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So, thank you for that. Thank you to Mighty Muscadine for sponsoring this episode. Let's jump in. We all want to furnish and decorate our Christian lives with the really pretty decorations, but a lot of us haven't even built our lives on the proper foundation yet. Let's talk about that construction project in our lives.
Coming up right now on the Clearview Today Show. You're listening to Clearview today with Dr. Abadon 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 Clearview Today show. We're glad you're listening to us here in the studio with our host, Dr. Abadon Shah. And if you're listening for the very first time, give us a text two five two four two nine six zero six nine. That number is live twenty four seven three sixty five, and we love answering your questions, hearing topics that you have for future shows, and ideas for us to talk about.
Or maybe just questions that you want to ask Dr. Shaw about your Christian life, Dr. Shaw. We've been in this conversation about the parables, and we come to probably one of the better-known parables today. I think one that people are at least adjacently familiar with.
One of my favorites. Yeah, one of my favorites. One of the most famous construction projects of all time that was not presented by Tim the Tool Man Taylor. Did I get that name right? Oh man.
Yeah, Tim the Tool Man Taylor. That's Home Improvement. I never so that's a that's a that's a nineties show. I have to admit, right now, I gotta confess my sin. I never actually watched.
Like, I I had to call Doctor Shot and be like, "Do you know a guy named Tim the Tool Man Taylor?" He's like, "Yeah, Tim. You know Home Improvement. He always his wacky stuff always falling apart." Yeah, and then I made the same sound. Yeah, yeah, that was the sound. I got to say, I didn't expect Doctor Shot to make.
Yeah, it's supposed to be a grunt. Yeah, yeah. Tim would grunt every time there was something manly that you know men do, like grilling burgers. Yeah, men being men. Yeah, yeah.
On the show, just for the benefit of those who just had a shot of nostalgia, there, you know, you had Tim and Al Borland, and Al was. Very much by the book, and Tim would, you know, cut corners and take shortcuts, and things will fall apart. And so, you had to make sure that you follow the book, right? Right. You know, do things by the book, and that's a perfect.
Thing for today's panel board. Oh yeah, because a lot of guys are like that. You know, I'm I'm sort of like that when it comes to like now. I I put together Legos, and there's there's no chance you're not going by the book. But then when it comes to something like real, like furniture, like that's actually going to last and be useful, I'm like, I could probably figure it.
I can, I think I can do. I mean, how hard could it be? It's a it's a flat surface with four legs. I can figure it out. The terrible thing is when you go that route and you get to the end of that project and you have like a handful of pieces left over, you're like, this.
I feel like I maybe. Were these extras, or did I really mess things? Are you a type to put something together just by like by feeling it out, or are you gonna go by? No, I'm gonna go by the book. You really?
I'm gonna go by the book. Nicole's dad was very much no. I don't need that. Put that away. Yeah, I can figure that out.
Uh huh.
So he was very much like that, which I never made sense to me when he was living. I would see him do that. I'm like, why? We can we can use this. And then now I you know I realize it.
It's kind of like a challenge, yeah. Like if I can, like, like I was with a gentleman recently. We built a tree stand to hunt, and so we built it from scratch. And a gentleman who is, you know, has has decades of experience building homes and and carpentry and all the rest of that stuff. He and I went to the the the You know the warehouse, the the lumber place, and when we got there, he he asked the sales guy, "Hey, I need this this long and this this long and this size nails and blah blah blah blah blah." And the guy is like, "Well, what are you trying to do?" He said, "I'm trying to build a tree stand, but I need these, these, these." Well, can I see what you have?
The guy asked my friend, and my friend, who's you know, he, been doing this all his life, he's like, "Yeah." I mean, he showed him that, and it was like a drawing, rough drawing, and the. And the guy behind the behind the counter is like, "This is just rough drawing." I mean, I mean, you don't have any plans here. This is just pencil on a page. You just sketch this out, and and then he proceeds to tell my friend, "You're like, man, you you seem like you just like jacklegging this," and I'm like, "How'd your friend take it? Did he did he didn't take it well?
Well." You're like, let me tell you some. I've been building this, you know, for forty years or something like the forty fifty years. I've been building this all my life. I know what I'm doing. But what I need right now from you is this, this, and this.
And the guy, I was like, please don't argue with him. Just, just give it to him. Let him have what he's asking for.
So he did, and. To the credit of my friend, he he knows he built it. He built it, and it was it's great. That's good. It's wonderful.
A lot of times, do you feel like people do that with their Christian life, where it's like you know, I feel like I got the hang of this. I'm just going to go for this, and so many times it ends up like Tim the Toolman, where it all kind of falls apart. Yeah, this skip a step or two, or try to make some modifications, and you cannot do that when it comes to your Christian life. God has given us. A pattern God has given us the directions on how to build a solid Christian life, and if if you try to bypass that and say I'm I'm just going to take a shortcut, your house will fall apart.
I'm talking about spiritually, your house will fall apart. That's right. And we want to take a look at that parable here in just a second. We're going to cut to a quick break, hear a word from our sponsors, and then we're going to come back and read this parable together. You ever get halfway through the afternoon and you realize that everything you've Had to drink today requires either a coffee maker, a vending machine, or a drive-through.
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Look at the parable. If you, one of you guys, want to read it for us, Matthew seven verses twenty four to twenty seven. It's a famous parable of the wise man and the foolish man, and how they both embarked on this project. Absolutely, I got it. House building.
Matthew seven and verse twenty four says, "Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on." The rock, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall. Before we dive into this parable, let's make a quick clarification. This parable of the two builders is found both in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke, but there are some differences.
We call them variants.
Okay, so while Matthew focuses on two different building sites and the description of the weather. Like it says right here, wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, beat on the house, and then the foolish man built his house on the sand. That's that's Matthew. Luke focuses on two different building processes.
Okay, so the you know just make sure you you. Compare those two and just make sure you look at the actual wordings. Same parables, but different wordings.
Now, why is there a difference in the wording? We need to sort of, you know, take this opportunity to dig deeper. It could be that Jesus gave the parable twice with two different emphases. That can happen. Like he gave it twice at two different times.
And this time I'm trying to get this point across. This time I'm trying to get something else across. Or maybe the gospel writers were not trying to quote Jesus verbatim, but simply trying to convey the gist of the message. That also happens, and that is also within the parameters of the inspiration and inerrancy of the text. Nothing wrong with that.
A a gospel writer like Matthew can use the same story that Jesus gave, but put a different emphasis on it. Whereas Mark or Luke can take the same account, but place the emphasis elsewhere, and that's perfectly fine to do. That is still God's word. That is still God breathed. Nothing wrong.
You say, how can that be? Because The Bible is God's word through man's personality, through man's education, experiences, and so you see Matthew relating the same story but with a different emphasis. Luke is a little different. Mark is a little different, and there are times that even John comes in on the same account, and he has a different spin on it. And all of that falls within the parameters of the Word of God.
I think that's like a lot of times we see these red letter, these red letters in the Bible, and we say, "Okay, those were Jesus's verbatim words," so I have to take them super, super at face value. And a lot of times, maybe not a lot of times, but sometimes it could be the case that they're trying to get Jesus's point across, but maybe his words here don't match his words here. That's not a reason to panic. Yeah, because you know the the the red letter Bibles were. Brought about by a pastor by the name of T.
D. Talmadge, he was a pastor in New York City, great man of God, powerful speaker, evangelist, all of that. He put them there to help people sort of concentrate, you know, say, "Oh, this is important." But unfortunately, people took that and took it to the next level and said, "This is exactly what Jesus said." And all of a sudden, you have contradictions between what Jesus said. Yeah, between this gospel and this gospel, because it's in red, so it's got to be important. I need to focus in on that.
It has to be dictation, word for word, what Jesus came out of his mouth. Yeah. Our sound engineer David said something about vox versus verba, ipsissima vox versus ipsissima verba, which is like exact words versus exact voice. I believe it's more the voice. Yes, there are times Jesus gave the exact words, or the gospel writers relate the exact words.
But sometimes I think they're more conveying the voice rather than the words.
Okay, so the difference between Matthew and Luke's account of the parable is proved that the gospel writers sometimes put in their words what Jesus said. And that's okay. That's no reason to panic. No reason to panic.
So now let's go back here. To begin with, Jesus says, "Therefore," and I'm reading from verse 24 of Matthew chapter seven. Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, whoever.
Now, who is the whoever? To understand that, to answer that question, we have to back up to Matthew chapter five and verse one. And seeing the multitudes, he went up on the mountain. And when he was seated, his disciples came to him. Primarily, Jesus was speaking to his disciples, but it was in the hearing of the multitudes.
Okay, all these people. There's a there's Probably people of different backgrounds. It's like a mixed bag. There's people who are curious. There's people who are like, "Hey, I'm I'm." On board with this whole Jesus thing, so it's conversation with the disciples.
But the intention was that other people would overhear, absolutely. And these other people were just like John said, mixed bag in the sense of somewhere really committed to Jesus, somewhere curious, somewhere conditional. Like, hey, you know, are we are we eating anytime soon? I heard this dude. I heard this dude could split some mean bread.
Yeah, and fish and all that. I mean, you know, we're getting hungry. I'm hungry. I mean, I like to hear you talk. Man, but I was promised some food.
You gotta, gotta give us something, some some sustenance here.
So there were those people, and then there were also people who were trying to catch Jesus say something wrong, yeah, or you know. Misleading or something. I think that's one of the things I like about your your style of preaching is it is is very scholarly. A lot of people don't care who was there. We just want to know what Jesus said and what I can get from it.
But taking into account his audience, we just see it as a oh, it's the multitude.
Okay, it's a big crowd. Move on. But no, like there were people there with agendas, and there were people there trying to get something out of him, and then there were people there who were like us, who were like, I'm ready to hear what you have to say.
Well, especially in light of this conversation about parables, you've got to think who he was. Telling the parable too, who who was there that he was addressing that this was the appropriate story to choose?
Well, he was introducing them to the kingdom values, the beatitudes. You know, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. On and on and on.
So, all of that to say, he was teaching them kingdom values, higher living. You know, you heard of the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, but I say to you, you know, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
So, you gotta have higher standards.
Okay, that's what Jesus was telling them, and then he he told them to be sincere. If you're gonna pray, really pray, don't do a show. If you're giving, don't let your right hand know what your left hand is giving, or vice versa. You know, he was telling them to be sincere. He was teaching them how to pray.
Pray, our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. I mean, all of this was given to help them pray from their hearts.
Okay, he was also teaching them about not being so attached and consumed by the treasures on earth. He tells them in Matthew six twenty, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
So, you know, these are things that Jesus was talking about: trust and obey. You know, he says in Matthew six thirty one, "Do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." I mean, so this is the content. Of Jesus's message, that's right, to a mixed group of people, a multitude of people, the committed, the curious, the covert, the conditional. He is speaking to all of them, and in closing, he was telling them things like, "Don't be judgmental." You know, you're so concerned about the speck in your brother's eye, but you got a big hole in your own eye. Don't be judgmental. He was teaching them to have a childlike trust.
You know, do you trust God? I mean, you you you you would never think about giving your son a stone if he asked for bread, or a serpent if he asked for a fish.
So, if you know how to give good gifts, how much more your Father in heaven?
So, we need to understand the content. Yeah. Right, be countercultural. What a great message! Be countercultural.
Go through the narrow gate. Don't join the big crowd. Go to the narrow gate, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Exercise discernment. That's also part of his message.
There are ravenous wolves around. Be careful.
So. You see, all of this is part of building on the rock. I think that's such a great point for people to hear because it's tempting to hear a message like this or a show like this and say, "Wait a minute! I thought we were talking about the parable of the builder. Why are we now talking about Sermon on the Mount?" All of this is the rock that we're building.
Right? You know, we think it's so easy to say, "Oh, just build on God's word." Well, these are the words of Jesus, and Jesus is giving you the instructions. You want to build your life on the rock? Here's how you do it: you read the whole Sermon on the Mount. I'm glad we we went through that because I think it gives so much more clarity to how you build your life on the rock.
Well, think about the the message from the Sermon on the Mount that leads into this parable. I mean, this is this is foundational stuff. This is stuff that is is shaking up the paradigm that these people were living under. I mean, the Sermon on the Mount is where we get some of those big teachings of Jesus that we kind of continually go back to, and then to be led into this parable. That's the rock.
That's the foundation. Absolutely. And Christians speak with such familiarity. Nomenclature. I think, especially to people who just aren't exposed to it, like people are going through just the worst kind of.
Tragedies or things in their life, and they're saying, "Man, listen, everything is going to be all right. You just got to build your life on Jesus, build your life on God's word." And to a new Christian, it's like, "What does that mean?" Yeah, but Jesus is laying out. Here's what it means. Which then we skip over it. If he's talking about this as the rock, then that implies if you are not built on this, your house is currently built on sand, and you need to examine your foundation.
Yeah, and and all of that is through the lens of the cross. This is not just some pithy. You know, do good, think positive, have a great outlook on life—kind of teachings. These are based on the death, burial, and resurrection, which was still to come, but is based on that. Right.
When Jesus said, "Build your life on my words," and these are his words. Don't think that these words are separate from the cross. These words are from the cross. These words are based on the bedrock of his sacrifice for us. That's right.
You know when he talks about the storm coming and beating on the house. You know a lot of times I think especially in especially in worship music, right? The storms are the crises and the tragedies of life. That's typically what we mean. Is that a modern day Western understanding of the storms?
Did Jesus have that in mind, or is there something deeper there? Do you think? I mean, it could be. It could be that the problems of life. Relationships, or finances, or health issues, or moral issues, or ethical issues, and all of that.
I think the value shifts that are happening in our culture. I think yes, you can say to some extent they could be the storms, but there is more there, and the more is reflected in the very next verse, which is Matthew seven twenty one. Not every one who says to me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness." Okay.
Yeah. So there's more that is happening here. He spends he spends a lot of the Sermon on the Mount talking about the kingdom of heaven. It does seem kind of fitting that he's closing. The storm is really God's wrath.
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Now let's get into the show. Right, yeah, right.
So in Isaiah twenty-eight verse sixteen, therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation. A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. Whoever believes will not act hastily. Also, I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plummet. The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding places.
Your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand. When the overflowing scourge passes through, then you will be trampled down by it.
So the storm, yeah, it could be the storms of life, but the storms really is the storm of the judgment day that is coming. Wow, and that's what that's what Jesus is warning us about. Yeah, you know, I think a lot of us we we got to take that seriously, and I think even as Christians. We can get into this way of thinking where it's like, well, you know what? I am saved.
Yeah, the storm's over for me. I am safe, but there is a whole world of people out there. Who that storm is coming from? It brings more weight to the parable. I mean, you know, we often reduce it to sort of like you were saying, Doctor Shaw, like a pithy statement, like "Make sure you build your life upon Jesus." And we have low kids songs that talk about this parable.
In that way, you'll have a good, comfortable life. Yeah, but I mean, the the reality is, the problem these builders faced was the storm. Yeah, there's a storm coming. Yeah, yeah, Doctor Shaw. If there's someone, we've got maybe about six minutes left in the show, but there's someone out there right now, and they are not prepared for the storm that is coming.
And just like. You said not just the the financial or relational problems of life. There's a storm of God's wrath, and it's coming. Yeah, and it might be coming soon. Yeah, and that's what you need to worry about much more than just the problems of life.
Don't misunderstand me. I think it's wonderful when we have the solid assurance that if we build our life on Jesus Christ, no matter what happens in this life, we will be okay. And it's great for us to have that peace, that assurance, that confidence as we go through the storms of this life. But when Jesus talked about the wise man and the foolish man building one on the rock, the other on the sand, and the rains descended and the flood came, in the context, in the context, he was talking about the storm of the judgment day. Here's a question to you.
The way you're building your life right now, the way you're building your life, will you be able to stand on the judgment day? If you do not know Jesus Christ, I'm not asking you are you a conservative. I'm not asking you are you patriotic. I'm not asking you are you a good family man. I'm not asking you that are you a hard worker.
You may be all those things, but if you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and King, you're building your life on the sand. And when God's judgment, God's wrath, God's fury comes on the judgment day. Day, you won't be able to stand, and that's the warning that Jesus was giving to that multitude. Not just that. Oh, I tell you what, we've gone through some health issues.
Tell you what, we got some family problems going on. You know, people not getting along, or man, I've had a lot of financial struggles, and you know, I'm kind of praying that God will come through.
Okay, you can use this passage. To find comfort that Jesus will be your anchor in the storm, but in reality, all of us go through those problems, saved or unsaved. We're all going through those problems, and sometimes I've seen lost people weather the storms of life far better than saved people. Into that, that's true.
So, what does that do to all this?
Well, some people say it's like, well, then I don't know. You tell me, because seems like the Bible doesn't work. The Bible works just fine, because in the context, Jesus was not talking about the storms of this life. But the storms at the end of life—that's right. Doctor, to the person who's listening and who is identified, my house is not built upon a sure foundation.
My house is built upon the sand, and it's going to be washed away in the in the coming storm. And I want to—I want to have a better foundation. I want to build my life upon God's cornerstone, upon Jesus Christ. How do I start to do that? Exactly.
That's what you have to do. Build your life on Christ. Yeah. Give your life to Jesus Christ today. It's very.
Simple. Ask him to come into your life, wherever you are. It's a simple prayer. You may not understand everything about who Jesus is and what he came to do. Here it is: He is God's Son.
He came, as promised in the Word, died on the cross, buried, rose again, was seen by many, and he is alive today. And he is waiting to come into your life. And all you have to do is let him in. Invite him to be your savior by faith. It's all by faith that he is your savior, your king, and then choose to live by his word.
Okay. On the day of judgment, you will stand. Many of those in that multitude did not believe. They were there for the food. They were there for the show.
They were there for just comic relief. To catch Jesus saying something wrong, they were there for the wrong reasons, and that's why Jesus gave that parable. There's a storm coming, and you are fools. And I often wonder how many of us sitting in church are fools because we've never truly asked Jesus to be our savior. That's right.
Yeah, and hopefully you've done that today. Hopefully you've listened to this and you've understood that you know, hey, even if I'm not fully convinced yet, I know. Or I'm not fully understanding yet. I know that I need something greater than myself. Today can be that day.
If you followed that prayer that Dr. Shaw just prayed to you, or even if you're still following it in your heart, just know God is going to work something together for good, and it's going to be the best decision you ever made. And that's why this show exists to provide a clear view toward the gospel, toward Jesus Christ, and what He's done for us.
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