Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 924 | Miss Kay's Illness Pulls the Rug Out from Under Phil & Now Jase Is Laid Up with an Injury

Episode Date: July 18, 2024

Phil and Al open up about their season of serving and caring for their wives during illness and recovery, and Phil discovers just how much Miss Kay has done for him their entire lives. Jase is nursing his own injury and receives a generous gift while he’s laid up. Grace isn’t about paying someone back, it’s about paying it forward in order to be more like Jesus. God isn’t far away from us, but while we’re in sin, we draw ourselves away from Him. In this episode: Ephesians 2, verses 1-13; Ephesians 1, verse 20.  -- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? I've never tried babysitting my life on the earth. You've never tried babysitting? It's with your mother. It's like babysitting. Oh. I mean, you feed them. He's a grown woman. What you're doing is human sitting. I'm telling you. And I've tried everything, but this is one of the roughest things I've ever done.

I'm just in the house with your mom and just a slow healing, you know. See, this is interesting because I'm, you know, I'm down, hurt my back. So, but I'm a believer that when you see acts of love, that leads you to the source of God who is love. Yeah. You just think about it. Like people have kids and then you see them protect those kids. You drive by, you don't have to know what's going on inside. There's two parents.

They have kids. They're showing the presence of God. I think God put that in us. So what you're doing, human sitting, which is your wife, who you love, you're showing acts of love. I just had one done to me. Is that yesterday? Well, Al's got his woman to look after.

And I've got my woman to look after. Now, now, you say you, you. Well, I'm convinced, I'm convinced that it is a, it is a natural season of life and marriage, especially when you understand Christ. I'm telling you. It takes you to that place where you're ready to serve your spouse. the way that you're serving and I'm serving.

I would say it was supernatural. I took it for granted. A woman would do the housework and all the cooking. Yeah, that's because I looked in my lap. I said, there's way more, way more to this. And I thought, you grew up in a time where you got that in your head. And, you know, we're 50, 60 years into this. But I think God changes your view on that, you know.

So we can go down that rabbit hole if we want to. But that's called a sacred cow that you were a victim of how you were raised. But so like two days ago, we did podcasts a couple days ago. And you were down your back. Is your back any better? Zero improvement. We haven't, but it hasn't gotten worse. So there's been moments.

It's been five days from the initial onset of. the injury. Five days since I attempted to put a shoe properly fastened. I've got that seatbelt still hanging over my head. Don't bring it up. Do you not bring up the seatbelt? There is a revolt inside of the community on the seatbelt story. So let's not even bring it up, Jace.

Well, look, we got a few months before my court case, and I'm really excited about that. So a couple days ago, I get a picture. I'm laying there. I've got all these pillows properly making me as comfortable as possible. It's like I do better if there's pressure from the lower back from a firm pillow, which is how I'm also sleeping. And so I get a picture, and I'll share this picture with the audience.

So our lovely producer, Maddie, can put that up. I get a picture, Phil, let me show you the picture that I received. You got to remember, I'm not feeling good. I got this picture. Tell our viewers what we're looking at here. Finest table fair that there is. Apollucous catfish. I get a picture of an opalusus catfish in a boat right beside some rods.

Now, who that was from was our, it was a guy named Ram. Wendy, who I think actually you shared the gospel with him years ago and baptized him. And he became a key cog in our Duck Family Treasure show. Because these people in Hollywood, you know, you partner with them to film your life. And since we're not actors, we just, here's what we do. We're finding treasure. The irony of the show is how do you define true treasure? but my basis for the whole show was all the times you read in the Bible.

Illustrations about finding treasure brings joy and really the irony of it all. Think Luke 15 when Jesus told about in three instances something was lost and it was found. And he gave those three stories in response to why he was having a meal with tax collectors and sinners, the riffraff of the world. So basically what picture was he trying to present? That I came here. It's for everybody. To find humans because they're valuable to me.

Getting back to this idea of love. So, hey, we had a show, four seasons. New season comes out shortly, July 26th. I'm not sure when this will be aired, but right around the corner. Just a thought, when you fell victim, are targeted and you were fined or something you did about a on the seatbelt, Phil,

they don't want to talk about the seatbelt. But if you want to, what I'm just saying, I've never gotten a ticket. I've never received a ticket to law enforcement. You're doing this. That's why I don't do tickets. The reason why you didn't receive a ticket,

Phil, is because you ran and hid in the woods for three months. But you probably would have got a lot. I've seen the movie. I did a little higher. I've seen the movie. give you that. I'm pretty sure there was a stage of your life where you were breaking a lot of laws.

He just never got caught. I just were saying to you, I never got a ticket. He didn't get a ticket. That said I was doing this. But what I'm trying to explain to you and all the listeners who I don't read the comments, and I'm trying to get back to my story about this, I'd lose his cap. But the reason I, what you don't want to understand here is within this encounter. me and a law enforcement officer, it became a battle of principles, integrity.

I brought up my Bible. It was no longer about the seatbelt. He knew I had my seatbelt on. I knew I had my seatbelt on. And so I went integrity and the Bible. And he went with what I feel is a misuse. of the statute of which he gave me a ticket for because all of his arguments had nothing to do with what that statute says and so that's where when I decided to challenge it because I said I'm a

man of integrity I have my seatbelt on and I talked to millions of people and in that moment he was like I'm giving you a ticket and so that it became that's what it became so let's let's focus on the opalusive catfish. Yeah. Like let's let's let's let's let's let's talk about this. Tell me about the catfish. So I get a picture. I get a picture.

Maddie sent us a picture too. So I'm looking at it too, Jays. It's a. So we heard eating catfish. Well, I brought up Randy because look, this is kind of like this situation with the seatbelt. This is the man.

There's a man behind that catfish. The man who caught that catfish became one of my key. people in the making of that show because Randy possesses a certain set of skills that very few humans possess. And for what we were doing in the show, I went to the Hollywood production company and said, we must hire this man. His name is Randy. Randy Watson.

No, that's not the last man. So I'll protect his, you know, his identity. Although if you went and tried to find Randy, no one here would find him. He's a man that lives in wilderness areas. He moves about, but he can fix anything. He can haul anything. He can do anything in our world. It's like if you're, if anything happens on this earth and it becomes about survival,

Randy is going to be a key person because he's just that kind of guy. I would call him a sophisticated redneck. You know, if you walked in here and started talking, you'd say he's not sophisticated. But if you needed to survive or have something fixed... Brand is your guy? Oh, he's the guy.

We would say, Jay's, in the redneck world, we would say he's handier than a pocket on a shirt. Well, I got an idea here. I think this is, this may be a divine appointment because I just read an article. This is actually in a global newspaper, the UK Daily Mail, which I think is one of the largest, maybe the largest newspaper in the world.

And they have written an entire article, and I'll just read you a piece of it right here, that the flat, a river monster that can reach, it's a river monster that can reach 120 pounds and eat anything nearby is tightening its chokehold on America's waterways and has now crossed the Canadian border. So there may be

maybe Randy can come in and help stop this apex predator that you guys call the Opelusa catfish. I mean, there's a whole right up here. They're saying it's, it's, it's, I read the piece. He should be, he should be president of that venture.

Yeah. Because that guy caught that fish with a, with a rod and reel in the Washdale River. Now that's, that's talent. That's a skill set. And I said, where were you losing, using live bait and interesting enough?

He said, well, the law is a little tricky on that. Oh, boy. So he said, I wasn't because, hey, I'm legal through and through. So that guy, not only did he catch a Nopoulos's cat, he caught one with a freshly caught brim that was dead. He just had a hunk of brim on there. He said, if you get in a right spot, you can catch him. Doesn't matter. Are you guys, have you ever done the

the noodling? Because that's part of this article too. Oh, yeah. But I mean, let me. Have you done it? I mean, is that I mean, what do you have,

I have done it. And I found it not as thrilling as people do, but I've been around this kind of stuff. I mean, why not just go ahead and catch one in a net or on a pole? Yeah, my take on that, Zach, generally as a young person who used to do this and fish all the time.

Yeah. Was I don't run my hand. up into things under the water in all the waterways that surrounded our house. Not everybody knows what noodling is. Okay, here's what noodling. So every year when the ops run, and I did this for years, I ran with the ops. You know, they run with the bulls in Spain. That was not designed to be funny.

I've done this my entire life. You're accidentally funny again. Every year, there's a phenomenon that happens. in waterways where not lakes and ponds. It must be... That happens in the month of May. In May, the ops go to spawn. I'm defining noodling within this awesome thing that happens that God gave us to be able to run with the ops. Most of the times, ops are, they are autonomous. They move by themselves. They're a great predator. But in the month of May, it's their

spawning season and they just run in huge masses and they run if you could if you had x-ray vision of the washdall river you would see 50 60 pounds each oh yeah as big as they grow and i would say even almost 100 i mean we have had sightings along this running of the ops every year so i have pictures of ops that i've caught during this running of the ops that would blow your mind You'd say, this is not real. And I'll share a couple of those, Maddie, where I've literally filled up the boat with ops. Because what happens is they run into a hoop net thinking it's a log.

A female will go in there and say, I'm going to lay my eggs right here. Well, then all the males, they gather in on the female because she's now trapped. She doesn't realize she's trapped, but that's what a hoopnet is. Well, the newling is the same thing. So they'll go into a hole like you'll on a bank where the water's up and they'll make their nest going to lay their eggs. Well, if you walk up to said hole and stick your hand in there, she's going to bite you because this is her place, not yours.

And when she bites you, you have now noodled a catfish. It's not that you really caught it, but she, Catches you. Yeah, and then you just hang on. And if you don't have proper attire, that op, even though they don't have sharp teeth, they're sharper than you think. They're like little, how would you describe them?

I would say it's like a grinder plate. It's like a sandpaper. Sandpaper, yeah, yeah. I've had most of the skin removed from my right and left hand being involved with an op that bit me. I mean, because what happens is it's a natural reaction. they'll clamp down on you. Well, you immediately want to get your hand out of there.

But by moving back, what the op does is a lot like an alligator. They save up all their energy, and then they violently will roll and spin and pull. Well, if you have your arm in their mouth, it'll take off the skin off your, it's very painful, had it happened many times. So people do that with the proper gloves, and they catch them. They're like, I mean, I caught this with my hand, but actually it's an illusion. You stuck your hand where it didn't belong. She bit you, and you pulled it off.

So people, they call it noodling, and I'm not sure. I would have come up with a better name than that. But that's what they do. Apparently, it's very popular. I'm looking at the article, and there's an outdoor influence. I mean, I'm looking on her YouTube page, and it's got hundreds of thousands of views of these videos. Oh, yeah. Well, it's a thrill ride for people because these are violent creatures, but they're harmless other than losing skin from your body.

And they are great to eat. They're not just great to eat. They are the number one catfish taste-wise. On the planet. And I mean, I think there's hundreds of different variations. of catfish, and this is number one. I've never eaten one better. I would argue they're the number one freshwater fish to eat.

That's, I mean, even... Well, let's right up there with Cropy. Cropi would make a play in there, but it's totally different. Catch one. As soon as he hits the bottom of the boat, and he's flopping around, you just raise his back tail, raise his tail up and make a sharp slice all the way to his back bone from from beneath him and the blood spurts so you drain his blood before you get over there that is true it sounds barbaric but do you notice that blood in the boat well randy look i didn't have to tell

randy see he didn't have an explanation he just sent me the picture well i knew what that meant so i called randy and i said where you want to meet i knew why he sent me that picture that was Randy who loves the Lord who was in this project with me for two years and he will share Jesus with somebody at the drop of a hat and he he was a part of what we're doing in the kingdom of God and since he possesses those skills I will say this that show would not have been as good as I think it turned out to be without Randy because here's what you see a lot of Apollusus cat

amazingly and uh and uh and oh Sea of Galilee. Sea of Galilee. I did, and people have asked me that many times. They want to somehow think I'm crazy, but I saw them. Now, they were under the water. There was a light, but they looked identical to the Apollosus cat, which then made a lot of things make sense.

Because I'm like, no wonder one of the first things you did post-resurrection was eat some fish on the bank. Not because you had to, just because this is what we do. Yeah. So if we had to send a representative for our way of life and why we do what we do, you know, I would have Randy up there top list. I mean, I consider him a brother. I mean, he's a brother in Christ, but he has a brother.

He's a brother that can do many things. Yeah, we need to connect him with whatever the effort is to population control. you get Randy involved and I was just talking to our friend Chad he said they fed 400 no it was 400 pounds of catfish that they've cooked at a prison nearby you guys and they had 80 baptisms and yeah you know so maybe the maybe this could be a deal where it's like a we we have a crew and then they kind of do that they have a crew that goes out and gets the catfish they have a crew that cooks them then they have a crew that cooks them then they they do it at CR. It's been an incredible ministry for what, probably. They learned it from you, Phil, because they get him out there to boat. I remember you used to tell the story.

That's what I was going to say. So, you know, Randy, you know, I said, where are you want to meet? And he said, no, I'm going to, I'll bring him to your house. I got, now he had already had him cleaned. Oh. And I was like, now who does this? you know who just because because it's hard to clean i would say he was 10 to 15 pounds did he know you were hurt did he know you were injured no that that's why i thought

well i'm as down as i have been in years between overcoming a sinus infection and now my back is just that you know we have a problem and wouldn't you know it you know the lord cent, oh Randy, with the greatest gift outside of a relationship with God and God's people, he wants to give me a cleaned opalusus catfish. And I've seen him clean many of fish because when it comes to what we do, I don't trust people to clean fish for me. I mean, there's under five people that I would, like it feels that I'll clean. this fish for you. Okay, well, he's in that five. Well, Randy's one of those guys, because I've

seen the way he operates. And he was, even in the treasure hunting, he had never even metal detected, where it took me a year to figure out how to do this. Well, he had it in three or four weeks. He became a pro. He's just that kind of guy. It's what I'm saying. Anything you're doing outdoors, he just has a knack for. And he said, no, I'll bring it to your house, man. He said, you all you've done for me, you know, but we didn't like, I hadn't talked to Randy. I'd seen him at the Faith Family Freedom because he volunteered to be there and to serve because we were sharing Jesus and we had people. So he rode us around kind of like he does in the TV show. But he was there just to serve, you know, and that's what I'm saying. This is what to me makes the kingdom powerful.

And we wind up meeting at the church parking lot because it was a halfway point. But then I, I was sitting there waiting on him to show up my thought no really the church is what we're doing here he was that was just something he wanted to do for me and i really needed this gift because i thought boy if you know what are we going to do about this back i know where we can start let's fry up some opalusus catfish because that's going to make me feel better about everything and so we met but it was ironic and uh i got the fish I brought it back. So the next morning, I cut the, because he had it, he had it, he had the two belly meat sides,

and then he had the two filet sides. By the way, had cut off all the, you know, the outside. The Apelousas catfish has the thickest underside. Belly meat. Belly meat. Yeah. That there is on any fish. And it has nothing in it, like where a blue cat has a film.

Oh, yeah. That is undesirable to eat. The op has zero of that. But I didn't start off with the pro tip with the belly meat. I started off with the rest of him, the filet. I ate that. I could not believe that there was not a hint of fissionness. There was zero toughness.

Sometimes when they get up that size, they get kind of rubbery. None. It literally melted in my mouth. It was so good. good that I redid it for supper. Oh, you've even sent pictures here of the finished product, I see. Yeah, I sent that to Randy because I was then thanking him for making me feel better. Yeah, if you want to see the before and the after, then you could look on the YouTube

channel, but we got the before op, which is in the boat. Apparently, the blood has already been spilled. And then the second picture is what's left of what Jace cooked after he ate. It's a lot of fish there, though. Did you eat it all? I ate every bit both. Missy came in there and started nibbling. She's, because she likes the cropy, but I said, babe, this is one of the greatest catfish that I've

ever eaten. She took a bite and said, you're right. Well, I'm coming in town on August the 5th. So why don't we figure out a way to get. Now, see, you've totally, you've totally ruined my story because you have. givers and receivers. I was going to apply this to Ephesians 2 where God's grace is a gift. I'm asking for it.

Then you have two responses to that. You can be a giver because of what God gave you, or you can just get caught up in receiving full time. No, I'm asking for, I'm asking for the gift, Jay. Jay, he's hungry. Jace, I'm saying I have nothing to contribute here. I'm coming in town. This is purely an act of grace on your. part, I'm asking for the grace and for the mercy.

He's warning you to take Randy's leave. You take Randy's leave. I really think this. And then you show us, you show us what Christ is like. This kind of thinking is what's wrong with the church, right here. All right, Jayes. Well, since you've woven this story into our podcast today. But this is a real life story.

I didn't, I mean, this really happened. I thought people can't appreciate what it means to be in the kingdom of God. But when you look at what this guy did, now granted, he was fishing for the enjoyment of it. But when he caught one, he thought about me. And then he was willing to clean it and drive it 40 minutes away and deliver it. But I just felt too bad about that. I was like, I'll meet you halfway, brother. No, I agree 100%.

It's a great illustration. And it shows you that we're made in the image of God. And in our best moments, we have some of those same tendencies that he has all the time. I mean, he operates. 30 years ago or 40 years ago, the Apollosus catfish would be one of the ones that we chose to serve a group. I mean, if you piled it up, oh, you couldn't get it in that door. Would this be a pile of. I mean, we ate a lot of opalusus handpicked them.

Let them, skin them, clean them, cut them up, took out the bones. If you want the bones, we got them over here. I mean, we ate a lot of opollucous cat, number one. Well, and to Zach's point on the article. I do it as a living. I read the article, and my first thought was, if there's that many of them and they're out there everywhere. Let's start serving those in restaurants. Forget about the pond raised blue cats.

To get so long, I think, to catch them. But out. But you've taken over the world. Let's feed the world. Because you've taken it. Yeah. You got to have people who know how to catch them, how to clean them. Yeah. You get into that. I mean, I'm sure you could ruin them really quick. But you could get a premium for them. I think you could charge. I mean, this wouldn't be like catfish. You know, you wouldn't charge what you would charge for a pond raised cat. This would be on the, on par with like red fish. Yeah, that's why they can't raise them because they only eat usually live creatures,

although Randy, just for fun, caught one on an actual dead brown. But he did clarify, he said, but it was fresh. If they eat their own young. Well, if you try to have them in captivity. Yeah, and it's like most things like that in the wild. That's why they can't do great white sharks and a lot of other things in captivity. There's, you know, some things just by the nature, God made them. That's right.

They're the top dog, you know, in the water. But isn't it something that they are a mystery amongst all the, all the catfish? You know, they're mysterious in the way they operate, the way their meat look. It's totally different. I pulled up a net one time. Now, the net's on the bottom in about 20 feet of water. When I get it up there on the top of the water, I looked on both sides. sides of it and the ends, there was about 25 or 30

Opelousa cat that just, as I raised the net up, they were following them females in that net, and they just rose up with them. And it was just up on both sides of the boat. I just looked, I could see Apollosius cat just coming up, and they all went back down, you know, when they could, they saw me. but it was pretty interesting to watch. Yeah, we've caught, you know,

you've caught hundreds and hundreds of pounds when they're running. And, you know, you could sell them in a fish market. And so, you know, that's how people were able to get them. But anyway, maybe somebody out there figured out, they're great eating. So if they're taking over the world, let's eat them. Yeah, and I didn't, I just used salt and pepper, a little, of Phil's Cajun seasoning, and just meal.

Corn. And fried them. Yeah, cornmeal. fried them and peanut all. Because they're so good. You don't have to spice them up or anything. You don't want an extravagant batter. That's right.

Because when Missy saw them, you see them there. It's actually not a fishy eat when you're eating. There's a little flavor, the op flavor. It's very hard to describe, but it's not fishy. That's right. It has a distinct just, it's indescribable. You don't have to eat it.

But I'll tell you. this, it's such a different catfish that if you cut a little opalusus catfish up and you put 10 blues that you cut up in a pile, I would systematically pick out the ops in less than 20 seconds. That's right. You can't hide it. It's that good. No, I agree. Well, I'm with Zach.

We need to figure out a way to pass that. Grace on to the brother's super. We'll get Randy involved. Y'all, yeah. Don't be messing with my guy. Randy's in my inner circle. And I'm so glad that he's there. But there's a certain, because that's what you do, I think, as members of the kingdom,

you know, you form your inner circles when you have Jesus projects. And when it comes to that kind of deal, like if I ever do another TV show again, well, he's first guy I'm calling. because what I could do is when we're going to go metal detecting, I would send, I'd say, Randy, there's a river down here,

you know, 1.2 miles away. I wonder if we'd catch any fish in that thing. He said, I'll let you know. He knows what that means. So when we would go to places and so then he would send a picture and say, oh yeah.

So then that's how we would end up fishing. He's a scout. He's a scout. He's a scout. He's a scout. He's a guy. guy you could just go drop off in a mountain somewhere and say, you know, give us a report in a few days. He wouldn't need any other kind of way of figuring it out.

He would just go tell you what's there and he wouldn't need anything to get out of there. There's just certain people I like it. That's why Jay sitting telling us his last name because he's like, I don't even know his name was Randy. It's probably Bill or George or something. I'll tell you this. If you ever meet Randy, you'll know it. You know it's him. When he says, I'm Randy, and you've heard this, my speech about him, you're like, oh, that's him.

He's unforgettable. Just think like, let's think. I must find Randy. He, to me, reminds me he's the Christian version of that movie of the Forrest Gump, where they made all that up, where he was involved in all this. But Randy is that guy. He's the kingdom version of Forrest Gump. instead of shrimp, it's Apollosus catfish. But Jay's, your illustration is so spot on because one of the things in this whole text of chapter 2, 1 through 10 is one of the things I always think of when I think about grace, especially God's grace.

But you can see it when it plays out even among us in human beings and believers is that grace is never about paying back, but it's always about paying. forward. And so when you said that, when he said, hey, I got this and sent the picture without any explanation. And then he said, you've done so much for me. It's not that he's paying you back, but he's paying forward the idea about when you receive something that you don't deserve, the godly instinct to us is to then pass on that grace to other people. And that's what changes you. I mean, let's face it. That's the exact opposite of any worldly, Satan, or sin, because they're always about what can I get for me? What can I squeeze out of you to get for me as opposed to what can I give you that I expect

nothing in return for? Yeah, it's like when you, if I ask you, why do most people do TV shows or movies? What would be the answer? Why do most people pursue that? Pursue what? TV shows and movies. Why would, why do, or being an influencer? They want to be known, fame and fortune.

Yeah, you make a lot of money and you become famous. It gives you all these resources. So I'm saying, I think maybe a month into us hiring Randy, me and him were in a truck moving something somewhere and talking. He's like, you know, I got it. And I was like, what's that? Because he talks real funny. You know, he talks fast, but he just has some funny mannerism.

He's one of the funniest humans on the planet. And he said, y'all are doing this for the Lord. And I said, Randy, you just now figuring that out? He's like, well, you know, people say that. But I've been looking around, oh, I get it. You're planting a seed that would interest people. And somehow, you know, through that, you can lead them to the Lord. I was like, oh, yeah, that's what we're doing.

He's like, I'm in for this venture and any other one. Because here it uses his skill sets. We need them, but he realized that early on. And that's why I said I would use him in any way that I could if we were, you know, doing another show. Because he's just really good. He contributed amazingly in ways you just wouldn't imagine. But that's why we do it. But it was the same as the showrunner on the show, the same concept.

We're not doing this because, oh, we're going to get a check. And maybe it'll lead to another show where we can get some money or just not what it was about. Yes, it's funny because there was a story that was just out last week. Kevin Bacon, who's a pretty well-known actor, been around a long time, done a lot of movies. He apparently had done this little experiment himself and went out and changed his look and put in teeth and they weren't his and hair. and all this stuff. He just kind of wanted to do a little social experiment and see how he would get treated in the world at large.

And so after his experiment, he's come out now, this is like a week ago, and said, you know, I think I'm going to go back to being famous because I'm treated a lot better than I am when nobody knew who I was. And I laughed because I thought, well, pretty much you didn't have to go through the whole experiment to tell you. That's human nature about how people treat one another.

and you're right jays they there's a status idea that i want to you know have what i wanted and be treated a certain way but but that's exactly the opposite of what is purported here in in exodus chapter 2 i mean the idea here is phasians chapter 2 i mean Ephesians what does that well you went to exodus i was like well you were making a segue that i wasn't familiar with maybe i was thinking about the But come in. Maybe there's something was planted by the Holy Spirit. We may wind up in Exodus. Yeah, Ephesians chapter 2.

Well, so you want to read that or you want to? And let me just, let me set it back up because we haven't, because we hadn't gotten there. So we, Ephesians 1 3 through 14. We laid out the plan of God in essence. I mean, it was just kind of a squeezed down version that Paul did. And it was amazing. And then he comes back after that.

How much before the plan began? Well, he goes back to before creation. Yeah, he went back to, which is why we spent so much time on it. So then he came back in verses 15 through 23, and Paul kind of writes it in a prayer, almost like a song. But again, it's still everything that God has done for us. And so then we get to chapter two, and he's going to make a little shift here. and it's still God's gift, but now it's going to relate personally to us. Because he starts out in verse one by saying, as for you,

so now we're getting personal. It's like we've talked about all this stuff. God is amazing. This plan has been there. I mean, his power is there for us, all these great things. And then he says, but as for you, you, and that's any of us, were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of the world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,

the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. So this reminded you a lot of like Romans 1 and 2 and 3. Well, also in 1st John, remember where it said the whole world's under the control of the evil one. But I mean, in 1 John 5, was that 19? Right. But in 1st John 5, 3 or 4, it's like, but we have. overcome the world. Right.

You know, because Jesus has overcome the world. Who is it that overcomes the world? He who believes in Jesus. But you have the two worlds within the world. And he's making this sharp contrast to be able to see the two. He says, all of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh, or some versions say sinful nature, and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath, which, man, I want to talk about that

statement later, because that's quite the statement. Then he says the word we love, but, you know, that's bad, but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. And J.S., you've already referenced his verse before, in order that in the coming ages, he might show the incomparable riches of his grace. That's the second time that word's been used, incomparable, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. for it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not from yourselves it is the gift of

God not by work so that no one can boast for we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do and there's a lot there you know it's a good kind of mirror passage or a compliment like a passage that compliments this well as in Romans 5. Paul making a similar argument in Romans 5. But I think there's this little nugget in the center of this, this text that is often overlooked, but it hits at the core of what we've been talking about in this podcast.

And it's verse 6 when it says that, and raised us up with him and seated us with him. in the heavenly places in Jesus Christ. So if you go back to the last podcast, we were talking about what in Ephesians 1, when it says that this is in Ephesians 1, 20, that he worked, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead

and seated him, where? At his right hand in where? The heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. And one of the points that Jace made, and he said, you know, we, and it's so key that when we hear that word heavenly realm, we always think that it's way away from us, that it's not, we're not, we're not, that's, he's out there, we're down here, and he's up there doing work for us, but we're not really with him. But when you read this passage that uses the same language, then the very next chapter, so you know this is connected to what he just said about where Christ is seated in the heavenly realms. it says here that we are seated with him in the heavenly places. How? In Christ Jesus.

So you go back to the beginning of Ephesians 1. That's why we emphasize, probably over-emphasize those first four podcasts on the first part of Ephesians 1, the in him, in him, in him, in him. Because the point of this is not just simply that Christ forgave us of our sins, and now he's way up there away from us and he's doing his mediation work. Now, this is actually saying, no, we're with him. Like, we're part of the inner life now. Like, we've been invited in. So that language was there. Verse six is kind of often overlooked when we get to this text.

But I think it's actually key to the whole thing of understanding that this is more than just, hey, you're justified. This is more than that. This is a lot about what we're doing in Christ now. Yeah, that's why I spent 20 minutes talking about the inner circle, because that's what we really have heaven and earth has come together one 10 just just remember where we've come from with you know god revealed this at this time when they will the times will have reached their fulfillment to bring all things in heaven and on earth under one head even christ well then he then mentions that again in verse 22 when he says God placed all things under his feet, which means he's at the heavenly

realms. That's the verse you just read in verse 20. And so in the present age, you know, it was 21. God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church. Well, that's happening now. You know, most religious people that I heard coming up, when they would read these passages, they would always go to the final coming of Jesus, saying, well, that's when we're all going to be together. That is true, but it's also true now. That's why that key phrase in verse 21 at the end when it says, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. I think that's fascinating. Yeah, I do too. he's not far. I mean, even in chapter two, where we're going to get to, I know he's talking about,

you know, the Jews and Gentiles coming together. He kind of shifts into that. Look at what you've become. I mean, not only did he save you from when you were following the ways of the world, the kingdom of the air, the spirit, who is now working with those who are disobedient, which are all contrast to what his kingdom offers. He's king of kings in heaven itself. He has ways that people respond to him that are good, that are not self-indulging. And we talked about the love being contagious.

But it's also, we have the Holy Spirit of God, in contrast to the Spirit who is at work in those who are disobedient. Well, what's that talking about? That's going back to the same illustration I was saying, why people do movies and TV. You can either do it. for earthly things, temporary satisfactions, or gratification is the word, gratify your impulses?

So what's in contrast to that, God's grace? Yeah. And so I think it's interesting when he says in Ephesians 2.13, and I know he's talking about Gentiles being included, which a Gentile, we say this over and over again, but if someone's new, that's anyone that's not from Israel, which would be everybody. But watch what he says, but now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. It's actually that same concept. We think Jesus is far away.

And Paul is like, no, you were the one that's far away because you neglected everything that God set up through his creation. You know, think of Romans 1, his invisible. power and divine nature has been clearly seen so that all men are without excuse. And his love has been seen by Him Sending Jesus. We have this historical document that leads you there. All these things that God is drawing himself, you know, he's drawing you to himself, spirit-filled people, which is Ephesians 210. So that, to me, that's the power of this.

It's like, yes, I gave you this gift of grace, and it wasn't anything you could have done because the systems that you are at work in in the world are never going to fulfill anything having to do with real love. And they all end. They all die. But don't you find that fascinating? That then it's like, but you are created as God's workmanship created. You're new creatures.

This is a new world. I'm going to make my presence known through you. And so it's not just about forgiveness. It's about forgiveness, yes. But it's also about then you being used by God, just like Jesus made God the Father and his principles known. I mean, that's what's fascinating. He's made the two, one, the dividing wall of hostility

and what he's describing here is by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. You're no longer under a system of rules and regulations. Well, that's what they... Saved by grace. Yeah, that's why, you remember Mark 2 when they came up with about was the Sabbath made for man or was man for the Sabbath? Well, that was a big thing because they thought, oh, you know, we have to apply. ourselves to this law. And this is eventually what he was turning on its head.

He was like, no, that was given for you. Yeah. Not you for the law. And so that's really what he broke down. But even in Mark I. That was a sure enough gift. Yeah, to go back to the efficient illustration and you said, what's that got to do, you know, that whole long story with Randy.

It's no different than what happened in Mark I met Randy. and we both met God through Jesus, but what God has made us is fishers of men. You remember when they were all fishermen? Yeah. And he was like, no, I'm going to make you fishers of men. I mean, you take everything that happens here on this earth, and once you get into the new world that God provides within this world,

it stands in stark contrast to everything else. This world is representing. We're out of time, but man, there's so much I want to say, and I'm going to save it until we come back. But, you know, the idea of grace applying to Jew and Gentile before he gets this idea about bringing Jew and Gentile together, I want to explore that some more. We'll do that on the next Unashamed. We'll see you there. Thanks for listening to The Unashamed podcast. Help us out by rating us on iTunes.

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