Live Free with Josh Howerton

Megachurch Pastor Reacts to Billie Eilish & Jelly Roll's Grammy Speeches | Live Free with Josh Howerton

40 min
Feb 5, 20264 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Pastor Josh Howerton analyzes Grammy acceptance speeches by Billie Eilish and Jelly Roll, contrasting performative activism with genuine Christian witness. He explores how secular progressivism uses selective outrage to reframe history, and argues that Christian obedience has become the true rebellion in modern culture.

Insights
  • Selective outrage is weaponized to advance specific causes while ignoring historical parallels that contradict the narrative
  • Secular progressive frameworks like intersectionality are designed to delegitimize Christian authority and reframe Western history as uniquely evil
  • Nations under God's judgment begin celebrating lawlessness and giving standing ovations to those who defy authority
  • True Christian courage involves public witness and testimony, not performative activism or virtue signaling
  • The cultural definition of 'rebellion' has inverted—traditional Christian values are now countercultural while progressive values are mainstream
Trends
Celebrity conversions and high-profile religious statements are increasingly scrutinized; churches should exercise caution before anointing celebrities as leadersProgressive narratives dominate educational institutions and media, creating asymmetrical treatment of Christian vs. secular historical atrocitiesPublic Christian witness at major cultural events (Grammys, awards shows) is becoming rarer and more notable when it occursIntersectionality framework is reshaping how justice and morality are defined in institutional settingsMoral asymmetry between political parties is widening, forcing Christians to clarify whether they are 'conservative Christians' or 'Christian conservatives'Reframing historical narratives (1619 Project model) is being used strategically to control future policy and cultural directionDouble standards in speech and protest: progressive rhetoric receives applause regardless of tone, while conservative speech is labeled hatefulChristian men are being challenged to publicly identify as followers of Jesus in secular workplaces, reversing historical norms
Topics
Grammy Awards and celebrity activismBillie Eilish immigration rhetoric and 'stolen land' narrativeJelly Roll's Christian conversion and public witnessIntersectionality and progressive justice frameworksHistorical revisionism and the 1619 ProjectSelective outrage and narrative controlChristian witness and evangelism in secular spacesComparison of secular dictatorships vs. Christian historical atrocitiesLaw enforcement and civil disobediencePolitical alignment of Christian valuesCelebrity conversions and theological cautionRomans 1 and cultural degradationPerformative activism vs. genuine courageChristian identity in secular cultureTattoo symbolism and theological statements
People
Billie Eilish
Grammy winner whose acceptance speech on immigration and 'stolen land' is analyzed as performative activism lacking l...
Jelly Roll
Country music artist and Grammy winner whose acceptance speech emphasizing Christian faith and personal transformatio...
Don Lemon
Media figure who received standing ovation despite involvement in church disruption during BLM protests, illustrating...
Brandon Lake
Christian music artist criticized for working with Jelly Roll but praised for embodying Jesus's approach of being 'fr...
Kanye West
Celebrity conversion example used to caution against hastily anointing high-profile converts as Christian leaders wit...
Sabrina Carpenter
Grammy attendee applauded by Billie Eilish during acceptance speech
Stalin
Historical example cited (20 million deaths) to illustrate asymmetry in how secular vs. Christian atrocities are taug...
Mao Zedong
Historical example cited (40 million deaths) to illustrate asymmetry in how secular vs. Christian atrocities are taug...
Paul Pot
Historical example cited (1.7 million deaths) to illustrate asymmetry in how secular vs. Christian atrocities are tau...
Quotes
"In our culture, obedience is the only rebellion left."
Josh HowertonOpening and closing theme
"If you can stand on national television and get really rich and famous and receive standing ovation for opposing the leader of a nation, heads up. You do not live in a fascist dictatorship, my friend."
Josh HowertonMid-episode analysis
"A lawyer gives an airtight case, a witness just tells their side of the story."
Josh HowertonJelly Roll analysis section
"Jesus is not owned by a political party."
Jelly RollGrammy acceptance speech
"I love you, Lord."
Jelly RollGrammy acceptance speech conclusion
Full Transcript
If you want to live an alternative lifestyle in 2026, here's what you got to do. Read your Bible, go to church, love one woman your whole life of your man, and one man your whole life of your woman. Have kids and enjoy them, or do crazy rebellious things. Like, stand on a stage at the Grammys and yell, I love you Lord. Why? Because in our culture, obedience is the only rebellion left. OK, welcome to the most interesting React episode that we've tried so far. Real quick, we're going to be reacting to, this is what they did not train before in seminary. We're going to be reacting to Billy Eilish and Jelly Rolls, Grammy Awards Acceptance Species. Now, really quick for our for live free nation. These React episodes, these are my little bonus spare time hobby. And so this is a bit of a test drive. If these are helpful to you, if you could head over to YouTube and give it a comment or whatever, like or what you want to do, that helps me know that these are worth the time. And it helps me know that it is helpful to you. So we'll keep test driving these as long as it seems like it's working. Let me know what you think. Now, that said, let's react to Billy Eilish and Jelly Roll at the Grammys. Now, really quick, let me set this up. Here's why I'm doing this. Because if you're a Christian, you need to learn how to use the Bible in a couple different ways. And most people are only good at one of them. First of all, the book of James says that the primary way that we want to use the Bible is it says we use it as a mirror, if you can see, on YouTube, that we look up into the Word. The Bible says the perfect law, the law of liberty. And then the Bible shows us, man, where we fall short and where we need the power of the Holy Spirit through the grace of Lord Jesus Christ to change us. So we use the Bible as mirror. A lot of Christians get good at that, but they don't get good at the second way that Christians have to learn to use the Bible. And this is why a lot of discipleship, listen real close, I'm going to get to this here in a second, especially of your children, especially of your children, ends up not taking root. We don't just use the Bible as a mirror. We also need to like hold it up like a pair of glasses and use it as a lens through which we understand and interpret the world in front of us. So what I'm doing right here, this may feel weird to you. Like why's the pastor doing this? What I'm doing is I'm trying to help you, help people hold the Bible up in front of your eyes as a lens through which you can understand and evaluate the world best in front of you, which includes things like Billy Eilish and Jelly Roll giving Grammy acceptance speeches. Now I'm going to give away where I'm going to end on this little segment. What you're about to see is a contrast in quote unquote courage. On the one hand, you're going to see performative fake courage. And then on the other hand, you're going to see like actual, risky, actual courage. Okay. So what you're getting ready to see here, Billy Eilish, one song of the year, and then you're going to see her acceptance speech here. And then Jelly Roll, he won Best Contemporary Country album without further ado, ladies and gentlemen. Let's see what we got here. Number one, Billy Eilish. No one is illegal on stolen land. Sabrina Carpenter. Classy, I applaud. I applaud. I applaud. A lot of applause. Oh, yeah, yeah. Nobody's illegal on stolen land. Okay. Now let me just pause real quick because this actually is really important for you to understand. First of all, the claim that nobody is illegal on stolen land is historically inaccurate. So this is just the little history nerd in me. First of all, it's inaccurate that the United States is quote unquote stolen land. The United States was not stolen. It was three other things. It was purchased. It was settled and it was conquered. Purchased settled conquered not stolen. The other thing you need to understand, and by the way, here in a second, there's actually a spiritual dynamic. You're seeing a competing worldview here, but I'll get to that in a second. The other thing that you can understand, this like logically and historically at odds, is hey, you just flash. Literally all land in the world is conquered land. All of it. So the Normans conquered Britain, the Mongols conquered Asia, the Bantu expansion displaced the African people in the US. I just want you to stop and think about this. This is the type of phrase that your juco-college professor will throw at you. And then you don't know what to say. So here's what I'm trying to help you here. Even in the United States, this you go back to the Native American tribes, the Sue tribe displaced and conquered the Kayan tribe, the Comanches conquered the southern plains, the Aztecs, oh by the way, built an entire empire in South America on conquest of other tribes and human sacrifice. So here's what this gets really interesting. So what's happening, this obviously is tied to the current immigration, you know, debate this raging in the United States. So just stop and think and you're about to see how logically, honestly, kind of hilarious this thing is, because what the objection is is, hey, all the people that are coming across the southern border, primarily for Mexico, like, man, how in the world could you call them illegal, because this is stolen land, that's kind of the vibe. Well, here's the thing, news flashed Billy, the Spanish crossed the Atlantic Ocean and conquered the Aztecs. So all of current Mexico by her standards is also stolen land. So it's like all the people that you're saying, hey, man, how could they be illegal? This is stolen land, news flashed by your standards, they are on stolen land. So the question you got to ask is, is every Mexican person illegitimate, because their country was stolen too, so that's one. Now, too, let me go a layer deeper, because people do not understand, this is a play that's getting run on you over and over, and we're not doing a good job of like, hey, the opponents offense keeps running the same running play up the middle, over the left tackle, and getting six yards, and we're never adjusting where our linebacker is, so let me help you adjust the linebacker real quick. What you're seeing right here, this is an example of, listen, of selective outrage for the advance of a cause. I'm gonna say it one more time, so that you understand, it's selective outrage for the advance of a cause. And here's how the play works, is we're gonna ignore all of these other examples of the thing that I'm talking about, but we're going to focus on the one example that weaponizes that narrative against the people that I need it weaponized against for the advance of a cause that I'm trying to advance. So like, here's one of me, and I'm gonna give the, it's a little incendiary, but just kinda go with me. I'll give, you see this especially in how conversations with progressive, secular progressives in the United States go on slavery. So for instance, like I'll just, be honest, if you didn't know this, I have three adoptive kids, two of them are African-American. So it's really interesting, me and Janna had a conversation with our kids a few years ago where they were learning about slavery in school, and we do a classical Christian education, but we were still asking them. And we were like, hey, I just got curious. Who do you guys, I asked them? Who do you think invented slavery? And immediately without even thinking, they said, oh, white people. Now, think about this, that's the vibe that you definitely get if you're in the United States. Now, here's what's really interesting. Every nation on earth for the entire history of planet earth has practiced slavery, but people, especially secular progressive people, they only notice or care when it's white Christians that are portrayed as having done it. Have you ever noticed that? Like, I'm gonna get to this here in a second, there's a reason for this. And I'll just say this, this is like the thing that you're not supposed to say. So every nation on earth has practiced slavery, but they only notice or care when it was, it's white because of the secular redefinition of justice has to do with intersectionality, and Christians because there's a spiritual thing to it. They only notice or care when it was white Christians who are doing it. The other thing that I just wanna point out on the slavery thing is, man, it was predominantly white Christians that ended slavery for the first time. Nobody ever talks about that. So what you have is, again, every nation practiced it, but they only notice or care when it was Christians that did it. Why is that? That's really interesting, bookmarked that. The same thing applies to quote unquote, conquered land. Every nation on earth both did it and is conquered land, but very interestingly, ask yourself this question, why is it that people only notice or care when it was supposedly kind of framed as white Christians that did it? Well, there's a few reasons to this. Number one, what secular progressivism does is based on a framework of justice called intersectionality. It's kind of hard to explain. Intersectionality is this vibe that there's like a pyramid of a pyramid of oppression and that the people at the top of the pyramid are the people who ostensibly have experienced no oppression. So it's like white male Christians that are heterosexual and able-bodied. They're like Darth Vader because they're at the very top. They've quote unquote experienced no oppression. And then it's like in intersectionality, you get like a point for everything that you're not from the top. So if you're non-white, you get a point. If you're disabled, you get a point. If you're gay, you get a point. And the more points you have, then the more valuable you are to society and actually kind of the more of an accurate understanding of the world you're claim to have. So part of it is intersectionality is based on a whole redefinition of justice that seeks to sort of dethrone the people at the top. But if let's go a layer deeper and ask about the spiritual thing, why is it that it's really only matters when it's Christians who did it? All right, now think about this. What's happening here was selective outrage at the events of a cause. The play that gets run is they try to reframe the past in order to control the future. This is really important for you to understand. Secular progressive people, they try to reframe the past in order to control the future. So you'll see this in things like, for instance, the 1619 project, if you're unaware of this, the 1619 project was an educational project that sought to try to redefine when the United States began and then sort of reframe the entire history of the United States through the lens of the Transatlantic slave trade that began in 1619. And so it was like, hey, we need to reframe the entire history of our nation around race and racism, reframe the past to control the future. The other examples of this have you noticed this. Why is it, let me ask you this question, why is it that in school systems, higher ed and lower ed that are controlled by secular progressivism, that they're constantly accentuating moments in history where Christians were ostensibly the bad guys, and then they hide, emit, or downplay anytime when secular people or atheists did considerably worse things. So for instance, you'll hear, and by the way, I'm gonna get back to Billy here in a second, but just give me a second. For instance, you'll hear all the time about the crusades, by the way, the crusades were predominantly defensive wars that were fought after centuries of Islamic conquests by Christian societies simply trying to preserve their families from Jihad, so that's the moral. Or you'll hear things about the Spanish Inquisition, like you hear this constantly, the Spanish Inquisition, it's like a peak evil, the crusades and Spanish Inquisition in history, or colonization. Now what's really interesting is the Spanish Inquisition, which is like, people talk about this peak evil moment in history, which it was very evil, but there were really only between 3,000 and 11,000 people killed over the course of more than an entire century in the Spanish Inquisition, and when people talk about, quote unquote, colonization, a lot of times what you have is Christian missionaries coming to societies where warring like vicious tribes were committing mass genocide against each other and sacrificing thousands of infants to pagan gods, like cutting their hearts out while they're alive. But then they'll reframe that moment as missionaries coming and sort of taming the savagery as this evil colonization, well, why is this happening? They need to reframe the past in order to control the future. In other words, if we want to make sure that Christians and Christian morality don't control the future, we need to reframe Christians as the bad guys in the past. So that's why you constantly hear about things like the crusades or the Spanish Inquisition where maybe three to 5,000 people were killed, but you don't hear as much about times throughout history when secular dictators killed way more people. For instance, Stalin killed 20 million people, Mao Zedong killed 40 million people, Paul Pot killed 1.7 million people, Kim Il Sung in North Korea, 2 million people killed, Vladimir Lenin, 7 million people, Ho Chi Minh, between one and 3 million people killed. So you don't hear about what you hear about is something where like 10,000 people were killed in this Spanish Inquisition. Again, reframe the past to control the future. That's what's going on. Now, last thing I'm just gonna point out, what's hilarious about Billy Eilish saying, nobody is illegal on stolen land. All these people that are applauding, they are on by their definition stolen land. So like just yesterday, the Tongva tribe, this is hysterical, reached out and publicly said, this is their statement. Because Billy Eilish lives on a $14 million, by the way, gated mansion in LA. So borders, strong borders and border walls for thee, for me, but not for thee. That's what Billy's doing. She lives by her advantage to stolen. So the Tongva tribe made a public statement just yesterday that said, as the first people of the greater LA basin, we do understand that her home is situated in our ancestral land. Eilish has not contacted our tribe directly regarding her property. That's absolutely hysterical. Okay, let's keep going. And... Yeah, it's just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now. And I just, I feel really hopeful in this room and I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Okay, so we need to keep fighting and protesting. Let me just say this. That's fine, but protesting is not what's happening. It's not the only thing that's happening. So I will just say this, protesting is fine but heads up on a couple of things. People like Eilish, like Billy Eilish, you saw this all over the Grammys. They'll stand on a stage on national television and get really rich and famous and applauded by everybody by calling the leaders of our nation, fascist dictators. So let me just point out a couple of things. If, just again, let's all, we're not supposed to feel our way through things or supposed to think our way through things. Heads up. If you can stand on national television and get really rich and famous and receive standing ovation for opposing the leader of a nation, heads up. You do not live in a fascist dictatorship, my friend. That doesn't happen in a fascist dictatorship. Now here's the other thing is men as Christians that hey man, we're all in, we like the Constitution. I believe in the right to protest. I do not believe in the right to obstruct and assault law enforcement. Those are different things. So you have the right, I can do this on both sides. You have the right to protest the outcome of an election. You do not have the right to break into the capital building and riot to try to keep an election from being certified. Now listen, some people on my side quote unquote, I don't like when I say that. I said it in 2021, I'll say it again. I stand by that. In the same way, you have the right to peacefully protest if you don't believe that immigration laws are being enforced like you would like. In America, you have the right to peacefully protest. You do not have the right to form signal chats covertly with thousands of people in Minneapolis and covertly conspire to obstruct and assault law enforcement officers. Those are different things. Now, let's keep going and last thing she says is gonna be bleeped out. Our voices really do matter and the people matter and I say, sorry. You got it. Now she said, F ice, I have it bleeped out, obviously, and then everyone cheers. Now just notice the applause. So she says, F ice. Now I just want to point this out. She's just like a very aggressive language and everybody's applauding right here. If you haven't noticed this, here's how it works in our society. And once I say this, you're gonna see it everywhere. If you in our culture right now, if you disagree with a secular progressive narrative or talking point, no matter how peacefully you say it, you're the one that's gonna be called hateful and violent. Like I've had death threats on me. I got a bulletproof vest in the back of our speaker's room at the church. We had somebody arrested on our property. We've had people drop things in our mailbox. If you listen to my preaching, I think it's fairly reasonable. So how it works in our culture is if you disagree with a secular progressive narrative, no matter how peacefully you say it, you're the one that's gonna be called hateful and violent. But if you're voicing a progressive narrative, then no matter how violent, crude, or lawless, you are while you do it, you are going to be cheered as empathetic and loving and caring. Now, there's actually a spiritual reason for this. And I'm gonna give you another example of this. So on this same day at the Grammys, Don Lemon got a standing ovation at the pre-Grammy Gala. If you're paying attention, Don Lemon was part of this little BLM mob that stormed into the middle of a church service in Minneapolis, in the FBI, affidavit, it came out afterwards like it was nasty. So not only did they storm in and disrupt the middle of a group of people on the Lord's Day just trying to worship Jesus. One woman's arm was broken. They were screaming in the faces of children. These quote unquote protesters, they are recorded as telling children in the church who were crying. Screaming in their faces that their parents were gonna go to hell. One kid walked out and told his dad that he was afraid he was going to die. Don Lemon actually videotaped a traumatized child weeping, walking out of the church. And you can see it on video. He says, man, it's uncomfortable, but that's what protest is about. So like super disruptive, violent, angry, but Don Lemon gets a standing ovation as being the very empathetic, peaceful, loving one. Now, why is this? Well, I'm gonna read this from Romans chapter one. What you need to understand is you live in a nation that is actively under the, what theologians call the passive wrath of God right now. If you go read Romans one, Romans one functions as a checklist of what happens in a human society when God quote gives them over to their sins. And it lists all these things. Now I'm gonna read some things. It's like the least PC thing in the whole New Testament. But when I read this, as I read it, you're gonna be going like, oh, oh, oh, that's like 21st century America. Here's what it says. Romans one, because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchange natural relations, natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. So what it's saying is, when a society gets to like the very end of its degradation, you have a metastasization of lesbianism. That's what I'm saying in Romans 126. In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. So it's saying like when things get real bad, what you start having is pride parades, redefinition of marriage, I demand that you affirm my identity, that kind of thing. Men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. So we're not just what it's saying here is, it's not just that we are judged for our sins. What the Bible's saying is that actually our sins are a judgment themselves. The God has designed the world where sin is his own punishment. And you see this with a deviant and perverse sexual behavior that it leads to all sorts of chaos and pain and medical issues, all the things. Now, let's keep going verse 28 furthermore. This is all gonna explain why Billy Ilish receives a standing ovation when she says, F. I.C.F. law enforcement. Furthermore, as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled, now listen real close, filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, therefore of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. Do you see that? Malice, deceit and malice. They say things like deceit. They say things like all land is stolen land. So all of you, all of you Christians, you're the evil ones, malice, F. I. So you're seeing it right here. They are gossips, slanderers, god haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent ways of doing evil. Listen real close. They disobey their parents. So one of the marks of a nation under the judgment of God, is people begin rebelling against God ordained sources of authority. They have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. For although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things. Listen, so why did she receive a standing ovation? Why are their entire months devoted to celebrating, June, celebrating, and applauding having parades for wickedness, perversion, and sexual degradation? Well, here's why. They not only do these things, they give approval to those who practice them. Nations under the judgment of God begin giving standing ovation to people who defy law, order, and God ordained sources of authority. So I'll just have you notice this. In the Bible, so she's saying F.I.S. So I.S. is obviously, and by the way, as I say over and over again, this is not a blanket approval of every action of every I say in America. Has not one say. But it is the state, Romans 13 says bears the sword and is supposed to be a terror to those who do wrong, who break the law. When sin in the Bible is called lawlessness sometimes, and the book of 1 Thessalonians says that the anti-Christ is quote, the man of lawlessness. So here's a deal. When you see people who are against just law enforcers, and they cheer and protect lawbreakers, you know what spirit you're dealing with. So that's what you've got there now. Let's do a quick contrast. This is going to be a little quicker. So that's that's what I would call performative courage. Now on the other hand, we have an exact opposite example. A few minutes, I believe later, jelly roll rolls up, and he gives an acceptance speech that is a little different. Now check this out real quick. I know they're going to try to kick me off here, so just let me try to get this out first. OK, really quick. I want you to say I know I'm interrupting a lot. I want you to see this. On YouTube, in particular, look at the tattoo he has on his cheek. A lot of people don't know this. He's actually making a very theological statement when he chose to get that tattoo of a cross on his cheek right next to a couple of tear drops. Now, if you didn't know this in like prison culture, so jelly roll went to prison for aggravated robbery and drug dealing when you're 16 years old, spent some time in correctional facility. In prison culture, what a lot of times they'll do is they'll put somebody who's committed murder they'll get a tear drop on their cheek for every person that they murdered. Now what's really interesting is what he's done is where somebody typically does that. He got a cross tattooed right there. Now, dude, this is actually like legit awesome and he's making a theological statement. It's really cool. So there's like a lot of people have the theological debate around the question who killed Jesus. And some people will be like, well, the Roman government killed Jesus. Some people are like, no, no, it was a Jews that killed Jesus. Some people like, no, no, it was Judas. Judas was the one that's responsible for kill Jesus. And then other people like, no, no, no, it was pilot. Pilot was the one who killed Jesus. When jelly roll, Ben his knee to the Lordship of Jesus and he decided to get that cross tattooed in the place where murderers typically get a tattoo to represent they killed somebody, what he's saying is he saying, I killed Jesus. Isaiah 53. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our sins. And the chastisement that brought us peace fell upon him. So before jelly roll says a dag onward, I'm not a huge tattoo guy. I'm probably never gonna get one. But he's making a statement with that little thing. He's going, I'm the one that murdered Jesus. And he's right. I love it so much. I'm already good. All right, let's keep going. First of all, Jesus, I hear you and I'm listening Lord. I am listening Lord. Let's go bud. Second of all, I want to thank my beautiful wife. I would have never changed my life without you. I ended up dead or in jail. I'd have killed myself if it wasn't for you and Jesus. I thank you for that. I just, I do just want to say this. When a man is filled with a spirit of God and they've been their knee to the Son of God, they begin to love Jesus. That man will always begin to love his wife well. There's a reason for that. In the Bible, the church is called the quote unquote the bride of Christ. And Jesus Christ loved his wife so well that he was willing to die for. So what you got right here, I love it. So we need a lot more of this. You got a Christian man standing on stage, honoring and loving his wife. Good job bud. I thank you for my label, Burkin Bo, country radio, baby, what's up, down? Oh, Republic John Manila, we did it, baby. There was a time in my life, y'all. Now listen, this is legit right here. Let's go. That I was broken. That's why I wrote this out. I didn't think I had a chance. Y'all, there was days that I thought the darkest things, I was a horrible human. There was a moment in my life that all I had was a Bible this big and a radio, the same size and a six by eight foot cell. And I believe that those two things could change my life. I believe my man is preaching preaching. Now, let me just, I'm gonna say a couple things. Number one, let me just get this out. There's a whole bunch of people that, oh, Brandon Lake and Apology. For I just want to say this, because DeGam, Brandon Lake, shout out, Brandon Lake, live free nation, he's a friend of ours. Brandon Lake got crucified a few months ago for comments he made about writing Christian music to reach quote unquote, Bubba and he got crucified over and over again for appearing with jelly roll. And you know what Brandon Lake was doing? He was being like Jesus Christ, who earned the nickname in the New Testament, Jesus Christ, friend of sinners. So, well, three cheers for Brandon Lake. That's one reason that dude is standing up there having been his need of the Lordship of Jesus. And he's given public witness to millions of people now. Number two, I want to point this out, man, because there's like, you're seeing an actual theological thing happen here. Jelly Roll could have talked about anything. But what he chose to do was stand up and hold a Bible, a little pocket New Testament Bible. My dad got saved out of alcoholism when my dad was in college. My dad had a little pocket New Testament just like that. And he would go, that's the first thing my dad did. He would go to the old bars where he used to go and drink. And he would sit there with a glass of water and a pocket New Testament, a little green one like they used to have. And he would just walk around a witness to people. Now, Jelly Roll right here could have talked about anything what he wanted to talk about was Jesus. Okay, there's a reason for this. The sign of being filled with the Spirit of God is that a lot of people miss this. The sign of being filled with the Spirit of God. A lot of people think like Charismatics in particular, they're like, oh, the sign of being filled with the Spirit speaking in tongues. No, it isn't. Acts 1, 8, Jesus said, but you receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be my, it does not say you will be my tongue speakers. That's a whole different thing, but hold a whole different conversation. He says, you will be my witnesses. So here's the deal. I really don't care a whole lot about your prayer language if you haven't got any power for witness. What he's doing here is he's giving witness. That's what Christians do. Now, let me just, this is a master class right here because a lot of Christians, they're scared of evangelism and this is so great, dude. Because they're like, man, if I share Christ with somebody, they're gonna ask me a question that I don't know the answer to. But here's the deal, man. You are not called to be a lawyer that makes an airtight case and answers every question somebody asked you. What you're called to do is to be a witness. A lawyer gives an airtight case, a witness just tells their side of the story. That's all jelly rolls doing here. So I just wanna like, listen, man, do I, what he's doing right here should be a challenge to every Christian man and woman everywhere. No secret agent Christians. No secret agent. Jesus said, if you deny me before man, I also will deny you before my father in heaven. So let me just say this, what some of us need to do is we need to be inspired by the courage of this guy. And it's time for you as a man or a woman of God, I'll just say it like this, to come out of the closet at your workplace as I'm the Jesus guy or I'm the Jesus girl. So if the world has the courage to come out of the closet for wickedness and perversion, Christians need to have the courage to come out of the closet for a team Jesus. That's what he does right here. So this is great. Preach jelly. Here we go. Come on, buddy. All right, let me say a few things. Some people, sometimes people will take that little statement. He just made Jesus not owned by a political party and they'll take it out context and they'll toss that back at me because sometimes I'll make political applications about the moral asymmetry of the current proposed policies of the parties. So let me just say what he just said is true. So let's not knock this. Jesus is not owned by a political party and I actually want to use this to give a quick warning to Christians. Here's what you need to watch out for on this. There's a difference between conservative Christians and Christian conservatives. This is really important to understand. Which, so here's a question. Which one of those descriptors comes first and modifies the other one in your life? You need to ask yourself that question. Some people are conservative Christians. They're actually more conservative, politically conservative than they are Christian. And whenever Christianity contradicts their conservatism, they jettison their Christianity and they side with political conservatism. How about no? In the end of things, what we are is we are on one team. We're on team Jesus. So ultimately, what I'm trying to do is I'm not trying to pull you left and I'm not trying to pull you right. I'm trying to pull you up into the kingdom of God so that the Holy Spirit can come down on your life. So some people do that. They're conservative Christians. They're more conservative than they are Christian. And that ain't us. But other people, what they are, is their Christian conservatives. They just naturally understand that as the proposed policies of the parties outlay right now, that Christianity translated into sort of public policy in our current paradigm, it more aligns with modern conservatism than modern progressivism by a long shot. And these people are Christian conservatives. And so the Christian comes first and the conservative comes second. So wherever the conservative is and contradicts the Christian, they go, nope, I'm on team Jesus. I'm not on that. So that's good. So true Jesus is not owned by a political party, but we do need to be honest, there is a moral asymmetry between the publicly stated proposed policies of the two parties. Okay? So yep, true. Here we go. Let's keep going. I love you, Lord. Hang on, I want you to hear this. I love how he did this. Listen. If anybody can have a relationship with him, I love you, Lord. I love you, Lord. That's all he said. Let me finish. I want to make an observation about this. So this is amazing. I want to give a quick caution. And this is not raining on anybody's parade or anything like that. You should be cautious about loading too much hope and sort of anointing into celebrity conversion. So first Timothy 522, it gives a command to Christians, not a suggestion, it gives a command. It says, do not be hasty with a layman. It says, do not be hasty with a laying on of hands. What that means is that when you see, and I'm gonna apply this in particular to gifted or high profile people, a lot of times people see a celebrity conversion like this. And what laying on of hands means is a way that the church will anoint somebody and recognize them as a leader on Team Jesus. When it says, don't be hasty with that, it's saying, what we ought to do is not really quick do that for somebody. You're our leader now, you're our spokesperson. I'm not at no, what we need to do is wait, watch, reflect anybody's life on anybody's life. The Bible says you will know them by their fruit over time. So there is a temptation that some Christians have to anoint somebody with a large platform as a leader and has a, like, I think the Kanye West example is like should give us a caution here. Honestly right now, like, what's going on with Nicki Minaj? Which I, for the life, may I can't figure out. But what we need to do is instead of rushing to that, we should be wise and prudent and go, man, I am all for this. I'm cheering them on. I'm celebrating everything. But I'm also going to be cautious and not load too much hope into it. The reason for this, there's a theological reason for that caution. When Jesus, if you remember, tells the parable the four soils, the reason for this, you don't know what type of soil that person is yet. So what they might be, like Kanye West, it says that sometimes the word falls on rocky soil and because the soil was shallow, the seed quote springs up quickly. But then when trouble or persecution comes on account of the word, they quickly fall away. That, we don't know the type of soil somebody is until we watch him for a long time. So you should be cautious about this. And that's fine. Cheer it on. But it has exercise wise caution now. Here's what I love about him just finishing. Actually, I just want to finish here in the applause. Let's go, Reba. Reba. There it is. It is, I love you, Lord. What I love about this is I love you, Lord. It's just like the deepest cry of a Christian man's heart. Romans 8 says this. It says, for you have not been given a spirit of fear to fall back again into slavery. But you have received a spirit of sonship by which we cry, Abba, Father. And what you'll notice is it almost feels like it's not childish, but it is childlike is that when somebody is saved and filled with the spirit of God, there's something just bubbles up inside of them and they're like a little kid that's just like, I love you, dad. And it just comes out of them. And what gives me a lot of hope about the genuineness of this conversion and what his future is going to look like as a Christian man is it just so effortlessly bubbled up out of them. I love you, Lord. That's Romans 8 on the Grammy stage. Now, let me just finish with this. And I just want to contrast Billy Eilish with jelly roll. Okay. What you're seeing right now is in our culture is that rebellion has flipped in our culture. So what I mean is when I was growing up in the late 1900s when we rode dinosaurs to school and all the things. When I was growing up and going to high school in the 90s, a quote unquote alternative lifestyle, it was somebody that like honestly looked a lot like Billy Eilish. It was like the whole God thing and you know, the dress thing and lots of sex and anger at the system and efflaw enforcement and perpetual outrage and alcohol and drugs. And man, if you really want to live an alternative lifestyle, you're a dude it dates a dude or you're a girl that cheers on girls, date another girls, and that was an alternative lifestyle. Well, guys news flash. Everybody's doing that now. So like honestly, I'll just give you a challenge. If you want to live an alternative lifestyle in 2026, here's what you got to do to live a rebellious alternative lifestyle in 2026. Read your Bible, go to church, love one woman your whole life if you're a man and one man your whole life if you're a woman, have kids and enjoy them or do crazy rebellious things. Like stand on a stage at the Grammys and yell, I love you Lord. Why? Because in our culture, obedience is the only rebellion left. Let's go rebels, and see Jesus.