never making a mistake, never even non-believers acknowledge that. They have no crime against him. They can't prove him guilty of any sin. You can't go find his bone somewhere. You read all the history books and they say, yeah, he was here.

He did all this. And when you put all those things together, you're like, you know what? Maybe he is the son of God. Maybe God did come down here in his name was Jesus. I believe he is. Let's take one last break. Yeah, I think that's the big thing that you mentioned,

authority comes up over and over again. And I think that's what the dilemma was, was what Jesus came to do was to not just disrupt the power, authority structure. I mean, he really flipped it on its head. Yeah. Primarily by his example. You know, you think about the sovereign king, you know, who did have all authority.

And yet he allows his creation. to touch him, number one, and not just touch him, but we got our hands on him, and we killed him. And so there is something in this whole thing that's like, it's like this crazy paradox. It's like, wait, wait, the king of the universe, the one who spoke us into existence, humbled himself and that whole, I think that's what's going on here. And these people that have the power, that they think they have the power, they didn't want to let go of that. And so it's the same thing that happens today.

Like, I mean, it's the whole political environment that we're in. I love it when Phil says our solution is not, you know, political fix, which is, by the way, kind of funny, everybody thinks Phil's this political figure. But I'm like, have the honest list of what this man's been saying? That's not what we're saying. It's not a political fix because all that is is who gets to control the power, who gets to have the power. And then Jesus shows up and he says, you guys don't even understand what power. is. You don't even get it. Like I have the power and look at what I'm doing. Yeah, by the way, Jace, it is at least interesting that although he rode in on a donkey and and everybody's

looking at him saying, you know, who is this? Well, when he entered the temple and drove out all who were buying and selling there, which is quite the feat for one person to pull off, you know he overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling duff and all of my reading about jesus that's the only time where i say well well righteous indignation can be can be put forth i guess is what what he's saying what you think jays he goes in and just cleans house literally yeah for the ones who said well that didn't seem right because i mean it's almost like he lost his temper. But I'm saying if you're the epitome of righteousness

and you see what these people have done to the place of worship. Yeah, well, if you make it about... There comes a time when you can clean it out. If you make it about the place and not the person, he was sending them a message, you're not going to be successful. No. But, you know, what's also puzzling is we skipped over it, but a lot of people don't understand.

and it is difficult is then when he early in the morning on his way back to the city he was hungry this is verse 18 in chapter 21 seeing a fig tree by the road he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves

then he said to it may you never bear fruit again immediately the tree withered until I always thought you know trees that don't need hugs It's biblical. When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. How did the fig tree wither so quickly they asked?

Jesus replied, I'll tell you the truth if you have faith and do not doubt. Not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, go throw yourself into the sea and it will be done. If you believe you'll receive whatever you ask for in prayer. It's pretty comforting. So how do you square, what, have you ever taught a lesson on this? That was a joke. I'm trying to think if I, huh?

That was a joke. I figured you would just immediately say no. But I mean, what do you think? How do you, to me, this is a lot like, you know, because he's going to get to repentance about authority, repentance. Yes, people are more important than the things that were, than the house, the structure. Well, the earth is the house. house for us. That's the way I look at it. And, you know, when he made man, going back to Genesis, after everything he made, it's good, it's good. And he made man, it was very good. Because people,

human beings are the only people or the only beings on the planet who can say no. You know, that Jeremiah passage that started all this, my thoughts in Jeremiah 7 that I read and we went to the backwards. They were thinking backwards, not forwards. And then they had, they had truth had perished. Well, he got to Jeremiah eight, and I'll just read one little segment here in verse six. It says, I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, what have I done? Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle. And then watch what. he says even the stork in the sky knows her appointed season and the dove the swift and the thrush

observed the time of their migration that's why i was drawn to this because i'm in to things that migrate especially birds but my people do not know the requirements of the lord and i was just going to make the point that what separates humans from every other being is we can say no i don't want to do what God created me to do. Everything else just, the birds migrate. You know, I've used that as an evidence that there's a God. I'm like, why do birds keep migrating when it's obviously not working? They die by the millions.

I mean, why not just take your chances in Canada? Because if you start flying, they're going to, something is going to kill you. Yeah. And humans aren't even getting 1%. of what's dying, everything else. Hawks, owls, alligators. You know why they do it? Because that's what they were created to do.

Yeah. And, you know, they've done these experiments where they blindfold the birds that have never been. Guess what? They migrate and go down to the same vicinity that their ancestors went down. Who told them to do that? Yeah. That's so good, Jason.

So, I mean, I think that's what his point was about the fig tree. Because it does to the person who doesn't believe it seems mean. And they're like, well, I mean, he should have hugged that poor little fig tree. And maybe it would have come back. But it's not about that. This stuff was created to show you that there is a creator behind the creation. There's a builder of the house. And that stuff is used to point us to saying, oh, look at this.

And to view us as special. And Israel at the time had not. they didn't bear any fruit. And so you're talking to these people who know all about the patriarchs, and they hold up at high esteem, David and Moses and Abraham and all the heroes of the faith, so to speak, and all of them didn't pale. I'm sorry, they pailed a comparison to Jesus who was standing right in front of them. They were so fixated on the past and what had been accomplished

and that they couldn't see what was right in front of them. And I think this part about this fig tree is there because they weren't bearing any fruit. And Jesus is like, it ain't a fruit. That's not part of what I'm doing. If I'm involved, there's going to be fruit. Exactly. And I think he's making a point that, look, not only through prophecy, through the Bible, through his miracles, but through creation itself, everything in the universe points to me wanting a relationship with you. Yeah.

Even this, the power over this fig tree here. And so you're like, you have to have that moment in your life that you're like, there's a God and he's pursuing me. Yeah. All right. We're out of time. Well, I got to preach. I'll preach. All right.

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