It's John here from Clearview today. Before we jump in quick shout out to today's sponsor Mighty Muscadine If you've been looking for a natural way to support your health, these guys are doing it right from 100% muscadine grape juice to really high quality supplements Everything they make is handcrafted. It's backed by science and best of all It's grown right here in our home state of North Carolina visit mighty muscadine.com use promo code today That's t-o-d-a-y at checkout and you're gonna get 10% off your order and every time you use that code you are directly helping us here at the Clearview Today Show continue spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So thank you for that. Thank you to Mighty Muscadine for sponsoring this episode. Let's jump in. We spend years dedicating our life to the service of the ministry, the service of Jesus Christ himself. And just when we're expecting God to honor those years of service and put us next in line for his blessings, he puts us all the way in the back.
How do we get our award? Let's unpack it together on the Clearview Today Show. You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abadhan 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 back in the studio with our host, Dr. Abadhan Shah. If you're listening for the very first time today, we want to hear from you.
252-429-6069. That number is 252-429-6069. Dr. Shah, it's good to have you guys back. It's good to be back, back home.
You know what's funny is we did a lot of planning and a lot of pre-recording.
So if people don't listen to the Live Thursday show, they don't even know you guys were gone. Yep. They were like- Magic of radio. That's the magic of editing. We had a great time.
You were in Egypt following the Exodus route all the way from Goshen crossing over. if you believe that the Red Sea was somewhere in the Gulf of Suez line, then they crossed over the Red Sea. But some people believe it's more the Gulf of Aqaba. That's where the Red Sea crossing happened. But we followed the entire trail, came down south into the Sinai Peninsula, and then made our way towards Nueva, which is on the Gulf of Aqaba.
us.
So we were just following the Exodus route, but we were gone for 11, 12 days. And John here held the fort and thank you so much for doing that. He did a great job. Thank you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity for sharing your wisdom with us and with everybody who's listening right now.
I think you guys did a great, great job. I saw some of the footage from the filming project and I can tell you this, something new is about to happen. Like God is going to do something really great in that footage and through y'all's trip. I appreciate you guys taking that trip. And one thing I wanted to kind of bring us back to is that in radio world with people listening, there's been no break.
But for us, we were talking about the parables. We hadn't talked about the parables in a little bit. Yeah. I mean, we missed talking about it, even though for those of you who are just listening to the radio show, it seems like, what do you mean you were not? Because we recorded three weeks ago and made sure our radio shows would go on without a pitch.
That's right. But parables, parables are, have been very, very, you know, engaging for people. They have learned so much because you think parables are, were given by Jesus, like illustrations are given by preachers to make things simpler, clearer. But to the contrary, Jesus gave parables so that those who understood or those who were receptive will understand even better. Yeah.
I think that's how people read their Bibles in a fresh light, because you understand the depth of the parables. You understand the intention behind Jesus giving this more than just an object lesson, or like you said, more than just a sermon illustration. This is meant to hold up a mirror and say, do you see yourself? Where do you see yourself in this parable? And also to obscure the truth from those who would not hear it.
Yeah. There's stories with real life stakes. You know what I mean? Like it's not a story just, oh, okay, I get the point you're making. It's like, if you don't see yourself in this, if you shut yourself off to this conviction, it's going to make you understand the gospel even less.
Right. That is so true because Because sometimes we think, if I can only explain this more to this fellow right here, or your girlfriend who is not saved and very, very anti-hearing the truth, receiving Christ, getting saved. If I can just explain it a little bit better, then they will take it. To the contrary, if they keep rejecting it, it will become even harder for them to understand. Yeah.
It's just how life works.
So your prayer should be, God, keep opening their eyes. Your commitment should be, Lord, I am not going to give up on this person, but I need the Holy Spirit. That's right. To help them, to soften their hearts, to open their eyes, to open their hearts that they can see who Christ is. Yeah.
Because if they keep shutting it off, it's just going to get more and more difficult. And talking about today's parable, I think it's funny because a lot of Christians will do this. They'll take it all on themselves to explain the gospel, to do all these things, invent these shows, invent these programs. But then they'll turn around and say something like, you know, I'm not doing it for any reward. I'm just doing it because it's the right thing to do.
And I think about that and it's like, it sounds like the Christian thing to say, but it's like, man, you're more holy than the Apostle Paul. Because Paul said he was doing this for the reward. And nobody these days wants to say that. Right. We don't want to do it.
One of the questions our sound engineer, David, asked is, you know, based on what we just said about the parables, that if you are receptive, you're going to understand even more. But if you are rejecting, then you'll understand even less.
So his question is, is it better to share less or just add prayer? And my answer would be, no, you should never share less. Don't give up. Don't throw in the towel. Don't punt it to God.
Keep sharing. Keep going at it. And when I say sharing, means don't be obnoxious, but find ways to keep in touch with that person, to keep inviting them to events in the church or to a small group study or something like that. Don't give up on them. But always remember, opening the person's heart is not based on reason and logic.
It's based on the Holy Spirit's work. Yeah? But he uses your reason and logic to do that. That's right. That's a great point.
So going back here to what John just asked about rewards, right? We think if we're faithful, if we are doing what's right, then there's a lot of rewards coming. And to the contrary, here in this situation, Jesus sort of reverses that. And he says the last will be first and the first will be last. A phrase we repeat often, but I don't think we quite understand the implications of what it is that we're saying.
Well, because I don't think it applies to me. Right. Like, yeah, I'm going to make myself last as in I'm going to be humble and I'm going to think of others first. Everyone look at how humble I am. Check out my humility.
But I'm doing that so that I know I'm going to be first because that's what Jesus said. Right. Yeah. Well, let's read it for the benefit of our listeners. Matthew chapter 20, verses 1 through 16.
It's a long passage, but I think it's going to help us understand what we're talking about. for the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day he sent them into his vineyard and when he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace he said to them you also go into the vineyard and whatever is right i will give you so they went again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did likewise And about the 11th hour he went out and found others standing idle and said to them why have you been standing here idle all day They said to him, because no one hired us. He said to them, you also go into the vineyard and whatever is right, you will receive.
So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, call the laborers and give them their wages beginning with the last to the first. And when those came who were hired about the 11th hour, they each received a denarius. When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they received it, they complained against the landowner saying, these last men have worked only one hour and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day. But he answered one of them and said, friend, I am doing you no wrong.
Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go away. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I'm good?
So the last will be first and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen. Let's take a quick break. Hey guys, John here with the Clearview Today show, and I want to just take a second and talk to you about today's sponsor, WatchSafe. If you're a parent, you know that your child going on YouTube unsupervised is a no-go.
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Now let's get into the show. I think it's one of those things where this is the one where we don't want the parable to really be a mirror because I know exactly which laborer I am yeah I know exactly if I've been out there in that field sweating all day and somebody comes in one hour and they work an hour and they get the same pay as me I'm gonna have some thoughts about it well I know that I agreed to this wage but I've done more work than him so surely I deserve more pay I don't want you to give me more money I just don't want him to get the same as me. Yeah, that's not fair. And like we can laugh about it, but we all know like that's us. Yeah.
That's us.
Well, the thing is this parable is probably one of the three most difficult parables of Jesus. Scholars have argued about it, the identity of those laborers, the reasoning, the justification for this uneven reward or wages. It is difficult because it's hard to identify whom Jesus meant when he said in verse 16, the last will be first and the first will be last. Who was he talking about? Was he talking about the Pharisees and the scribes?
Were they the first ones and the last ones, tax collectors and sinners? Or were the last the disciples of Jesus? I mean, we don't, you know, that's one of the reasons why people have a lot of questions. In my opinion, we have to begin in verse, you know, Matthew 19 and verse 16, which is like 15 verses earlier. That's where I think we need to begin because that gives us the context in how to understand this.
Yeah, that's a great point. Jesus didn't just drop like random platitudes. He didn't just, it wasn't just parable, parable, parable, parable, parable. It's told within the context of the audience that he's interacting with. That's correct.
I found a lot of the Bible is that way where like I'll take a verse. And that's why it's so easy for us to cherry pick passages and use them is because we're not looking at the full context. Jesus gave that story for a reason to a specific group of people. That's right. Well, in this context, in Matthew 19, we find the encounter that Jesus had with this rich young ruler.
Remember that? He came to Jesus asking him what he should do to have eternal life. and Jesus told him, go keep the commandments. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal, on and on and on. The young man very confidently replied, I've already done that. Done. Yeah. Check.
Everything is checked. I'm not just saying that to Jesus' face. Yeah, I'm good. Jesus, I'm done. I did that.
Done. Game over. Yeah, and so Jesus raised the difficulty level and said to him in verse 421, this is Matthew 19, 21, if you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. Like bro should have just been like, yes, sir. And then go on and keep it in command.
Yeah. I mean, why did Jesus tell him that? After all, Jesus didn't say that to Nicodemus. Yeah, Nicodemus was rich, wasn't he? Yeah, he could have said, sell all you have, give to the poor, come follow me.
Because Nicodemus, like he said, was a rich man. In fact, he actually said the opposite when the woman broke the expensive alabaster flask. Remember that? She broke it at his feet. It had perfume in it.
And lointed his feet with all that perfume. And everybody was like, hey, we could have used that. We could have fed the poor with that. Right. And Jesus then said in Mark 14, 6, let her alone.
She has done a good work for me. Why in the world is he doing this here in Matthew 19? Go sell what you have. Give to the poor. Come follow me.
Yeah. Why is it money now? Right. The reason Jesus told the young man to sell all, give to the poor and follow him is because it's not that he was a rich man, but it's because he was possessed by his possessions. His possessions had hold of him.
Wow. Right. He was, his things or his money or his assets had a chokehold on him. Yeah, the fact that he had wealth wasn't the issue, is that his wealth, just like you said, had a hold of him. Right.
It's not wrong to possess things, but it is wrong to be possessed by those things. Possessing riches is not a problem. There were many rich people in the Bible and many rich Christians throughout history. but riches possessing you is a problem. That's true.
When that happens, your attitude is what matters. It's not how much money you have in the bank account. You may have only $500, maybe $50, but if you're obsessed with it, obsessed with it, then there's a big problem. I think that's a great reminder because I think a lot of people think that the only way that you can get rich is by being obsessed with money. The only way you can get rich in this life is to take advantage of people and be obsessed with money.
But I know some of the poorest people, all they think about is their money and how they don't got it and how they got to hold on to what they got and survive and all this stuff. And I think that's a great reminder for people. Right. And again, I want to clarify something for someone out there who may use this because there's always people, I call them agitators. They may take that passage and say, you know, all you have to do, sell this, give to the poor, follow Jesus.
All this by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves It is a gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast I mean those are contradictory messages I saw a reel recently where Bart Ehrman is talking to a podcast host or maybe it's his own show, I don't know. He was talking about how there are contradictions in the Bible, contradictions in the Gospels. And I was like, come on, come on. You've been beating that drum for what, 30-something years now? Come on, you know better.
You know, you understand the basic exegetical principles that you need to use your context. And yet right here he is doing this entire show to, you know, expose the contradictions in the Bible. Context, context, context. Coming to Jesus does not mean that you have to give up everything. It simply means that Jesus is everything.
And there's a big difference there. Yes. There's a big difference because Jesus being your everything, he's going to give you those riches. He's going to like, you know, and a lot of times it doesn't mean like monetary riches. He's going to bless your life.
But Jesus becoming everything does not mean that suddenly I've got nothing. Right. Yeah. Today's episode is sponsored by WatchSafe. We've all been there before, right?
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Now let's get back to the show. Where does that mindset come from?
Some sort of like just almost like monastic, like reject all my earthly possessions, all earthly comforts. Yeah, and I think there is a place to being willing to submit everything to Christ and following him. My dad did that. You know, when he became a Christian, he had to, in a sense, give up all his inheritance, all the family wealth that he had, the prestige that he had, the opportunities that were there for him. His life was laid out for him.
Nothing. He did not have to worry about anything. And then to walk away from all of that because he found Christ. I mean, that's a big sacrifice. But don't misunderstand that to mean that that's what you got to do to be saved.
But it is a big hindrance. If you're wealthy, that's not the problem. But if your wealth possesses you, you may be poor and have a problem. Yeah. You know, one thing Jesus said in verse 23, which is the same section, Matthew 19, 23, assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
And again, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And the disciples were shocked at the statement. I mean, they're like, who then can be saved? And Jesus replied in verse 26, with men, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible.
If people are listening and they're sort of maybe doing a mental inventory of their bank account or the possessions that they have, what are some warning signs that a person could look for that would say maybe your possessions are starting to possess you? Yeah, great. Great point. I would say what keeps you up at night? What do you worry about?
What is that one thing that you think will take you under? I'm not even saying you're a lost person. I'm talking to everybody. Lost or saved. If you're sitting up wondering and worrying and full of anxiety and fear of what's going to happen to you if you lose this thing.
Now, if you're just sitting on your couch and just not working and not hustling and doing what needs to be done to bring a paycheck or generate some money to pay your bills, then there's something wrong with you, but you're doing all that. And you're still sitting there wondering, Oh my goodness, how are we going to make it? How are you going to make it? How then, then money has become your master. I think that's a great point.
And you pray and you, you start journaling and you start doing all these things, your devotions, because you're hoping that God's going to see that and then give you a little bit of extra money because of your, your obedience there. And I'd like how, I like how in the next verse, even Peter kind of turns it and Peter's like, well, you know, we've, we've all left you, we've all left, you know, everything to follow you.
So, So what am I going to get for that? And there is this idea that, hey, I did what you said.
Now, where's my reward? See, unlike the rich young ruler who did not want to leave his wealth or sell his possessions, give to the poor and follow Jesus, these guys had left all and had followed Jesus. Peter simply wanted to know what will be my reward. And now you've got all the modern day Christians being like, silly, Peter. Jesus is not going to reward you for that.
There's no reward for leaving all and following him. Right. So Jesus said to them, this is verse 28, Matthew 19. Jesus said to them, Surely I say to you in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my name's sake shall receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life hello no no you're just supposed to do it because it's the right thing you're just supposed to do it and then you're supposed to suffer and then you just get to be in you you should do it because it's the right thing and also there's a reward yeah the disciples are like all right are we getting paid.
You're about to make some money. And when he said that, that's when Jesus added to this, but many who are first will be last and the last first. You can almost imagine the disciples saying, wait, wait, what did you just say? Hold on. Take that back one more time.
I think I missed it. Isn't it first we give and then we get, and those who give first get first? Right. Like I sacrificed first, I get my reward first. First in, first out.
I mean, that makes sense. Yeah. And even though the disciples had given up their earthly possessions to follow Jesus, they were still operating by earthly principles. What was that book you recommended that one time about leaders always should be the last to eat? Yeah.
Wasn't that, was that the title of the book? Like leaders eat last, leaders eat last or something like that? Where is this, it was this principle that you gave to us where, hey, look, you come in early, you guys open up the church, you guys are leaders. You are making things happen, but the leaders eat last. They make sure that everybody else eats first.
That's right. I think it's that same principle. Like even though there's some sacrifice there, the sacrifice doesn't stop when it comes time for those rewards. That's right. He'll make sure everyone else gets their stuff.
That's right. And that's when Jesus gave the parable of the landowner going out early in the morning to get some laborers to work in his vineyard. Those that came early in the morning were the first disciples not the Pharisees not the scribes because that what we think they came first and the disciples came later No in the context it was the disciples who came first and who will come later Well we see in a minute. And so the disciples, Peter, James, John, Andrew, and the other eight. And since there weren't enough laborers, the landowner went back in the third hour and still there weren't enough.
So he goes back at the 6th, the 9th, and the 11th hour. Everything was great until it was time for the wages. And the disciples were thinking they were going to be the new leaders, not the Pharisees, the scribes who rejected Jesus. They're done. They're done.
We are the new leaders. We're the ones who are obedient. We've been following Jesus. We give up everything. We showed up at the first hour.
and that's when jesus said no the 11th hour got paid first second the 11th hour people got the same amount of promise to the first hour people and the first hour people did not get any extra reward i think people listening may be confused is no when he's talking about these rewards like i've got to wait i'm even though i was first i'm going to be last for my rewards are these rewards in heaven or these earthly like blessings well i mean i would say a little bit of both happening here.
So we're really here talking about more about this side. We're not talking about the rewards in heaven quite here in this context. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 8, each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. That is on the other side. The reward in this life are the presence of God, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the joy of the Lord, the peace that passes all understanding, the riches we have in Christ.
If you read Ephesians chapter one, it talks a lot about the riches in Christ. The first ones don't get an extra helping. Like I got the mother load of the Holy Spirit here. Right, like I was saved when I was 15 years old. Therefore, when I'm 50 and my friend over here just got saved, I have like- You have that many more years of- Yeah, I've got like 10 times the grace.
Thanks. Right, right, right. No, it doesn't work that way. Don't work like that.
So we're not saying that any new believer can get up and start teaching and preaching, okay? That does not mean that, man, he just got in, put him in there. That's one thing that Paul talks about in 1 Timothy. Don't let a novice take those positions of authority or teaching because they may fall into pride and fall into the same condemnation as the devil.
So we're not talking about that. At the same time, if a person just gets saved, they don't have any less of the Holy Spirit than somebody who's been saved for 60, 70 years. That's what we're talking about here.
So the reward here is not the crowns we will have in heaven based on our faithfulness, our obedience. The rewards are basically the wages. I feel like a lot of people listening to this are guilty of feeling this, even though we have enough sense to not say it. Like we have enough sense not to go, well, you know, I've been saved my whole life and I don't know why God. Maybe we do.
I don't know. But I feel like most people would have enough sense not to verbalize that. But there's some resentment. There's some bitterness. There is some idea that like I've been obedient.
I've made the sacrifices and I'm still not seeing it. How do you encourage those people?
Well, I mean, it's by faith. You know that what God has said is done. You have the same gifts that anybody else has. You have to be obedient to God and start using the gifts that he's given to you. The Holy Spirit is given to you.
Listen to his voice regarding your sin life, regarding your talents, regarding your obedience and sharing the gospel, regarding your obedience and encouraging and strengthening other people in the body of Christ, regarding your obedience and being the salt and the light of the world. All that you need has been given to you. You got there first, great. You got there last, great. Either way, it has been given to you.
Again, we're not talking about heavenly rewards. That's different. But earthly wages are talking about the things that belong to all of us. That's why at our church, there are no levels of Christians.
Sometimes some churches do that. These are the top tier Christians and the second tier. You get the platinum tier Christians. Yeah. And, you know, very interesting here in Matthew chapter 20 and verse 12, when those people began to fuss, it says here, these last men have worked only one hour and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and heat and the heat of the day.
But he answered one of them and said, friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Isn't that lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?
Or is your eye evil because I am good? Are there rewards in heaven? Yes. Are they based on our faithfulness? Yes.
Will some have more, others have less? Yes. but in this life the rewards are more our inheritance that god has promised to every single person and it is the same god does not show favoritism that's right based on when you got saved or how much bible knowledge you have it's simply based on his nature that's right god fulfills his promises to us so then the word to us is come to jesus today that's right don't delay let today be the day of salvation for you and God will give you the wages that he's promised, which is the reward of the Holy Spirit in this life. That's right. You'll have the fullness of his grace and you'll know that God's fullness just as is in my life and in Ryan's life and Dr.
Shah's life, so also in your life. The goal of this show is to help you experience that every single day. That's why we hope that you keep listening every day to the Clearview Today Show. One of the ways you can help people is by heading over to the Clearview Today Show to abadonshah.com forward slash give and becoming a financial sponsor of the Clearview Today Show. It's through generous givers like you that help us do what we do and help us get the message of the gospel across the airwaves.
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Thank you.
