Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 744 | Jase Encounters a Dog at a Urinal & Phil Washes What MIGHT Be Mud Off of Bobo

Episode Date: August 31, 2023

The guys are in the “dog days” of summer with several questionable pooch interactions, and Jase manages to turn his booth at a trade show into a church service. The guys discuss the Pharisaical persecution of Jesus over his ability to cast out demons. Phil explores the meaning of the word “perfection,” and Jase supposes Jesus is truly the Great Physician — able to diagnose and cure the source and symptoms of our ailments. In this episode: Luke 11, verses 14–28; Exodus 8, verses 17–19 — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? Welcome back to Unashamed. I'm still down here at the Southern Lair. And I knew something was wrong, Zach, when my phone rings last night about, I think it was about 9.30. I looked down and it's Jace. I thought, oh boy, Jace never calls me at night. So I thought something is going on here. Something's brewing. And I knew he was out of town

because he had told me he was doing an event. So I thought, this cannot be good. Whatever is about to be saying cannot be good. So Jason, you can take it from there. Well, the last time I was with y'all, I was in Nashville with my family. And so I had a scouting session to do for the show because we're looking at some places. to metal detect treasure hunt in the in the Nashville area and so I went and did this little scout

I met some wonderful people who were believers in the Lord and I didn't find a whole lot and I'm not sure we're going to go there for the show but one thing I did find which was crazy I mean this was right after we did our last podcast because they do events there at the place I was that but it's a very historical place uh i found a beautiful gold ring with some kind of jewel but it was on top of the ground until i saw the owner and i was like look normally you know we may try to recreate what we find and i was like but somebody just lost this or they got in a fight and the couple got in a fight and she threw this ring out in your yard here but uh i mean It was spectacular.

He was like, you just found that? Yeah. So from there, I went to the airport, and I had an event in San Antonio, which is a long way from Nashville. And there were multiple delays getting there because I was doing a, it's, you remember those shows we did, Al? I don't know if you did them, but Phil, you probably remember these were these mall and Paul stores. We did it for the duck calls. I can't even remember what they're called now. But it's like all the people in the hunting and fishing industry, they set up booths.

But it's like a club. And all these store owners kind of mall and paul. It was called something syndicate, maybe outdoor syndicate. Yeah, I remember them. Well, there was like, well, I learned a lot about it. There's like four different divisions. There's one in Arizona. There's one in San Antonio.

There's one in Dallas. you know, and so it's not open to the public. The store owners come, and they may make their orders there. So I went there because, you know, my metal detector, I have a Jace Robertson metal detector with Garrett, so I was there kind of helping them with that. And so, and they allowed me to speak to all the members, which it was on Sunday, so it was perfect,

because I thought, well, we're missing church for this. So, of course, y'all know what I talked about, you know. I mean, I kind of went through the duck calls, and we used to come here, and then the metal detecting world, and then I drew the treasure hunting. I told them, you know, where I got the idea to do that, and I held my Bible up. You know, and then I went through all these verses that talk about where your heart is, they're your treasure will be, you know, guy finds treasure. he buries it back, buys the field, you know, and then the Luke 15, Jesus is like,

why am I eating with the riffraff tax collectors and sinners? You know, it's like a woman who finds a lost coin and all the joy. So we kind of had a sermon, which was awesome. So all those people then came to the booth, and we actually had a little altar call at the booth, several people, you know, we had several good life Jesus discussion. So everything was going great, and then I had to fly out, you know, to get back here. And then all of a sudden, no weather. You know, I looked at San Antonio.

I looked at Dallas. I looked at Monroe, Louisiana. No weather, not a cloud in the sky. And my plane got canceled from Dallas to Munro. So I'm like, hmm. So I wanted to be with y'all. So I said, I'll just rent a car and drive from San Francisco. Antonio. And Phil, you'll appreciate this. My Google Maps said six hours and 30 minutes.

And you know what's weird is I knew that wasn't right, but I wanted it to be right. And so I was like, it's six and a half hours. Evidently, they know a way back to Monroe that's way faster than anything I would have ever suspected. So the bottom line is I come. It was a lie. I came rolling in. at three o'clock in the morning. Just a shell of a man. But that's why I called you. I was trying to figure out how I was going to get my rental car back

because the only way, I left that part of the story out. Every rental car I went to said, nope, no, we don't do one ways. We don't do one ways. We don't do one ways. And so I thought, well, I'm not going to make it. And then the last one was hurts of all things.

They said, sure, we do one ways. Now I paid for it. but it ain't cheap. Yeah. I was like, we do it. See, I got stuck in Montana last year and they said,

your flights canceled. And I said, well, when's the next flight? They said four days. I've got my entire family. So there was like 17 of us, all my extended family.

We were all there. I'm like, well, we don't have a place to stay. Like, yeah, next flight's four days. So we ended up making the decision to fly to Chicago.

and then the goal was going to be once we got to Chicago, we would rent two vans and drive back. And so I had the same problem, but I couldn't find one that went one way. So we were just like, well, we'll just, whatever the fine is, we'll just have to pay the fine, which happened to be like $2,000. It's just money and your load. So you found one. I was kind of shocked. to realize that most companies, rental car companies, they don't do one-way rentals anymore.

I didn't know that was a thing. Well, I took credit for it because the guy I was with, you know, from Garrett, I just, I was being so positive. And so every time I would approach them, you know, I was like, look, I am stranded. We're trying to make the world a better place and I really need to get to Monroe, Louisiana. And you look like the person that can help me do that. That was my presentation at each one. And that girl that made this happen, I bragged on her.

I was like, now, you are a true professional, a patriot. And it's made me feel better about the country, you know. I can tell she was very appreciative. So, yeah, I was just so overjoyed. Now, about one or two o'clock in the morning this morning, I started questioning my decision-making process because I was just kind of getting rum dumb. It was very hard to keep all my faculties because it was a long day, you know, when you speak and you're just at a show. It just, but the Lord, I think, got me through.

So if you're wondering why I'm telling you this, I did have a moment. I have to confess something here that I do think is a problem and it was bizarre. or I don't know. I just wanted to get your take on this, but I did a little stalking because I couldn't help it. So when I rode from to this place to San Antonio, well, they were nice enough to put me in first class. And, you know, part of the benefits of being in first class,

other than you get a better snack and meal, is that you get off the plane. quickly and you're a little more comfortable so you can study so i studied on the podcast for this podcast while i was on the plane but a lot of times the people up there are kind of snooty you know they don't talk to you they they're just and they can be a little rude to the stewardess you know and well on the way down here there was a there was a gentleman who was dressed very uh swankily you know and i don't know swankily swankily is that a word is that It's swankily.

Let me look that up. I don't think it's a word. I think it's a word. I think we've looked at it. I think you've actually used it before and we looked it up. And he was an elderly gentleman. But I was right behind him and something moved, you know, as a hunter, something moved in an extraordinary way. And I looked, well, it was a dog.

He had a dog in his lap. And I thought, well, how do you get on here with a dog? Because it wasn't, it didn't have the little vest on saying, you know, a lot of people have dogs that are. Service animals. Yeah, service animals. I thought, how do you get a dog? Is that allowed? I mean, you know, I guess so.

And look, no problems, but I just thought, I mean, this guy just had to look like, you know what? I'm powerful, you know, I got things going on with the wagerie. I bring my dog. It was a little poodle-looking dog. And so we get off the plane. Of course, everybody was a long flight, so everybody rushes to the bathroom. I forgot about the guy. And we're all crowded in the first place you can go, you know, in the air tournament.

And all of a sudden, this guy comes by in the bathroom. He had his little dog. He had it on a leash. Same guy. I didn't pay any attention. I was in my little stall. I mean, you know, you have the ones up against the wall, and then you have the ones with the doors, you know.

I'm just a number one here at this point. Well, there was a couple of these number one places where they were all the way down to the floor. I guess it was for kids or whatever. And I look up and this guy is hiking this dog's leg up on the stall. And I'm like, is he really doing it? And he's like, come on, buddy. Come on, come on, buddy. Well, I realized as I looked around, everyone in here now is watching this.

And I think it's out of embarrassment. Pretty good training. Well, I never, you know, because I couldn't help but watch, you know. I lost complete interest in what I was doing. And I just thought, this is so weird, but I can't stop watching to see if the magic. Yeah, is the magic going to happen? And so I was done and finished, but I just, I just continued to stand because I thought, I don't want to walk away until the payoff, you know.

And so finally it got awkward and the line started forming. And I was like, okay, I just got to get away, you know. So I went over and I'm washing my hands and I'm still looking. Nothing happened. So then it didn't happen. And so then he's like, okay, buddy. and so he grabs the dog right behind his shoulder blades and now he's going into a closed door stall and I thought is he is there a sign that he's picked up on here you know and I thought well maybe

he has to go to the bathroom he's given up and I started to walk out and I was like I just can't help it I got to walk by and as he was you know getting the door fixed to shut the door behind him He grabbed the dog by the top shoulders, and he was like holding him over the commode. And I thought, you're talking about ambitious. Where have we come to in our country where I thought I'd be seeing this? I wanted to say, it's a dog, man. Don't travel with your dog. Or go outside where there's some grass.

Go outside. But we're all having to suffer through this. And look, every since that happened, I have not been able to get it out of my head. I need a purging. I feel like I just need, I can't unsee this. There's no point to the story. I just thought, where have we come to in a culture where I'm having to watch this? So, Jason, what I find interesting is this is the second time you've had air travel and the last two times on the podcast.

And both times, you've had some strange happenings in the record. restroom, you're two for two. I'm thinking now you might not just hold it or wait until you leave. Is that not strange, though? Do you not think that that we need to. I've never seen anything like that before. I mean, look, when you're, when you've lost something, when you're holding your dog's leg up on a star.

You're right in the middle of the woods 150 years ago. You had a dog with you. You wouldn't have to worry about stuff like that. He'd take a leak where he wanted to and who cares. Right. You just don't think about these things. He had to bear all the rules, the commode. I mean, I thought about what else is he going to do?

You know, it was a long flight. He shouldn't have brought the dog, is what I'm getting at. I get it. Some people, the dog are for a different reason. But if that's true, wear a vest and I'd have felt better about it. But I kind of bounced off that old Bobo this morning. Ms. Kay's little dog, Bobo. He come running in wide open about 10 o'clock in the morning.

and he was there was black mud from the tip of his nose all the way back to his back legs and you sure was mud his whole body he was just a just a mud ball so i ran him down quickly before he'd get out of there yeah so i just walked back to the sink my sink and i turned on about the right temperature of course he's trying to get out of my hands yeah but i was been i was was being no messing around here. Yeah. So I shook him two or three times, you know. So he just sat there and I washed him from his nose to the tip of his tail.

Well, that was a very nice gesture. The mud was coming off of him. And I gently opened the door outside, locked before he couldn't get through the dog deal. But I forced him outside. I said, dry off and I'll see you later. Did he go into the dog shake once he got outside there? Oh, did he ever? I've noticed those dogs when they do that.

It was fully soaked. Then they'll go find a carpet and they start, you know, rubbing all over and running around. Oh, yeah. I do the same thing tomorrow. I let him do all that outside, you know, but I did clean him up. He came back after about an hour, and he was just white as snow. Well, we've established that you can't smell anything, and that dog has also been known to roll around in carcasses. That's right.

You are sure it was mud and not a dead carcass, right? At this stage, I don't know, but I mean, I didn't care. I went with the old, what's that cleaner everybody uses? Ajax. No, y'all, well, something along that line. Yeah. Well, Jay, I was praying for you last night. I was a little bit worried about it because you had such a late deal.

I was, and I told you, if you get sleepy, just pull over and sleep on the side of the road. I told you, I should have. I just, I got right at the end of what. you know, you can do in your human capacity, but I probably should have stopped and take it. You had time to sleep every one. Well, once I got home. Since we started meeting at one day, one o'clock in day and night hours. I appreciate y'all delaying it.

So I did get to study where we're at in the airports, which is always nice, I think, because, you know, when you study your Bible in public places, People notice. Yeah, you're right. I had several people everywhere I was at. They came up and they were like, I really appreciate you studying the Word. I thought they were going to say the podcast.

They were just appreciative that I was studying the Word. In public. All I can tell you, Jay's for sure, is that this Bible I've got in front of me, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all point to what is perfect. And they start with Jesus, the Son of God. His perfection handed down to us so we can be made perfect forever.

And I've got to look at it before we came down here. And I mean, you talk about he is the rock. His works are perfect. as for God, his way is perfect. Where are you reading from? I'm just reading from back in the back. I'm just reading through how many times perfect or perfection is mentioned. Well, especially in Hebrews.

In Hebrews, it's the most, but it's just a read-through of the essence of Jesus Christ. Love, jives out, fear, the man who fears what we feel. getting out of these lessons is not perfect, not made perfect. He's not perfect yet. He's afraid. So I was amazed on how many verses mentions perfection. It just surprised me. But if you think about it logically, he's the forerunner of the kingdom of God, him being the king, and members of the kingdom have been made perfect forever. But I think, a lot of people don't view it that way, Al, to their shame. In other words, perfection is what you get out of Jesus Christ.

I mean, and it's worth eternal life. That would be perfect if you could live forever. Well, he's done it. So I just was amazed at how many of all our listeners, y'all take in your concordance and look up perfect. And I mean, read everything that says. And it's about 30 verses or 40, quite a few. Yeah, I think the Hebrews 12, too, is the most famous one.

You know, let us fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. Yep. Yeah, one of the versions, Jay says, finishers of our faith. It's interesting because that word, that perfect means the connotation you're alluding to in the idea of, you know, without imperfection. But it also, in several contexts, means in Greek, it means completion. Yeah. And that's where you get that idea about finishing.

And so I think to your point is excellent because the idea is that it's not just not messing up or not being imperfect, but it is a completion that we get in Christ because of who he is and what he did. One of those texts said something to the effect, and the law makes no. nothing perfect. So all of these texts about grace instead of law and Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are all called the Gospels, which is good news because what people don't realize, perfection comes out of the one that they're talking about, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I mean, it's amazing. I mean, he is our perfection. So what, what is, is it, Zach, is it Roman 7, where Paul said that the law made sin exceedingly sinful, which is an interesting phrase.

I think it's in Romans 7, but somewhere in the book of Romans. But in other words, the idea is not only does it, is it the law may be perfect, but you'll never be able to achieve it because all it does is make your imperfection exceedingly imperfect. That is correct. Yeah, was the law that which is made, was the law which is good, made down? death unto me, God forbid, but sin that it might appear working death in me by that, which is good, that sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.

Yeah, there you're right. Yeah, so you're right. When he gets to his death, barrel, and resurrection, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. I mean, it's how you get off planet Earth alive. It's a, you're talking about God viewing you as sinless because of you. your faith in his death for you in the blood that was shed. You're just getting to putting it all together and you say, you know what? The further I go studying the Bible, the better I feel.

I mean, the better I feel. Yeah. I actually think it goes imperfect with the story in Luke 11. We're in verse 14 right now. Yep. You know, I've read this many times, but, and I've listened to a few sermons. and one of the sermons I listened to was by Keller. And he had a really interesting point I never thought about.

And I was going to see what y'all thought about. But it goes in really with what Phil is talking about because you have the situation here where, well, I guess I could just read it. And then we'll go from there. You want to that? Yeah, before you do that, let's take a break. So in verse 14, Jesus was driving out a demon that was

mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke and the crowd was amazed, which was, when you think about it, what a bizarre sign or miracle. So they all knew he couldn't speak or they wouldn't have been amazed, but the demon was mute, so it made the guy mute. So when he actually said something, they were like, wow, it's a miracle, you know. I mean, so who makes this stuff up it's made this guy's life imperfect to the max I mean demons are within him

and the only one that can get him out of there he's all of his health is back you said my goodness all my health is back that thing is gone well he's what he's given him is the perfection well as it's related to that spirit But I think your point is going to come out because, as we read here, Jesus acknowledges that other people have this ability.

And this was kind of Keller's point. And to your point about perfection, it just made me look at our culture. You know, there's a lot of ways to solve problems in your life. I mean, we have, you know, counseling system, and you have all sorts of things. even here Jesus is fixed to acknowledge as we read that these Pharisees, they were driving out demons too. And you say, well, what is the difference? Well, the difference is this contrast that we're fixed to read,

that Jesus was like, yeah, but you get the house swept clean. Well, there's more demons coming if they find it unoccupied, you know. So I think, to your point, ultimately there's a lot of way to solve problems in our cultures. but Jesus in his power is the best way, is the perfect way, is the eternal way. That was his point, and I think you see that come out here. So in verse 15 it says, so they were amazed at this miracle, and then verse 15, but some of them said by B.elzebub, so a satanic metaphor. Nick name.

name is probably the better. I was going to say metaphor, but nickname is better. By B. Elzebub, the prince of demons, is he driving out demons? Which makes no sense. Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven, which is odd, because you would think that was a sign. So, verse 17, Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, which, you know, speaking of perfection. This is the second instance in two verses. So he knew that this man had a demon, even though he couldn't talk. And now he knew the thoughts of those persecuting him.

So you're starting to see this is what makes Jesus better. Yep. He says, any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against him, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. Now, if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, and here's the phrase that I was focused on that I said I got from Keller's sermon that I'd never really realize this next one. By whom do your followers drive them out?

So he's acknowledging that these Pharisees, they're driving out demons too. So then it says, so then they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, which we're going to really get into that phrase, because that's in the Old Testament a couple times, then the kingdom of God has come to you. Because you've got to remember Jesus is doing these things to show them that he is from heaven.

It is proof of the coming kingdom. They're all hollering. It's coming soon. of king. Look at his power. So then he tells this illustration or parable. He says, when a strong man fully armed guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils. He who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters.

When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says I will return to the house I left. When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and

takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That's tough news. Well, and that's, you know, my point is what I get, I think that's why he's telling the story. You may treat the symptoms in the world.

You know, you take any kind, now I know the context here is a man had a demon, but I think if you look at it from the power to change anything, and the fact that they were driving out demons as well. and when you see this phrase the finger of God, which comes up in, where's that, Exodus 8? Exodus 8, yeah, 19. During the 10 plagues, well, when you read that story,

you'll find that the first two plagues that Pharaoh endured, or the magicians who were not with God, they did versions of the same plague. Now, you say, how'd they do it? I have no idea. But I was reading that last night, and I thought, wow. But when they got to the Nats, they couldn't do that. And they said, that's from the finger of God.

It is the same phrase because they couldn't reproduce it. But it always made me wonder, well, how did they make all those frogs came up? But they pulled it off. And so I think here, the reason, that phrase is used and to Keller's point is that there's a lot there are a lot of ways to solve problems or to give the illusion that you're solving problem most of them when it deals to psychological or some kind of you know overcoming grief or even if someone is you know given their lives to Satan and involved in that most people are just only interested in getting their

symptoms treated. You know, that's why this, we have an epidemic of pain medication. And so, and I think we should acknowledge that because, you know, to Keller's point, the reason people don't come to Jesus, as long as they don't have to deal with their pain or realize their condition or they're hopped up on drugs or whatever, they're just not pursuing Jesus, you know. It's like they've got their symptoms being met. but Jesus saves to the full because all these other fixes are temporary and the end's going to be

worse because what else what else offers you know the spirit of God and the fruit of that love, joy, peace, those are all the things you really want in your life and does it forever. Perfection only comes through diseases or not or demons. It only comes through the power of God through Jesus Christ. Yeah. And so I think that's why he was doing both things. He was healing people physically, but he was also gassing out demons. And had you ever thought about this, the implications of that?

I see it as kind of a picture of, because there's two different things going on here. One is you have just straight up deniers. I mean, the people that are just saying, this came from Satan. They're denying that he's who he says he is or that he even has any kind of power from God. And I do think it's fascinating that you brought. of the point about the finger of God that Jesus uses that phrase after it was initially used by people who were not believers in God, which is really intriguing to me. So you had the deniers, and then you had the doubters, and the doubters were the ones who were

looking for the sign. But I think either one of those shows you two different ways that you can reject Jesus. One is just by denying he is who he is, or what he says is true, and the other is by doubting. that he is who he says he is. And of course, he'll deal with that later when we get to the sign of Jonah. But yeah, I think you're right, Jay's. I mean, I think that's a good way of looking at it. And it is interesting that when he talks about the Pharisees,

cast out the demons, whether he actually thought they could or did, and it seems like that's the case, for sure, he's at least attacking the argument about, well, whose name do you say and you do this? In other words, if you're right, if you say you can cast out demons, and you're doing it in the name of God, then why would I be, why would I not make the same claim about you? It is the logical point of the argument.

In other words, if you says that God is allowing you to cast out demons, then why wouldn't he be allowed me to cast him out? So I think from a logical argument, I mean, it's brilliant as Jesus always is, and they have no answer for it. And there's this whole concept here, too,

that the kingdom of God is here. I mean, like, it's not something that we're just waiting on with the point you mentioned earlier about kind of spiritual and physical and how that's kind of separated. I mean, it's kind of like what he's saying here. This is coming together. All of this is coming together. I had a couple other verses. In Luke 12, he says, it is the Father's pleasure to give you the kingdom of God. Or in Matthew 13, to you, it has been given by God to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

again in Matthew 16, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father in heaven, speaking of the kingdom. I think there is this other thing going on here, or not another thing that kind of supplements or even kind of the basis of this is what Jesus is declaring by doing this stuff, is that like the kingdom of God's here,

and it's in our midst. It's not here and it's full fruition. We're still waiting on the full summation of that, but there's something profound going on. the ministry of Jesus, and particularly in this section of Luke, of him establishing this upside down kingdom that's now here on earth. Yeah. I also think there's something here when it says that, you know, Jesus recognized that he had

a demon and he knew their thoughts. Part of, part of the issue in our culture is misdiagnosing what the problem is. I mean, you got, there's a counselor on every street corner, and even in the, in the health care world. You know, there's a reason people say, I think you need a second opinion. But you realize back to Phil's point about Jesus being perfect,

not only, you know, does you know what the cure he is and he has the power to cure it, he knows what the problem is. And he knows what you're thinking. You know, he knows how your heart is viewed. And to me, you know, as I read this, it kind of gave me an extra measure of peace to know, you know, I'd have to wonder if he knows what my problem is.

It makes me think of that, you remember our cameraman that time, Phil, when you were always after him and sharing Jesus with him, and he just didn't seem like he could get on his feet. And one day he finally announced while we were filming, you know, ducking up. He said, Phil, I figured it out. He said, I know what my problem is. And you were like, what's that? He said, I don't know what my problem is.

He was like searching for the diagnosis, you know, and he's tried everything in the world, you know. But it led to a conversation of, well, why don't you try Jesus in a real meaningful, personal way where you're pursuing that as your top priority is kind of where I was going with that. There's a lot of human beings who have told me that little, what you just said, many people, I got a lot of lot of problems my problem is i don't know what my problem is yeah which look we laugh but it's actually true i mean if you go out there and start asking around in the world i mean you're going to get all kind of theories and ideas and even you know he was far away and the other other other than others from jesus far away and when you get into the i don't know what my problem is that's what really

yeah i felt like i needed to even read that in exodus eight because what really really scared me about that is in that when the unbelievers hours you said acknowledged that they couldn't they couldn't reproduce this plague it said none of their secret arts would work and so you know whatever secret arts this is uh exodus 8 17 it says you know the lord had told errant stretch out your staff and strike the dust on the ground and the dust will become gnats they did this and when aaron stretched out his hand the dust became gnats and they came up on all the men and animals and all the dust throughout the land of egypt became gnats i mean can you imagine but when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts they could not but they pulled off you

the turning the water to blood and the plague of the frogs now how to be and my point is you can find answers in the world it may be magic it may be the shell game it may be pills whatever your problem you know that there's always something that and look i think some of them are legitimate i mean there's there's people that have stopped drinking and it had nothing to do with jesus you know that's right These things happen, and I think when the church doesn't acknowledge that, it kind of feels the world's excuse when they say, well, you're saying I can't be fixed. But the problem is these are temporary, and it's given you a false sense of security. Because really the dynamic needs in your life, forgiveness, grace, peace, joy, eternal life, all these things, they're not going to be able to fix that.

You also have to recognize here that the dark arts, as you mentioned, in the secret arts, that's an acknowledgement to the dark side. In other words, we've talked a lot about this spiritual warfare and the evil realm that we've talked about with demons, with Satan. We looked at it back when we were looking at was in Chapter 8, when Joe Bean was on. I mean, there is an access to power

from the dark side of things that allows things to happen. And Jesus addresses that directly. First, he does it, as you acknowledge, with this death or this mute demon who's produced a mute man. But then also he says, quite plainly, if you don't fill that empty vessel with something, with me, with the Holy Spirit, with something good, you are leaving that house open for more evil and more difficulties. So, I mean, to your, you made a great practical point, right? Because it would be like doing a, having a, you know, a 12-step program or, you know, A-A or whatever. I had a guy say more than one, but I remember the guy who said, well, I bound to be all right with God because I don't get drunk anymore.

I said, well, when you go to him to be forgiven of those, that drunkenness, I said, that's when you'll have to be forgiven. God's Spirit, you'll get out of here alive. I said, done well up to now. I said, you're wise to stop getting drinking, stop getting drunk. I ought to share it with you. I said, but you've already made the right decision. Here's, well, I don't know what my problem is. He said, my problem is no longer a problem because I don't get drunk anymore.

I said, getting drunk needs to be forgiven. But he was only dealing with. He said, that I haven't done. And he said, is there a way to death? I said, yep. So I preach the gospel to him. When I had his son with him and I baptized him. He was only dealing with a symptom though, Dad.

That's the problem. It's like if you have an illness, you got something wrong in your body and you've got a symptom from it. You said, well, I dealt with that symptom, so I'm good to go. No, unless we get to the source and deal with that problem, which in the spiritual sense is not having Jesus. So, I mean, without that, then you're just going to repeat. repeat and you rinse and repeat and it's going to get worse. Well, and the bottom line is we've read in Luke 6, you know, Jesus is calling you to a life of being persecuted and sacrifice and being weak and mourning

and difficulty. It's a lot easier in real life to take a pill. And that, so when you look at how the world tries to answer these problems, and they do work in the short time, in the short term. him a lot of times. But y'all kind of stole my crescendo of the point because he told this story, you know, the way Luke laid this out, in response to verse 13 when Jesus taught them how to pray, and we talked about the father, children, relationship as we pray. You know, in verse 13, he said, if you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more

will your father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? So when you get to that part where he says the evil spirits, when the house is swept clean, he's talking about your heart. He's talking about your soul where, you know, the spirit rests. When it's unoccupied, he's like, they're coming, and they're going to be more powerful than the first one. So when you just treat the symptoms or you have any other means besides Jesus,

you're worse off at the end than you were at the beginning. And so I do think it was a picture of the Holy Spirit that was going to be poured out because then it makes sense when you read the last two verses. Because as Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you. And so she made it kind of a physical thing. After he said that, it was so profound. She thought, boy, your mom.

must have been awesome. But then it takes you back to all the other illustrations. And when you read Mark 3, they tell the story in this same place, right after this same story, they tell the story of when Jesus' mother and brothers came up because they were going to fix him because he was out of his mind because he was driving out demons and, you know, saying he has this authority. And so I thought it was really interesting. I never noticed that, that Mark and Luke took two different stories about Jesus' mom, and after the same recorded ousting of the demon,

and in this case, Luke tells the one of this woman hollering that out, and then Jesus replied in verse 28, Blessed, rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. And so that was him distinguishing his power, from everybody else, which then makes sense about the strong man. What do you got to do to take charge of the house? It comes down to power. Who has the most power?

The Pharisees, the demons, your own will, your money, you know, the richest people on the planet, all the great thinkers, or Jesus? And when you get to the end of the road, Jesus is so far above everything else. I mean, we're talking about real power here, eternal power. And all of this is preparation. The spirit's not given when they were baptized, John's baptism, baptism of repentance. But the spirit wasn't given yet. So they've still got quite a ways to go here with Jesus and what he's doing.

Exactly. They're looking at him and they're like, I mean, he just comes up every time. No, your best shots with him. That's why when you go back to the previous chapter and remember when he sent out the 72 and they came to him in chapter 10 and they said, oh, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name. The problem was they were emphasizing to us instead of in your name. It was to us in your name because he said, well, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven, which then put him on an eternal level because that happened way before that way before he came out of Mary which what he was saying jays is i was there when evil began yeah because when when satan rebelled in heaven that's the

first time that we see anything in the bible mentioned evil its beginning place was right there and jesus was like oh i was there i saw it yeah and then he practically said but don't rejoice that the spirit spirit submit to you but rejoice in your, that your names are written in heaven, which then made him the focus because he knew he was going to die and purchase them. Yep. And you should have the right perspective on that. See, they're still in the dark on how his look is going to be shed.

He keeps saying, I'm going up there and die. You know, he's fixed to do it in the next paragraph about Jonah. What was you going to say, Zach? Well, I was just thinking when you read that verse, because I remember hearing that, when I first kind of became a Christian about, you know, you kick these demons out of your life. You sweep the house out, but you leave it empty and they come back and with a lot more of their friends. And you think, man, what does that really mean? I think what it is is that at the core, and I've said this on the podcast before,

and it kind of gets to the origin of evil, too, that when to be a human is to, you were created to worship God. you were created to long for something, long for him. And sin, I think a good definition of sin is just a disordered or a misordered desire. It's a desire that is pointed at something other than God. You can't help it. You're going to worship something. It's not a matter if you're going to worship. It's a matter of what or who you're going to worship.

You're going to worship something. I mean, Bob Dylan said that you've got to serve somebody. You've got to serve somebody. You're going to worship no matter what. And so the danger is when you kick something out of your life and you don't replace that with a fixation on who God is, you can't just sit in this space of neutrality. You know, you can't just be neutral. You can't just sit there in an empty house. Eventually, you're going to start longing for something again.

And so what happens is if you don't put that longing where it was originally intended, which is God, which is through Christ, through the Holy Spirit, then what you're going to do is when those, when the demons come back, you're going to be that much weaker because you've already kicked them out, but then now they're back and more intoxicating stronger than they ever were. And so I think that's the core is, is you cannot sit in a neutral position when it comes to spirituality. There's no such thing. Either you're pursuing who God is or you're pursuing things of the world. And I think that's a lot of what Jesus is getting to in this passage and a lot about what this new kingdom of these bringing is going to look like. it's a kingdom that's not about performance. It's a kingdom about dwelling with God.

And that's different. I think you're right. That's good. So we're out of time for the podcast, but we want to talk a little bit more about this in our overtime segment. We hadn't even got into the signs of Jonah, which is the next segment. We'll do that the next podcast. But in the overtime, if you want to follow us over there, that's blazedtv.com slash unashamed to hear a little bit more about this Jesus. and be else above so we'll see you in overtime thanks for listening to the unashamed podcast help us out

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