Ep 994 | Uncle Si Spooks Jase’s Houseguests & Jase Comes Home to a Yard Full of Reporters
59:42 Share

I am unashamed. What about you? Welcome back to Unashamed. I'm trying to get used to the new surroundings. Dad's not back with us yet. He's still in recovery mode. We're in the duck call room. It's your first time here, isn't it? I've been here a time or two for special stuff, but not just a normal podcast. I've been on their podcast. Matt, is this where Cy sits? Is it right here?

Am I in his chair? It looks very. It's very busy. Or a distance. There's a big distance between the two. Well, and that's another problem, Zach. So here's my issue. So I can see you in the monitor now. I thought you were Jace originally. If I'm wearing my glasses, I can see you. If I take them off, I can't see you. I don't know if I can read my Bible. I think Jace should be sitting right across the table from you right there.

Well, I would be. However, that used to be my place at Duck Commander. But now that Cy...

has taken over for germaphobic reasons. I go nowhere near there. Yeah, I got you. This is, uh, that's like six feet apart right there. Jason and I are social distancing during this. And Cy lives there and I'm, you know, Cy. You're not afraid of COVID, but you are afraid of Cy. There you go. Well, I'm looking, he's got little figurines of himself.

Over here, there's a little Psy figurine hugging a giraffe. I see some arrowheads. There's a little Japanese gong-type instrument. Thumbs, bells. There's a lot of noisemakers here. It's if Psy doesn't make enough noise on his own that he needs to know. Oh, here's a Black Panther. Yeah, he likes to illustrate main points with the use of props. Yeah.

Well, so anyway. Which is funny, and it's always been that way. I mean, it's like when we were even building duck calls, he'd reach over, we'd be having a conversation, and he would tap that bell. Ding. Then you had to figure out where you are going. If he liked that. Oh, so that's his reaction, I see. Oh, yeah, he likes to react in prop fashion. Yeah.

Yeah, I got you. Slap the table. He slaps the table. He does that a lot. Table slapper. He got that from Domino's. Yeah. Yeah. Which I can respect that. Yeah, me too. I can slam a good Domino's. So we're here. Jason and I are suffering every year this time of year, right before duck season usually, in

In the October, early November, it's always kind of muggy here. We're getting ready to transition into fall, and something happens. Maybe it's a blooming something. I don't know what happens, but your allergies go nuts. Yeah. And then it develops into a sinus infection. So every year the question is how bad will the infection be, and Jay's got it bad this year. Mine's not as bad as normal. Well, I'm better today, but the last time I saw you,

When I had the big beast of a man. Colton. What a story. What a story. And look, after that podcast, I'll have to confess something. I underestimated the outcry of the community when you have a current NFL player show up in San Francisco.

what we lovingly call Funrow. So when you say the local community, you mean the local Funrowites? Yeah, Monroe and Westboro. The Funrowians. So my neighbor had set all this up because he knew one of the owners of the San Francisco 49ers, but people started contacting him. And it's like, what about this? So after we did the podcast, I walked out, and there was a small group of people had gathered together,

And they were like, okay, here's what's next. And I was like, what do you mean? So there was a couple of schools that they had lined up for him to go visit without any kind of conversation. You were viewing this as just a Bible study. Well, he came here because of Jesus. Yeah. And we got that taken care of. But they had done some other things.

Yeah, local things. But then Cy got wind of him, and Cy was like, well, I want him on my podcast. So then there were too many things and not enough time. It got into that. So I became his handler, which is funny. Yeah.

So I've always wondered how you would be as a ham. You know, I think I did pretty well. Did you grow an appreciation for, for Bonnie? And I really did. I really do. Yeah. Well, I call my handler, the smiling bulldog. I was more just a bulldog. I was just like, look, there's not enough. A bulldog without a smile is an attack though. Yeah. So there's not enough hours in the day. So I just, I got with him privately and it's like, look,

If you don't want to do any of this, just tell me right now. But if you want me to use my best judgment or what I would do, which is. We had to do this a little bit a few years ago when you had Tebow here for a thing. Same kind of deal. Same kind of thing happened when he was here. And I didn't have enough. I confess I didn't have enough boldness.

To just tell people, no. No. But I did this time. So what we wound up doing is he did Si's podcast, which... Were you in? Did you watch it? No, I wasn't here. But look, and they were like, his dad was here with him. Yeah. And he kind of a...

shy soft soft-spoken guy but just a hunter through and through and there but i when i was leaving they were like come you sit in too come on so dad was on too dad was on too i'm not sure how that went but uh when we got back i said how was it how was that they were like crazy

We didn't realize how crazy Si really is. And I was like, you didn't? I said, well, I tell people all the time when they say, is Si as crazy as he was on that duck show? I said, oh, it's worse than you think. Oh, yeah. I use the iceberg illustration. You know, you see the part sticking out of the water, which is impressive. But underneath, it's way, way bigger and deeper. Yeah. That's Si's insanity. So what we wound up doing, which was, look,

Having said all that, sounds like I'm being negative, but what we did was awesome. We took one of the school visits, which was OCS. They were fixed to go on a road trip to play that night. That's what I say is during football season. Yeah, they were fixed to go. And I caught, well, cause I said, look, I think we should do that because I know these people and, uh,

If you do size podcast, I can have you back by, it was like three o'clock because they were leaving town at two 30. So I liked the way that was set up. I was like, we get there at two o'clock. They have to leave at two 30. We're out of there. So we wound up doing that. Of course, we just put this together and,

Two minutes. So we show up out there at Ouachita Christian because I knew the head coach. My son played football there. And they got pretty much the same coaching staff. You and I were there the first couple of years of the school. And the reason I wanted to do that one is because I know those guys, they love Jesus. And they put Jesus first in their program, the football program, because I went through it with my son.

So we walked in there, but I just, the buzz was amazing. I mean, they were excited. I mean, even the coaches. And I spoke probably five minutes, because I was worried. I mean, look, this guy was baptized the night before and as fired up as he is. And he's talked in front of people before, because on the way out there, he said, well,

I've done this before, but I always felt like something was missing in my message. And he said, but I don't feel that way right now. And I said, I like where you're thinking with this. I said, well, look, I'll break the ice for you so it's not so awkward. I'll talk five minutes and then I'll pass it off to you. I'll just kind of tell how we got here. And I was like, then you share what you're doing there. And it was, he did amazing. He probably talked seven or eight minutes.

And there was all eyes were glued because I was standing beside him watching the young men, the football players. And we've all been in the front of enough audiences to know when you got them and when you got them. There wasn't a cell phone. There wasn't a blink. And it was the story of Jesus. It was the make the most of opportunity. Most of you know.

This will wind up your football career right here. You need to make the most of that opportunity. And so then, of course, then people were texting me. Of course, they just descended on him after it. He signed everything that they had, shook their hand. And so then we left, and he did Si's podcast. But people were texting me already. That's why I should have made the connection that there's quite a buzz going on here. Yeah.

And so, because even that night, they said, well, good job, because they won by like four touchdowns. You know, they went on a road trip, played a higher classification school, I think. They used to be. I'm not sure now. But I think they won like 48 to 20 or something like that. So everybody was like, well, you didn't screw that up. I was thinking, look, our speech, I'm not sure we should be equating that.

You were a higher elevation than just a football guy. So then the next day, I took him out, and we ate supper all together. Some of our family got together that night, kind of a celebration deal. Then we studied the Bible pretty much all night, and then I took him down to the land and showed him our duck places because he had to fly out. When we get back, well, the media man's are –

In our yard when we get back, the local media. Uh-oh. I'm like, what's going on here? Well, they got wind of the OCS thing, and, you know, it's just this is.

So they sent a – They had their little cars that are wrapped with the name of the TV station on it. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I always laugh about that because in local TV markets, they got like a little Kia or something. You know, the little bitty car, you got to go cheap, and it's got the name emblazoned on the side of it. So the media had sent my neighbor the schedule –

And he had forwarded it to the football player. He looked at me and he's like, I'm fixing to get on a plane, you know? And I was like, okay, I'm your handler. So I got with the media and I was like, look, it's awesome. You got five questions in 10 minutes. Yep.

Which is smart anyway because local media, you know what that's going to be? About 20 seconds on their broadcast. Exactly. But they had B-roll shots and here's the wardrobe. I was like, oh, no. No, no. I was like, you come as you are. That's right. Get five questions.

I was like, y'all can build your, because it is a cool story. I mean, the guy's on his bi-week and he's down here talking to kids and talking about Jesus. I mean, look, I love the story. And so it went really well and I'm real happy with it. And I appreciated the...

the buzz about it and i think we got it right so if i offended anybody in our community i'm not apologizing because it's like there's not enough hours in the day we did the best we could he wasn't jace the duck man he was jace the handler i was jace the handler which was humbling uh and and it made me appreciate my handler yeah so well it was interesting because i mentioned him in my sermon yesterday jace because it fit i was in this um

I mentioned this the last podcast, I was going to do this Cautions 115 text, and it was the second step in the recovery, celebrate recovery deal, which is earnestly believe that God exists. And so I was making the point right off the bat in my intro that if you got to look at it, is Jesus big enough to

to believe in, in your life. Cause if you've got other things that are bigger, he won't be. And so I mentioned this young man, I was like, look, he, he told an amazing story about his journey to get to the NFL. He, you know, got cut, he came back, he worked, he believed in himself and he mentioned all that building up, but then he realized in his life that wasn't big enough. Yeah. As great as it is, as much as we love the fact he's doing it. And,

And that's what led him to want to have a deeper relationship with Christ. And so that's what led him here. And then I mentioned the Dodgers winning the World Series, which is a big deal to me. But I said, you know what happens? As soon as the game was over and the parade was over, they looked at the manager and they said, do it again. Yeah. That's because anything in this life –

is temporary results. And even if you're at the pinnacle, you're only at the pinnacle until you do it again. You do it again until you do it again. So it's making the point that Jesus is big enough that he did it, so we don't have to worry about doing it again and again and again. Exactly. That was my lead-in. But he was a great illustration for that idea. But what happens is when Jesus is shared and people respond, and especially if they have a platform,

It starts a fire. That's right. Do you know what I'm doing this weekend? I'm speaking to the local college team before the game, ULM. And then the next night we're doing the FCA, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes are having a big gathering at ULM and I'll be speaking there.

So the following night, so I'm like, this is what happens. I mean, this is the book of Acts continuing in the community where people are responding to Jesus. You're going to look up, Zach, in a couple of weeks, and there's going to be the little panel on NFL Network. And they said, we got a special guest today, guys, knows all these players, old Jace Robertson. Jace, you may get in there with this, man. This will be your thing.

But I will say this, of all the things that happened with that encounter, it comes back down to the quarterback for the 49ers that he mentioned. Just being bold about his faith, planting the seed. His parents planting the seed when he was young. But all these little things coming together.

You know, if you don't think Jesus is not powerful, I give you that the last three days of my life. Hey, oh, by the way, guys, I did want to remind you tomorrow, Tuesday is the big day. We are going to be launching our new podcast or my new podcast called Not Yet Now with Zach Dasher. You can check us out anywhere, podcast or her, wherever you listen to him at. Also, you can go to the YouTube channel, which is at Dasher Zach, Z-A-C-H, at

Dasher, Zach. And look, the best way you can help us is just leave a comment, subscribe, and then rate the podcast. Any of that helps us get up the algorithm. So I want to thank you all in advance. But tomorrow's a big day, so keep us in your prayers. Jason, there's a lot of businesses out there. Some, you know, have good things to say about America. Some don't. We try to support the ones that do as much as we can. I mean, you're looking for the best case scenario on something that you've

Need to use all you use a lot right and when it comes to cell phones

If you can have a provider that also lines up with what your views are of the world, it's a win-win. - So we have that possibility. For the last 10 years, Patriot Mobile has been America's only Christian conservative wireless provider. They offer dependable nationwide coverage, giving you the ability to access all three major networks. You get the coverage that you're used to without having to fund the left agenda in our country.

When you switch to Patriot Mobile, you're letting everyone know you support free speech, religious freedom, sanctity of life, the Second Amendment. You support our military, veterans, and first responders. And if that isn't enough, they also have a 100% U.S.-based customer service team that makes switching to Patriot Mobile easy. You can keep your number and your phone, or you can upgrade.

They'll help you find the best deals and a plan that fits your needs. Just go to patriotmobile.com slash phil, or you can call them at 972-PATRIOT. Right now, get a free month when you use the offer code phil. So join us, make the switch to America's only Christian conservative mobile provider, Patriot Mobile, by going to patriotmobile.com slash phil, or you can call them at 972-PATRIOT for your free month of service today.

And I was serious when I said, because the Cowboys and Saints lost again yesterday, but for the rest of this season, I'm pulling for the 49ers just for spiritual reasons. And I can't guarantee anything beyond that. But this year, because of spiritual reasons,

support of not only our man Colton, but also Brock Purdy, I am pulling for them that they make it back to the Super Bowl. I mean, they're not great. They're having some struggles, but that's what I'm going for. That's where we're going. That's where we're going this year. We're 49er fans. Amen. I never thought I'd say that, but I was impressed by the whole thing too, Jay, so it has an impact on me.

Yeah, it's fantastic. What happens if we have somebody from another team that wants to get baptized now? Then we'll pull for them too. I mean, this is the bad impression. This is why Jason, I have to say, this is really and truly, this is one of the reasons why Jason Willey

Used to be just like one team, people like me. But then they got to meeting so many awesome people on these teams and stuff. You start pulling for people more than you pull for teams. Because I got to be honest, it doesn't have a place in my life like it used to. As much as I love LSU, I don't let 18, 19-year-old men dictate my mood for the team.

for very long, whether they want a football game. No, Al, you're exactly right. I was into fantasy football before I knew what fantasy football was because that's what fantasy football is. You draft players from all different teams. They form your team. You root for them. Well, I did that based on the kingdom of God. I meet somebody who happens to be a professional player and he loves Jesus. Well, I'm rooting for them. Yeah. So...

Well, Willie. It's like a fantasy team, but in this case, it's a reality. The kingdom is real. And Willie kind of got into that world whenever he first met Todd Helton somewhere. Helton was a hunter, played for the Rockies, and wound up having a real spiritual impact in his life, which opened the door for some other relationships, some we still have. Yeah, exactly. Roche and all those guys. So it's like anything else. People are just people, and all these things that they do, which we love because we love sports,

It's just a thing that they do for a living, just like ours is hunting and now it's podcasting. It's just what we do. I'll tell you this, though. One thing on the football side before we get into Colossians that I thought was impressive, because this guy, granted, he was born and raised in Ohio, kind of a hunter type, followed us along the way. And if you looked at him, because I made a couple comments during our

last three days i was like boy you're a lot smarter than you look you know and he just kind of would chuckle you know but i can say that because look at me that's right so uh but we were sitting there before he got after the media blitz and he was fixed to go i was fixed to take him to the airport and we were happy we just had college football on and it was like third and one or something they just typical i think we were watching uh

Who was Florida playing? Yeah, Florida, Georgia. Sorry, Zach, to bring that up. So it was like pivotal moment in the game. It was like third and two, handoff. Well, the guy gets tackled like four yards in the backfield. And so I looked at him and I said, now, we were talking and we didn't even have the volume on the TV. It was just on. And I was like, whose fault was that? And he was like, pfft.

The offensive tackle, 100%, because he was watching the offensive tackle. And I said, well, why was that his fault? And so he had ascertained in less than four seconds of viewing. He said, well, they had the strong side, the two receivers and the tight end was on the strong side, so the play was designed to cut back against and go on the weak side. So the offensive tackle should have known that,

The one place you can't let the defensive end go is on the inside. And so about that time they were showing the replay. He said, look at that. He let him come in the inside. And I said, what?

Well, don't you know that he knew the play? He said, oh, he knew the play. He didn't know why the play was created. And I thought, now that's some wisdom because I thought about our Christian life. Yeah, that's good. It's one thing to know you're here. It's another reason to know why you're here. That's right. Because he said, you conclude when you know where the play's going. Well, where's the one place I can't let him come?

And that's why it was his fault. He's like, now, that comes to coaching too. I mean, somebody should have relayed that information or it didn't take. But it just made me realize, okay, there's a difference in professional offensive linemen than playing football. That's what I was going to say. I was sitting here thinking, Jason, another spiritual application of him saying that is look at his growth because he's been in the pros now, what, five years? Yeah.

And so then he had a college career. But he's able to look at that college tackle as well as he would himself and say, oh, no, schoolboy. Here's what he's learned and matured to as an offensive lineman, which shows you how smart those guys are in what they know. Well, that was his transition. In his speech, he said, what I learned was you very rarely get a second opportunity. Because after his first season, he got cut.

Because he dominated in college. He had 48 starts, and he said it was actually pretty easy just based on his size and speed. I mean, you see a guy that's 6'6", 320, and can move? Yeah, and he's smart. Well, but the smart part, I think, is what he realized, okay, I got to get dedicated. I got to start watching some film. I got to start realizing why this play was even –

constructed here. And he said, that's the difference in why he came back and got better. But then he said, the ultimate thing is I realized this is not about me, which is what led him to Christ. He's like, God's giving me this platform. That was the missing link in his mind. Cause he's like, look, I can't work any harder, but I still realize that this is not about me. And that's really helped him with his confidence. That's good. Well, I've always said, and we talk about,

O'Lanman, if you're a football fan, you realize

You'll hear the announcer say all the time, the war in the trenches and this battle's going to be won in the trenches. And that's really true because the only time you really notice those guys is when bad things happen, somebody missed something. Because when they're functioning, it's just providing success for somebody else. So I just always thought that was a great illustration for us because sometimes we like being the one carrying the ball, but instead sometimes you're just in the trenches, man. You're just trying to make sure we're going in the right direction.

Well, now I thought the other winner in this is his quarterback because now that he contributed into his eternal path. Yeah, path changing. And now this confidence he has, I thought, you're fixing to get his best effort as far as protection is concerned. Winning. And in the NFL, the tackle, let's face it, is the key guy for that because they protect the flanks both ways. Exactly.

Well, it was great. We obviously had fun with it because we've talked about it again on another podcast. But we wish him the best. And I'll definitely be a huge Colton fan this season as well as the 49ers. So, Zach, you're a college-educated man, aren't you? I am. I got a degree. What's your degree in? Business. Business. No wonder you're running our business.

So as now, as time has gone by, would you say that there were some things probably as you've gotten older and more mature that you wish you could go back and maybe take a second look at in terms of what was offered in college? You might appreciate a little bit more being an older man like you are now? I wish I could just go back and take the courses that I took and actually care about it. You know, I think I would have.

I love to study now. And I think almost everybody can say that, especially if you never went to college. And so that's why our good friends at Hillsdale College –

are offering more than 40 free online courses in the most important and enduring subjects. And so I love this about what these guys are doing. They're saying, look, no matter where you are in life, you can always learn more. You can learn about the works of C.S. Lewis, the book of Genesis, which we talk about quite a bit on the podcast, the meaning of the U.S. Constitution, the rise and fall of the Roman Republic,

or the history of the ancient Christian church. So they offer everything free online, Hillsdale College. And one of the things that we personally recommend is you sign up for American Citizenship and its Decline with Victor Davis Hanson. That's VDH. He's on Fox a lot. Really sharp guy.

It's an eight lecture course and Dr. Hansen explores the history of the citizenship in the West and the threats it faces today. Threats like the erosion of the middle class, disappearance of our borders, the deep state, global organizations. So very relevant to what's going on. The course is self-paced so that you can start whenever and wherever you

Start your free course, American Citizenship and its Decline, with Victor Davis Hanson by going right now to hillsdale.edu slash unashamed to enroll. There's no cost. It's easy to get started. Hillsdale.edu slash unashamed to register. Hillsdale.edu slash unashamed. I want to do, Jason, a quick run through. I didn't get a chance to do this just as way of review for you.

Colossians 2, 24 through 2, 5. And this was a section that Paul followed up with his amazing, I don't know what you'd call it, the song, we called it, where he... Well, Colossians 1, 24 through 2, 5. Yeah, 1, 24 through 2, 5. And so it was about his ministry, and we kind of called it a labor of love. And you had three S's in there, which were great because they were in the text. You had the suffering...

You had the serving and you had the struggling, which we talked about that word being contending with God's energy. I added three more in my outline from the same section. First one was the source.

because the gospel was where we began in verse 23. And then I added the word secrecy because he talks about the mystery and how that it was unknown. And I think what makes that so special and so unique is because this was a happening. And we talk about this a lot on the podcast, that everything up until the moment of Jesus coming here had been pointing to Jesus coming here. And so nobody really understood that.

Except God. And then when that was revealed to us, it was the game changer. And it still is to this very day. And the last one was the last section we talked about, which was strength that you get from two, two through five. So that was part of his story.

that was part of the idea that we can, we don't have to worry about the struggle as much in the continuing because the energy comes from the almighty. That's where the strength comes from. Yeah. He puts that when he says in 29 to this end, I labor struggling with all his energy, right? Which so powerfully works in me. And I just wanted to add, you're like, why is the struggle serving and suffering even coming? It's, it's when God, uh,

makes his plan and presence known, there's always going to be resistance. Because in this world, there are spiritual forces of evil. We do have our selfish desires. And when that is taught and proclaimed, you see that in 28, we proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom.

To this end, you know, I struggled. So when that is proclaimed, there's always going to be resistance. Right. And you really see that even with the conversation we've been having about Colton, when you're new in the faith, even all the hoopla,

that happened immediately after is now all of a sudden we're in need of wisdom in what to do and we don't want to hurt people's feelings and you're talking to lots of people and people getting their feelings heard. It's like there's a struggle here as we're serving. I mean,

And it's just the way this happens. It's not going to be very comfortable. It may not even be a matter of persecution. I mean, I think just in any form of a maturation process of any sort, whether I want to mature and...

And my physique. And so I'm going to start working out like that. Anything I'm going to I want to learn a new language or I want to, you know, I want to get a degree and accounting from a university, like whatever that maturation process is. If you're maturing into something, it just by the very nature of it, it's going to be.

a toil. It's going to be a struggle. It's going to take work. It's going to be, you know, you're going to, you're going to have adversity. I just had this conversation with Max and my son and just about, cause they're, you know, they're trying to make it music and that he, he's also in school at the same time. And I'm like, you know, the, the idea, you got to get out of your, your mind and anything in life. Like for most of us, you're not going to wake up one day and just be like, man, I, I went from zero to a hundred in one day. No, you're going to go from zero to one.

And from one to two, two to four, then four back down to three and then three back up to five. And it's just a, it's a up, it's like a trajectory. And I think that's the process here. It is a process of maturing in Christ and it doesn't happen overnight, which all the more, you know, lends the case for why we hit so much on like our formation and those little things in life. There's moment by moment, sanctification moments that Francis Schaeffer calls it moment by moment. But,

It's an idea that it's not a one and done. There's no arrival mindset on this side of the second coming. It is a walk in life.

In conjunction with the way, it is being in proximity to Jesus. It's being with Him on a daily basis, like any relationship. Any relationship, it's going to take time, effort, and energy to mature that relationship into deeper intimacy.

Same thing here. You can't bypass that into some kind of like, give me a pill, give me a doctrine, give me a thing that I can just take at one time and be inoculated and then I'm good. That's not the picture that Paul's painting here. Yeah. I heard a good illustration on that from NT, right? One time when he was like, he was saying it's hard to explain how the growth process happens, but he said it's really like when you first start learning how to ride a bike, the last thing you want to do is

in your mind is keep going. Cause it's, you're, you're wanting to start, you know, and I did this with all my kids, you know, they, they, then they trying to get off. It falls over. They fall. All of the problem is if you just take off. Yeah. And, uh, so with all of them, I would eventually be just pushing it. And then they would think I was always there. And at some point I just let go and they don't realize I'm no longer pushing, but they're doing, and they're looking around and they're just, they keep it moving. Yeah.

And I think that was a really good illustration is that Jesus is about moving forward in your life, whether it's proclaiming or serving others or looking for opportunities.

It's just something you're not going to stop doing. It's not like, okay, I'm in, therefore I can go rest. Oh, no. It's going forward now. Where you work, where you've – if you're in school. The bicycle is a great analogy. I would use another one because I had an experience with it recently. You know those things? I think they call them like a hover round. It's like two wheels.

And then there's a deck in it, like in between the two wheels and you stand on it and you lean forward or backwards and the thing just like moves. Well, we got the kids, one of those Fred. And I mean, he's on this thing like,

I mean, it looks like it's just an extension of his body. So I wanted to try it, and I got on. And let me just say. I hope somebody videoed that. Oh, it was. How quick did you go down? Let's just say about about about.

It was less than a second. I mean, I step on it and, and, and I'm like, kind of, you know, as soon as I got that second foot on it, that thing went out from underneath me. Before I was going to make fun of you for doing that, I'm going to have to confess. Yeah.

I did the same thing. Reed got one, and I said, let me get up on that thing. Bump, head on the floor. My head bounced off the floor before I even knew I was on it. Oh, I said, this thing right here is a death trap for adults. That's the difference in spiritual maturity. You boys are younger than me. We were in a hotel recently, like the last time I was on a trip.

And the elevator opens up and a man that looked like he was 45 or plus years old comes out on one of the, out of the elevator. And he just zooms by us. And I thought, what in the world? I mean, do we need to do that in the hotel? I mean, that's the only way you can stay up. Right. To Zach's point. Cause me and Zach both tried to get up on it. You don't get up on it. You, you take off on it. Just like the bike. Right. Yeah. If you just take off,

You're all right. Playing the role of Phil since he's not here. That's why I don't get on hover things. No hover rounds. I don't get on things like that. I sit. I don't try to ride things with wheels. I remember him as a teenager. He sat me down, and he said, let me explain something to you. Because our buddies had a motorcycle, and he was coming down there and was trying to get us to ride on it. He said, let me explain something to you.

Four wheels is better than two. And two wheels are better than one. I was like waiting for the next part. And he was like, that's it. Never forget that. It'll save your life. Dangerous. Dangerous, boy.

Zach, you feeling good about your liver today? Why do you say it like liver? You always say it like that. I get that from dad. The dad has that emphasis, you know, the liver. Oh, I feel great about my liver. Well, I hope you do because you and I both have had some liver issues.

Um, we've had high elevated enzyme numbers, which is not good. And in fact, the American heart association indicates that adults with fatty liver are three and a half times more likely to have heart failure than those without. It affects about a hundred million Americans a year. Um,

And you get everything thrown at the liver, cholesterol, alcohol, toxins, Tylenol, statins, cigarettes, all the things that your body is trying to filter gives you a sluggish, fatty liver that makes us gain weight and lose energy. Your liver is designed to have 500 key functions every day. And so that's why we want to aim you towards liver health formula.

This is a product. It's all natural supplement contains 11 clinically proven botanicals that help recharge and protect your liver. Zach and I both taken this product. I still continue to take it. It keeps my numbers lined out.

If you're looking to ignite your fat-burning metabolism, boost your energy, and transform how you look and feel, try Liver Health Formula and receive a free bottle of blood sugar formula to reduce sugar cravings when you order today. Try Liver Health Formula by going to GetLiverHelp.com slash unashamed and claim your free bonus gift.

I mean, that's, but it's funny that when you think about it, because riding a bike same way, you know, you bust your tail on it over and over and over again. And then all of a sudden, like something clicks, right?

And you had that moment where the parent like, let's go with a bike and you, you don't realize it, but you're, you're pedaling and you're on your own. And then from that moment on, guess what? You'd never think about it again because it clicks in you and then it becomes muscle memory. And so now I haven't rid a bike in several years, but if I get on one, I mean, I'm going to, I could ride a bike. It's not going to fall over, not going to fall. And, and like with Fred, when watching him on that hover around, uh,

Like he's not thinking on there. I got to move this way. I got to, he it's, it's completely fluid. He has become one with the hover around because of his muscle memory. And he's been in proximity to it. He just knows it now. And that's actually a really good analogy of, of what it looks like when we mature in Christ, that it is a toil and it is a labor, but what is the end that we're trying to meet is that it will become our default and that the fruit of the spirit is,

from Galatians chapter five, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control, all those things that that will become our default, that will become our muscle memory. And that, so, but, but to get to a place where,

Where there's that maturation process, you have to work on the fundamentals of whatever the thing is. The same thing with golf, the same thing with, with any sport, everything. But like when you go out there on like these golfers that like they're, they're constantly working on their swing and what they're doing is they want, it's the muscle memory. How many times have you heard muscle memory anytime you're training for a sport? And so you are like a, um, a boxing match. I was watching or MMA fight. I was watching a,

What's the guy's name? The, uh, the Irish guy. That's the best. Um, um, I don't, I don't want it, but I know you're talking about, uh, what's his name? Come on. Uh, anyways, he was doing this choreographed dance and then they were, or Mike Tyson, for example, and they showed the choreograph that he does in training.

And it's the same exact move that he does in the fight. So they're rehearsing these moves over and over and over again. So when they get in the ring, Conor McGregor, that's what becomes their default. They're not thinking about swinging and punching. They're just doing what they train to do.

And that is work, and that is toil, and that is a struggle. And that's what Paul says in verse 29, for this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. That's kind of the picture, I think, that I get when I read and think about this idea of toil, struggle, moving forward and maturing. And that's actually a perfect back to our text because –

This section that we're just wrapping up, 124 to 225, he's reminding them of these things in relationship to his ministry and how he feels about them. So I'm going to read verse 5, and then I want to read this next section so we can break it down. He says, this is verse 5 of chapter 2, "...for though I am absent from you in body..."

I am present with you in spirit because we've made the point out alone that he's never actually been there with them, but they share this same love of Christ and delight to see how orderly you are.

and how firm your faith in Christ is. So I love it. He gives them this compliment. Look, the word on what you guys are doing, even though he's about to address some things he's worried about, is that you love the Lord. You're in the right place. I just need to help you tighten that up and help you remember that initial thing as we've been talking about. And I thought about it, Jace, the idea about

how word gets out when something good happens. And that's exactly what you were talking about earlier in the experience of how the word and the buzz just kind of went around about this thing that was happening this week. And that's what's happening here with the Colossian church as it relates to Paul. And so he's going to return back to sort of the theme he had before. He had that little interlude about his ministry because he says, so then, so this is kind of a change in thought. And I call this section Jesus is Lord.

these first few verses in which he's already established how awesome he is in terms of the creator and the recreator and the rescuer. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

And here's this little caveat, because this is obviously what's happening. There's a problem. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. And we pretty much know that's what was happening. That was what was creating the tension, the issues. Now he's going to go back to his earlier theme. He's just going to, but he's going to advance it, which is even more powerful.

Verse 9, for in Christ, all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form, which he kind of explained that earlier, but now he's going to add something to that. And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. So now he's like saying, because of the fullness of Christ and deity, that now belongs to you because of him. And now he's going to describe how that happens. Look at verse 11.

In him, you were also circumcised in the putting off of the sinful nature or the flesh, as some would say, not with the circumcision done by the hands of men, but with the circumcision done by Christ. Having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.

He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross, and having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ♪

Jace, have you seen any good movies lately? Well, about where I'm at these days since the movie quality overall has gone way down. I think everyone would agree with that. But really, there's been a surge in good Christian movies. And Angel Studios has a lot to do with that. I mean, they've been on a roll recently.

taking true stories, mixing it with the power of, you know, what we have in Jesus. And their latest one is with Bonhoeffer, which is, I've read the book many times and many of his quotes and who literally function like Jesus on the earth, you know, ultimately even given his life. So I think they did a good job with it. And, uh,

I highly recommend it. Yeah, Bonhoeffer is an amazing man, amazing story. And in this movie, the world teeters on the brink of annihilation. And Dietrich Bonhoeffer is swept into the epicenter of a deadly plot to assassinate Hitler. In Angel Studios' upcoming film, as Jason mentioned, Bonhoeffer, pastor, spy, assassin.

This movie is going to hit theaters November 22nd. You can get Showtimes right now at angel.com slash unashamed. With his faith and fate at stake, Bonhoeffer must choose between upholding his moral convictions or risking it all to save millions of Jews from genocide.

Will his shift from preaching peace to plotting murder alter the course of history, or will it cost him everything? We want you to check it out. You can find out this Thanksgiving all those answers by looking for Showtime's Near You to get your tickets today at angel.com slash unashamed. This is a movie you don't want to miss. Go to angel.com slash unashamed. That's angel.com slash unashamed.

So my initial take is, you know, when he said, for in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form, verse 9, that is kind of a throwback to in chapter 1, verse 19, where it said, for God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile himself all things, including people,

whether things on earth or things in heaven by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. So what I was going to say, this is funny, not funny, ha-ha, funny, ironic, is that I would say Colossians 1, 15 through 21 is top 10 sections that churches use. Yep. Colossians 2, which is our participation in this Jesus, is bottom 10 passages...

Used in churches because, you know, you just read that and your eyes kind of glaze over. It's like, what? I mean, all of a sudden we have circumcision brought up. You're like, well, baptism. It's like we've been given fullness and people just avoid it.

Because I think it seems complex when you first read it. And there's probably 101 different thoughts on this section. So keep that in mind. But we're going to tackle it and try to simplify it from what we think. But one point I wanted to make before we get into the meat of what he said is in that first verse, verse 6, to do another little throwback,

6 and 7, it says, So then, just as you received Christ as Lord, continue to live in him. So this is the transition from him saying, look how supreme Jesus is,

to how you're going to live in him. And that's why he's going to remind them of their baptism and remind them that they have all fullness, or remind them that the law has been nailed to the cross, that he's triumphed over the powers that tried to take him down. He's using these things as ways to motivate them to eventually, when you get to chapter three, what does he say? Since you've been raised with Christ, set your mind on things above.

But so then he says rooted and built up in him, which is an awesome illustration because he's using the garden illustration where we're a plant, the gospel that, you know, he who plants and waters or nothing, but only God makes things grow. He uses that illustration again.

He uses the building illustration. We're the temple of God. So you're being built up in Christ and rooted. So both illustrations, I think, are awesome. We are God's house and we are God's field, which I think is awesome. Strengthen in the faith.

As you were taught, but then he says this other statement, which I had overlooked, and this is what I wanted to bring up in our last few minutes before we next podcast get into the meat of what this illustration means, and overflowing with thankfulness. Well, when I read that in my private study, I was like, it seems like he keeps bringing up being thankful a lot. So if you look back in 1.3, he's thanking God for,

for them because of their faith. Then in 1.12, he says, giving thanks to the Father, and this is his prayer for them, to give thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. So all of a sudden, he's saying there's something to being thankful for.

for what God is doing in our lives. And now he brings it up again. So in this transition of how supreme Jesus is and us living in him, he's like, you should be overflowing with thankfulness. Well, when you get to chapter three in verse 15, which I think is,

One of the key verses, let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. So it's one thing that he's qualified you to be in the kingdom. It's another thing that he's ruling as king in your heart. We talked about that earlier. Since as members of one body, you were called to peace. But look what he says next. And be thankful. So in 317, he says, and whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.

giving thanks to God the Father through him. Then in 4, chapter 2, devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Now, my point is, when the Bible starts repeating itself over and over, always have to stop and say, why is he stressing this so much? And so now you realize these people are hearing these other philosophies, and we know what happens. They start arguing.

And all of a sudden you realize that this is a lot like when Jesus was going around, and I wanted to go read them real quick, in Luke. And he's doing all these wonderful things, but he was highlighting the people who came back and gave thanks. Because that's what's going to keep you mature and realizing how grateful you should be over what God has done. And so I picked the one in Luke, and I'll just give that, and then I'll get your thoughts on it.

So in Luke 4, just to get this back to the kingdom, in Luke 4 in verse 45, he says, but Jesus said, I must preach the good news of the kingdom to other towns also because that is why I sent. So it's not like this kingdom is all of a sudden coming out of nowhere to the Colossians. You remember where one of the first words of one of the other gospels is the time has come. The king is here. You're looking at him.

So when you get to Luke 17, you remember this story in verse 11. When he was on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border. As he was going into a village, 10 men had leprosy. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, Jesus, Master, Jesus.

have pity on us when he saw them he said go show yourselves to the priests and as they went they were cleansed and without going into detail when you had leprosy back then you were an outcast you couldn't go anywhere you were basically a crack in society loneliness people were terrified of you and you were out unclean so so they did and they were cleansed

One of the ten, when he saw he was healed, came back praising in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? Then he said, rise and go.

Your faith has made you well. And I do think there's something in there about Paul bringing up the Gentiles, revealing the mystery, which is Christ in you. And then he keeps saying, be thankful, be thankful, be thankful, be thankful. So then I wanted to read Luke 18. We see the opposite side of this from a religious point of view. You remember where in verse nine to some who were confident of their own righteousness and

and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told them this parable. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself. Listen to his prayer.

God, I thank you. Now, he's being thankful, right? That I'm not like other men, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man...

rather than the other went home justified before God, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. And I read that to show there's different ways of being thankful, whether you're giving God the true glory for what

the energy he has supplied and the strength and the power and the forgiveness rather than yourself. But I just wanted to say that's where he starts this section about being thankful about what he has done and who Jesus is rather than how you're coping with it. No, I think that's, I think you're into exactly why Paul kept missing it because I've noticed in many, many years of ministry, because you come across a lot of different people in the kingdom,

That people who are thankful and grateful tend to not think that they deserve things and focus on their rights. People who go the other way that think they deserve things because for whatever reason, I'm just speaking generally, they don't seem to be very thankful and grateful.

about what they have. It's like, well, I deserve that. That's mine. And you hear this and you see it really like in politics and stuff like that, where everything is about what I'm getting or not getting, my rights, my this, my that. The one thing that always seems to be lacking

is gratitude. Yeah. For their situation. You can be in the greatest country in the world, but if you only focus on what you're not getting and what you don't have, you're not a very grateful person. And your attitude stinks. And you can probably tell the reason I wanted to set this up is because he set it up that way. We're overflowing with thankfulness. And then when you get to chapter 2 and verse 6, what else you read, it's

There's more religious people arguing about that section. And I'm thinking, look, this is not about us. I mean, overall, this is about Jesus and us being overflowing and being thankful. I'm just glad I'm here. Yeah.

I'm glad you thought enough of me to send your son to die, to be resurrected. I can have hope and contribute and just be willing to struggle and suffer and serve in some capacity. So before we get out of here, I do want to mention a couple of things. Zach, you got a new podcast.

It's getting ready to drop. What's it called? Not yet now. Jason's going to work with me on maybe changing the title, but for now, not yet now is what we're calling it right now. And that's going to be you doing some Bible study with some of your guys up there. So we're excited that that's going to drop on Tuesdays. So it'll give you one more. Yeah, tomorrow. Yeah, so it'll be one more day. By the way, on the YouTube side, you can go to at DasherZach.com.

Z-A-C-H on YouTube and anywhere podcasts are heard. All right. So we set it up. That's a good backdrop. We're out of time for the next podcast. Cause like Jay said, we're going to dive into this,

to six and following because there's some really rich stuff in there as well. So we'll see you next time on Push. 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.