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So, thank you for that. Thank you to Mighty Muscadine for sponsoring this episode. Let's jump in. The same gospel has been preached to every heart who's ever lived, all the way since time began. But here's the problem: everybody's heart is not the same.
Picking up again with the parables on today's episode of Clearview Today. You're listening to Clear View 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 Clear View Today show. We're here in the studio with our host, Dr. Abadon Shah, and we want to hear from you today. You can text the word "today" T O D A Y to two five two four two nine sixty sixty nine. That's six zero six nine.
Start in the conversation. We want to hear from you. Here's your question: What is one thing that you think is keeping God's word from taking? Route in people's lives today. You can text that answer to two five two four two nine sixty sixty nine.
If we like your answer, we might read it on the air tomorrow's episode. Doctor Shaw, we began the conversation towards the end of last week about parables, talking about these stories that were employed by Jesus to reveal things to people but conceal it from other people. And the discussion kind of led us to a really great place, talking about the purpose of the parables and how Jesus employed them, especially when talking to the Pharisees and religious leaders. That's right. It is not something that Jesus started.
This is some Thing that was done even in the Old Testament, there are times that the prophets used parables. One particular one is the one with Nathan the prophet when David had sinned, and David was living in this adulterous relationship, had the husband of Bathsheba killed, murdered, and thinking life is fine, it's all good. That's what kings do. And most people don't know, and even if they did, he's a king. Yeah, what are they going to say?
What are they going to say? King is king. Guess what kings do? I've just done a very royal thing.
So that's that's where David was, and Nathan the prophet, led by the Holy Spirit, comes to David. And he gives him a parable. He doesn't just come and wag his finger in his face and says, "You have sinned. What an awful thing you've done! You've committed adultery.
You've murdered. You have lied. You have usurped your throne." You know none of that. He simply says, "David, let me tell you a story." There was a rich man and a poor man. The rich man had many flocks and herds, but the poor man had this one little ewe lamb.
And this lamb had grown up in his family like it was his own daughter. Imagine that this little little little lamb, like Mary had, it would just come and he would pet it on the head.
Now go on, play, you know, and so. David's like, oh, okay, yeah, yep, yeah, yeah. I remember having a lamb because I was a shepherd. I get it, man. There was one.
Yeah, and then he goes on and says, one day the rich man had a had a visitor, and instead of taking from his own flock, I mean, he had this massive flock. He could have taken one of his own from the herds. He took the poor man's only lamb. And Nathan even even says it this way. He said he she ate from his table and drank from his cup.
I mean, dudes love this little lamb. Yeah, hit it one more time for the people just tuning in.
Now, just question for you, because you kind of grew up, you know, with animals around and like you had chickens and stuff. Would your would your mom or your grandmother ever allow a lamb at the table? Oh, they will allow a lamb on the table, but not on the table. But if they saw you inviting a lamb and you're a little kid, you're feeding the lamb from the cup. No, big trouble.
That would not. Be happening. That was all outside. Yeah, you you wouldn't let animals walk through your house. Right.
None of that. You know. No. That was that was unheard of. Yeah.
But this. But this man loves his only lamb, and so he took his only lamb, the one he he allowed to even eat from his own table, drink from his own cup, and of course he made mutton out of it. And served it to his his friend who was visiting. And David's reaction—I mean, he hits—I love David's the roof. I mean, he is upset over this fictional story.
Yeah, he said, "As the Lord lives, this man will surely die." I'm I'm watching this like an episode of The Office. Like, hey, David, Amen. I wouldn't have said I wouldn't have said that if I was you. He has a British accent too. Yeah, as the Lord lives, surely this man shall die.
Yeah, real, very, very formal, very Arthurian in his pronounce. And shall have to restore four times. Yeah. So not only is he gonna have to die, he gonna pay for he gonna pay four times. Yes.
And so once that is done. Nathan's response to David is is that very famous line, and the King James does it right. Thou art the man. Nathan activated his trap card. Yeah, you activated my trap card.
The man. I just imagine all that red anger that flushed David's face, flushed his cheeks, just kind of drains out. He's just pale, this sickly gray. Because he knows he knows this is a prophet from God.
So I mean, it's like, what am I going to do? What are you? What are you going to argue? Of course, he's telling the truth. Yeah, it's not like David was not under conviction.
I'm sure he was under conviction because when you read his psalm, Psalm fifty one, you can hear that remorse, that that sense of guilt and shame is there. But he tried to mask it. I mean, he had the Holy Spirit of God. People think the Holy Spirit came and left people in the Old Testament, and that's not true. The Holy Spirit came and indwelled people in the old, in the new, still today, and will until the end of time, and even in eternity past.
I mean, he will indwell people. Yeah. Does that mean that the church has replaced Israel? Absolutely not. We are in the church age, where Jewish people and Gentiles come together in this one body called church.
But that does not mean that Israel does not have a future.
So I just want to clarify those things because sometimes people think that when we talk about the Spirit indwelling believers. Whether Jewish or Hebrew or Israelites or whatever, or Gentiles who got saved in the Old Testament, that if if the Spirit indwelt them, then there is nothing distinct about the New Testament believers. And I am like, no, that's not true. You can still have the Holy Spirit doing what He's always doing, and still keep and maintain a distinction between Israel and the Church. You can still do that.
That's not hinging on that.
So, David's response to that simple declaration, "Thou art the man," was intense remorse. But what I want us to catch here is the purpose of the parable. The purpose of parables is to function like a mirror.
Now, what do you do with a mirror? You you look to see if your you know hair is combed, or if you know you need to change that attire, or is any smudge on your face. The purpose of the mirror is to expose what is happening to you.
So also the purpose of the parables is to reveal, expose the condition of our hearts. Yeah, that's a good question. You know, we we think about you know because we're not as Christians, we don't have what David had. We don't have someone who like is is has some sort of supernatural access to our sin to come and confront it. It's the parable itself.
It's the parables of Christ, the Word of God that does the exposing. Yeah, so you know, in the Gospels, you see Jesus speaking in parables to conceal from them because you think to yourself, like, why conceal it? Why don't you just explain to them? No, Jesus wants to hold up the mirror before their eyes so that they can see that they are actually the bad guys and repent. Yeah, so he's not going to sit here and say.
Okay, guys, let me explain to you.
Okay, if we go back to Isaiah, okay, we as Jewish people we love Isaiah. How can you not see me in Isaiah? Do you not understand those things? No, he's not going to do that for them. Yeah, if you're going to be stubborn and hard-hearted and unwilling to come in humility before the Son of God.
Well, he's going to tell you a story, and he's going to show you that you are an enemy of God in that story. And then, if that wakes you up, then the mystery of the kingdom is not a mystery anymore. And it did for some. We talked about that. Absolutely, there were several Pharisees who, and religious leaders, who came to faith, who started following Jesus, who saw themselves in that parable, right?
And they woke up and they said, "Oh my, this is the Son of God." Because many of the Pharisees followed Jesus. I think it's really telling because a lot of Christians will sit in a church service and hear the parables of Jesus be spoken, and they'll instantly they'll be like, "That reminds me, just of my sister." Just of my brother, he he he ought to be here in church today. And very rarely, I think a lot of people do, but rarely do we go. That's me. Yeah, that's that's not only was that me before Christ, that's me today.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I want to go through the parable of the sower because this is this is one that's really near and dear to my heart.
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So, Dr. Masha, the parable of the sower. This is this one's really special to me because I've said this on the show before, but this is actually what I heard that led me to Christ. I was in I was in a modular unit in 2007. You were pastor in 2007, right?
You were here. Yeah, I was in town. Yeah, I was. I was 15 years old, and I heard Bible study Wednesday night Bible study of the parable of the sower, and just like that, I was like, you know what? I know who Jesus is.
I've heard about this my whole life, but I don't think I'm that good soil. And I remember walking up to the youth pastor at the time and saying that, like, I don't think I'm that good soil. And he led me in a prayer, and I got saved that very night.
So I think this is. I'm really glad we're starting with this one. Yeah, this one's absolutely, absolutely.
So Ryan, you want to read for us Matthew chapter thirteen, verse three through verse nine. Matthew thirteen, starting in verse three. Then he spoke many things to them in parables. Saying, "Behold, a sower went out to sow, and as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them.
Some seed fell in stony places where they did not have much earth, and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away." And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
So let's dive in. Who is the sower? Jesus, in this particular parable, in this particular context, I should say. But then anybody who's ever sharing the good news. Of Jesus is the sower.
Yeah. What is the seed?
Well, Matthew calls it the word of the kingdom. Luke calls it the word of God because it's found in Matthew and in Luke. Either way, it's the gospel of the kingdom. What is the gospel of the kingdom? The gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Now, what are the different kinds of soils as you find here?
Well, for our mention, there is a wayside. There is a stony ground. There is the thorny ground, and then there is the good ground. There is basically no problem identifying the wayside and the last soil, like the good ground. The good ground.
If it's good ground, the seed is going to take root. We get yeah, yeah.
So let's go to the wayside. Jesus explains in verse nineteen. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
Now, what is a wayside? If you ever go to a farm, you know we live in a kind of a rural community in North Carolina. For those of you who are watching us or listening to us, you're wondering where we're at. We're in a kind of a small town that's about thirty forty minutes away from some very large cities, but we're still rural. Yeah, I mean you can.
Get in my truck and drive three minutes, and you will see fields. Yeah, that's a huge farm. Yeah, there's fields, there's trees, there's sky, like all around. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not uncommon to drive past like cows in a pasture.
Yeah, you know, I've had people, I've had people. It was funny because we took a trip up to New York in 2016 to visit Ellie's headquarters for her work, and they were asking that they were like, so like. North Carolina, like you just be passing like cows. I'm like, I mean, yeah, like they're not in a road, but they're like in the farm, like just just on a farm. You be driving, there's just cows and pigs.
I'm like, yeah, man, all the time. People and people are people are thrown by that. Yeah, but but. The wayside is something you see all the time around the fields. Is the path on the side of the farms where people, animals, wagons have have traveled for so long that the ground has become hard.
Yeah, you can't, you can't. Nobody's planting anything. Yeah, it's it's going to be impossible to do that now. Yeah. And of course, it represents the heart of the religious leaders—the Pharisees, the scribes, the Sadducees.
They cannot understand what Jesus is saying. That word in Greek is suneimi, which means to have an intelligent grasp of something. That challenges one's thinking or practice.
So it's not like it challenges in in terms of like I just can't get this, I can't understand it. This is more like I'm not going to accept this. It's not going to pierce that. The hardest kind of hardened there, right?
So this is not understanding as in comprehension. This is understanding as in reception. Yeah, yeah.
Do you do you ever have to? Because you're in the scholarly world. Are there scholars like that where it's like? Because hopefully, if you're a scholar, especially in biblical academics, you're Heart should be open to be like I really want to get to the bottom of this, and if I need to change my thinking, I will. But with scholars, do you ever find people who are just like, "This is my view," and I'm I'm sticking to that no matter what?
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Now let's get into the show. Yeah, unfortunately, yes, come across people like that, and they will see my view or, or the view of the other side, which would I would say would be more. Bible-based, or more conservative, or more evangelical—in a different ways, I'm saying the same thing, hopefully, or at least overlapping things. They look at those things as you're so naive, you're unwilling to see. the the hardcore truth.
I'm guessing like there are people who have traditions, and there's people who have this. This is the way that I grew up, and I'm not open to changing my mind. Yeah, they become they become stubborn against the things of God. For those of you who grew up on a farm, I mean, you know that path you have to drive on. That's your great great granddaddy.
Probably drove on, and great, great, great granddaddy probably, you know, drove a horse-drawn carriage or wagon on that same path, and there's that same rock at the same place on that path, and it's kind of smoothed out now, but it's been there. You don't stub your toe on it anymore. Why? Because it's been nice and rounded off, and you just kind of bump on it and keep on going, and you've been doing that all your life. It's just life.
That is what Jesus had in mind here. And what happens is when the gospel comes and the seeds fall on the wayside, Satan is perched nearby, waiting for an opportune time to swoop in, snatch away the seeds. And keep us, keep those people from ever receiving it into their hearts. No chance it will ever take root. No, that's the type of heart that Satan looks for: is a heart that is calloused, hardened over, and just content with the way that life is.
That's right. Yeah, the fourth soil is the good soil.
So we're we're dealing with one, two, three, four, but we're gonna focus on the first we just did and the fourth soil, and then we'll look at the second and the third. The good ground is very easy to understand. Verse twenty-three. But he who receives seed on the good ground is he who hears the words, a word, and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces some hundred, some sixty, some thirty.
So, not just hear it and understand it; it's got to produce. It's got to be, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's true. Because if good soil, good soil can't just accept the seed if nothing comes out of it, right? That's not good soil.
It would be a failed plant, we would say. the The seed has to germinate, has to produce. Yeah, good point. But then we come to the second and the third kinds of soil. This is the stony and the thorny grounds.
Stony. What did Jesus say in verse twenty? This is for those of you who are still tracking with us. We're talking about Matthew chapter thirteen, and verse twenty. But he who receives the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy.
Yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
Now this is kind of complicated because when it was two soils, I was pretty easy. I'm like, well, no, I can't be the first one, so I think I'm the fourth one, and we're all good. Yeah, it was easy, cut and dry. But now we get to this one, and it's like, oh man, that does kind of sound like me. Yeah, I kind of have to confront that.
And the thorny ground, verse twenty two. The explanation goes: Now, he who receives seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
So now the question is, who is this stony ground, and who is this thorny ground?
Some people have tried to. Identified them as immature Christians, carnal Christians, baby Christians, brand new, brand new Christians. Ain't nobody, yeah, nobody's perfect, yeah, nobody's perfect. Maybe, maybe I got saved and I'm the second soil, but I don't have to be that way forever. Yeah, is that kind of how people take?
Yeah, that sometimes they they tend to think that, and they think you know we need to be like the fourth kind of soil. You know, but many times our flesh gets in the way, and we get troubled by situations in life, and you know the desire to be rich.
So, how do we see them? Do we see them as baby Christians, immature, carnal Christians? That's a tough one. I would say, listen to what Jesus said in verse ten. This is Matthew thirteen, verse ten.
And the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance. But whoever does not have even what he has will be taken away from him.
So, how do we solve this problem as to who Jesus is referring to?" By these four kinds of soils, especially the second and the third one, the stony and the thorny grounds, go back to the mirror analogy. How do you know whether or not you belong to the second or third soils? If you can see that it's you, and you are willing to change, then it's not you. If I can see, okay, I I had I got saved and I was on fire for a long time, but lately my faith has started to wane. I I need to ask Jesus to help me with this.
Then Jesus is not talking about you because you still have received the good soil. You still are in soil. You are still bearing fruit. That's right. Yeah.
If you cannot see, on the other hand, if you cannot see that it's you and you're you think it's someone else, someone else, then it is you. Who? That's tough. That is tough. Then the tribulations of life have choked you, and and and or or you have stumbled, and the thorns of life have choked you.
I think it's a great analogy. I think this this whole thing with the mirror it really does make us confront what it is that Jesus is saying. Because you are exactly right. If you listen to this, and you and someone else pops into your mind. You know, my struggling friend, or my parents, or my brother, or whoever else needs to hear this, and you don't pop into your.
It's just like looking into a mirror and saying, "Man, my wife looks terrible today." Nobody, nobody does that. It's nonsensical, but we treat God's word like that because. I'm saved. I'm going to heaven. Whereas this is this is so much more about the the status and the nature of your heart.
Yeah, parables. This parable and others. Parables exist so that we can see ourselves, not other people, right? And make the changes. Yeah.
Now, somebody, our sound engineer asked the question. David asked the question. What if it's you, but you don't feel ready to change? That's a great question. Is that an immature Christian?
Is that a carnal Christian? Is that a baby Christian who is doing that? Not feeling ready to change, you know. That I disagree with that. Yeah, because a true believer will feel ready to change.
They may at times not know how to change. You know, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. They don't know the truth. Yeah, that can happen. But if you say, "I don't feel," Ready to change.
Then there's a deeper problem, yeah. Because I'm introducing my, I'm starting to become a judge there. Right. I'm starting to introduce my own will and my own agency into this problem. And so Jesus, I'll take your truth, but I mean, I'm going to take it when I'm ready to take it.
Yeah. I would be interested to know from that person why, why, why are you not ready to change? Why do you not feel like you're ready to change? Because if somebody's holding onto something, I mean, do you truly grasp the concept of the gospel and and the urgency of the gospel? And that's why we talked a lot about this.
You know, this. Series getting to know God because we want the reality of your sin and the reality of where you're going. If you truly don't have Christ in your heart, to be such that man, the only option I've got is to change. The only option I'm, and it's not something I can just change, right?
Well, you know, we invite Jesus into our heart, and He does the changing. But the desire to change is the key. Yeah, yeah, I think you're right. You know, and so if you have the desire to change, you say, "Well, I'm not changing, and I don't have any desire at all." That's a that's a salvation problem, right? But if you have the desire to change, but you fail, you still are not the stony and the thorny ground.
A desire to change means I do want to stop this. I do want this to not grip, grab hold of me. The the fear of life, the the lure of life. I don't want it to to. Choke my life.
Yeah. Yes. That's that's a good sign. That's the Holy Spirit who indwells you, who is giving you the strength and the courage to make the change, or to at least understand that change has to come, and you're you're keep cooperating with God. Does that mean you're lost?
No. It just means you need to keep cooperating with God. That's such a good point because if we if we think about that wrongly, then we risk falling into the category of I was good ground, but now I become stony ground. I become thorny ground because life has been difficult and I've struggled and I've fallen away from God, and now now I'm no longer good soil. But I need to get back to being good soil.
But when we think about it rightly, if you have a desire to fight against sin, if you have a desire to follow God, you are good soil. That's right. Maybe it's the thirty thirtyfold. Is maybe you're you're right now bearing maybe only five. Yeah, yeah.
But but hopefully by God's grace, you will bear more. What if you never do? You still by God's grace. Are are going? We're going to implore you to bear fruit.
That's right. And and Doctor Shaw, I think you've encouraged a lot of people here today who really may have heard that parable, read that parable, and thought, "Man, I'm not nearly who I should be." And fair enough. But that desire to change—if someone has that desire right now, or how about this? Maybe there's someone listening that says, "You know what?" I think the seed is falling by the wayside, but I'm ready right now. Wow!
I want to make that decision right now. I want to. I want to be that good soil. How can they do it? Absolutely, which means you are willing to let the Holy Spirit.
Plow the soil of your heart, and He will do it. It's not going to take Him hours and days and months and years. He's going to plow that heart right away, and He's going to plant the seed of the gospel of Jesus Christ in your heart. And here's the gospel: Jesus, God's Son, came two thousand years ago, as promised by God in His Word. As the people of God were waiting, He came and He fulfilled every single thing that was said about Him.
And then he lived a perfect, sinless life, fully God, fully man. Gave his life on the cross for your sins. You know, only the blood can make remission for our sins. You cannot die for your sins. I cannot die for your sins.
You cannot do enough good in this world to satisfy the holiness of God. Only death can do it. And it cannot be a death of a sinner. It has to be the death of a perfect, holy person. And there is only one, and that is God's Son.
He died. He was buried, but he rose again because he is God. That's right. Because he did not sin. He was dying for my sins, not his sins.
And he rose again. And all you have to do. Is to receive Him, Amen. What better way to end off the episode about the the Parable of the Sower and telling you how to become that good soil, telling you how to receive that seed with glad hearts and allow the Word of God to grow in you and produce. Yeah, our our goal on this show, and I know we're out of time, but we truly want to see you bearing fruit in your life.
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