Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 571 | Jase Learns About Glamping & How to Avoid a Political Death

Episode Date: October 26, 2022

Jase pokes fun at Al for being the weird yuppie brother, and Al teaches Jase about the wonders of glamping! Phil cracks a joke about why you are better off living on a flood plain, and Zach explains the political death experienced by John the Baptist. Jase discusses the betrayal of morality in exchange for earthly knowledge and power and gives sound advice on what company you should keep. And Phil tells an all-too-relatable story about enduring confrontation as a human being on the earth. - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? So, Dad, you said that there was a person from Oklahoma that gave you some Oklahoma wisdom yesterday. What did he say? What do he say to you? He just said, Mr. Robinson, just keep doing what you do. Keep being who you are. That's what he said. Keep being who you are. And I'm like, oh, that pretty well covers it. Just feel being you. So that voice you're hearing is Zach.

Zach, welcome back to Unashamed Podcast. We're glad to have you, always. Good to be back. I've missed the first episode from yesterday. I got stuck up on a mountain with no cell phone coverage in the middle of the wilderness. But I made it out alive. And you're back. Well, I basically, the last podcast taught about our Miyamu event, which was a three-day venture.

But I think we helped a lot of kids. It was a positive thing. We're making a world a better place. But I think Phil, after it was over, had a good synopsis of that, or maybe it was Al, but on why to do bad things happen, and why does God allow that? And one of y'all said, because it shows you through the power of God that anything is possible to overcome. I mean, when we read those verses that, I mean, God can take the power of God. can take whatever the situation and make it better.

With God, nothing is impossible. Exactly. Yeah, which is, I thought it was really rich, Jason, really good. I thought the podcast was excellent. If you haven't listened to it, go back and catch that for the listeners. So it's interesting, Dad, that you said that about the guy from Oklahoma. I'm actually in Oklahoma because at least I are here for an event. But we decided to, my kids, my grandkids are out of school for a fall.

break. And so we brought the whole crew up here to Lake Ufala, Oklahoma. And so I found this new word. And I don't know, I'm sure Zach knows about it. I don't know about Jace or dad. But apparently I've been informed by my kids that what I'm doing right now. And it's interesting because as I'm speaking, I'm looking out a window at the lake and I see my grandkids down there fishing, which is, you know, really good at the end of your, you know, as you get closer to the end of your life, you enjoy little things like that. But they call this glamping. Are you familiar with the term glamping? Oh, yeah. I live in Asheville, so Asheville area. We've got a lot of that up here. Yeah, Zach was giving us an update in mountain climbing, but there's one hill in the state of Louisiana that's a little taller than all the other hills. It's in Claiborne-Paris, but all I have to tell y'all is it's not a very high hill.

So there's no mountain climbing going on down here. So it's kind of like a far. They actually, you're doing what? Climbing a mountain. I'm climbing a mountain. I'm down there Louisiana. Yeah, boy. They call it Mount Driscoll.

And if I'm not mistaken, it's about 725 or so feet high. And it's considered a mountain in Louisiana because it's bigger than a crawfish mound, I guess. That's it. We run out of mountains a long time ago. So glamping is a form of camping involving accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping. So do you know what I call that? Embarrassing.

It's a, it's a, Zach, you introduced a word of a few podcasts back called a portmanteau. You remember the portmanteau when you take two things and combine them together, two words. Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah.

It's glamorous camping. And you're right, Jay's, it's not, you know, traditional. Like, camping because I didn't like sleeping on the ground. So I just thought camp it wasn't for me because I thought, you know, my

back. I'm actually thankful that, because this is a first in my life. This is the first time that I looked up a word that y'all used and I was glad that I didn't know what it was. Most people don't realize the particular

area in Louisiana where we live and move and have our being. It's the water in close proximity where we live, it rises and falls on any given year up to 30 feet. That's where we live. You look at your yard and there's trees growing there. But if you look at the watermarks on the trees, you're like, whoa. I mean, it literally on any given year can rise or fall. 30 feet. That's a lot of water. And it happens on a regular basis. We're used to it.

So what do you call that? How do you define that? Why would a person want to live in a place that's going to flood? Bloodline. Bloodline. Bloodline. I've been camping out for 75 years. Well, it was difficult moving up here because you've got to keep in mind that there's a good portion of Louisiana. You get down the New Orleans, it's below sea level. That's what I'm saying. Yeah, it's a different, it's a total different world. We got up here and we were looking to buy a house and I said, I would have to live in the mountains.

Well, every house that is in the mountains, your driveway is, I mean, it's on a very, very steep grade. And being a flatlander, it was kind of scary. I mean, I didn't like driving up there. It may be nervous. But now I've been here four years. I mean, we're used to it. But when we first moved up here, we, so we settled down in the,

the valley because we were we were a little afraid of heights so you come from louisiana where things below sea level up here our top peaks are probably 6,000 feet which i mean you go to like where mac owen our friend mac owen lives he's a he's living 9,000 feet above sea level yeah that's pretty that's pretty incredible not much backwater there we get through all the high water stages because we all realize it's temporary it's it's a it's a it's a it's a mighty thing where water gets up 30 feet, but when it gets there, it's still temporary, but it does change the way you come in and out of your abode. You walk across the high ground and you go to your house.

You can't come to your house by vehicle, only by boat. So it's just, but it's temporary, and it all leaves, and all the snakes go back with it. They come in, the gators, the snakes, and all that. They come in your yard. So we're used to seeing things that in water, it's in my yard. I mean, you get used to it. I like it. Well, to answer Jace's question, why would you live there?

Here is a tradeoff that you get in Louisiana that you don't get in North Carolina. That's right. You don't get near the wild game. There's some up here, but not, I mean, the fishing and the, and the deer. and the ducks and there's a lot of turkeys up here. But outside of that, I mean, the deer, the deer scene is very slim compared to corn-fed deer in Louisiana. See, everything from my hand where I'm seated right now,

everything from right like that, there's about a couple thousand acres that we're roaming around on. And sometimes it's by boat. Sometimes it's by just one. walking, but on foot or by a boat, it's just something you deal with. So I got to have boats. So I got to have a definition. We could invent a word of flamping because you're camping in a place that floods.

That is correct. Not to be confused with glamping. You're flamping. I can walk out, I can walk out on my porch and stop and look around right now. it's just dry dry. But in a flood, you could swim out to your porch because I've done it. Yeah, that's right.

I think we invented a word. Flamping. I'm going to look it up. There are many, many months we've functioned and our boat, all my boats, but the boat we were using is tied to my doorstep. It's tied right there. I can just step off in it and take off.

It's not a word. we just invented a word what you're doing is flamping you're camping in a flood zone yeah so so jace i'll tell you i've camped i've flamped and now i've glamped and glamping is better yeah well it's because you have you have yuppy tendencies uh you've always been the weird brother now i've noticed that in the later stages of your life you're beginning to to let yourself go. But most of your life has consisted of wearing loafers and khakis and shaving on a regular basis, going to HOA meetings.

That little pond that's right behind your house when they made the subdivision where you scamper to, does that little pond flood occasionally? It floods occasionally, but most people wouldn't call where I live, like, in the city. It's a rural, it's outside the city limits. There are trees growing, which is the only reason I'm living there. I do have a gate. It's a high ground for that piece of real estate. It's pretty high ground where you live.

And the Lord sent me a present here in the last couple weeks. I had a pine tree fall from my neighbor's yard across the pine because I just have a little nook. Yep. And it literally cut off access. to the back end to where my property butts up to. So my neighbor said, we're so sorry that our tree fell across the pond onto your property. There's like, do you want us to cut it or do you want to remove it?

I was like, the last thing you want to do is get rid of that tree. Leave that for the turtles. Yeah, for the turtles and the dog. I did see a bullfrog on it the other night when I was scouting to see a frog. you go but it's now it's it's it's almost like a wall of protection so be thankful sometimes well jays you know where i got the idea from glamping from don't you no you you told a story on the podcast about going to israel and you were out there and i said well wasn't that rough terrain he said oh no they had the nicest camp the cat they brought it

everything with us and these tents and we were living. They were having buffets. You described the most glamorous way to see Israel. And so I thought, well, I just want to be my little brother, Jason, go clamping. So it actually all came from you. You missed the point on that. The point was I wouldn't have done that. They did it so people like my wife would say, boy, this is awesome.

I mean, if we're going to go camp out there, let's go camp out. but no they brought tents and they had a bathroom, a potty, and they had the meal catered. And I mean, there's, I mean, we camped. We spent a night in the Negev desert. But I will admit that the night before the next nation over dropped some bombs within a mile from where we camped out. So considering that, we did have enough anxiety. to fuel the camp out because at any moment we could blow up. So it kind of offset if you're going to go out, you might as well do it as comfortably as possible.

So that was a different situation out. Oh, well, I just remembered it and so I thought that. You did what typical preachers do. You took an illustration out of context. So, I think it's not hard. Old habit's not hard, don't they? I like what Peter had to say about it.

Listen to this. What Peter went to when he was describing, how come, where's this Jesus, y'all all waiting for? I mean, you know, you, you know, y'all all wait for you. You must understand that in the last days,

scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own. evil desire. They'll say, where is this coming, he promised? Where is Jesus? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. But notice this. But they deliberately forget something that long ago, and guess what he goes to, by God's word, the heavens existed, and the earth was formed out of water and with water. He goes. He goes. to water boys, but by water also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By that same word, the present heavens and the earth, including where I live, are reserved for

fire being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. Phil, are you trying to justify living in a flood zone? That's what I'm doing. It just hit me. I was like, if this earth is going to catch on fire, this flood zone that I live in may come in handy. You basically want to be the last man standing. I'd rather have the water than the fire. So we're going to see.

Let's take a break. But again, Jase, you did it. Your illustration of being bombed made dad think, well, that's why I live in a flood zone, boys. That's it. I've learned a lot about you today, Phil. Thanks. When he said this is what Peter has to say about it, I didn't quite tie that together at first.

I thought he was going off from taking something out of context, but I wasn't sure. I thought he was tired of the conversation, and he just, we're getting in the box. I only bring that up to let our listeners know that what is going on here is that when it comes to water, there was a big water,

and before it was even made, it was created, it was just a ball of water. And the water's receded, and up comes the dry ground. This thing started out, I mean, it was a planet. What's interesting is that they've looked over this cosmos with every kind of looking device you can have.

And they keep sending them in. to outer space. They get away from planet Earth. And they're all looking for the same thing. You know what they're looking for, Al? Water. Water. They're looking for water.

And you know how much they've come up with? Zero. Not one drop. It's worthy of note. A drop. Very worthy of note. They haven't seen a planet that's like Earth. No.

Three, four, seven water? Nope. They haven't found that yet. Kind of makes you feel special, huh? it makes me say these texts in the Bible described the whole thing where it came from how it got here. Oh, I agree. So, Dad, you got a planet on one side that's red dirt. You can't live there.

You got one. You got Jupiter down there. It's all gas. You can't live on that either. So you've got to have water to live. And I mean, the Earth is three-course. This planet has a lot of it. That's not by accident.

That's exactly right. So we're going to get back to the book of Mark, Jay's? Hey, I'm a you fellas. We left off in Mark 6, just as a reminder. And we had talked about the last time we talked about Mark, we talked about Jesus going back to his hometown of Nazareth and basically not being accepted there as a result of just being, what did he say, Jays, too well known or too, you know.

Most of the sermons, you know. hear from mark six are talking about people who are raised in in church and it's like the familiarity issue i mean it's like they couldn't recognize jesus because he was from there well he can't be supernatural because he's from here it's a we he's a carpenter it i mean i do find that fascinating and then jesus said only in his hometown among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor And they just, the whole, the first eight chapters is who Jesus is. That's what it's about and his great power with all the miracles and all that. And it's, we're fast coming up on Mark chapter 8, whereby the first thing ever that he's said this,

the first time this information is given, he then began to teach them chapter 8 when we get there the next couple of chapters, that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law. That's a big event, and that he must be killed after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside to say, no way, but Peter was wrong. That's exactly what he did. So, but it's interesting that eight chapters go by in the book of mark there's not but 16 chapters in it and half of it he never got to that until you get to mark 8 verse 31 the reason he came the reason he was there is unveiled to him and that's exactly what happened just what he said they came together and the Jews came together

and they said let's kill him and get rid of him and that turned out to be the great greatest news ever for mankind. Pretty interesting. Well, I think where we're at is interesting in that, you know, we talked about Jesus sending out the 12 and he gives them this power. He introduces this idea that God is going to use human beings, despite their flaws, to show the world his power. That's right. And so what's interesting. is if you read the last verse of where he chose his disciples for this special purpose, because then he, you know, then he calls him apostles later on, which is ones who have been sent out. He has a story within a story because if you read Hebrews, I mean Hebrews, if you read Mark 6, 12 and 13,

so he sends his disciples out they went out and they preached that people should repent they drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them which is an added amendment there where jesus would just heal them by his word of course he's the son of god but the disciples had to or you know they anointed people with oil which by the way is still done today we still do we still do it praying for healing. So, and then he just picks it up in verse 30. So if you skip the story in between, it just says the apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. But Mark, like he does in many other chapters, he inserts a story within this story. And it's a gruesome story because it's John the Baptist being, beheaded. And I don't think it's an accident because here they're sent out and they're feeling

pretty good about this power. And then all of a sudden there's a reminder here that some people that God has a job for, it may not necessarily turn out well from looking at the perspective of this life. because this is a gruesome graphic depiction of what happened to the for Jesus, Jesus' cousin John the Baptist. Yep. When it is interesting, Jay, they put it in the context of, because the first three verses, and I just read them 14 through 16, is in response to what's going on. In other words, it says King Herod heard about this, heard about what, that Jesus had sent out

the 12. And so now it's more than just one guy. It's 12 that are going out and doing these miracles because for Jesus had become well known. Some were saying John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. So this what we're about to read is already happened. But when King Herod hears this, it makes him nervous because he thinks he's been resurrected. And that is why miraculous powers are at work in him. This is what King Herod thinks. Others said he is a lie. and still others claimed he is a prophet like one of the prophets of long ago. But when Herod heard about this, he said, John, the man I beheaded has been raised from the dead. So I did find it interesting that the context of what was happening with the miracles and the

apostles and all that makes O'Harrid who thought John was gone has come back. And so it makes seems to be even more of a threat to him when he realizes that this is some sort of spirit like a Elijah that keeps coming back and now it's in Jesus. That was his thought process. And it wasn't right, but that's what he thought. Let's take another break. Yeah, it is interesting to me. It is interesting to me that you guys were talking earlier about the problem

of evil and why does bad things happen to good people. And this is an interesting text on that topic because you have the disciples, the 12, they're being sent out and they received this authority, which I'm sure they were excited about to some degree or another. But if you notice what Jesus instructs them when he sends them out, he tells them, he says, take nothing for their journey except the mere staff, no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals. And he added, do not put on two tunics.

You know, don't bring extra with you. And he said to them, whenever you, whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the town, any place that does not receive you or listen to you as you go out. shake the dust from your feet and move on. But I love how Jesus sets them up where basically he's saying, like, you're going to be completely reliant on my authority and the power that I've given you. And you're not planning the trip. You're not, you don't have reserves.

You don't have any of the stuff. And you're going out, and here's what you're going to tell people. You're going to tell people to repent, which is probably not going to be a very popular message because that's the same message that John the Baptist started this whole entire gospel with, repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. And then the very next part, as Jace brought up, is a guy who followed the Lord. He followed God with everything that he had and with a message to repent. And his ultimate fate was that he was murdered.

And I think that's important because sometimes we follow God and we follow Christ and we don't receive. This was what the Hebrew writer says in Hebrews 11. We don't receive the promise. And we're not going to receive it until the end. And so one of the biggest comforts for me in dealing with like the problem of pain or why do bad things happen to me? Why do bad things happen to John the Baptist? I mean, the big answer is that God has a vantage point that's so much bigger than our own. We are finite creatures that occupy particular space on planet Earth at a particular time and history.

And so what we can see is so limited to the grand scheme, what we would call the scheme of redemption that God is unfolding through. throughout history. John the Baptist played a huge pivotal part in the coming of the kingdom. And yeah, he died, and that was probably very painful for him and his family. But in the grand scheme of things, greater is his reward in heaven. John the Baptist will receive the promise with us, along with all the other patriarchs that have died for the sake of Christ. We're all going to receive this promise one day. So vantage point to me is a big picture here of what's unfolding in the gospel of Mark. And it's a great point, and better than that.

Therefore, you get to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, all of us now. The kingdom came. Peter brought it in like a hurricane. He reminded the Jews why that they had killed Jesus, the author of our faith, and all that. They said, what do we do? He told them to repent and be baptized. If anyone is in Christ, here's our job that came out of. We were looking at it when the kingdom.

was near. We're looking at it when the kingdom came. If anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come. All this is from God, who reconciled him to us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sense against us. And here's a terrific verse. It's not like the people weren't there to carry on what Jesus started. He's committed to us, his people, the kingdom. The message of reconciliation. It's now in our hands.

And therefore, Christ ambassadors. We're Christ's ambassadors. He picked 12 to begin it. But now everybody is given his spirit when they obey the gospel. as Peter said next to, God is making his appeal through us. So we still have a monster job ahead of us. We implore you on Christ's behalf. Be reconciled to God.

We are and we want you to be. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us. That's all going to be worked out in the Book of Mark through the apostles. So that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. for us fellow workers, I urge you to receive, not receive, God's grace in vain. So now he's still working through his people, possibly not as quite on the miraculous side of it, but just the information on who Jesus is and how to be saved is really not rocket science.

He's the one that you read about in Mark that is beyond anything you can wrap your head around Jesus Christ and now we have a job to do we represent him and we're his ambassadors we point people to him we're doing it right now as we're seated here to our listeners across the earth we're reaching a lot of people you say we're simply just doing our job pretty cool yeah and i do think something in here that you know king herod comes up and so he had an active role in not only john the being killed, but later is going to have a role in Jesus being crucified also, which is, I think, another reason this comes up. What made me think when I first read this is you had him even questioning the laws of nature

over trying to explain how these miracles are occurring, and obviously his guilty conscience was involved. Because as we continue to read the story, he actually respected John. the Baptist to a certain degree because he was a holy great man and he feared the people that followed him but you actually see this grim grim event that happens over someone trying to please important people and he got caught in a situation where he would rather behead a noble man a man a character than not please the people around him. I mean, it's very troubling.

It's an awful price to be paid. Yeah, and look, I'm telling you, the spirit of this still goes on in our world. I mean, you're talking about lessons on peer pressure and trying to impress people in these situations. We see it every day, Jays. Every day. Let's take a break.

Yeah, let me read it because I think you're right, Jays. It's a troubling. thing that happens. And you think about it, John the Baptist wasn't perfect, but he was a very upright man. He had taken a Nazarite vow. He, you know, knew his role to be the forerunner, to point people to Jesus. And he died a martyr's death. And he's really the first one for this to happen to, you know, obviously it's going to happen to a lot of them post-Jesus. But let me read the story and then we can unpack it. In verse 17, so Mark is kind of a chapter. Mark six.

And it's kind of a parenthetical because like Jay said, he talked about the 12 and then Mark comments of what Herod was thinking. And now he's just going to kind of break in and give us the story of what happens. This is breaking news for Mark. It says for Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested. And he had him bound and put in prison. And I'll make one thought here. I think it's John's account, isn't it, Jace, where, you know, John the Baptist, when this happens, he questions like he sends word to Jesus like or you you are the one right I mean this this what we're

doing here is the right thing so he kind of has some questions especially when your head is involved yeah exactly he did this because of Herodius his brother Phillips wife whom he had married so this you know Harriet had married his brother's wife which is obviously not he shouldn't have done this under the wall and now let me jump in let me jump in and just say if you do a history on the Herodian Empire, I mean, they were very vile and explicit in their decision making. I mean, when it came to sex, drugs, and rock and roll. So you think we have a little taste of the Herodian culture in these United States of America?

Very possible, Phil. Well, go ahead. Yeah, it was a very heather. Justinistic, Jace, is what they were. You're exactly right. Verse 19. So Herodius nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. Before we think, you know, Herod was a good guy. That was basically because it was a threat to him politically. He thought, if I do something, John, the baddest, the people are going to turn on me.

when Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled, yet he'd like to listen to him. Kind of reminds me of Festus and the end of Acts with Paul. In verse 21, finally the opportune time came. On his birthday, Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. So he's got all these imported people from the region. When the daughter of Herodius came in and danced, She pleased Herod and his dinner guest.

So this is the old lascivious, you know, dance, I suppose. The king said to the girl, ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you. And he promised her with an oath, which is very big deal. Whatever you ask, I will give you up to half my kingdom. Now, this is over one dance. She went out and said to her mother, what shall I ask for? because it's all about politics. The head of John the Baptist, she answered.

At once the girl hurried into the king with the request, I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oath and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her, so he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, he headed John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter.

He presented it to the girl, And she gave it to her mother. On hearing this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in the tomb. Man, that's brutal. And the reason that they did it was because she nursed a grudge because he said the right thing. What he said was right. He shouldn't have taken his brother's wife. And what gets me about it, I guess, is the politics of it.

but also just that this woman was willing to use her daughter in such a way. I mean, just think about how many bad things are present in this story. Well, most people, if you would never use your daughter, if you saw your daughter dancing sexually suggestively in a setting where there, here's all these powerful men, that would never be a positive thing. But it just shows you how people in power and in government. they they give up their morality for that power and they're indulging in all this sinful activity and it starts changing, you know, how you view what's right and wrong.

And because you got to remember, what are people in governments in powerful positions? They surround themselves with yes men. And so here, John the Baptist. That still goes on. Yeah, exactly. That was the picture I was painting. And even now, I did some research when he made the, that statement about I'll give you up to half my kingdom. But actually, the way their setup was

they had broken the territory into four quadrants. He actually didn't have the authority to do that. So he's basically embellishing what he actually can do. He's kind of caught up in the moment of the dance. Which is what politicians do. Yeah. And he's wanting to please these men around him to his benefit. They're powerful people. He's using whatever means necessary, including his family, and just things that make you should feel queasy about. To the rank and file center going on in these, within the echelons of politics, Chase,

I mean, not much has changed. Well, that's what I see from, let's face it, people will do a lot of things for power, including you live in ways that are nauseating because you use whatever means necessary to maintain power and control. That's it. And it tends to change your view of morale. They will rail against you if you introduce Jesus into the mix.

You fast forward to our culture now and you see the same things happening. I mean, even, you know, whether it's questioning what defines a male and a female or what is, you know, life. sex with. Yeah, there you go. I mean, and it just seems to go down that road in the name of power. Yep. Let's take a break. Now, and I think you're exactly right, Jason, one of the things that you see that happens here, and you see it throughout the Bible, every time you run across something evil, a lot of

the commentaries that I read about this scenario went back actually to Elijah when you think about Ahab and Jezebel at the time, which is the king and queen, and they had it in for him. And they were, the whole time, they were trying to kill him. Remember, God was taking him out in three years. He was out in the desert. There was all this protection that happened as a result of it. And it got so much to Elijah. Well, you remember, John the Baptist is in the spirit of Elijah. And I say that in quotes. He was his own man, but he had the same sort of spirit from God. And you see these powerful people that think that they can subdue God. And they're willing to throw their family under the bus.

They're willing to throw anybody on the bus to get what they thirst most for, and that's power. And so just you described it beautifully. When this guy is, he's drunk, he doesn't have the authority to give her what he said he was, because you're right, there were four different sons that had four different parts of the kingdom. And yet, in that moment, the one who suffers is the guy that's in jail for protection, supposedly, so this wouldn't happen to him, that he's going to want to.

up losing his head over the deal and all he did was say what was right and do the right thing and all these people they were watching watching the dance out and and and what's going on there i figured that had got into the wine a little bit what you think that was probably the least the least they were into but you know even jesus made that connection in matthew 11 of john the Baptist in the spirit of Elijah, but I do think there was a greater picture involved here that by acknowledging that he had chosen these 12, and then marked by telling this story, you got to remember, this is a road. They're all, well, for the most part, except John, I guess, and he was threatened and beaten,

and they're all going to walk down this road. All the guys who were just chosen are going down this same path because of their declaration that Jesus says, Lord, they're going to be martyr. And so I think you remember as God coming to earth, he allows time for human beings to wrap their head around the awesomeness of God and the bigger picture, which is why when people use the argument to us who are not believers that, well, I can't follow Jesus because you can't explain why bad things happen. And that doesn't bother us because we know from stories.

like this, you're viewing everything about this life. But we're stating that the creator of the universe came here and he conquered the grave. What you're viewing as a problem is not a problem. We're thinking eternity here. Yeah. And too, this is how big our God is. When they ask us or someone says, I can't believe in God because bad things are happening to people.

we then could say, well, how do you define what is bad? How do you define what is good? And almost every time what they're going to do and their definition of good and bad is they're going to appeal to the divine realm. They're going to appeal to, you know, why is life valuable? If all that exists is the material world and all we are is matter, then nothing matters. But stuff does matter, and we know that it matters because we know that there's something that gives us value, someone that gives us value.

So even the very stating of that dilemma, you're actually testifying that God is there because you're acknowledging that there is a good and a bad that is objectively true. It's not a subjective interpretation that we would have of it. But I think that the point you made, Jace is worthy of note and worthy to repeat that every one of these apostles except for John would end up dying a martyr's death. and I think about that a lot because I think about in our culture, you know, persecution is, I mean, it transcends culture and you can be persecuted in the United States of America, not to this extreme right now. And that's, I mean, that's just true. But, man, I think to myself, how often am I fearful, I'm afraid of just being

marginalized. I'm afraid of just being made fun of, much less losing my life. But I really believe that if you're going to, you're going to, you know, you live the calling of Jesus, like this is one of the things when he says, you've got to take up your cross and follow me. You have to be willing to lay down your life. And I think it would then this day and time, every one of these guys was going to suffer the same fate as John the Baptist, the one who kind of paved the way for Jesus to come.

No, I think it's about a point. I want to jump in and say because really in a practical way, especially in the teenage years of our lives, we all have this moment. Because we are basically at that age trying to form the crew we're going to run with. And I think in this moment, you always see that if you want to side with those who don't put their faith and trust in God, you're going to have to betray your morality. They're going to bring it to a head. And I mean, even if I look back at my own life, I just thought, when I put my faith and trust in Jesus at 14, I just thought, well, I'm going to do what's right? right, I'm going to follow Jesus, and I'm just going to ignore my friends. I'm not going to bring it up,

but I'm just not going to do what they do. But it didn't work that way because they're the ones that forced the issue in a public way because it bothered them that I was not doing what they were doing. So they brought it to a head and said, what is wrong with you? Well, I had to have this moment where am I going to come out there and state what I believe or am I going to do what they want to because we can't continue being friends and going where we're going, it just came to a head. Plus the woman that did the dancing when asked, you know, you can have anything you want. What do you want?

Well, you wouldn't think some king would say, I'll tell you what I'll, you know, you tell me. And she said, I'll tell you what I want, the head of this John the Baptist on a platter. Yeah. That's a pretty bold request. And he did it. Yeah. That's how far to reach. Yeah.

Here's a piece of advice for those who are listening. If you want to ensure that you never lose your life for something like this, just don't be a threat. Do not threaten the power structure that runs the world. I don't think about that because if you want to live a life where you're not threat. The reason why John the Baptist was killed is because he was a threat and he was effective. And the same thing with the apostles. The reason why the apostles all died of martyrs death is because they were threats. They were a threat to the power structure.

And the same thing the day goes, if you're a threat and you will be a threat, if you're acknowledging Jesus and proclaiming him like, like Jace, like you said, you did it at 14 years old. I had a young guy just this week. We were at an event with a, it was a woman's event. We were serving at, but then it was, God was moving. And the young guy looked at me and said, man, we need we need to have something like this for the men. I was like, yeah, we do. And he goes, it's going be hard, though. It's going to be hard to get guys in here. And I was like, no, it's not. What do you mean? I said, men want Jesus. They don't, they don't know it yet. And for me, I don't, I don't think when I get in a conversation with somebody, I'm not thinking,

well, they're not going to want what I got. I'm thinking they want what I have. Well, and there's a power there. And to clarify my story, look, I tried the defense for two years. Didn't work. I get to 16 and I finally spoke up about Jesus. I'd love to tell you that everybody patted me on the back and said, great, but they ridiculed, persecuted, and detached themselves from my presence. Jason, you saw a guy come into your living room and first he put banner with you, said, you really expect us to believe that you didn't have sex with your girlfriend before you married. You really think we're that dumb? Well, the opposition was there, but what I wanted to say.

And then the next question was, to me, do you believe homosexual behaviors of sin? I quoted 1st Corinthians 7 that says it is. And look what they did to me. That threats, you know, they were ready to kill me. That's what I was saying. But what I was going to say was, you know, this led to a point once I started sharing Jesus. I didn't stop it at 16. even though it was really a tough opposition.

But it actually led to a study with a guy who threatened me in a physical way. And I actually just got whooped. And it's the only fight I was ever in that I didn't fight back. Thousands of people have been converted since the time you were asked, you know, do you think, you know, waiting until you're married and having sex, that's the way you ought to do it. I mean, thousands, and then the question to me, thousands have been converted because of that. Yeah. But what I was going to say was, is when I shared Jesus with this guy, and I've shared this story before,

and there was a girl involved, there was different things. But it didn't get violent until I brought up Jesus, because then it was like, well, wait a minute here. You're telling me, well, what if I hit you in the face? I said, well, in this case, I'm going to turn the other cheek because I don't know you, and I'm sharing Jesus with you, and I'm not getting off of it. I don't want to fight you. I want you to respond to Jesus. And, well, it wound up, you know, him physically assaulted me.

I thought he's going to kill me. And a couple weeks later, the same fellow comes to our church assembly and decides to put his faith and trust in Jesus. the guy would later on fly me to various events to share Jesus. And four days ago, I literally treasure hunted his yard. And so I saw that, that was a span of, what, over 30 years. But it doesn't change that in that moment when this guy's throwing haymakers at me, I have to admit, I wasn't feeling warm and fuzzy about my faith in Jesus, you know, because I thought... I had one stand over me, said, so are you telling me?

I'm supposed to forgive somebody who does wrong, does me wrong. I said, yeah. So he got up, came over to me, and he doubled up his fists. He said, well, what if I put this right between your eyes, my fist? You're going to forgive me? And he was just standing there ready to do it. My answer was, I'll try. I'll try.

But you're being honest, Phil. He didn't hit me. You're being honest. He didn't hit me, but I told him, forgive you, love your enemies. And he said, so what if I, and he got up and walked over to me, I'll put this up between your eye. I said, I will try. That's a good response. I think, Dad, that's a perfect way to end the podcast because I think that your response was the humanity we all share.

We want to do the right thing, but we're honest enough to say we're human beings, right? That's right. And that's what we're trying to do. we're out of time. We'd love for you to follow us over to overtime. That's blazedtv.com slash unashamed. And you can't get $10 off if you use the promo code fill. So we'll save you a little bit of money right now to subscribe.

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