Ep 924 | Miss Kay's Illness Pulls the Rug Out from Under Phil & Now Jase Is Laid Up with an Injury
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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. She'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 mama, just a slow healing, you know. See, this is interesting because I'm down, hurt my back. 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 that.

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. Was that yesterday? Yeah.

Well, Al's got his woman to look after. Then I've got my woman to look after. Now, you say you...

Well, I'm convinced that 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 in 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 at my lap i said there's way more way more to this and i thought you were you grew up in a time where you got that in your head and uh 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, uh, so like two days ago, we did podcasts a couple of days ago and, uh, you were down your back. Is your back any better? Zero, zero improvement. We haven't, but it hasn't gotten worse. So, uh,

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 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 talk.

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 fare that there is. Opelousas catfish. I get a picture of an Opelousas catfish in a boat right beside some rods. Now, who that was from was a guy named Randy.

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 partner with them to film your life. And since we're not actors, 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

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 it's right around the corner. Just a thought, when you fell victim or 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. 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. I've seen the movie. I'm pretty sure there was a stage in your life where you were breaking a lot of laws. I

He just never got caught. I just was saying to you, I never got a ticket. He didn't get a ticket back. 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 hot blue cap. The reason I, what you don't 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 mis-

use 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 opelousa catfish. Yeah. Like let's, let's, let's, let's, let's talk about this. Tell me about the catfish. So I get a picture. Maddie sent us a picture too. So I'm looking at it too, Jace. It's a, it's a eating catfish. Well, I brought up Randy because look, this, 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 his last name. So I'll protect 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 anything happens on this earth and it becomes about survival, Randy's going to be a key person because he's just that kind of guy. I would call him a sophisticated redneck. If you walked in here and started talking, you'd say he's not sophisticated. But if you needed to survive or have something...

Brand is your guy? Oh, he's the guy. We would say, Jace, 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 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 maybe the largest newspaper in the world. And they have written an entire article about

And I'll just read you a piece of it right here that the flat a river monster that can reach 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 a, maybe Randy can come in and help stop this apex predator that you, you guys call the Opelousa catfish. I mean, there's a whole write-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 Ouachita river. Now that's, that's talent.

That's a skill set that, 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, I'm legal through and through. So that guy, not only did he catch an opal, lose his 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 the right spot,

You can catch them. Doesn't matter. Have you all ever done 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 what you recommend? 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, was I don't run my hands 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 how they run with the bulls in Spain? Yeah.

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, not lakes and ponds. It must be- It 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 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 had x-ray vision of the Ouachita River, you would see. Up to 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.

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 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 gonna lay my eggs right here well, then all the males are

They gather in on the female because she's now trapped. She doesn't realize she's trapped, but that's what a hoop net is. Well, the newling is the same thing. So they'll go into a hole like 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. Caught 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, yeah.

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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 all 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. 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 influencer. 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 delicious. 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. Well, it's right up there with crappie. Crappie. Crappie would make a play in there, but it's totally different. The catch one, as soon as he hits the bottom of the boat,

And he's flopping around. You just raise his tail up and make a sharp slice all the way to his backbone 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? I did notice that. 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 do 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 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 Opelous cat amazingly. And, uh, and over in sea of Galilee, I did. And people have asked me that many times they, they want to somehow think I'm crazy, but I saw them. They, now they were under the water. There was a light, but they looked identical to the Opelous cat, which then made it 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. Yeah. 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, I would have Randy up there top list. I mean, I consider him a brother-in-law.

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 pounds of catfish that they cooked at a prison nearby you guys, and they had 80 baptisms. So maybe this could be a deal where it's like 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, and they do it at CR. It's been an incredible ministry for them.

What? Probably. They learned it from you, Phil, because they get them out there to boat. I remember you used to tell the story. Well, that's what I was going to say. So, you know, Randy, you know, I said, where do you want to meet? And he said, no, I'll bring him to your house. Now, he had already had him cleaned. Oh. And I was like, now who does this? You know, who just...

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'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, we have a problem. And wouldn't you know it, the Lord sent old Randy with...

The greatest gift outside of a relationship with God and God's people, he wants to give me a cleaned opelousis catfish. And I've seen him clean many a 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 if Phil said, 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. 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, 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 wound up meeting at the church parking lot.

Because it was a halfway point. But then I was sitting there waiting on him to show up. And I thought, no, really, the church is what we're doing here. That was just something he wanted to do for me. And I really needed this gift because I thought, boy, what are we going to do about this back? I know where we can start. Let's fry up some Opelousas catfish. Because that's going to make me feel better about everything.

And so we met, but it was ironic. And I got the fish. I brought it back. So the next morning, I cut the – because he had the two belly meat sides, and then he had the two filet sides. By the way, that's –

The Opelousas 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 side.

I ate that. I could not believe that there was not a hint of fishiness. 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 that I redid it for supper.

Oh, you 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. 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. Look at this. 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 cause she likes the crappie. 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 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 responsibility.

receiving full time. I'm asking for the gift, Jace. 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 lead. You take Randy's lead and then you show us what Christ is like. This kind of thinking is what's wrong with the church right here.

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All right, Jase. 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. Yeah. And then he was willing to clean it up.

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 opaleus catfish would be one of the ones that we chose to serve a group i mean we if we if you piled it up oh you couldn't get it in that door it'd just be a pile of i mean we ate a lot of opaleus hand picked 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 opelousas 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 animals.

uh blue cats i think to catch them but you've taken over the world let's let's feed the world because they're taking it yeah you gotta have people who know how to catch them how to clean them yeah 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

Well, it should be. 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. Yeah. And so. If they eat their own young. Well, if you try to have them in captivity. Yeah.

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 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 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. 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 of it and the ends. There was about 25 or 30 opelousas cat that just, as I raised the net up,

they were following them females in that net and they just rose up with them they and it was just a

Just on both sides of the boat. I just looked. I could see Opelousa's cat just coming up. And they all went back down, you know, when they saw me. But it was pretty interesting to watch. Yeah, you've caught hundreds and hundreds of pounds when they're running. Oh, yeah. And, you know, you can sell them in a fish market. And so, you know, that's how people are able to get them. But anyway, maybe somebody out there figured it out. They're great eating. So if they're taking over the world, let's eat them.

Yeah, and I just used salt and pepper, a little Phil's Cajun seasoning, and just meal. Corn. And fried them. Yeah, corn and fried them in peanut oil. Because they're so good, you don't need something. 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, and you see them there. It's actually not a fishy thing.

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 Opelousas 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...

We'll get Randy involved. 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 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 the first guy I'm calling.

Because what I could do is when we're going to go metal detecting, I would send Randy, 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...

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. You got to have a guy. He's a guy you could just go drop off in a mountain somewhere and say, you know, give us a, 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, and he wouldn't need anything to get out of there. It's just certain people are like that.

That's why Jay sitting telling us his last name. Cause he's like, I want to eat. I don't even know if his name is Randy. It's probably Bill and George. 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. I must find Randy. To me, he 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 opaleus catfish. But Jace, 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, the, the Godly instinct to us is to then pass on that grace to other people. And,

And and that's what changes you. I mean, let's face it. That's the exact opposite of anything 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. 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 mannerisms. 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, and somehow, you know, through that, you can lead them to the Lord. I was like, oh yeah, we're, we're, that's what we're doing. He's like, I'm in for this venture and any other one. Cause here it, it uses his skillsets. We, we need them, but he realized that early on. And that's why I said I would, I would use him in any way that I could, if we were, you know, doing another show. Cause he's just really good. He contributed well.

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 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. And he just kind of want to do a little social experiment and see how he would get treated in the world at large.

And so he, after his experiment, he's come out now, just, 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, Jace. There's a status idea that I want to have what I want and be treated a certain way. But that's exactly the opposite.

Of what is purported here in Exodus chapter two. I mean, the idea here is Ephesians chapter two. I mean, Ephesians. What does that mean? 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 them coming. 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. That was 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 a lot of like Romans 1 and 2 and 3. Well, also in 1 John, remember where it said the whole world's under the control of the evil one. But I mean, in 1 John 5, what is that, 19? Right. But in 1 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. So you have the two worlds within the world. Right.

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 Jace, you've already referenced this 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. You know, 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, it's verse six when it says that and 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 in Ephesians 1, when it says that, this is in Ephesians 1, 20, 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 I said, so key that we, when we hear that word heavenly realm, we always think that it's way away from us, that it's not, we're not that 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, it's,

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 overemphasize 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. This is actually saying that we're with him.

We're part of the inner life now. We've been invited in. So that language there, verse 6, 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 remember where we've come from. God revealed this at this time when 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 uh in the present age you know was 21 god placed all things under his feet and appointed 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. So he's not far. I mean, even in chapter two, where we're going to get to, I know he's talking about 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 contrasts 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 to gratify your impulses. Very fleeting. Well, you said 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 are the one that's far away because you neglected everything that God wanted.

set up through his creation. 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, he's drawing you to himself. Spirit-filled people, which is Ephesians 2.10.

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

of rules and regulations. Well, that's what they... Saved by grace. Yeah, that's why I 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 1. That was a gift. That was a sure enough gift. Yeah. To go back to the fishing 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 1. I met Randy.

And we both met God through Jesus. But what God has made us is fishers of men. 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, you're going to

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 the idea of grace applying to Jew and Gentile

before he gets to 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. And don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube and be sure to click that little bell to get notified about new episodes. And for even more content that you won't get anywhere else, subscribe to BlazeTV at blazetv.com slash unashamed.