Ep 1035 | Phil Delivers a Fiery Portrayal of John the Baptist & Jase’s Date Night Gone Wrong
01:00:39 Share

Shake, shake, shake, see no wrap, shake it all the time. When you add a shake of Frank's Red Hot, you open a world of better. A world where wings bring out the flavor of game day, any day. Where buffalo chicken dip takes any party up a notch. And where any slice of pizza instantly becomes the world's best slice of pizza. At least, until the next slice. Bring every bite to life with the perfect blend of flavor and heat. Frank's Red Hot. I put that s*** on everything.

I am unashamed. What about you? Welcome back to Unashamed. I'm still in the southern layer. Chase, you're in the new studio, the new Unashamed studio, and Zach is still up there in North Carolina. Zach, how are things in North Carolina? Things are coming along now. We are getting back to, well, I'll say normal. It's going to be a while, but

It looks like a war zone. I can't figure out how long it takes to clean stuff up, but apparently it'll take a few years. It's not like you guys didn't have quite a bit. When I got back down here, it was interesting because I came home and I missed the snowpocalypse, as they're calling it around here, because they had a snowfall so deep in the southern regions of Alabama and also southern Louisiana.

That it matched records that went back to the 1800s in terms of amount of snowfall. It just happens. That was a once every whatever that is, 125-year event. And what happened to me and our place here is, you know, you get back down here. By the time I got here, there was a little bit of snow left on my steps. But by the next morning, it was gone.

But what happened, and Jason, I didn't know this was possible. You may know more being a fishing expert. But when I went out to my dock about maybe three days after I got back, I mean, I kept seeing this just huge congregation of brown pelicans all over my dock, my neighbor's dock, everywhere. And, you know, you see them around this time of year a little bit more, but not like this. This was like an Alfred Hitchcock movie, right?

And so I walked down there to find out why there's so many pelicans everywhere. And there is a there has been a fish kill in the lagoon here in right by my house. And I would say it's probably about three foot wide and about six inches deep.

of about half pound mullets just piled up all along the edge of the lagoon. So apparently, I guess the cold water, because it's shallow this time of year, I guess frozen to death. And so they just died and then washed up on the shore. Well, what happened was, as we know how nature works, that brought in the pelicans because they saw a feast that

So they are taking these fish and eating them on my dock. And then as we know, the digestive process of animals is,

They have left those fish through the process of the brown pelican system all over my dock. So I've got a major cleanup on aisle seven that I've got to do before I leave down here. But I've never seen anything like it. Circle of life. Circle of life. And most people here had never seen anything like it. But you do have a dock. I just realized that. Jace, did you know he had a dock? I did not know he had a dock.

I have a dog. Al has deemed me a fishing expert, so I guess I should have known you had a dog. I mean, Al, that's the first I've heard of the fishing, but I would probably think it wasn't due to them freezing.

You don't think? Well, people fish in ice holes, you know. I know, but I'm saying, Jay, the timing of it couldn't be that coincidental that right after the biggest snowfall they've had here in 125 years, all of a sudden there's this massive fish kill. I don't know, man. Yeah, things happen, you know. Things happen. I mean, I went to get a downed duck on the last day of duck season, and I saw two dead raccoons.

on my way to get the duck. Well, it wasn't because they froze to death, you know. Yeah, that's true. I'm not sure what was going on. But, I mean, you do see things like that in the wall. I mean, it's weird that they're calling it, what did you call it? Snowpocalypse. Snowpocalypse.

Sounds like maybe it's global cooling. It was here. Global cooling. Yeah, I'm going to introduce a new phrase, concept for it. Maybe it'll catch on. That's right. Well, it is kind of weird. I mean...

Yeah, it's very odd. And right now, we're about a week into these dead fish. And let me just tell you, when you step outside, it has triggered inside my brain memories of when we used to commercial fish that I have long stored away. It's almost like a little bit of PTSD.

fish related. And I mean, I'm just like, cause it stinks. I mean like the whole, my whole, it took me back to my childhood. Cause your house, if I remember, cause I came in from Florida during Christmas and the summer times and,

It did always have an odor of, not the house, but the yard always had an odor of dead fish. Yeah, that's it. Yeah, you know what my dad used to say about that? What? Because I'll now, what would Phil say? Dasher smelled like money. That's exactly right. I actually used that for my wife when we dated because I just said, look, not sure this is going to work out, but...

I just want you to know there's going to be an odor when I pick you up. And if you can train yourself to believe that that scent equates with money, we'll be way better off. So, because I've told this story before on our second date, I had to go, we were in the crawfish operation at that point in time.

And so we determined that for crawfish, which crawfish season is upon us. I'm rubbing my hands together if you can't see. I'm excited about that. But we had to go pick up some fish heads because we equated the best bait was fresh fish. And we were having trouble keeping up with the demand of the crawfish. And so we went to the local fish market where we sold our fish.

And they were like, we'll give you fish heads. And so my dad was like, hey, after you pick up your woman or y'all doing your little date thing, pick up them fish heads at the fish market. So I told her to wait in the truck because it was embarrassing. But when I went, they were these large garbage cans full of buffalo fish heads. They were too heavy for me to actually lift. I mean, just think large fish.

So I thought, well, I'll just go ahead and put this relationship to the test right here. So I stuck my head in the door because I also, my vehicle, neither door would open. So it was awkward getting in. I mean, I was like, look, I know this is going to be awkward, but I'll turn my head because I didn't want her to think I'd set this up to put her in an awkward position so I could stare at her. I was like, but if you're going to go with me, you're going to have to climb through that window. Yeah.

Had she ever seen the show Dukes of Hazzard, Jace? Because that would have helped a lot. I think she had heard of it. We actually talked about that. But I said, I didn't do this on purpose. So she helped me. I said, now hold your nose.

Just like not physically because we did have that conversation. She held her nose like, no, just like hold it in your brain because I need your hands to pick up the other side of this tub of heads. And whatever you do, don't let that lid come off.

But she did it. Do you realize how much your marriage at that point, looking back now, Jace, was hanging by the proverbial thread? Well, we were dating. We were dating. That's what I'm saying. You never would have gotten to marry. If that top had come off and she had tripped or that bucket, that tub would have spilled on her, there would be no Missy and Jace. Probably so. But look, let's fast forward. So two nights ago.

Because our last podcast we did, I think I told about, I got sick. I got some kind of stomach virus. But it wasn't that bad, even though it was very bad for a 24-hour period. It was just every time I turned around. But it just quickly went away. But what I didn't realize is that our annual celebration between my wife and I got postponed due to illness.

And so a couple days later, she was like, okay, it's sick. I got us reservations. We go to this. We don't eat out much, obviously, a couple times a year.

I say obviously because it's not worth going out if you're recognized and you're trying to like celebrate something special. Yeah. So do you know what we celebrate every year? It was her idea. The post ordeal? The post ordeal. We have a duck season ending celebration. Is this like a date night out on the town? Is this like a vacation? No, it's not like a date night. It is a date. We go to the same restaurant.

Every year because it's good. Which one do you go to? I'm not going to tell you because you can barely get in this place. I mean, I had to circle the premises three times to find a parking place. I know which one you're talking about. I know exactly the one you're talking about. It's fantastic. And we actually saw some friends there. And, I mean, it was a nice little, you know, they have good food. That's the prerequisite for me.

So Al, I've got you converted. Some of your meals are with now Home Chef. You've tried it. Tell me about your latest, what's the latest recipe you've tried? You know, I'm a big fan, Zach. I got in, you know, I'm on a new diet, so I had to, you know, get certain things that they offer. And that was the first good thing. They have such a wide array that it really fits whatever you like.

whatever you're doing diet-wise. And one of the things that I absolutely love was the stuffed poblano peppers. All the ingredients were fresh. Everything I needed was right there. And what I love about it is they lay out a very specific recipe. You follow it right down the line. So even if you don't cook a whole lot, you can follow this recipe, make a delicious meal. So I am a fan of home-shell. Yeah, that's saying a lot, Al, because I will tell you that the dashers and home-shell

The Robertsons are very, very critical when it comes to food, so getting that endorsement is a big deal. Home Chef delivers fresh ingredients and chef-designed recipes conveniently to your doorstep to simplify your cooking experience. Users of leading meal kits have rated Home Chef number one in quality, convenience, value, taste, and the recipe ease, which...

Obviously, Al and I can both attest to it's incredible. Home Chef has everything you and your family need for hassle-free, delicious meals. They've got over 30 options a week, as you mentioned, Al. And they serve a variety of dietary needs. So if you're on a diet like Al, this is still a great option. Plus, it's economical. Home Chef customers save an average of $86 per month on groceries. I'm telling you, we're saving money by doing it. And for a limited time, Home Chef is offering our listeners 18 free meals a

plus free dessert for life and, of course, free shipping on your first box. Go to HomeChef.com slash Unashamed. That's HomeChef.com slash Unashamed for 18 free meals and free dessert for life. HomeChef.com slash Unashamed. Must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert.

Well, you know, it's funny, Jace, because I didn't realize maybe I need to ask Willie and Jeff about their second dates because I never knew this story about this. You told the story, but I never knew it was that early in your relationship. Oh, yeah, it was early. I hate it. I thought the relationship was going to end.

Oh, I mean, it was hanging by a thread. I'm looking at it now. So five years earlier when Lisa and I were dating my or maybe even six because it was it was before I left and came back. But my second date with Lisa, we were selling fish that because the market was flooded with fish. And so we had to go and sell them direct sale, which you've had to do before as well.

And we had to go into a little neighborhood where some of our friends lived and to an old bar that was in the middle of, but it was during the day, and sell the fish. But that was our second date. So I'm just curious now, maybe is that a Robertson tradition that we never knew? Well, I think it goes back to Mark 1, you know, when Jesus came up on those fishermen. Mark 1.

I know you think I'm kidding, but I'm not. You're not trying to make a connection that's not there. You're being serious right here. I'm giving you a global control room decision, and I mean the global control room is operated by the Lord Jesus in heaven with a physical body as a human. But fishermen make, or they don't make, they just are great storytellers.

I mean, Al just told a couple of them. Yeah. You know, he was talking about fish dying. There was so many conspiracy theories in that because of the snow. I don't know if all that was legit, but it was like a fantastic story. I'm like, he's got pelicans in the background. You see what I mean? Oh, yeah. Well, so if you could ever convince these fishermen to get locked in on God became a human,

That would be the group to tell that story because we're already listening to their stories. And so that's one aspect of it. And, you know, so when he said, I'll make you fishers of men, that was the connection I was going with. No, I like that. Number two, I think, you know, us, we were fishermen, right?

I think it tells you how dating has changed now. Now there's people actually picking a mate for the rest of their life by going what they call, fishing reference, online, which is a lie. There's no lines online.

Jase, you're right. It's not even spelled the same. It's P-H-I-S-H. Isn't that right, Zach? Is that the catfishing? Yeah, like catfishing. Oh, I met my wife online. And you're like, what do I? Oh, we had a display here. And it's all putting your best foot forward. It's an illusion. Because

Because, I mean, when you actually meet them, I will guarantee you they don't look as good as they do online. I'll tell you this. I've actually met – we have a couple at our church that met online. Oh, there's a ton now. And they got married. Yeah. And they're doing great. And so, I mean, I think he may have been – We'll give it five years and get back with him.

All right. Jace, I guarantee you there's people in here that have been married longer than five years that listen to this podcast and met online. I'm not attacking all online marriages. All I'm saying is there is an epidemic of people being a version of themselves that's not true online. Well, that's true. And I would say in a dating relationship, it's better to just lay it all out there.

And so that's what I did with my wife. I was like, look, I'm not claiming that I was abducted by wilderness people.

They have kidnapped me for years. This is why I look the way I do, smell the way I do. I didn't go there. You owned it from the beginning. This is who we are. I duck hunt three months out of the year. I live in the wilderness. My dad is going to make you very uncomfortable the first time you meet him. I mean, I just laid it all out there. He's going to say things. He probably won't ever call you by your real name, which was true.

But just think about that. Jay's is right in a macro sense. When your early dates have your girlfriend or your date, um,

hauling up a fish, a tub full of dead fish heads, it can only go up from there. Whereas if it's online, you're getting the best profile. You're getting that shot of you working out, whatever. That was my point. Yeah. You've set the bar too high. It's too high. We all know that when you get married, it gets real.

Yeah. And they're like, you just started at the bottom because then it's only we can only go one direction. That's exactly right. It's not a bad strategy. It's pretty good. It's not a bad strategy at all. This is the truth. This is truth. Yeah. I see your point. Zach, he's quoted a scripture. It's like Mark 1. So it is truth now. I'm not saying that two people that meet online can't.

Have a marriage that will last. I'm just saying. Yeah, most of them meet online now. It's unlikely. So that's my take. Run it. Well, we'll hear from the audience. On a shame nation, we'll speak. We know that. Tell us what you think about online marriages. I will say, Jason, this kind of sort of gets us headed back to John 1 because we're going to deal with it at some point. I don't know about today, but with some of the early disciples. But whenever I...

you know, tell a little bit about our family when I lead into, when I go out and speak. I always say that there is a reason why Jesus chose four out of 12, which is, I mean, that's, you know, a quarter of the group.

Actually, a third of the group was fishermen. And it's interesting that he went down that road. And then I always say, because I come from a family that commercial fish to begin our business, our quote unquote empire, started with fishing. I understand it from a faith perspective because it takes a lot of faith to lift nets and hope there's fish in them so you can turn that into money. I mean, it's a faith-based business concept.

From day one. So I think I get it. I understand why he picked a third of his group. They were fishermen. Yeah. I mean, which are typically it's typically a rough crowd. You know, right. You think about it's a hard job. Exactly. Well, you're ready to get back into John one because when we left off days, we were talking about just to reset it. We're talking about John the Baptist.

And his role in that. And look, the reason why I mean, John and John 1, 1 through 18 is is giving us like the ultimate condensed picture of the greatness of Jesus, like like power pack. Like it's it's Jesus concentrate. And since he brought John the Baptist up twice, he's.

And Zach talked about it kind of the second act, as it were, is John the Baptist. You know that he played a huge role in the process or he wouldn't even get the mention here.

And then we had shifted over to verses 19 down through 34 on the last podcast because we began to look at John the Baptist, like his beginning and all that. And so we were in Luke 1, which is his backstory of how he came about. And it was very interesting. And, Jase, you were reading that, and I think you left off somewhere around Luke 1 15. I took a rabbit hole on the –

where it said he was under the influence of the Holy Spirit before birth. I mean, he had been chosen. And I think this random act of his father being in the temple and winning the lottery, praying to God, you had this moment of them being too old, and an angel appears. So in the temple, which is where this heaven and earth concept and

God meeting humans in the temple is an underlying story here. Yeah. He actually had a conversation with,

I don't know if we've read that part yet. Have we gotten to that part yet? We did. That's where it started. It started in verse, but he starts talking in verse 11, which says the angel of the Lord appeared to him, Luke 1, 11. And by the way, I'll mention this before you get back into the text, because you brought up something I had never realized before, is that the word paraclete, which is the word for advocate, helper, helper,

Comforter is only in the book. Well, it's only by the author, John, because there were four in the book of John and one in 1 John that you read last time. So that's kind of where this concept comes from. And the one he used in 1 John 2, or the one that went, it's like the one. The time he used it in 1 John 2, he referred to Jesus. The other times were the Holy Spirit. Right.

that would be inside humans. Right. And so getting back to my heaven and earth concept, Jesus being the temple, Holy Spirit being poured out, you actually see heaven and earth coming together through that situation. You have spirit-filled people who have the spirit of the one who is in heaven representing us. We're representing him. I mean, that's a head-scratcher, but very powerful. ♪

Al, Jace, we have broken new ground, new territory. Guess what I've done? What have you done, Zach? For the first time ever, I've actually went out and specifically went after a client and said, I want to use your product.

and I want you to be a sponsor of our show. I'm talking about Pure Talk. We are making a switch. I've made a switch to a new cell phone carrier, primarily because during the storm, I lost coverage a lot, and our whole area has kind of been really hit with horrible coverage since the storm. They haven't fully rebuilt. So I've talked with Pure Talk. I'm using their product now. I've actually signed up with them, and this is an American wireless company called

who CEO, by the way, is a veteran and served a couple tours overseas. They are a wireless company who believes in creating American jobs. These guys are from Covington, Georgia, which is actually near where some of my family lives. So here's the deal. Pure Talk is on America's most reliable 5G network. So it's the same towers. It's the same networks that the big guys use. But here's the deal. It's only half the cost. I mean, you can get unlimited talk and unlimited text and five gigs of data for five

$25 a month. It doesn't get better than that. The average family saves over $1,000 a year off their cell phone bill. You can keep your phone, you can keep your number, or you can choose from one of the latest iPhones or Androids. I got a brand new iPhone when I switched over. Switching is easy. I know it because I did it. I'm now a proud Pure Talk customer. One of the things I love most about them too is they give a portion of what they get back to help veterans. And we obviously got veterans in our family. Uncle Si, everybody knows. They donated $50,000 recently to provide scholarships to support veteran veterans.

learning trades after active duty. They're helping to eliminate veteran debt, which is huge if you know anyone that's coming out of the military. And they're raising donations to end veteran suicide, which is something that we are very passionate about. So if you want to be a part of this and have an incredible cell phone plan, go to puretalk.com slash unashamed, and you'll save 50% off your first month. So make the switch today at puretalk.com slash unashamed and join America's Wireless Company.

pure talk. So pick it up in back in Luke one. Do you want to do that? And yeah, so, well, I just think this is a really interesting story too, about how John the Baptist got here. So I think we left off at Luke one 15, where it says for, he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink. And he will be filled with the Holy spirit. Even from before birth, many of the people of Israel, uh,

will he bring back to the Lord their God, and he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. So you maybe can link people to Elijah. I mean, they both wore modest attire.

Yeah, let me mention two things about that text. One is that idea about, we've talked about it before, but the idea he will not take wine or other fermented drink. That was something called a Nazarite vow that you read about. I think it was in the original. I think it was in Numbers 6. Numbers, that's where it is. I don't know why that popped into my head. I'm going to have to look that up. Well, because, and let me just explain. For most people, it was like you, we would call it a fast thing.

Um, it was, it was, it was a vow they would take. And most of the time it was just for a period of time. But in other words, they would say, we're not going to drink any wine or ferment a drink for X amount of time. And then eventually they would drink it again. But John had a unique thing because he was not, he had a Nazarite vow for his whole life.

All right, let me read this. Very unusual. Let me read this. This is number 6-2. Speak to the Israelites and say to them, if a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the Lord as a Nazarite, they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. It

As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine. Boy, it's real big on the grapevine here. And then verse 5 of number 6. During the entire period of the Nazirite vow, no razor may be used on their head. Yeah. And I could have made a pretty good Nazirite as I was reading this. They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the Lord is over. They must let their hair grow long.

So you see, that was more it was more like put forward as a as a period of dedication to the Lord. And I think, again, to show the uniqueness of John the Baptist, it was for his entire life. So imagine what he looked like. He never cut his hair.

And he never drank anything or ate fruit of the vine, which is why he was out there eating the locusts and honey. And then you brought up the idea of Elijah, who seemed like a pretty interesting character as well. Well, let me throw this one other thing before you move to Elijah. They also couldn't go near a dead body. That's in verse 6. And if they did, they had to shave their head. Boy, it got weird there. But go ahead. Yeah.

And I'm not sure exactly how that fits into the narrative. No, I just thought... I mean, it is a shadow. It wasn't like when you read this, you're like, well, why? Where did this come from? Right. You know, I just...

I had read that before just in my shaving illustration, lack of shaving illustration. That's why I knew where that was. But I do think it makes you realize the Bible is just not randomly throwing things out there

That doesn't make any sense. There was in their system and culture these kind of things that I think is interesting to read. And I wonder, and this is strictly conjecture, but I wonder if Elijah, this concept and what you just mentioned about the dead bodies, maybe that's why John the Baptist went out in the wilderness to do his preaching and baptizing, this baptism of repentance.

Sort of a way, you know, he was nowhere near the temple and all that. He was, I would, I would submit that God, there's always a wilderness around, uh,

before something spectacular. I mean, it just really is. Even when Jesus went out to the wilderness to be tempted by the evil one. Yeah. I mean, then what happened? His ministry started. I mean, it was pretty... Look at the Israelites wandering around in the wilderness. Then they make it to the promised land. It was actually... We've talked about this before. It is this overlay of...

what's happening here with the Old Testament when Jesus goes into the wilderness how long does he go for? 40 he fasts for 40 days 40 days which is that is very similar to the 40 years that Israel spent in the wilderness so I think that

These time frames, the places, the comparison to the different prophets of John the Baptist and all of that, Jesus being a new Moses-like figure. I mean, there's all this is kind of imagery is in this text and in this picture of what we're seeing in the Gospel of John and all the Gospels for that matter. These aren't random. That's what I'm saying. This isn't a random thing that's happening. No, there's very purposeful. And that's why there's this link again to Elijah, because you remember Elijah also

Also came about in a time of great apostasy. And I mean, Ahab and Jezebel were the king and the queen and the false, you know, the idols. And it was terrible. And he was forced out into the wilderness for three years during this, you know, great drought.

uh, before he had a showdown. But so you see, there's a lot of similarities. And then we've talked about before. Uh, I think it's in, in second Kings to Elijah, of course, even how he left the planet, uh,

was in a unique way because it says he was swept up by a fiery chariot and just went into the heavens, never to be seen again. So there was definitely something unique about this tie-in, which is why when you read about him later in Malachi and all the things pointing to John the Baptist, they thought he was Elijah. You can't separate what John the Baptist is doing from the story of the Old Testament because he's actually –

Jesus is actually living into this story. He's coming to show that he is the fulfillment of the story, that he's coming in. It says here in John 1, 21,

or 32, and John bore witness, I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, he on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, that is he who baptizes with the Spirit. And he says before that, the reason why he was called to even do this was to reveal the

through this baptism to reveal to Israel who this Christ is. So that's in verse 31. So part of what's happening here is because John's baptizing people that were from Israel. This is not Gentile baptism. This is people from Israel. These are Jewish people being baptized here.

for repentance, then Jesus comes in who has no need to repent. And John's like, why am I baptizing you? You should be baptizing me. You have no sin.

Well, the reason is that he might be revealed to Israel. That's what verse 31 says. So that puts this whole baptism in the context of all of the prophets of the Old Testament. And this moment here is super important to the whole story of how God's redeeming all of humanity. But it starts right here in a moment where he is going to be revealed by the baptism. It's going to be revealed to Israel. Yeah, that's a good point.

It's really good. All right. So even Jesus himself, you know, said in one of the gospels that John the Baptist did come in the spirit of Elijah. Sure. Where that is, but you can find it. You remember? He's like, yeah, I can look it up. What was you going to say? No, I was going to say, uh, just back to that Holy spirit point. Um,

Remember, you said the angel told him that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth or what's a better rendering is in the womb. And we actually see that happen later in the chapter, which is interesting because when he meets Jesus for the first time, he's in Elizabeth's womb and Jesus is in Mary's womb. And yet they had a connection.

Because John the Baptist, the Bible says later in Luke 1 and 44 and 45 that he leapt for joy in his mother's womb. And it was because of the Holy Spirit. So, you know, there is a connection here that's.

I mean, there's never been anything like it. I mean, to Zach's point, this is the culmination of everything God's history through the Jewish people has led to the moment of these two men, one preparing the way for the other, but the Holy Spirit being at the centerpiece of the whole thing. And so you're starting to see, even in the early stages of this study in Luke and John, of how big this thing is about what's about to happen. I mean, it is a seismic phenomenon.

change forever of what the kingdom of God is going to look like, which is very, very powerful. We are about to talk about one of our oldest sponsors, NetSuite from Oracle. I do own shares of Oracle in my portfolio, so full disclosure. And I must say that I do now as well. If you're trying to keep up with the market, it's very difficult. Are we entering into a bear market, a bull market? I mean, just this week, the swings have been...

quite incredible. And wouldn't it be nice if you had a crystal ball to be able to better predict what the market was going to do when trying to plan for your business? That's where our friends at NetSuite come into play, that their software can help you plan for your business cycles. We could have really used this in the early days of Duck Commander. I can tell you right now, as running a small business, this is an incredible software to use. It could help you grow and scale your business. Al, tell us more about NetSuite. Well, Zach, over 40,000 businesses have future-proofed

their business with NetSuite by Oracle. They bring accounting, they bring financial management, inventory, HR, all into one fluid platform. With one unified business management suite, there's one source of truth, which gives you the visibility and control you need to make quick decisions.

With real-time insights and forecasting, you're peering into the future with actionable data. You close the books in days, not weeks. You're spending less time looking backwards and more time on looking forward as to what's next. So whether your company is earning millions or even hundreds of millions, NetSuite.com

It helps you respond to immediate challenges and seize the biggest and best opportunities. Speaking of opportunity, download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning at netsuite.com slash phil. The guide is free to you at netsuite.com slash phil. Check it out, netsuite.com slash phil.

It is interesting that if you think about the Old Testament and all the instances of water in the Old Testament, and particularly when it comes to salvation, some of the ones I think about, one is obviously the waters of the days of Noah. There's a salvific message there that Peter says that eight people were saved through the water, and that water symbolizes baptism, which now saves you also. Then there's the parting of the Red Sea.

And then there was also the parting of the Jordan River whenever they crossed into the Promised Land. But if you go back to think about the parting of the Red Sea –

And Israel goes through this wall. The water separates. Israel goes through the center of it. And then all of their problems, which would be the Egyptians, are in their path behind them. And the water swallows up all of that. And the water takes on all of the problems, all the sin, all the issues. It's all in that water. Same thing with going through the Jordan River. So when you think about the water,

as holding the sins of the people, the issues, the problems. People typically go into the water of baptism and repentance to get clean. It's like I'm going into the water. The symbol is that the water cleans. It washes my sins away. I come out clean. I go in dirty, and I come out clean. And then you have this moment where Jesus goes in clean into a sin-infested water.

Jesus goes in and takes on the sins of the people. So I think even in this, you are seeing Jesus

of the cross. You're seeing a picture of the cross that's coming, the cross of Calvary, the atonement of Christ that's coming, that Christ goes in and he goes into the sin-infested water clean and comes out with the sins of the people. It really is pretty profound to think about everything that's happening in this moment with John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. Yeah, I love that phrase. I never really thought about that, sin-infested waters. That's pretty powerful because it's

And even the spot where John baptizes Jesus, which we'll read about later. I mean, so many people had had that baptism of repentance there. And you don't think about it's just water. You know, it looked the same as it did yesterday. But spiritually, there's something really big going on.

Because of all those people's hearts that are changing that would one day be realized. That's a beautiful picture. Well, that's interesting. Before I read this, I did find that Matthew 11, it's Matthew 11, where Jesus said, you remember when he said, I tell you the truth, among those born of women, there's not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet, whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

which obviously is pointing to this spirit being poured out, that process. And then he says, from the days of John the Baptist until now, this is Matthew 11, 12, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and violent people have been raiding it for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let him hear. And then he goes on to that comparison when it says in verse 18, for John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say he has a demon. So that was the persecution line. They're like, he's crazy. He's out in the wilderness. He's eating locusts.

And then it says, the son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But wisdom is proved right by her actions. So he himself said that. I mean, I do think there's something to reading about Elijah and seeing the comparison. Because, I mean, look at what happened to John the Baptist. He basically lost his head because he confronted a...

a royal marriage. You know, we were talking about marriage online. I mean, it's free country. I gave my opinions, but John the Baptist gave his opinions of, you know, the King's marriage and what happened. He lost his head. Yeah. You know,

So he's just like, it's not right. What do you think the comparison, what's the Old Testament, what does he mean when he says that he was in the spirit, came in the spirit of Elijah? What's the correlation you think? Well, that's what I think it was a bluntness to speak out. I mean, you had Elijah speaking out, I think his couple, that he was Jezebel and Ahab. And Ahab.

Who wanted to take his hand, by the way, but the Almighty decided that wasn't the way it was going to end. But it was the same exact situation. Well, that's why my dad had a, he's been, people said, boy, he's similar to John the Baptist and Elijah. Because my, you know, I share Jesus with people, my dad would share Jesus with people and then kind of get into their life and be very blunt about

about these kind of relationships or situations. I mean, I don't want to get into the graphic language that I've heard my dad say in a Bible study, but he just called it what it is. Pretty graphic at times. You're right, Jace. What I've said is he came in the spirit of John the Baptist because it's been 2,000 years between him and dad, and it was kind of similar to what before. And we're not saying it's all the exact same thing, but...

There is something about that idea. Someone had a video. Jace, you remember we used to do the years ago, because Missy was heavily involved, we used to do the Christmas dramas and the Easter dramas at WFR. We would do these musicals and, you know, just like be a special thing. We had a lot of talented singers. And so there were always a lot of fun. Everybody would dress up and we would tell different stories. And there was one year, I can't remember the year, but we decided to do it on Sunday morning.

And there's a scene where John the Baptist comes in. It's the one where he was just railing on the Pharisees. Well, they somehow convinced dad to be John the Baptist. And so I watched that video recently, and I'm going to guess this is maybe back in the early 90s. So, you know, we're talking about 30 plus years ago. But here's dad and they've got him in kind of a camel position.

looking outfit, barefooted. He's got a big staff in his hand and he's walking down the center aisle at our church and it's packed. You know, it must have been Easter, I guess, or maybe it was Christmas. I don't know, but he's walking down the center aisle and he's just, he's quoting that text, but he is in full John the Baptist mode. You brood of vipers, you wicked snakes. Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Great man.

He loved it. And it was so amazing to watch it. One, it was fun to see that back in his element from 30 years ago. And even seeing faces in the crowd, a lot of people who have crossed over. But I just thought about that idea even way back then.

I mean, 30 years ago when dad was, you know, younger than us, I guess it was Zach's age. You know, we were thinking he was like John the Baptist. I mean, he seemed typecast for the role, you know, even way back then. And so you're right. You didn't get that. I'd love to see that footage. Yeah, I need to find. I think Kim has it back at the church. Well, my dad had a certain way, I think, since he came from such a sinful background. He just had a way of.

Being real blunt to people is that I thought that was a locust. Cute. You didn't let a locust out in here while we were talking with John the Bat. That was a fly the size of a locust that just flew by my head. And I'm in town. So this is the problem, see. But you got what I was talking about. But my dad had a way of not really offending people. I used to always think,

Because my dad would have a way of looking at people and sensing, like while he's sharing Jesus, you know, you got to remember, they came down on his turf, you know, kind of what must I do to be saved type questions. And he's like, no, I know what you're doing. And he usually framed it in, you're out there getting drunk, you know.

And he would say it more graphically than what I'm saying, but he would be like, you know, you're having sex with your girl or whatever. It was amazing how many times he would say that and they would be like...

Yep. Like he's a prophet. Like, how did he know? And he just assumed until proven otherwise. And so, you know, he had a way about that. But I do want to say that we read Malachi 3, I think Zach did, when we were talking about the prediction of John the Baptist coming. But it also was predicted in chapter 4 of Malachi, which is the last chapter.

that we hear until Jesus is on the scene and verse 5 says, See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children. So when I read that in Matthew 11, I mean, there was a prophecy that was fulfilled. And I think that was Jesus saying he came in the spirit of Elijah. Which Elijah also showed up later.

on the Transfiguration Mountain, I think that's Matthew 17, in a radiating fashion with Moses and Jesus. And so, which a lot of people use that, you know, to kind of show you this, that heaven is not that far away. Because we kind of have that in our modern teaching, that heaven's way off, you know, and it's a million miles away. And all of a sudden, you just see this glimpse of maybe them and their

heavenly form, you know, radiating on a mountain. But it is interesting that here's Elijah who was just taken up to heaven. You had Moses, which there was a big dispute about his body. And remember the evil one was this, that's in the book of Jude. Where's Moses's body? Then you have Jesus claiming to be the son of God. And all of a sudden they're just, they're radiating on a mountain in a way that was not earthly. Let's just put it that way.

So, Zach, we had an exciting phone call this last week. I think it's a big announcement to Unashamed Nation, maybe to Jace as well. Would you tell Unashamed Nation audience how many babies have been saved because of their help with our friends at Preborn? Over 5,000 babies were saved through our

our audience being a part of this ministry, which was like, wow, that's like a real number, real people who now are living on planet Earth. Now we're talking. And so we just want to say thank you, first of all. It's more important than ever. The government, the federal government seems to be more pro-life. But when you get down to the state level,

Not so much because we got states that are all in the battle. And the problem is now we have an abortion pill. And so instead of it being a clinic or someplace you go to, the real battleground becomes in a person's home. That's really what I love about our partner here is this painting. It's not just a negation of something. It's a painting of a picture of motherhood. So they're meeting these mothers exactly where they're at and offering them food.

free virtual care, which I think is amazing. So our friends at Preborn have rescued over 300,000 babies in total. So what happens is every time you send them a tax-deductible donation,

you're able to help that and to continue to save lives. For $28, I mean, that's one ultrasound. That makes a difference. So whether you can give a little or whether you can give a lot, when you continue to give, it makes a huge difference to what these guys are doing. They're a five-star charity.

Everything that's going there is saving babies and saving lives. We want you to continue to help us in the fight to donate. Call pound 250 and say the keyword baby. That's pound 250 keyword baby. Or you can go to preborn.com slash unashamed. That's preborn.com slash unashamed. We want to do more than 5,000 this year. Let's do 7,000. So step it up, Unashamed Nation. Let's get involved.

Yeah, and they call it transfiguration. You know, the Mount of Transfiguration is what it's referred to. But what does that even mean? Exactly. Yeah. You try to come up with a word for it. Yeah, it's powerful is what it is. But I like the idea that what they saw. Remember, he only took Peter, James, and John up with him is they saw the three major things

transitional figures in Jewish history. I mean, because you got, you know, Elijah, who I think represented the prophets and the prophecy, who would his spirit later come in John the Baptist. But then you had Moses, who was basically the mediator of the first covenant that

It was him and the angels up on top of that mountain. And so everything they had known came through this transitional figure of Moses and their thinking law. And then you got Jesus there who said he came to fulfill both of those. And so the other two, while it was pretty amazing that they would show up, the real star of that story was the one who fulfilled everything they were about.

Yeah. And which was the picture that Peter, James, and John saw. Is it any wonder why the three of them would go right to their death, proclaiming who Jesus is? I mean, they saw something that we can only dream about, Sam. Well, I think it gives the whole Bible credibility. I mean, why are we doing that? Why are we going through all this? It shows that these things were predicted. They happened. Yeah.

And shows God had a plan. Yeah. And it wasn't what we would typically pick. I mean, he chose some guy who decided to go on a Nazarite vow and is just railing out here against sin and powers. He's taking everybody on and he's pointing to his cousin who it's kind of debatable whether he could recognize him, you know, because he says something interesting in John before I finish the Luke.

Where he says, you know, he says, I wouldn't have recognized him. Where's that at? It was verse 31. I myself did not know him. Yeah, I myself didn't know him. So people, I mean, look, you can go down that rabbit hole. You're not going to find two people agree on that. So...

Because you think it was his cousin. Well, he knew who he was. So he's either talking about, I didn't recognize him as the Messiah. Yeah, that's what I think. It does seem like he doesn't kind of get it when he's like, well, don't I need to be baptized as you? And then when he's in prison, he's like, well, you go ask him if he's the one. I do think there's something in there about not being real sure of what's happening in your own circumstances, but God using you.

For the greater good.

Other than it's what the Almighty told him to go do. But Smith says, and it's not recorded this happened, he just surmised that the Almighty must have told him, while you're doing this, at some point, you're going to know the one.

When it comes to this means, which is exactly what happened. In other words, when he baptizes Jesus, then all of a sudden he sees this moment of and here's the voice of the father. And so it's like, OK, this is the one. And it would probably shocked him because it was his cousin. I don't know. Well, yeah, which probably I aren't my cousins. Yeah. But but there was he just wasn't.

It was a hard process to get. So I want to read this, Luke 1. We need to finish this. Yeah, finish that up. I think it's kind of humorous, but it's also powerful. So in verse 18, Zechariah asked the angel, how can I be sure of this? I'm an old man, and my wife is well along in years. That turned out to be a very...

Profound question for his next few months because the angel answered, I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I've been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens because you did not believe my words. That's why I said it with some little animosity.

which will come true at their proper time. So then the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they're wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. And when he came out, he begins to do charades. He could not speak. So they realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them, but remained unable to speak. Just imagine that scene. Oh, my goodness. I think it's kind of funny. It is kind of funny. And by the way, it's a little bit of a...

Just a little heads up, if an angel appears and you know it's an angel, they say they're from heaven, they're Gabriel, whatever, you might not just keep the old flapper shut and let them tell you whatever they came to say. I'm just, you know, just based on this story, I don't know that you want to be adding commentary, Jase, into the moment. But I wanted to read this story just because, you know, in our, you know, you have so many different brands of churches that follow the Lord and some of them,

would never want to do anything inside the four walls that was deemed irreverent or disorderly. But man, you start reading this story of how Jesus gets here and the details of the forerunner. I mean, he won the lottery in the temple, and now he can't speak, and he's out here doing...

Sign language after he spoke to an angel. It just doesn't seem real like this was a very orderly done thing. Do you realize this was God's way of doing it? Yeah, it was chaos that was only controlled by the Almighty. We're out of time, but the first time he opened his mouth to actually speak was when he said they were going to name him after him because he wouldn't say anything. And he said, nope, his name is John.

which is interesting because that's when he got it. Well, it's fine, but I want to just read the last verse. What I was getting to, because we all know how this turns out. You went ahead of the story. But when it got to verse 37,

And we can end with this. There's this statement, after the angel said the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the most, I will overshadow you so the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God, that now we're talking about Jesus. Even Elizabeth, he makes the comparison. Your relative is going to have a child.

And so then that verse 37, there's kind of two versions of it. So like my former NIV says, for nothing is impossible with God. The newer version says, for no word from God will ever fail. And that's just the point I was getting to. This was God's plan and promise, and it seemed impossible, but

But God became a man. And with him, all things are possible. Sounds great. We'll leave it there. We'll pick it up next time on The Shame. Rick, what a kingdom of heaven is here! Big pitch! Kingdom of heaven is here! You fruit of Micah, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance! Do not think you can say to yourselves, but we have Abraham for our God. I tell you...

these stones god can raise up children for abraham the ax is already at the base of the tree and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire i baptize you with water for repentance and he who comes after me more powerful than i

whose sandals i'm not even fit to carry he will baptize you with the holy spirit and with fire repent i tell you his holy fork is in his hand he will clear his present for gathering and burning the child with unquenchable fire i tell you look the lamb of god who takes away the sins of the world

This is the one I meant, that he who comes after me, has hit me, because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but the reason I came back out into the water, was that he might be revealed to Israel. I saw the Holy Spirit come down from heaven, and just spin on me, as a dove. I would not have known who he was.

Except the one who sent me to baptize is the one you see the Holy Spirit come down and remain on. He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. And I testify that this is the Son of God.

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.