Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 931 | Jase Got Beat Up for Being Class Favorite & What Many Mass Shooters Have in Common

Episode Date: July 31, 2024

Jase used to be classified as a “lone wolf” even though he got beaten up for being a class favorite, and the guys diagnose the biggest problem of most mass shooters and potential presidential assassins. Phil guesses the intent of Paul when writing Ephesians, and the guys encourage humility and perseverance when approaching Christ. Zach points out that we come to Jesus so he can make us right, instead of trying to get “right” before we meet Jesus. In this episode: John 17, verse 3; John 21, verse 17; Revelation 22, verse 1; Ephesians 3, verses 10-18; 1 Kings 6, verses 11-13; 1 Kings 8, verse 27; James 2, verses 1-2; Galatians 2, verse 15; Hebrews 10, verse 19 -- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? Welcome back to Unashame. We've been studying the book of Ephesians, and I don't know, I guess we've been taking the meandering version of getting around the text, because there's just so much good stuff in here. I've said, Zach, that I thought this study is so good, because Paul just condenses, you know, his gospel messes down so dense in this text, especially the first three chapters. Man, it just feels like there's some great nugget of truth in, you know, like every third word in this text.

Well, then Jason, the last podcast, had mentioned this. He was talking about the things that divide us. And so I think in his presentation of the gospel, how appropriate is it for this current cultural moment? I mean, it's just like, we just get so divided over so many things in the church. And this is such a beautiful picture of kind of this oneness, this one body coming together. So, I mean, it's so the connection between the unification of the church and the gospel of Christ is interlinked. You can't separate the two.

Yeah, and you know, in the text in chapter two, it says in verse 4, He himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. And of course, you know, when we know from biblical study, you know, this idea of that wall being there, which, but it could be a metaphor for something so much more. You can almost put that wall in between any two groups of people or whatever the situation is this dividing you. But when I always think about that one phrase, I think about the temple, you know, the earthly temple. And there was a sign, you know, from going from the outer court to the intercourt that said, if you're not of Israel, you can't go past this point. And so I've always thought that's kind of what he meant, but I could be wrong.

I mean, but that's just one literal dividing wall that was there between the Jews and the Gentiles is because covenant-wise, they had no access to the Messiah, to the relationship. Well, I think there's definitely a lot of that in there. Jays, you talked about in a previous podcast. I loved your link when you were talking about John 17, 3, when Jesus is defining eternal life for them. And because I think it plays into this because I think so often we forget what the ultimate prize is.

We think it's, you use the word, I forget what you use, individualistic or, autonomous or something, but it was the idea of where we've become too autonomous. And that's not really the call. It's not this autonomous existence. You know, it is life in Christ, knowing him. And then with each other that collect him. I thought he had a brilliant picture of that when you talked about. It's been a while.

What did you say? Because I think it's relevant here. Well, you know, I was, I was kind of just going in on the fact of if you look at the history of the church and what could go wrong, you know, when you read Acts 2 and what happened, it's this beautiful picture of people realizing, wow, what a savior. God became a man.

Look how much he loved us. He's forgiven us our sins, and we don't even have to do these rituals anymore. And all, I mean, they're just, gone, but he sacrificed himself on a cross. He's been resurrected. We now can live. And so the people, the church, and remember the verse says in Acts 2, and the Lord added to the church daily those who are being saved. It's like, it's so different from what, when you fast forward a couple thousand years, and now people are talking about, I'm going to move my letter, and you're like, what does that

mean, oh, well, he's going to go join another church. And you remember those commercials when we were kids? They would say join the church of your choice. It just seems so different than what was happening there. And you say, well, what happened? And really what happened is we know from our history that the church kind of became this political figure as well as a religious thing. and started doing things uncharacteristic to the character of God. And so eventually rebellion happened.

And it was the birth of, you know, our nation was founded on having the freedom, you know, to worship God and not have to worship some religious, political, one church idea. And so, but I said the danger of that was somehow becoming so individualistic that you then, you, that you then lose the power of what the church is, which is the body of Christ. It's a spirit that's often pictured in the Bible as like living water. We've read that in John 7, where even in Jesus' conversation, you remember with the Samaritan woman in John 4, is talking about this water that would give life. Verse 13, Jesus answered, everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. I'm talking about the water at the well.

But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. And then you read the John 7. And what's funny is Jay, she she misunderstood and didn't make the leap over to what he was talking about because she said, I want some of that water. I'm tired of coming down to this well. Exactly. So in John 7 in verse 37, it's if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.

whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. Well, when you say, what did he mean by, as the scriptures have said, I think it's in Isaiah 33, he gives this picture of the river of life. And what's fascinating about it is that it was flowing from the temple. And wherever it was going, it was producing life. it was teeming with creatures and trees were growing up on the side of its banks. And it eventually like flows into the dead sea and burst out life.

You know, it's a beautiful picture. And you're like, well, what kind of pictures he's talking about? He's saying, that's what it's like when I'll be exalted to the right hand of God and pour out my spirit on people that will become in them. And so then you even see that in Revelation, remember 21? That's exactly what I was going to say. That's where I was thinking too. Where he says in 22, 1, then the angel showed me the river of the water of life

is clear as crystal flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb. Well, that's what we're a part of. We're the temple of the living God. Down the middle of the great street of the city on each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing 12 crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and the lamb will be in the city and his servants will serve him. I mean, what a beautiful picture. So in that, in those three chapters in John 14 through 16, I mean, I'm literally going through the book of John talking about

how Jesus was saying this spirit that I will give you is like a river of life. Think, you know, rain going on to a wasteland and all this life bursting forth. And so then he prays for himself. And he says, now this is eternal life in verse three, that they may know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom you've sent. So he focuses. That's going to be our message. And he prays for his disciples.

And he goes into this contrast about, look, even though you're in the world, you're not of the world, just like I was in the world, but I wasn't of the world. And now I'm going to go send you to do the same thing. And then he prays for all the believers, which is the point that we're getting to in the book of Ephesians. And he says that in verse 21 of 17, where it says that all of them may be one. Just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. So that's what Paul's writing to the Ephesian. He's saying, look at what's happened, no matter where you're from, what you look like, what you did, what Jesus did on a cross in his resurrection, has literally bulldozed.

Think of a wrecking ball coming in in any wall that is opposed and any hostility that we share as human beings can now be put aside in Jesus Christ. Because the text here, we mentioned this in our last podcast, says you have, on one side you have the Commonwealth of Israel. And then on the other side, you have strangers to the Commonwealth of Israel. The scripture here says strangers to the covenants of the promise. So you have these two distinct different people groups. And the point Paul's making is that there was a wall that divided them. And then that wall has been demolished in Christ. Now they are coming together, to your point, it's not just about individual atonement here.

There's something collective going on as well here because he says that through Christ, they are coming together. You are fellow citizens to the strangers with the saints and members of the household of God. built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together. So there's that together language there. So you think, well, what is it? Like, what's going on here? Because he's talking about this growing into a holy temple of the Lord, into a dwelling place, it says here. They're being built into a dwelling place for God by the spirit together. So you see the idea they're together that we're being built into the dwelling place. And I went back.

and looked at this idea of temple, tabernacle, and then how that correlates to the word dwelling, and where does God dwell at? And if you read in Exodus 25, this is when the tabernacle, they were instructed to build the tabernacle. And this is Exodus 258, there's instructions here to Moses from the Lord

to speak to the people of Israel that they would, take for me a contribution. So get all this money and then I want you to build something for me. Here's what God said, build. Build me a tabernacle. And let, verse eight, and let them make me a sanctuary. We say, why does he want a sanctuary, a tabernacle, that I may dwell in their midst. So you see, right here, you see this as the same language in Ephesians of being built together for a dwelling place to God in a temple. You see it in the first construction of the tabernacle, which for all intents and purposes is a mobile temple. So what was the purpose? of the Moval Temple so that God could dwell with his people. Well, then you skip forward to First King

6, where this is when he gives the instructions to Solomon to build the temple. So what is the temple? The temple is a permanent tabernacle. The other tabernacle was what they took around in the exodus, and they would haul it around and reconstruct it, and they'd put this tent up every time they'd stop, and that's where God would meet with him at. Well, now he said, now I want a permanent structure. And this is what he says to Solomon. Now concerning, now the world of the Lord came to Solomon, this is 1st King 611, concerning this house that you are building. If you walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David, your father.

Listen to verse 13. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people. So Solomon built the house and finished it. Same, same idea. Why did he tell Solomon to build the house so that he may dwell with his people? But then when you read, this is what's interesting about it. You skip a couple of chapters later, and Solomon says the most incredible thing in First Kings 8, verse 27. He's built the temple.

He gives a prayer dedication. And then Solomon actually asked a pretty amazing question that probably any person in their right mind would ask. He says, but will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you how much less this house that i had built and so you see even in the accomplishment of the building of the temple the first temple by solomon he acknowledged kind of the the idea that is god really going to be contained to a house that was built by me and and it's all pointing forward to this what was happening with what was going to ultimately be accomplished in jesus there was going to be a new temple not

built by man's hands. That's what Paul says in Acts 17. It's what Stephen said right before he was murdered, that God doesn't live in the temples built by man's hands. God lives in temples built by himself. And that's why when you read this text here, what you're seeing in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 21 and 22, you're seeing how John 173 comes all together in one thing. What is it? That Christ himself now is the cornerstone of the new temple, and then we're living stones built on that temple. And I got about 15 verses. I won't read them all, but I mean, it's over and over again in the New Testament about human bodies being the living stones built on the cornerstone of Jesus himself. Well, not only that, Zach, you know, what I was thinking

about because this is a metaphor, obviously, that God used to show that and you described it beautifully. And think about it. Even there are other metaphors before there was ever a tabernacle. It instructed in Exodus 25, you think back to the Passover whenever the Israelites, you know, were brought out of slavery in Egypt and that terrible night of that last plague of death. And what was it that protected them? It was blood on their doorpost, the blood of the lamb. And so even God was showing even before he set up these places, the tabernacle in the temple, that the blood of the lamb would be the salvation.

And we now know, they didn't know it at the time, but we now know, looking back over history, he was already given the nod that it would be the Passover lamb of Jesus. And so when you described the temple, people would come in at Passover from all across the world, every Jew, wherever he was, to come into that temple, you know, to have that lamb sacrificed. But what we realize is that was never going to be the permanent and the final solution.

It was always. did that right. Yeah, and Solomon kind of recognized that. Chapter 3, verse 16, you say, what was behind all this? His intent, God's intent, was that now through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms all the way off this earth, according to, to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In him and through faith in him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you therefore not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you. Don't worry

about me down here in jail. God's pulled this thing off so whether we can go from earth to heaven and be acquitted, sinless, because of our faith. So that was the intent of all this to get it in. For ages, it was hidden. And that's Ephesians 310 and 11.

You said 16. I try. So I love that word to have confidence because, you know, I've been hanging out in Hebrews 10 as I've been preaching there. And that same word is used in Hebrews 1019 when the Hebrew writer said right after he said that the sacrifice of Christ forgives our sins and they will be remembered no more, which was a reference back to Jeremiah. Then he says this, therefore, brothers, since we have confidence, just what you just read, to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus. And now we know he means heaven itself. That was his intent, right?

Yes. By a new and living way opened up for us through the curtain, that is his body. And since we have this great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water so that we hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised is faithful. And I thought it was really interesting,

as Jason was talking at unity, we received these blessings because of our faith in Christ. But then right after that, the Hebrew writer goes right into and said, so therefore, let us spur others own, you know, to good deeds.

Let us not give up meeting together. I mean, he just immediately turns it into the idea that this was never meant for us alone. this was it for us to share with other people, which is what true unity is really all about. It's finding someone else to have that relationship with. So I love it.

Every book you see in the Bible says, it keeps coming back to that same concept of confidence, of assurance, of what we have in Christ. That's the purpose of the whole thing. But then, look, we're not selfish. We don't keep that to ourselves.

We want other people to be a part of that. Yep. Well, it's, but it's just dangerous. You know, you go back to Genesis when he said, you know, he made Adam, man, and he said, it's not good for man to be alone. Yeah. And just in recent events, you know, what we described as the guy who tried to assassinate President Trump, you know, they called him a lone wolf. You know, the first part of the...

He was described as a loner. You're right. Well, then when they started interviewing some of these people who knew him, well, they said, same thing. He was always off by himself. He was bullied. He, you know, even his parents, the day of the shooting, they called the police because they couldn't find him. And, uh, but the, the point I'm obviously making is it goes back to this. It's not good for man to be alone. And even in our, you know, the power of what we're a part of as a whole and all these texts, talking about we're members of one another and the body when you think about, you know,

First Corinthians 12, when Paul goes through that, you know, it's kind of a funny illustration. He's like, just imagine if the body was an ear. You know, we all have different parts. You know, you imagine a giant ear walking around. Well, you'd be able to hear pretty good, but you'd have a lot of problems if you were just one ear. And so, you know, I think that's what he's trying to see. the problem in practical life, though, is it's uncomfortable to be with humans. I mean, bad things happen.

They do you wrong. You can't get along. And you just think kind of from a marriage context and with your kids. I mean, these are the people you love the most. And how hard is it just to get along? I mean, I've had many moments where I'm like, okay, I need a minute. You know, I've got to walk outside or whatever. Because you, you know, it's just very difficult.

So when you throw in all the differences culturally, you know, where we're from, different languages, different colors of people, different ideas, it becomes extremely difficult. And so I even think that in Luke 15, I've never said this before publicly, but I believe Jesus told that part of the reason he told that story. because here he is, God in human form, coming to Earth, and he just seems to have a pattern of behavior where he genuinely takes individuals and shows them that they're valuable. He engages, he listens to them, no matter what has happened. I mean, and he seems to be picking people of an extreme nature,

whether it was demon possession or they have leprosy. I mean, there's no way if God had been sanctioned by God that I'm going to, you know, a guy's got leprosy, I'm not touching him as a human being. And I might try to help him, but I'm definitely not touching him. But the fact that he did shows you just the value that he's placed on all individuals. And so it kind of culminates in Luke 15, famous passage. And he's with tax collectors. sinners, in quotation.

And that is a general reference to how the Bible would refer to Gentiles. Relations to, I know where it is on the page, 15. Paul said, we who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, you know, because they were deemed as, oh, they're the center. We have the system in place. We're doing the sacrifices in the temple. but boy these sinners they're not from Israel they're out but of course to finish that thought in Galatians 2 it said we know that a man is not justified by observing the law but by faith in

Jesus Christ which which will eventually lead to you know him having this famous passage in Galatians 3 when it says we're all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus for all of us who were baptized into Christ have closed yourselves with Christ there's neither Jew nor Greek, slave and a free, male or female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. But look, you could keep putting categories there for the rest of time. Yeah. Those are the categories of the day, but like that.

Exactly. If you think it's about those categories, you've missed a bigger picture. He said, it could be any category. Yeah, that was my point. And that's why I'm bringing up Luke 15. So when he said, oh, here's Jesus being accused by the Pharisees, who are Jewish leaders. of him by not being godly because he's not that he's even endorsing him. He's just having a meal with tax collectors.

And to use this point, what I think is a Gentile reference. You know, he's telling an illustration. And so he tells these stories, well, when it gets to the prodigal son, and the reason I believe this may be part of the reason Jesus did, that because hundreds of times in the Bible, I think it's at least a hundred, I say hundreds, but there were references to the Gentiles being those who were far off. They were far off because God's chosen people were the Jews and the Gentiles would come much later.

But because of what Jesus did. And you see that reference many times, those who were far off could be brought. It's all over Romans. Would you all agree? Oh, yeah. No question. So when he tells the story, think about in this light of Ephesians 2, here's this guy who's a son of the father. I would submit we're all made in the image of God.

And he's like, give me a mind. I'm taking off to the pig pen. And, you know, this is how you become known as a sinner. When you're wild partying, what was he doing, squandered as well, in wild living? I think that would be a good definition of what a sinner entails. And, you know, we know the story. He realizes that his way was not the right way. He has a repentant heart.

He comes to his senses is what the story says. And then when you get down to verse 20, so he got up and went to his father. And this phrase comes up. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion he ran to his son through his arms around him and kissed him so now if you put it in the context of what we're talking about in ephesians that this this is it's a really good picture that all along god has always loved all people that's why you're here on the planet it just took this system through the jews being a you know

his holy nation and their unfaithfulness in that process to bring about Jesus who would save all people all along. God has loved people from the beginning of time. And so then that same picture comes to this son who was there the whole time, which I think represents the Jewish nation. And a lot of scholars say, well, he represents the Pharisees themselves. But I think not only that, and I didn't read this in a book somewhere, this is just what I'm thinking, but I get these thoughts because what we have in Jesus,

which is the theme of Ephesians. In Jesus, all these things are coming. You see this beautiful picture of all people actually being able to get along in Jesus and be unified when that is the most difficult thing to do on the planet. Well, think about this. I mean, you said something about that prodigal son story, which I actually got a painting up here in my office of Rembrandt's prodigal son, which is a whole other story. beginning to one day. But think about what we're saying here, or what Paul's saying in Ephesians, is that while you were, while you were far off, you were brought near, and think about the directional, like the proximity, like engagement, I guess I would call it. Who is doing the engaging?

In the gospel, the engagement of becoming near to God is not us working the tower up to God, but God coming down out of heaven and coming to us. So you get to that prodigal sun, sorry, you were talking about that. I was thinking about that it says, and I don't have it in front of me, but if I remember correctly, he's rehearsing like his repentance in his mind as he's coming back. He's thinking, man, I've just messed this up. I'm going to go back to my father and I'm just going to beg him to let me be like a hired servant because even the servants in my father's household had it better than I do.

I just want to be a servant. Like I'm going to go back. Here's my plan. I'm not asking for sonship. I'm just saying, God, or Father, give me mercy. I want to be a servant. I'll be a slave because even a slave and even the crumbs under your table are better than what I've been eating and the pig slop. And so when he turns his posture back towards the father, I love that verse, the way it says it, that while he was still a long way off, the father noticed him.

And what does the father do? He doesn't wait for the son to come back and do his whole spill. As soon as he sees the posture turn, the father comes after the son. The father proceeds towards the son and comes near to the sun. And it says, my son is alive. Get the fat and calf. Get the ring. Let's have a party.

And I love that story because it shows us like, you think, man, I don't know how I would ever even come to God. Like, I can't get it right. I remember God I told me one time. It's actually in the movie, the blind, there's a scene where Phil is hearing the gospel for the first time from Bill Smith. And this actual story was a real story that I had with a guy named Zach, who was a heroin addict from Portland, Oregon. He'd come down to Westburner to do rehab and he wanted to get baptized. He said, I'm waiting to I'm sober a year

before I'm baptized. And I said, why are you doing that? And he's like, because I want to make sure I can do it. I said, Zach, you get the whole thing backwards. You don't get it right to come to Jesus. You come to Jesus to get it right. I said, he said, everything I've touched is turned the dirt. I said, well, you know what you need to do? He said, what? I said, you need to quit touching stuff. And he's like, well, how do I do that? I said, you got to die.

You got to be born again. But the story is that. I mean, that is the story of the gospel that Christ pursues us. Christ comes near to us. So that's the picture, I think, that what you're seeing in this story in Ephesians, because the very next verse, our very next chapter, I think Phil started. My power went out, so I missed what he said. But Ephesians 316 gives the, it.

17 says it perfectly and according to what Jason is saying as well, says that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being so that what? Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, being rooted and grounded in love. I mean, that's the, Christ is coming to live in people now. We are the new temple. Your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. you are bought at a price, 1 Corinthians chapter 6, and then 1st Corinthians chapter 3 says,

don't you know that you are God's temple and God's spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him for God's temple is holy and you are that temple. That's the story. A point I wanted to make that you, because you brought it up when you were talking earlier, about painting this picture of God loving everybody. There's several, even under the old system and in Jewish history, You see those people pop up who were Gentiles who had the right heart. And you see what happens in those moments and how they're rewarded by God.

And I was talking about Naiman, you know, who was a Gentile general. And yet he had leprosy and he cries out to God. And, you know, he says, okay, I'm going to send you over to Israel to be healed. And it happens. But it only happened because he submitted his will to God. And then I thought about Rehab, you know, when they went in. to Jericho and she was a prostitute, you know, and had this house of ill repute. And yet, she changed her heart toward God because she did what he wanted her to do by hiding those

spies. And of course, she was blessed by that. And so even though there was a process for them to become Jews, the heart is what led. And that's what God has always looked for throughout all of human history is a heart that says, I'm going to yield my will to you. And so no matter of what the system was, whether they were Jew or Gentile, the heart is what he was always interested in. And the same thing with David, who was a king, who had no pathway to forgiveness because of what he had done with the whole murder and, you know, adulterous affair with Bashiba. But he just falls completely on his face in Psalm 51 and says, I know you don't want the same of sacrifices. You want a contrite heart that prostrates itself before you, prostrates itself.

and that's exactly what he did. And so you see these pictures all along. So we get down to Ephesians, and we see that it's happened in real time once Jesus came. He's shown us that this has always been the goal throughout all of human history, for us simply to not live by our will, but to live by the will of God. So it's a beautiful picture when you really think about true unity and what it looks like. Well, Jay, Jace, I don't want to get off what you started with this, because I think it's such a huge point about this individualism that we've bought into.

I just read Ephesians 3 just a second. I just spouted it off. But then I went back and read verse 18. What I read was 16 and 17, which talks about God, Christ dwelling in your hearts through faith that you being rooted and grounded in love, comma. I didn't read the rest of the verse, but listen to this, may have strength to comprehend with, all the saints what is the breath and the length and the height and the depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. This is John 173 that you may be filled with the fullness of God. We comprehend this together with the saints. Yeah. And that's the whole point, right?

Yeah, and I think it's something. Love has an object. It has to be someone else. You know, even in my own faith, I mean, I was always viewed, you know, as a loner. I mean, Phil, even in the duck hunting set it, he was like, oh, lone wolf chase, you know. And because that was something I had to give to God on just wanting to do things myself. I mean, because, you know, you avoid people because you want to avoid conflict. And, you know, at an early age, I really, really struggle with that. But one of the things that come out of what we're talking about here is, that God doesn't show favoritism.

And there's many verses that say that. And just think about the contrast, especially after what we were in Luke 15. Because Jesus was trying to get them to see that principle, he being the representative of God, as being God in human form, was doing these acts over and over and over with all of these people that we deem today as people who had fallen through the cracks of society,

which you continue to see. But that is a running theme of the Bible. Romans 211 says that in the same context of what we're talking about of Jews and Greeks. And Paul just writes it. It's like, God does not show favoritism. And I thought about that sermon in Acts 10 in 34 when Peter, he began to speak. I now realize how true it is that. God does not show favoritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what

is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good, and He had. all who were under the power of the evil one because God was with him. And you say, well, what is your point? How does this practically show itself? Well, even James chimed in on it in chapter two when he says in verse one,

my brothers as believers in our Lord, glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. This is a trickle down as spirit-filled people. that we show just in our everyday lives. And it made me think back when I was a kid, you asked me a few podcasts ago, because you were voted Mr. Pinecress, which was our junior high school that we went through, which I want to put that in its proper context.

It's the only title I've ever had. There were maybe 50 kids in Pinecrest. So be careful if you're a mister of what. But I went back and looked at one of my old, it got me to thinking I have my old. Pinecrest Yearbook? Yeah, yearbook.

And so one year, and it brought back some terrible memories for me, I was voted class favorite. Because it made me think of this when I was showing that God doesn't show favoritism. Well, I remember what happened after that.

I'm literally voted class favorite. So you think, boy, what an honor. And I walked outside for recess and there was a line formed to four guys. who were in line to whoop my tail. They literally said, we're,

we're fixed to whip you. It was four of them and one of me. And you're like, why? Because you think you're the favorite. And it just shows you how our society, as a young boy, I mean,

they're going to put you in your place. Yeah, it's like, no. And that's what our struggle is right there. I didn't vote for myself. I voted for somebody else, which is what I said.

And you said, well, did that work? No, guess what happened? They've whipped my tail. And see, Jayce, if you had only had my diplomatic gifts to then ascend to the ultimate title of Mr. Pankras, that nobody wanted to whip me. They just all wanted to be a part of my entourage. So you just had a little more to learn.

You were a power player. I was playing the long game. Jay's was playing the short game. Well, I messed up because in the moment, I looked at them four boys and thought, well, I'm fixed with your tail, you know. And so my imagination, well, I really thought I was going to do it, but it didn't work. But they knew I had been there. And so to get back to my point, though, you know, James uses something that we're all guilty of

and that we've all had funny moments for just because we look the way we do and are victims of facial profiling on the earth. But, you know, he goes on to say, support. Suppose a man, this is James 2-2, suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, well, here's a good seat for you, but say to the poor man, you stand there or sit on the floor by my feet, have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? So just think about how much our culture today is driven by acts of discrimination in various forms. And you think about, you know, you're like, why is he writing this? Well, he goes on to say, has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom?

He promised those who love him. I mean, the underlying principle here goes back to that Luke 15 that God's for everybody. Yeah. Everybody is made in the image of God. And I mean, he's telling just the most simplistic story that seems to have nothing to do with God or, you know, how we operate. But we do it every single day. You look at a person and form an opinion and figure out whether this is your kind of person or not. That's just the way we think.

But then he says, you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? are they not the ones who are dragging you into court are they not the ones who are slandering the noble the name of him to whom you belong if you really keep the royal law found in scriptures love your neighbor as yourself you're doing right but if you show favorstism you sin and are convicted by law as lawbreakers you say why is he making such a big deal of this because this is the hub of who god is he is love and he is for everybody. And so as members of his kingdom,

the body of Christ representing the head, which is Jesus at the right hand of God, this spirit, which is his spirit in us, that should trickle down into every avenue of life. And I really think that's the whole reason we're here. So it's just little practical things about, you say, you know, when it becomes the political issues,

They make a political issue out of, you know, the sanctity of life. Well, to us, that's a God issue because I'm like, everybody's valuable. Well, I'm always going to take a stand on that. You know, after I leave her, I'm going to go pick up a little boy that we're helping who was born in a tough situation where there's no father. His mom was in jail. You're like, well, why are you doing that? It wasn't a plan. It's like, I realize this person has been made by God.

guide and he's going to need some help along the way, especially when he's a baby. You just rise up and do that because that underlying principle is there. I don't want him to grow up and become isolated because he never had any love in his life. And then the next thing you know, you're talking about someone trying to assassinate the president. Which think about all of them. Every single mass shooter, what do they have in common? Isolation. They're isolated.

I was thinking when you were saying that, Jason, in Genesis 1, when God makes everybody, it makes man, I put that back, creates the whole, everything. The only thing that hasn't been created is female. And he looks at man in that state and said, it's not good for man to be alone. And so when you kind of work out like the logic of that, like to be alone is to not reflect the nature of who God is. It's to be done with people. And that prodigal son story, it is interesting.

Don't you think how that story ends? it doesn't end with him by himself eating a bunch of nice food. It ends up at him a party with a bunch of other people. They had a party. They all got together. And I think that's the thing as the kingdom brings people together. It doesn't isolate people. And so what you're talking about with helping the poor, whoever, it's what's saying is it's inviting individuals in the collective of the body of Christ.

And that is the prize in him, through him together. Well, that's my point because, look, we're trying to go through Ephesians chapter by chapter, verse by first, but it's impossible because we know what's fixing to happen in the last three chapters. He's fixing to say the same thing I'm segueing to today, which is once you realize that God is for everybody and he comes up through history with this elaborate plan for humans to realize there's no way off this planet without me. and I want all of you to come to me. But then that acknowledgement and his spirit that lives inside of us is then going to become the way God makes his presence known. And what does he start doing? He starts talking about all the things that happen in human relationships

for three chapters. Any way you're connected to another human, he addresses that. In what you say, in where you go, and who you're married to and with your kids and where you work and all the different social classes of society. And it becomes a culmination of us being known as the army of God to try to share these principles with other human beings. I mean, I think it's just a fantastic literary work that only could come from God above. But when you think about our life and look at the world and how it

operates. It's the most needed plan for any society, especially, you know, an earth full of human beings. It also shows you why you can't fix people's moral issues through political means, because all you can do from politics is make a law. Well, what happens when someone breaks the law? That's why he says, and he says, how did he take down this dividing wall of by abolishing in his flesh the law with his commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of two. So the only way you're going to really change a person's heart to do the right thing is for them to totally submit to the will of Jesus and the will of God in their life.

You're never going to get there through other means. So, you know, in this season, we've talked a lot about that and the idea of that our role, our responsibility is to introduce Jesus to as many. people as possible. That's how you really change a culture. That's how you change a country. That's how you change any of it. Yeah, and we need to do a whole podcast because the byproduct, the reason the church is not

accomplishing this is because they can't get along with each other. Correct. So how in the world are you going to try to get people to get along? Because, you know, James goes into in chapter four, you know, what causes fights and quarrels among you, you know, you covet and you want something and you don't. get it. So what do you do? You murder and you do these other kinds of things. It is a problem. And I think the underlying principle that what he's trying to say is that you have to unite in Jesus. You're going to have to spit out the bones of disagreements and cultural differences

and even, you know, biblical differences of things not associated with Jesus. And you're going have to come together, and that's where the true power is as a group of people. You're bringing in different people that have been isolated because of their own sin and their own relationship problems and all, and it's all found in the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. Yeah, it's very powerful. All right, well, we're out of time, but when we come back, I'm sure we'll dwell a little longer in this amazing passage in chapter two, but we've already started highlighting a little bit of chapter three. as well. So we'll try to get into that

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