This episode of Clearview today is brought to you by Le Bleu Ultra Pure Water. When you drink Le Bleu, you're only getting two ingredients, hydrogen and oxygen. Le Bleu is the leading choice for hydration with a patented process that removes impurities and ensures the highest level of purity possible. Unlike other bottled waters, Le Bleu's ultra pure filtration system provides water that is free from contaminants and infused with only the essentials your body needs. So whether you're at home, on the go or working hard, Le Bleu Ultra Pure Water offers a refreshing, crisp taste with every sip. It's going to give you the hydration you need without the worry. So make the smart choice today and experience the difference of Le Bleu Ultra Pure Water. You can find out more and order online at Le Bleu. That's L-E-B-L-E-U.com and make sure when you check out, you tell them the Clearview Today show sent you.
You can use promo code T-O-D-A-Y at checkout to get 10% off your next order. It's going to save you money and it's going to support all of us here at the Clearview Today show. So stay hydrated, stay healthy, and without further ado, let's start the show. You're listening to Clear View Today with Dr. Abbadan Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Ryan Hill.
I'm John Galantis. Welcome to the Clear View Today studio. This beautiful Thursday, or should I say Thor's day? Thor, get it? With the hammer. Yeah.
So we were doing, we were doing what you call it, digging deep the other day and we were recording for it. And I didn't realize that Thursday actually is Thor's day. Yeah. Like I didn't realize that we've paid homage to Thor every single day. Not, not Chris Hemsworth though. The actual, the real, the real, the real Thor, not who plays him on TV. But we're glad that you guys are here.
Whatever, whether you're Marvel DC, it doesn't matter to us. We're just glad that you're here. We want to welcome you to the show. We are with our host today, who is Dr. Abbadan Shah.
He's a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's show. Dr. Shah, welcome to the show. Thank you. It's good to be here.
Yeah. Got a, got a good Thursday show for us. Great conversation. But before we do anything else, I have something that I think will interest you two gentlemen, a great baby. We got a million dollars on the table for you guys today. So here's what I want to ask you million dollars, Dr. Shah, this is I'm a man after your own heart. I know you, I know what you love and I want to see if you'd be willing to do it.
You have to fight five, one, two, three, four, five WWE wrestlers age match. But, but you get one partner of your choice, a living or dead. Really? Yes.
Yes. In, in one cage match. David's over there saying, pick me.
I'm like, no way, dude. What, what is David going to do against stinking Ray Mysterio undertaker? Let me, let me ask you for clarity sake. Do you get the million dollars either way, or is it only if you win? No, you, if you participate. Okay. So you can, you can lose the fight, but so good. A hundred percent, a hundred percent. I'll definitely fight. Yeah. But who would I have in the ring with me?
Who are your favorite five? Who would you love to like when you were a little kid or what you, I guess when you were a, did they have wrestling? Well, I mean, yeah, of course.
I mean, they didn't have it in India, of course. Right. But we watched a videotapes of wrestling. I mean, I remember watching junkyard dog watching of course, Hulk Hogan, who went on to become a Hollywood Hogan, all that. But yeah, I remember him as Hulk Hogan. I remember watching Ricky, the dragon, the steamboat. I don't know him.
Okay. He's before my time. Ric Flair. Ric Flair, of course. Yeah. Ric Flair definitely watched him.
Watch gosh, so many, my mind is drawing blank right now. Of course, under the giant. I remember watching that big match between Hulk Hogan and under the giant.
Oh, one Hulk Hogan. Yeah. Wow.
But I mean, we, we, one of my friends, I mean, he was really into it as well. We would argue. It's like, no, it's real. It's not real. It cannot be real.
So I guess it is real. So who, so let's say, let's say five, pick, pick your top five. Like you, cause you watched it a lot in the 90s too, when you were here. Right?
Like stone cold, Steve Austin. Yeah. He was not my favorite, especially because he was making fun of John three 16. Oh, he did. Yeah. I didn't know that.
Austin three 16. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You're right. Yeah.
I was like, no, you're done buddy. The rock. Oh, rock is good. Yeah.
He is good. Would you take on the rock? Would you in that, in that five?
Well, let me ask you this, let me start this. Who was your one partner you would choose to go with? Oh my goodness. It does not have to be WWE. Hulk Hogan. I liked him. Yeah.
Yeah. I think he was, he's a solid partner. He was a solid partner. If you had to pick somebody else. Oh my goodness.
DDP diamond Dallas page. I would choose the undertaker personally. Undertaker was always my guy. I loved when the lights would go dark.
The bells start going. Yeah. And then he had drama with his brother Kane. And then Kane was, is pretty big. Yeah.
I liked a Ray Mysterio. Oh, undertaker is a Christian now. I didn't know that. Yeah.
Wow. Undertaker got saved. He is not bound by the law of debt.
He subscribed to the law. Sting as well. Right? Sting. Yeah. Sting is a Christian too. Not the singer, but the wrestler.
I think he's a Christian as well. Yeah. And then there was another one. What was his name?
Yeah. Sting is a Christian. There was another one. He was, oh my goodness. What was his name? Maybe the million dollar man is who I meant to say.
Could be. Do you remember the I'm going to, I'm going to drop this in the video. Do you remember the pizza man that you showed me? This was not WWE, but the pizza guy. No, I think that pizza guy was just some, what is it? They, they call from that movie. The funny movie with Jack black, like not your libra luchador luchador.
He was, he was part of the luchador. That was one of the funniest things I ever saw in my life. He's like, he even does a split while he's he's like, ah, he's on the ground. The other guy's got him in a piece. I've still got it somewhere, but he was like, ah, no more, no more. And then he's like, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop. Throwing the pizza dough around.
He went down. Where did you find a lot of reels like this online? If you want to waste a lot of time on social media, you can don't do it. There's a, there's a real, there's a lot of reels like, and you say that wrestling is not real. We'll take a look at this. Yeah.
They would do stuff like that. That's pretty good. There it is. There it is.
This is the absolute funniest thing. Oh, he, we felt, oh, but he got up. He's still, oh, oh yeah. He's still got the pizza. Oh no, no, he's going to get it.
He's going to get it, but he's going to get out of it. Hang in there. Oh, here we go. Here we go.
The audio podcast listeners or so y'all have to be watching the video now. Oh, there you go. What's happening with the pizza.
Do you remember how great were the 90s watching that with your boys? Look, here's a funny story. So one of my friends, I won't mention names. Okay. And just in case he's watching, okay. He's not even in the state of North Carolina. He's in a different state, but his granddaddy died watching wrestling because he got so into it.
He had a heart attack. No way. Oh yeah. And my friend used to tell me that I was like, yeah, yeah.
I said, it's not, it's not our proudest moment in our family. My goodness. Granddaddy really got into it. He got really upset. And trust me when I say this, this friend of mine, I mean, he comes from an educated family. Oh yeah.
I mean, he's he's, he himself has a PhD. Wow. Yeah.
But he's in my grandpa tied watching really passionate about that match. Wow. Shout out to the family of this person, man. I'm so sorry.
So sorry. Maybe he wouldn't make fun of it. So I don't, if I'm laughing, he probably laugh with us. Maybe just show your grandparents, the highlights and not the whole man. Maybe we, maybe we, uh, we send the undertaker down to the funeral.
Oh man. Well, we've got to check in today, uh, coming from a anonymous from an anonymous listener or watcher or viewer of the show. It says, I'm so thankful for Dr. Shah, John, Ryan, David, and the rest of the team who make clear read today possible. Sundays are my favorite day of the week because I know that Dr. Shaw is going to deliver a powerful message from the word of God. And I find myself feeling hungry for more throughout the week, but clear view today fills that void and more. I feel like I'm sitting right there in the room with Dr. Shah and the team because his messages are so personal personable and inviting.
I just love him and the rest of our clear view family. If you're hesitant about how you can possibly fit one more thing in your daily schedule, I totally get that, but take 30 minutes for yourself. I promise it will fill your cup.
Just like it does mine. This podcast will teach you and push you to grow closer to Christ. Amen.
Thank you so much. I really want to thank our listeners and viewers who take the time to send us an email or a message. Sometimes we don't read every message because things that people mention are very personal, true about hurts in their lives of people in their own family that have not been very kind to them. So we don't want to betray their confidence unless we get permission from them.
Right. And so there are many letters and emails that we get and messages we get. We don't read, but it's not because it's any less. We just want to make sure we won't offend you by reading those. Especially if you're not a member of our church, you know, because we have a lot of people who I think this person attends here.
In fact, this was left on Apple podcasts. But then there's now that Pray has sort of opened the doors and like hundreds of people are sending in comments. It's always funny because when you start out, you're like, man, I really wish people would engage. Then the floodgates open and it's like, oh, I can't keep up.
I can't keep up with all the, I can't keep up with all of them. And then, you know, people do kind of reveal themselves in their messages and their comments and you don't really know like, oh, maybe this isn't something they want shared. But then it just becomes impossible to reach out to every single person. But it also builds that rapport and helps us know that our message is reaching people because, you know, we're sitting in here and we're looking at cameras and we see the numbers on the screen. We see the analytics going up, but hearing from you who are listening and viewing audience, it tells us that you're wanting to engage with us. You're wanting to engage with the content of the show and that the message, the mission, I should say, of the show of engaging hearts and minds for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that's happening. We're carrying that.
When you first started preaching, Dr. Shudd, did it ever, did that thought ever occur to you? Like, I feel like I'm giving it my all. I'm genuinely pouring my heart and soul into these messages. And it's not really getting beyond these four walls or this little one small town.
Yes. In the early days, I had that feeling, but at the same time, I also knew that it was not the time. There were many times in my life and ministry that I knew that, yes, I want it, but I'm not ready for it because there are still gaps in my understanding. There are still experiences that I don't have. I'm not saying that we need to have all the experiences of life to be able to speak on a subject. That's not true, but at least enough handle on life and struggles and sufferings to be able to speak confidently on that matter. Now, does that mean that I refrain from speaking and preaching on those passages that I have not experienced?
Of course not. Because if I did that, then I would just be sitting with just a few passages, but I did speak on them, but I've focused more on teaching the word of God, but I could tell there was something missing and there's something missing was my application. And again, not everything has to be applied in your personal life to be able to preach on it, but it's in God's timing that you're able to get on that stage and God begins to use you. And when you speak, you're speaking the words of life. When you teach, you're teaching the counsels of God. And when you talk to people, you do it with a sense of humility because you know that you are standing where you are only by the grace of God. So be careful if you are out there and you are an aspiring preacher, teacher, pastor, ministry leader, and you're saying, man, I'm ready.
I'm ready. I'm ready to explode. Like I knew one guy used to say that. I feel like I'm being stretched like a rubber band. And I don't know if I like that expression because when that man was saying that to me, I knew many things that he did not know that I knew about his life and no, he was not ready to get up on a big stage.
He was not. And so just be humble and know that God is giving you exactly what you need. And don't think too highly of yourself.
Don't believe the praises people heap upon you. Just kind of be in humility. Recognize God, I am grateful to you for everything that I have and it'll be better for you that way. It certainly helps you resonate more with the material that you're teaching and connect more with God's word. And when you're connected with the message, experientially and intellectually, when you're connected with that message, it's going to help you convey it in a much more engaging and winsome way. And do it with compassion.
Do it with compassion. John Maxwell talks about this in one of his podcasts that the more popular you get, the more distant you become from people. And then people look at you more with the eyes of a fan than as a friend. It is not good to have fans. It's okay to have friends, but fans is a whole different thing. And the only way to deal with that fandom is to relate to people where they are. To be able to say, I'm hurting like you are. And I have made the same mistakes that you are making or have made.
It's okay. And that's where you bridge that connection. But the further you get away from people and the more untouchable you become, not in a negative way, but in a kind of a positive, untouchable, like you're so famous and you're so good at what you do and you're so big time preacher man on the big screen, you become difficult to follow.
Yeah, I think you're right. Well, I think that's really great advice. And I think it's advice that most people don't want to hear.
I would imagine that most people listening to this show are either in ministry or around ministry. And so there are aspirations of, I want to make a huge impact. I want to be big and, and not that I want to be famous, but I just want to, I want what I'm doing to matter on a grand scale. And I think that advice, which is, you're probably not ready for that right now is, is hard to swallow. And I remember being like 21, 22 coming here and having those same aspirations musically and hearing that like, Hey, you know, you're, you're 22 years old. It's not going to happen to me, or at least that's not going to happen right now.
You're not ready for that. You're not that person yet that God is going to make you into it, but it's difficult because you're only ever as old as you are. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's like, like for me, I know it sounds silly now, but for me, I was like, I'm in my twenties, like I'm running out of time. And I'm imagining that people listening to this kind of feel the same way.
Yeah. And, and especially in things like music business, where getting on the stage is something that you do as, as young as possible. So you can reap the benefits and you can really give your very best and work hard and travel because you're not bound by a lot of responsibilities like family and children and wife and all that. But I would say God knows you best. God knows us better than we know ourselves. And so sometimes God doesn't give us what we ask for is because he knows that if we get into that position, we will resent it because I remember, you know, you, you talking to me at the time, I only had a girlfriend, you know, Ellie was my girlfriend and, and it was like, well, just, just know that if that life comes to you, man, you're going to be on the road. You, a family is going to be difficult or impossible. And at the time I was like, well, yeah, that's true.
That's true. But I want to, I want to do that and then have a family. But now that I've got a wife and two kids and another one on the way, it's like, I thank God that he didn't give me what I thought I wanted. Yeah.
Golly. I mean, I think we could all say that over and over again. Thank you Lord for not giving me what I thought that I wanted because I mean, we, we have kids. How many times have your kids asked you for something that you know, they don't need to have like, can I play with this? Because that's a pair of scissors.
You can't play with that. Yeah. And we've seen, and I think one of the things that Dr. Shaw, I know you would agree with this is that when you spend time in ministry, you see examples of what could have been me. And what I mean by that is, you know, we know young men, a lot of young men who have really, really incredible voices that have gone on to lead in mega churches. They had the, they had the spotlight, they had the big screens that were rubbing shoulders with all the right people. And they're, that's either not the case anymore or they're completely unfulfilled. Yeah.
Right. And I was, and I remember seeing that person and, and seeing that and being like, man, at the beginning, I was like, that, that could have been me. That should have been me. I was so filled with envy. And now seeing it as like, thank God that he didn't let me go down that road. He gave me what was important.
And this is not to say that there are not some great worship pastors or famous teachers and leaders who are on the big screen and doing well on the big scene and doing well. That can also happen. But maybe that was not meant for me because God knows my makeup, my constitution better than I know it. And so he knows that getting there may seem very appealing right now, but knowing me getting there is not that fun. For example, traveling, I, I'm not big on traveling. I don't like to travel, but I like the fact when I get there to go see the places I see and to come back with what I come back with. Same.
I'm just the same. Right. Traveling part is not fun. Anybody says that they don't know what they're talking about. Right. Getting to the airport and pretty much undressing and then the TSA getting yelled at. Yeah. Yeah.
Sometimes that happens and I know they're trying to do their job, but that, that is tough. And then getting into those seats and you know, you're sitting next to people who may be kind of make faces because you're right up on them and you're like, well, where else can I go? Right.
This is a small seat. And then be sitting there for some, some of the places we go to is like nine hours, 10 hours. And then get out and then have to deal with jet lag and then grabbing your luggage and dragging your luggage and going from hotel to hotel. Yeah.
It's not fun. Right. But once you get there and the things you learn and the things you bring back and the way you're able to help people and write and teach, man, that's tremendous.
Right. So God knows me. And so he did not put me on a traveling circuit. I mean, I lost all desire to be on a preaching circuit. And one time I was like, man, to go from this city to that, and to be on, on this scene here and on this show there, that would be amazing.
But I didn't even know myself at the time that I would hate traveling. So God's like, I know you want that, but you don't really want that. Yeah. Right. That's true. Yeah.
That's a hundred percent true. Yeah. Yeah.
I can, I can, I'm the God of the universe. I can see long-term. Trust me when I tell you, you don't want what you think you want. Yeah. Yeah.
I know what's best for you, man. It's such a good reminder for us. And it's, and it's, it's another thing too, where it's like all these things that I think I want, these things I make that make me happy very rarely is Christ in them.
Yeah. I'm pretty good at putting the banner of Christ on this. Like even like, I don't like, I don't want this anymore, but like when I thought I wanted to be like a touring musician, go all over the place and just do worship music. If someone asks, why do you want to do that? The answer that you give is, man, I just want to, I just want to spread Christ to the world. I just want to proclaim Jesus to as many people as possible.
That's not the reason. I want to be famous. I want to be famous. I want to sell, I want to sell my music.
I want my albums in the hand of as many people as possible. And it's like, yeah, you feel kind of crummy admitting that, but that's, what's in the heart. You know what I mean? And like Toby Keats style, how do you like me now? Yeah.
Now that I'm on my way. A lot of times it's looking around at what other people have to, and we've talked about covetousness on the show. It's because I see that and that person has it and I want it, or I think I deserve that instead of him. And in God's wisdom, he kept us here. He kept us together. You know what I mean?
He kept us together learning from Dr. Shaw, learning from each other, learning from failure, learning how to do things on the small scale so that when time, Clearview starts to actually display this message of Christ and we're doing all those things that we wanted to from the comfort of home. Right. Yes. Yes. And we're doing it with a much fuller and more scripturally grounded and more applicable and spirit-filled way, rather than what we were trying to do at one time. That's right.
We were not ready for that. I agree. One of the things that my dad told me years ago is, has really stuck with me. And he said, make sure that you really hone your skill.
Make sure you really sharpen your sword or for that matter, you know, work at the craft that God has given to you, the gifts that you have, the calling that you have. And at the time I didn't quite understand cause I thought, you know, how much does it take to do that? Right. But looking back, I understand what he said. And what he said was this. He said, God does not leave a well-gifted man or a woman on the shelf for too long because if you are really good, he's going to use you. He's not going to let you sit on the shelf and collect dust and collect cobwebs.
He will use you. And so that has really stayed with me. So I have focused my life more on sharpening my skills, more on preparing my heart, more on understanding the mind and the heart of God. Yeah. More on making sure that I get the mind of Christ. What does he want to do? Because really my body, my mind, my everything belongs to Christ.
How can I more and more look like him rather than myself? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's what we've been doing. Yeah. And that's, that's so I have, and I still am focused on making myself more available and more usable.
That's pretty much everything we talked about yesterday. Yeah. Rather than trying to achieve that goal. Right.
Yeah. You try just, just abiding in Christ and understand what that means. Understanding that abiding as passive as it sounds is actually an active thing.
You know what I mean? Abiding in Christ and being part of that vine is an active part of living the Christian life. I think the harness illustration that we talked about was my, probably my, because that harness exists and that's your relationship with God. That's how God holds you up and sustains you and counteracts the law of, for the example gravity, but for us, the law of sin and death that pulls you down. But that harness you have to choose to put on and put on correctly. If you don't put it on correctly, it's not going to function the way that it's supposed to. You're going to fall.
You're going to hurt yourself. But the harness, the existing isn't going to help you. You got to put that harness on. You got to make that choice every single day. So with abiding in Christ, you've got to make that choice to choose to lean in, to choose to humbly submit yourself to the work of the Holy Spirit in you, choose to lean into Christ and his direction for your life. Instead of just saying, okay, I'm going to sit back.
God, you do your thing. And a good lesson that I've learned, especially through watching you, Dr. Shaw, and just talking to you and learning from you over the years is like at the end of the day, God doesn't care what kind of singer I am or what kind of planner I am or what kind of, uh, even to some extent, what kind of leader he's, he cares about what kind of Christian I am and the work that we do here at Clearview, ultimately, like even this, what we're doing is to make us better Christians. And in being better Christians, we will become better leaders.
We'll become better singers. Um, you know, I know people, even when they talk about you, they're like, you know, Dr. Shaw is really, really, he's a great teacher. He's a great preacher.
He's a great scholar. And I think all those things are true, but those are true because you are a great Christian and God is making you a better Christian every single day. And that better Christian really means I have, I'm choosing each day, each moment to abide in Christ. That's right. I'm choosing to understand him more, to understand the Christian life better, uh, through the word of God, through diligent study. I'm choosing each day to understand who I am in Jesus Christ.
That's right. I'm choosing every day to trust what we are learning because unbelief, just like Karl Marx, you know, we read Karl Marx on John 15. And before I told you who he, who wrote those words, how did those words sound? Beautiful. I loved them.
I still kind of love those words, even knowing, like, I was like, man, the way he put that was so on point. Yeah. Oh yeah. I mean, he says right here in union with Christ, therefore we turn above all our loving eyes to God, feel the most ardent thankfulness towards him, sink joyfully on our knees before him.
I mean, how could you go wrong with that? Yeah. That's beautiful. And then it goes on to say, then when by union with Christ, a more beautiful son has risen over us or for us, when we feel all our iniquity, but at the same time rejoice over our redemption.
We can for the first time love God who previously appeared to us as an offended ruler, but now appears as a forgiving father, as a kindly teacher. Now, as I'm reading those words now, knowing what I know, those words are very hokey. It rings hollow. Yeah. They're hollow. I mean, yeah, they're true. And he's even mentioning Christ, but when you really, really pay attention to them, you realize they're just good words. Yeah.
It just sounds flowery. But it's tainted somehow. Yeah.
And the taint comes from, if I can say that, it's because he did not trust Christ and he did not follow Christ. The question David asks, is he writing sarcastically? No. Karl Marx attended a seminary.
Yeah. He went to seminary. He was training to be a pastor. So he's writing, he's writing genuinely, but his words are not genuine. No, because his faith is not real.
It's a dead faith. And of course his obedience was not real. He got it. He loved history. And you can see that coming through. And you see that coming through his communist manifesto. History is a big part of his understanding, but he forgot to get into the harness himself. So he perfectly described the law of gravity and the law of the harness and how all these things work, but he never got into the harness. So, so close to the truth and yet so far away. Yeah. We've got about, we've got about two minutes left in the show.
What is the advice to make sure that we can get into the harness? What is your word of wisdom to us? Means for one, never, never, never, never, if I can say that, never, ever assume that you are okay. Never just presume that this may not happen to you because sometimes we think, Oh yeah, that's Karl Marx. I mean, one of the smartest guys out there, but turned out to be a communist. Yeah. The ruin of so many nations and people, and even in our own country, this communism has tried several times to make inroads and destroy us. Yeah, that's true. Right?
Socialism, Marxism is, is a terrible thing. And so I would say, make sure that you examine your own heart and make sure that you don't fall for these very things. Make sure that your faith is real. Don't play games. That's right. You cannot play games with your sanctification. That's right. Make sure for real, you are trusting in Christ and, and obedient to him, step into this life that you're trying to teach others be obedient.
So ignorance, unbelief, and obedience. That's what we're talking about here. That's right, man. So helpful for us guys. If you enjoyed today's episode, write in and let us know two five two five eight two five zero two eight. We love hearing from our Clearview Today Show family. Thanks again to our sponsors for making today's episode possible. And don't forget that you can support us by subscribing to the show on iTunes and you can always support us financially at Clearveetodayshow.com.
John, close us out today. We have officially passed 10,000 followers on pray.com. Thank you so much for everyone who is subscribed and followed. Seriously. I know we're kind of being goofy, but thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 10,000 people. That's awesome.
Think about that for a second. Not 10,000 bots. 10,000 people have chosen to follow Dr. Abadansha and his message and the glory of Jesus Christ that is coming from this little church right here in North Carolina. And I could not be more grateful to you, Dr. Shah, Ryan, to everybody in this room, especially all of our partners over at pray.com and to all of you who are giving financially and supporting the mission here. Thank you so much. Hey, look, next next milestone with it.
15,000 people. Let's do it. I believe we can do it. Let's do it. We'll do it. We love you guys. We'll see you tomorrow on Clearview Today.
We'll see you tomorrow. to bring you the best of this extraordinary super fruit. It's backed by science and best of all, every muscadine grape is grown right here in the heart of North Carolina.
But no matter where you are, Mighty Muscadine is your go to for strength, health and vitality. You can visit mightymuscadine.com today and use promo code T O D A Y at checkout to get 10% off your next order. And every single time you use that promo code, you're helping us here at the Clearview Today show continue to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. So thanks for your support. Thank you to mighty muscadine for sponsoring today's show. Now let's get started.
