Ep 1081 | Jase Barrels Into Highly Awkward Restaurant Blunder & Godwin Finally Baptizes His Son-in-Law
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I am unashamed. What about you? Welcome back to the Unashamed podcast. Jason, the last podcast you were talking about celebrating Resurrection Sunday, is what I like to call it, in Nashville, where Reed was leading worship there.

I was in Gulf Shores down here at the Southern Lair. And so for the first time and as far back as I can remember, I'm guessing it's got to be over 20 years. I was not preaching on Easter Sunday. And typically, Mike and I usually preach together. WFR has kind of been a tradition since he came back 20 plus years, 25 years ago.

And so it was very strange not being there. We had family down here. Old Stone came down. We caught some crabs out in the lagoon and had a big crab and shrimp bowl. And it was a lot of fun. Had a great weekend together. And so that day we tuned in. And one of the things is I loved it all. Of course, it's just such a great day because for preachers, it's like Super Bowl Sunday.

As you know, there's always a lot of people there. And I wish they were there all the time, but, you know, it's just kind of the way it works. But at the end of it, something amazing happened. Our old friend, John Godwin, who's on our sister podcast in the duck call room from time to time, he baptized his son-in-law.

At the end of the service Sunday. And it really touched me because, you know, obviously I've been there the whole time with him and Johanna, their daughter. I married them. And I remember seeing this young man for the first time.

And, you know, he came into one of our house churches because they started dating and he was I don't know exactly sure where he was on the scale of belief. I mean, he was somewhere in between atheist and agnostic and for sure a skeptic.

And he was, you know, he was pretty bold about it. Like, you don't see that much because you're coming into like a Christian environment, especially in a house church. But he was, I mean, fact checking everything we were talking about, you know, on his phone the whole time we were having this. And I was thinking to myself,

Quite honestly, I was thinking, man, Johanna needs to, she needs to move on. This kid is not gonna make it. He's not gonna be worth the effort. Well, they wound up falling in love, get married, and this journey that now brought him to Sunday has been remarkable to watch. And one of the things that I think was so beautiful about it, and I sent a text to Godwin, just congratulating him and getting to be in that moment with his son-in-law was really cool.

And I said, you know, your your example, yours and Paula of grace and just really, you know, patience in working with, you know, your daughter and your son in law and ultimately leading him to Christ was was such an inspiration to me. And so John sent me this text back and I want to share it on the podcast.

He said, he said, thanks, you know, and he had gone to, Celio had gone to a men's retreat, which made a huge impact on his life. And he said, here's what his son-in-law said. He said, Jesus was baptized when he was 30 by a man named John. And now I'm 30 and I'm baptized by a man named John. And, and so I thought that was pretty cool. And Godwin said, and you got to hear it in Godwin's voice, I guess. I don't know what that means, but I'm in great company.

And so I thought that was pretty cool that the whole idea of that happening in their lives. So it was just, I don't know. I thought what better way to, to end your time together as a family on resurrection Sunday than watching a new birth. Watching somebody get raised up out of the watery grave, the baptism. Did he go to one of the men's retreats? Is that what it was? I'm telling you something, there's something happening at those things. I've never, uh,

It's called the Spirit of the Lord. Oh, no question. And you know what's happening at all of them, Jace? It's confession of sin. I've seen, I mean, it's insane.

what is going on at these men's retreats. I mean, they're very powerful. Well, you know what I love about the whole thing? I mean, in and of itself, you're right, Zach, it's a really cool thing that happens. It's almost kind of like adult camp, you know, for men and women. But the idea that every few years, the Almighty sends a wave through His Holy Spirit. Jason's right.

that, you know, there'll be different methods. I mean, at one time it was small groups. At one time it was, you know, bus ministry. There's all these different things that come along, but they all have the same thing in mind, leading people to him. And, you know, we just kind of have to be ready to catch the next wave, whatever it's going to be. I never know. And it may not even be your thing. It may not be something you would have ever thought would be effective, but it is, you know? Oh, exactly. Yeah.

Well, since we're confessing our sins, I was up in Nashville and I tried this surprise, which didn't go real well. However, you know, it was the experience itself. I mean, participating in Resurrection Sunday, because really every day is Resurrection Day for believers. I mean, you just told the story. I mean, it's happening, as Zach always says, now and later.

I mean, because of the resurrection, we can be new creations on the planet. And so I got to go to Nashville and be with my family, which was awesome. And I have a similar story. I mean, I remember when I met Reed's wife, who was girlfriend at the time, and I remember I did the typical investigation and the questions.

You know, does this woman love Jesus? You know, because I'm like, you're talking about this is getting serious. You're going to spend the rest of your life. Of course, now fast forward a few years and three grandkids later, and I'm like, oh, she was for my son. I had it backwards, you know.

I mean, she is a wonderful, her name is so right. And it's weird because she actually listens to the podcast.

So I told a funny story that happened to me. Speaking of confessing your sins, that's where I was making the connection. Yeah. Not really a sin. It was just something really stupid I did. And I told this story when we were all gathered up for a meal, and they thought it was hilarious, which I wasn't really telling it to be funny. I just thought, you're not going to believe, because we were talking about

how the older you get, you can't remember things quite like you used to, you know?

And so before I left on this whirlwind of a trip, going to do an event and then going off to Nashville and all that, the night before I went and visited my mom and dad, which we have them together, which is kind of the goal of their condition right now. And they've been doing so much better now that they're finally together because my mom was in the hospital for I don't know how long. A couple of months. Yeah, a couple of months. And it was looking dicey.

And my dad, you know, mentally, he's just not clicking on all cylinders. And physically, he's got a lot of problems. But we have them together. And so I was visiting them. And I say that they're doing so much better, but they still have some tough days. And the day I went and visited them by myself, it was just a tough evening. And so I wound up staying there for a few hours, about three hours, I guess. Well, you know, when I left, I was hungry.

And I usually, you know, I don't eat at fast food places in general. And I never have now. I think it's just because of the way we were raised. And I just soon do it myself, you know. And when I'm a bachelor and Missy's gone, you know, I just usually kind of live off the land. I mean, I go catch fish, you know, I get the eggs from the hen house. And that's just kind of what I do.

What do you call it, Jay? God's grocery store? Yeah, I go to God's grocery store and just live, and I take pride in it, you know? But in that moment, I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I had been here, and I was like, you know what? I started thinking the few things that I like in the fast food world, I don't even know if this qualifies as fast food, but Outback has some, as an appetizer, they

They have one little shrimp configuration. I think it's called coconut shrimp. And they sell ahi tuna, which is, I mean, they just go get some tuna from somewhere and cut it up. So good. Oh, it's good. So I said, you know what? I'm going to go do this. So I take off. And what's funny is I hadn't been to a restaurant in so long, and I hadn't been to Outback in a while.

And so I went in. Do you know how they have the little call in? You can call and pick it up. But I didn't even know. I didn't even want to go down the road of trying to call this place. So I said, I'll just drive over there, walk in and say, I want to order something to take out. So when I pulled in, I thought, well, that's weird. Because the last time I was here, they had the pickup for call in orders on the other side of the parking lot. Should have known right there something was wrong.

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That is inspired Christians to really understand the suffering of what goes on in the world. Zach, I mean, I don't know about you, but like when I look at the stories of other people and what they're going through, I mean, it makes me not only pray for them and want to reach out to them, but also just appreciate them.

how blessed we are whenever we go through difficult times. Absolutely, Al. And I think that every Christian needs to have this book in their home. So a good friend, Todd Nettleton, who's the voice of the Martyrs Radio host, is the one who wrote the book. He traveled to these restricted nations over the course of 20 years. These are interviews of people, real people's lives where they were persecuted. Their faith was tested at great personal cost to them.

And those stories of inspiration can now help you in your everyday walk. So request your free copy of When Faith is Forbidden by calling 844-463-4059. That's 844-463-4059. Or you can visit vom.org slash unashamed. That's vom.org slash unashamed.

So I thought, why would you move that? I was already griping, you know. So I drive over and I was like, oh, here's the, you know how they have little signs that you pull in? So I pulled in, walk in to the pickup area and I say, okay. You know, I'm terrible in the, because like my wife, the most angry she gets at me is if we ever have to go through a drive-thru and like talk through the machine. I just don't do well.

You know, because I like want to have an icebreaker and ask them how it's going. Chase, you don't need a cold open when you're placing an order. You can just order. Yeah, it causes confusion. So I get it. There's a problem I have. So anyway, I'll go in and I'll say, all right, I want the, because I'm not looking at a menu or anything. I'm just trying to go from here. I said, I want to order these coconut shrimp. And she said, we don't have that. I said, are you kidding me?

I was like, that is one of the best things that you have to offer. That and the other thing I'm going to order. And she's like, she made a statement that didn't make any sense. She said, we've never had that. And so then when she said that, I said, well –

I can tell that you're new, but at one time you had this. That was an Outback staple. Yeah, that was a staple, you know, and so I was like, so that is very unfortunate. And I said, and really, I'm inclined just to walk out that door. Because I wanted her to go tell management, this guy was really upset that we're no longer carrying the coconut shrimp. But when she said, never, so I was like, okay, well, let me just get two orders of,

of your ahi tuna. They have a little salad. She said, we don't have that. I was like, this place is literally falling apart. And I said, well, let me just, now I'm kind of angry to tell you the truth. I was like, let's go back to issue one. I will bet you $1,000 that at one time you had coconut shrimp. What do you think?

And she's just looking at me dumbfounded. And I was like, all right, forget it. You don't want to bet. Because I thought, you know, you said you've never had it. And so when she said that, I was like, well, this is crazy. And then she asked a pivotal question, kind of Jesus style. She said, where do you think you're at now?

Oh, no. And I looked around. You're at Chili's. I was at Chili's. Oh, dude. Major downgrade. But you know what I thought in that moment? They're next door. For those of you that don't know West Monroe, they're next door to each other, by the way. They're next door to each other. But you know what I thought in that moment? I thought of John Six. I thought, they missed the signs. They missed the signs. I missed the signs. Yeah.

And you were kind of cocky about it too, which is kind of what the Pharisees did. Cocky is not a strong enough word because this woman, then I looked at it from her perspective, she's angry. You know what? I don't blame her. I'm just a bumbling homeless idiot in her mind. She don't know who I am, doesn't care, and I have literally, I need professional help.

Because I'm trying to order. Well, now, to my knowledge, I don't know if I've ever eaten at Chili's, but now I feel the guilt.

And I thought, because I started to walk out. I mean, like, literally started. I walked halfway to the door, and I thought, because she, I look back at her, and she's like, after all that, you're just going to leave? Wow. And that'll preach right there, Josh. I said, do you have a menu? And I got the menu, and I was like, now I'm speeding up. They had some huge, giant burger, and I was like, I want one of those. Don't do it.

Give me the, they had some like some chips and some kind of salsa. And she's like, that's good. Chili's has the best chips and salsa.

But, you know, all those – Well, their Southwest egg roll, if you're going to order something off the app menu, the Southwest egg rolls are pretty good. Well, I don't know about all that. My confession is I haven't eaten at a Chili's in – It's been a minute for me, too. So I went ahead and did it and gave her the maximum tip that was offered, whatever. And, I mean, I got the bill, and I was like – Tears were shed. It was like $40-something. And generally, I would say, I think you need to recheck that. But I was like, you know what –

Even if it's wrong. It was terrible. I was like, I cannot believe I just did this. So I thought y'all would find that funny. That's a good word, a good segue into John 6.

Yeah, I thought it was. We're still there. You need the signs, but you also need an entourage. You don't need to be doing these things on your own. You just aren't capable. I mean, that's just sad, but true. I mean, I did that. I don't know if that's a sign that I missed the signs. But I got a meal, which was the goal. And, you know, it was an adventure.

I mean, I'd have rather had the ahi tuna, but we made it work. We made it work. Yeah, and it was a funny story for my family. So Al, where do we leave off?

All right. So we're hoping that today may be the day. We're not sure where we actually tie off John 6. It's been an amazing run of study time in this chapter. But Jace has pointed out in the past all the reasons why. So I won't rehash it again. But we came to one point. We just couldn't quite leave because we read the entire text last time. And but there was one little thing. We had had a quote from Isaiah 54.

where Jesus talked about Israel being taught by God. And that led me to Deuteronomy 7, because my thinking was Jesus is kind of making the point that, you know, there's nothing really that special about Israel itself other than Israel was made a people so that they could bring Jesus, which is his whole point. Now I'm here. Oh, yeah. And you're rejecting me. And I want to read that text. And then, Jason, I'm going to turn it over to you because it's

You took that and jumped in and made some interesting observations about the whole book of Deuteronomy. Yeah. Well, before we read this, because I realize Deuteronomy can be difficult, just because this was Israel's culture. And I actually got this from the scholarly world, because I was like, when you had that Deuteronomy 7 here, and the reason I was drawn to read this and do this is

just look in big picture for a second, is because even when we read that in Isaiah,

You know, what I found is those chapters talking about what Zach had just said, this was God's plan to choose Israel even before the beginning of time. Yeah. To bring about Jesus, who is a Jew, and I'm using present tense because Jesus is the I am, and he's still a man. I mean, when it said this same Jesus in Acts 1 who you see like post-resurrection, right?

Now, he's a glorified man with a new body that has a lot of bells and whistles.

But it's also a picture of what our new body will be like. You know, think 1 John 3, where it says that he's going to change as the children of God, which the original children of God was the nation of Israel. You fast forward to 1 John 3. Well, we're called sons and daughters of God, the children of God. Think Galatians 3 and Galatians 4. You know, it uses the same terminology. But what I found fascinating is,

was that this shadow story of Moses freeing the Israelites, obviously God was doing it through Moses, that became a shadow to really what Jesus was going to do for the whole world. Exactly. And the reason I thought this was important, Al, did you realize that in the book of John,

Moses is referenced 13 times. I did not know the number. I did not realize that it was that big a number. Well, just start thinking back. Remember John 1 where it was like the law and...

What does it say? John 1 came through Moses. Yeah, it mentions right there in verse 13 or 413. Grace and truth. And then one of his followers, Philip, I think, or in the conversation with Nathaniel in 145, it's like we have found the one to fulfill, you know, what Moses wrote. That's in John 145.

Which is a quote from Deuteronomy as well. A quote from Deuteronomy. That's where I was going with this. In 314, you remember as Moses lifted up the bronze snake? You remember that? Well, then in 545, you remember the conversation? It's like when Jesus said, Moses wrote about me?

You believe that the scriptures give you eternal life, but you don't realize the scriptures were about me. But he referenced what Moses wrote about. That's 545, 546. Well, then in 632, where we're at now in John 6, the same...

the manna that came from heaven. Now I'm the bread alive, but he mentions Moses specifically. And look in the next chapter, it's in seven 19, seven 22, seven 23. He mentioned them in eight five and also in nine 28 and 29. So, and also it made me realize that even in the book of acts in chapter three, you know, once the spirits poured out, they start preaching Jesus. Um,

Well, in Stephen's sermon in Acts 7, there's a whole Moses section. And they're using that as an illustration of Jesus fulfilling this, this new creation, new freedom, just like the Israelites were freed from Egypt. It's like the new exodus. I mean, it's the new creation and the new exodus. ♪

So, Jay, she told us about your itching powder. Was it itching powder that you ordered and it never came? No. It was shrinking powder that you could put on humans and pets so that you would be much substantially larger than them. And I felt that. And I was saying, Zach, that I'm very thankful he never got it because I would have been one of the first person he would have shrunk. So I'm glad he didn't get it. I wanted to be the first person to carry around my brothers in my pocket.

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for americans do you know what the most cross-referenced scripture in the entire bible is what's that it's exodus 34 verse 6 and 7 the lord passed before him and proclaimed the lord the lord a god merciful and gracious slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithless keeping steadfast love for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression of sin

but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third generation and to the fourth generation. So this idea of the Exodus story and Moses' story,

I mean, it literally is the most cross-referenced scripture in all the Bible, which I find so interesting. And here in John 6, you see Moses, and I'm actually preaching Sunday. We're actually starting an Exodus series, and I'm giving the overview. And so it's funny you mentioned Acts 7, because as I was doing my research, I'm like,

I'm doing the first seven verses of Exodus, which if you read it, it's essentially the story of Joseph. You know, hey, Joseph came to town, you know, he moved to Egypt with 70 of his family members in verse 8. And oh, the Pharaoh, the new Pharaoh forgot about him, you know, years later. And that's kind of the intro to that. Well, I'm like, man, how am I going to preach an overview of this? And I wound up in Acts chapter 7, because I'm like, this is what got Stephen killed, because

Because the bulk of Stephen's sermon is about Moses and what Moses said. And there's the little stuff in there about Abraham and Joseph. But that's all leading up to the story of Moses. That really was his sermon. And what got him killed was he ended up talking about the temple and saying, God doesn't live in the temple built by your hands. I find that interesting. Yeah.

No, I do too. And look, when I went down this rabbit hole of like how much Moses is referenced, I mean, think, look, think Hebrews. So he's in the Hall of Fame chapter in 11. But also there's this chapter three in Hebrews that the whole section is about why Jesus is better than Moses. And even if I were to read that, it...

hits on the exact thing that you're talking about here. And my point for doing this is that, you know, we did a few podcasts ago when we were starting John 6. I don't know, that might be a month ago. We've been at John 6 so long.

But we talked about how many so many there's so many arguments and disagreements that come from John six. And my whole point for doing this and even going to Deuteronomy is to realize kind of the context of where Jesus is coming from. And it is wrapped around.

the Jewish history as being God's chosen people. And it's amazing when you read the whole book of Deuteronomy, you see a lot of things in there about wrath and judgment because here's God married to this nation and he was faithful even in their rebellion to one day produce hope through becoming a man, Jesus.

that heritage and I think it helps explain a lot of the subtle things and a lot of these arguments that people disagree on I think it's like they've detached the history yeah of what this is all about and just looked at it like oh this is to me as an individual here in America 2,000 years later and they're not getting the context of it so that's why I was pursuing that but just to read the Hebrews 3 when he says therefore

In verse 1, who share in the heavenly calling, brothers who share in the heavenly calling. Fix your thoughts on Jesus. And it says he was faithful, verse 2, speaking of Jesus, he was faithful to the one who appointed him just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house,

has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house. What house is he? He's talking about Israel's house. Testifying to what

would be said in the future, but Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And I love this next sentence. And we are his house if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. So having said all that, just to give you an overall view of Deuteronomy, and I think most scholars agree with this, the first 11 chapters are the story of

retold about their exodus, their freedom, their liberation by God's design. From the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, which we said earlier, it's just basically allowing him to not want the presence of God. I mean, it's this idea of giving them over, think Romans 1. The Hebrew word for hardened is a word called chazak.

which means to strengthen in resolve. So when you look at the Exodus story, Pharaoh's heart, he had hardened his own heart several times before the scripture says that God intervenes and hardened his heart. So when God intervenes to harden Pharaoh's heart, the picture that Exodus paints is that

God is strengthening Pharaoh in his resolve. And he actually says why. I can't remember exactly where, but he basically says so that I might increase my wonders. So that I might increase my power. It's kind of this picture that God's almost saying, look, any person in their right mind

With what I'm about to do, any person in their right mind would fold like a cheap suit at the power that I'm about to display. But what I'm going to do with you, because your heart's already wicked and hard, I'm going to actually use your wicked, evil heart

to multiply my wonders and I'm going to make it where you won't fold because you're already wicked. Which is kind of in the language of John 6, by the way, too, because it says he knew in advance who would betray him and who would come to him. So God kind of knows this in his foreknowledge and he's orchestrating this plan of redemption around his foreknowledge. Well, and let's face it, that phrase, hardening of the heart, I mean, it

Obviously, one of the meanings has to be that it's just a non-understanding as well. Because you remember the disciples, it mentioned their hearts were hard, meaning they didn't understand what Jesus was doing. One of the times they were out on the lake with him.

And so, you know, right there, it's not because somehow that they hated Jesus or they hated God or they hated. I mean, they were a fault. They gave their whole lives to it, but they didn't understand. Well, and so the application, I think, is the same. Part of that is just not getting what's happening because you don't want to.

the parting of the Red Sea and the liberation. But part of that is, you know, you had all the laws and commands that, cause you're in a relationship and in any relationship, there's expectations here. There's a covenant, which is why this all started from Isaiah 54 and 55. But Isaiah 54 is kind of a picture of the new covenant that Jesus would introduce. And look,

Oh, by the way, Isaiah 55, and this is all after the suffering servant in Isaiah 53. Here's Jesus going to be put on a cross and marred beyond human likeness on a cross for us. Well, Isaiah 55 gives a picture of new creation. At the end of it, it starts talking about the trees singing. It's like a picture of the new covenant.

Well, Deuteronomy is similar in that when you read the Ten Commandments, which I read, I read the whole book of Deuteronomy and I was kind of fascinated by it because it's like, you know, basically it's their story, but God lays out and nothing he laid out. Think of the Ten Commandments. None of this is from a cultural standpoint, like something crazy. He's like, you know, if I'm going to be your God, you'll have no other gods before me.

That makes sense, because in reality, what can these other gods do anyway? I mean, there's one God, and he focuses on that, you know. And, you know, you shall not make idols for yourself. He kind of gives a little bit of commentary on what that first commandment is all about. But then it's like, you shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, you know. Because, I mean, that'd be like, you know, I'm married to my wife, and then I'm...

I'm misusing her name. Well, I would never do that out of respect for her, you know, or call her derogatory things or whatever. And then the Sabbath, he, I skipped one somewhere because the Sabbath is fourth. It's fourth. You know, which one did I miss? Oh, it's, you shall have no other gods before me. Then you shall not have your, well, he kind of gives paragraph versions in Deuteronomy. So the idols, right?

What is the second commandment? Hang on. I need to get that right. Hang on, Manny. What's the Ten Commandments? I don't even know them. I mean, Jesus nailed them to the cross, but... You shall have no other gods before me was the second one. You shall not make yourself an idol, and you shall not misuse the name of the Lord. Oh, I think I had it right. Yeah. Yeah, so you shall have no other gods before me, one. Two, you shouldn't bow down to idols.

Three, shouldn't misuse the name of the Lord God. Observe the Sabbath, which was in Deuteronomy's commentary on it. It was basically so that you could reflect on your newfound freedom. Exactly. Yeah. And so then five is honor your father and mother, which goes into the point Zach made, that it may go well with you, but it also is a way to train yourself

you know, the family for future generations, having this respect for parents and passing it on to your kids.

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That's promo code unashamed at buildofgreens.com. Then you shall not murder. Well, okay. Yeah, I think that would help society. Yeah. You shall not commit adultery.

Just think, this is a marriage contract, basically. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony about your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. I mean, there they are. I think this is called imaging God who you're married to as a nation. And that's going to influence the world around you and the other nations who are bowing down to other gods, who are...

murdering each other, who are having adultery. And so to get back to my outline, so Genesis 1-11 is the whole story, including the Ten Commandments, but 11 through 26 is basically like trusting what he says, these laws. So that's going to be the...

foreshadowing of Jesus coming as the Word of God. And even I wrote this down in John 6, 50, 51, just to see, kind of make my point. John 6, 50 and 51, you could make a case, before we read this in Deuteronomy,

For this being a statement made by Jesus, that's the exact opposite of what happened going all the way back to the garden. This kind of hit me. I didn't read this in a book. I was just reading it again. But he said, but here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,

He will live forever. Well, you remember what God said in the garden? He's like, if you eat of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will die. And now here's Jesus making this statement. I am the living bread, something you eat, that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. It's like the opposite statement. He's like the fulfillment of where it all went wrong.

And so then the last section in Deuteronomy is the blessings and curses that come from trusting what he says as God's partner. And what's fascinating about it is it

It's literally what happened at the end of Genesis. When you read the last couple chapters in Genesis, it's all about the blessings and curses of whether you decide to image God or whether you decide to deconstruct yourself and be your own God or follow other gods. And then, you know,

Who was that that died at the end of Genesis? Jacob? Joseph. Joseph, yeah. So then Joseph dies at the end of Genesis, and then here Deuteronomy kind of mirrors Genesis 1 through 11, really. And at the end, Moses dies, but it's still the blessings and curses. It's like a mirror image of the end of Genesis, which is really fascinating. Yeah.

And I used to think, oh, if I do right, God will bless me. Or I may just be cursed from the start, which is what a lot of people teach. But you get a different picture when you read the book of Genesis and you read the book of Deuteronomy and then you read something like John 6. It's like, if you choose not to do this, well, this is what happens. If you choose to do this, and I'm going to prove it in the book of Deuteronomy. So that's my setup.

Because we're going to read Deuteronomy 7 first, and then I'm going to read a couple of sections in chapter 30 and 32 about the blessings and curses. And I think it will answer a lot of arguments that people have when it comes to John 6. I realize we're kind of getting in deep water here because we're in Deuteronomy, but I think when you see how this plays out through their history and how Jesus fulfills it, it's like a light bulb moment. You're like, that was the plan all along? That was the plan all along. Yeah.

And just to add to what you said, Jace, when you, you know, Moses wrote the Torah, which is, you know, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Genesis 1 through 11, as you described, was that ancient man idea that led up to the Tower of Babel.

We get to Genesis 12, we pick up the promise to Abraham, which is when you first start reading about the people of God and the promises of God. And then that runs all the way through Genesis and Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers are then the results of that. So Deuteronomy is almost a retelling of all of this history of everything God has designed, which is why, of course, that we go there. And so here's the reading, Deuteronomy 7, 7.

He's talking about the Jewish people. Remember, they were slaves. They were enslaved in Egypt. But it was because the Lord loved you.

And kept the oath he swore to your forefathers, that goes back to Abraham, that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is God. He is faithful. He is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

But those who hate him, he will repay to their face by destruction. He will not be slow to repay their face, those who hate him. Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees, and laws that I give you today. Which sets, it makes sense that God made a promise and God's going to fulfill this promise. And this promise was from the beginning. And it's that basic layout. It's, he's going to,

Man decides not to trust what God says. And you also are introduced to these celestial beings who have also made their decision not to be imagers of God because God has a family in heaven of these celestial beings. And then here's humans.

We're the family on earth. You see this, and they're supposed to interact. Yeah, another way of saying it is that what they were ultimately doing was they weren't enacting God's will on earth as it was in heaven. They were trying to separate the will of God in heaven from the will of God on earth, which is, if you read Genesis 6, and then also probably in 11 too, there's the picture of potentially...

Elohims are heavenly celestial beings coming down to earth and having sex with women, like human women and creating other Nephilim or these Nephilim or whatever. So there's the idea of disrupting that harmony between heaven and earth. That's why the redemption of that happens.

is what we're talking about in this podcast of actually heaven and earth coming back together. So we would say like in a city like where we live in Black Mountain, we would say God's will be done in Black Mountain just like it is in heaven. And we want to live that out. That's the not yet now kingdom. Yeah.

So I want to skip to the blessings and curses section. So this is kind of after the story's been told and the marriage covenant with God's chosen people and what they're supposed to image, represent him. And remember that common phrase that you'll see in the first 11 chapters is that God would be dwelling with his people forever.

And then I'm skipping over the section about trusting what he says and the laws, the reasons for the commands. Because if you're imaging God, you're doing what his nature is, which is why you have the commands of God and the laws, right? Yeah. And that's why I read those, because it's not like they're things that...

we can all agree would make way less chaos and way less self-destruction on our earth if everybody would have one man one woman for life and there was no adultery or no murder or no bowing down to gods that are not god i mean all this thing all these things make sense so when you go to chapter 30 and i just i mean we're going to give you a thumbnail here but i want to read some of this

So in verse one, it says, when all these blessings and curses I have set before you, that's why I brought that up. And that's why I wanted to come here. And it's not hard to figure out. You either are faithful to God as he is faithful or you're not. There's blessings as a result of one decision and there's curses as the result of the other. So he brings that up here. He says, God,

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart. Well, it's so crazy that he starts talking about the heart. Think about how much Jesus talked about the heart. And he says, wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations. So there's going to be a dispersion, which think Matthew 28, when Jesus comes and bringing the nations back together, when he's like all authority on heaven and earth has been given to me, therefore go make disciples of all nations.

And when you, verse 2 of Deuteronomy 30, and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your, there's that word again, heart, and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. If you fast forward to John, and Jesus is like, I'm that guy.

You remember Moses wrote Deuteronomy. That was about me. This is me. Restoration, freedom happening one day. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to that land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. The Lord God, watch, will circumcise your hearts forever.

Does this sound familiar? Circumcision becoming a spiritual thing?

Loving God. Remember when Jesus said the whole law can be summed up. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The Lord God, verse 7, will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. Because you know what that means. Because they hate and persecute God. You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands I'm giving you today.

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Most prosperous. I want to skip down and read verse 11 because, look, it has this offer. This is my favorite movie in the—I brought this up before. In the—what movie was that? The Good, Bad, and the Ugly? No. In the movie Outlaw Josie Wells at the end when Clint Eastwood meets up with ten bears and he gives him the words of life and the words of death. And he's like, it shall be like—you know where they got that from?

Deuteronomy 30. So he says, now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not. I love this phrase. It is not up in heaven so that you have to ask who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it.

You know why I'm reading this? Because 10 times Jesus said, this came from heaven. I came down from heaven. Because you can't ascend to heaven and get this.

So I don't know where we got off on this deal, but somehow we got to get off this place and get to heaven so we can get something that God's offering. It just seems to be in total contrary to what this is saying. Which is why when I mentioned earlier the most cross-referenced scripture in the Bible is Exodus 34, 6, and 7. But you read that whole context...

I mean, this is where Moses is meeting with God, where God says, cut for yourself two stone tablets, like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets that you broke. And so he's giving him this vision on Mount Sinai.

But you read that whole passage of what he's saying there. It is about a generational blessing that God is, the generational covenantal blessing that God is unfolding and revealing to Moses. Exactly. So we're running out of time, and I'm going to get to that. I'm going to get to that. But I want to finish reading that because with your point, I'm fixed to make because the last chapter in Deuteronomy in 34 is about Moses' death. You remember that? And he's like,

He's like, I'm not going to let you cross over. And God buried him. And then there's this little paragraph that's like Moses was honored as a prophet and he was known as to have seen God face to face, which is why Moses was so upheld by the Jewish nation, which is why they're now having these conflicts with Jesus himself because they have their...

They're trusting Moses. In fact, when we get to chapter 8 and 9, they're going to say, we're disciples of Moses. And he's saying, hey, you think Moses was something? I'm God's son.

And you see the glimpse of this in the next verse in Deuteronomy 30, where he says, verse 13, nor is it beyond the sea that you have to ask, who will cross the sea and get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it? No, the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. I mean, think Romans 10 and 9, that we always...

Quote, you know, that is, it's with your mouth that you confess Jesus Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him down, raised him from the dead. But this all goes back to God's plan through Jewish history, through Moses and through people like Moses, Abraham, as you mentioned now, to bring Jesus. So let me keep reading verse 15. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. There's your two choices.

When you talk about blessings or curses or when does that happen, look how he framed that. I set this before you today. I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his commands, decrees, and laws. Then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you.

In the land you are entering. But if your heart turns away and you're not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you that this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call heaven and earth, interesting phrase, as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death.

blessings and curses. Now choose life. Let me read that again. Now choose life so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord, your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to him for the Lord is your life. And he will give you many years in the land. He swore to give your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So then you go to chapter 32 and Moses song. I just want to read a couple excerpts out of this. Uh,

In verse 3, it says, I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God. He is the rock. His works are perfect and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just as he.

Just put an exclamation point there. God is not the problem. He's not created all this disorder. He's kind of gone through this. I'll rescue you. I'll have mercy. I've chosen you. Here's the way to reflect me. You get into the laws and commands. And then here are the blessings as a result of trusting me. And here are the curses if you don't.

So then it says, verse five, they have acted corruptly towards him to their shame. They are no longer his children. Well, who moved? They moved. They did. They were not faithful, but a warped and crooked generation. Is this the way you repay the Lord? Oh, foolish and unwise people. I love this next verse. Is he not your father, your creator who made you informed you?

And so if I skip down to verse 9, it says, for the Lord's portion is his people. And he uses Jacob as kind of like the father of Israel in this. But then he skips down in verse 15 and he uses this name Jezreel as like the picture of those who didn't, of Israel, who didn't, you know, trust him.

And so that little section there is where we get a lot of information. And I just wanted to read a couple of other excerpts in verse 12. The Lord alone led him. No foreign guy was with him. That's the ones that trusted that Jacob was representing. He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him with the fruit of the fields. He nourished him. Here's the blessings. Look, he nourished him with honey from the rock. That's where that song came from.

And then when you get down to those who didn't, in verse 15, it says, oh, Jezron, they grew fat and kicked...

I don't know why that says grew fat and kicked. They grew fat. They were filled with food, became heavy and sleek. They abandoned God who made him and rejected the rock as his savior. They made him jealous with their foreign gods and ain't angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed the demons, which are not God. God's they had not known. God's that recently appeared. God's your fathers did not fear.

And the reason I read that is because of, in 32.8, it gives reference to what Zach had referenced about the sons of God. When it says, when the most I gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided it up to all mankind, he set boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. And some translation says Israel, but they found the most ancient manuscripts that said sons of God because he's going back to the

to the Tower of Babel, well, Israel wasn't even a nation then. So that's when you get into these celestial beings that had fallen from heaven or whatever, and I think they have a point. So anyway, the last thing I'll read is 32.10, I mean, 32.18, where it says, "...you deserted the rock who fathered you, you forgot the God who gave you birth."

And so I just wanted to say, then it gets into the end about Moses' death like Genesis. It just seems like that pattern is what God fulfilled in Jesus to get all people and all nations under one umbrella, which is Jesus Christ. And think Ephesians chapter 1. And I think when you look at it from the grid that it came from, you're going to spend a lot less time

arguing about little details in there about talking about how God would draw people and Judas betraying. And I just think that's the grid God uses. He loves you. He has mercy on you. He's faithful the whole time.

And you have a choice to either trust him or not. And there's blessings that's going to come from whatever choice you make. No, I think that's good, James. And it also shows you the imagery that John used when he was painting all these word pictures that Jesus laid out, which is very powerful.

So next time we'll tie that off and we'll try to move on to John 7, which continues our journey in the book of John. So we'll see you next time on Unashamed. Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. And don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube. And be sure to click the little bell and choose all notifications to watch every episode.