Tuesday, April. 25th | Pious Thieves (pt. 2)

Welcome back, everyone. Today is Tuesday, April the 25th. I'm Ryan Hill.

I'm John Galantis. You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abaddon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at ClearviewTodayShow.com. If you have any questions for Dr. Shah or suggestions for future topics, send us a text at 252-582-5028, or you can email us at contact at ClearviewTodayShow.com.

That's right. You guys can help us keep this conversation going by supporting this podcast, sharing it online, leaving us a good review on iTunes, Spotify, anywhere you get your podcasting content from. We're going to leave a link in the description of this podcast so you can do just that. Before anything else... You know what time it is. I know what... What I need to know is if you know what time it is. I know what time it is. Do you know what time it is? It is 2 46 p.m. on a Tuesday. But what time is it?

Oh, you're right. It's time for the verse of the day. I'm going to hit you with one of these right here, brother.

People listening on the radio have no idea what's happening. But I'll give you one back. First Peter 2 11. Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from the fleshly lusts which war against the soul.

I love the language there. Peter is pleading with his audience. He's saying, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims... And that's people who are not native to this place. This is not your home. You are a sojourner. You are a pilgrim. You are here for a limited time as you continue your journey back to your original destination. And there's going to be things that distract you from your goal and distract you from that journey and try to destroy that desire that you have to complete the journey. That's the hardest part of taking any adventure is finishing it. Everybody loves to start a new adventure.

That's fun. And it's thrilling. And it's this big thing of hope. And that's a lot of times what the Christian life is, is you're starting this new adventure very, very difficult to complete it because things are going to serve to distract you and serve as obstacles for you.

But Peter says these distractions are actually at war with us. You know what I mean? Abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.

And that's where the Holy Spirit kind of comes in because he gives you confidence and boldness knowing that he's with you on that journey. Amen. You want to do the gripe vine?

I do. We had a really good gripe vine the other day. We did. And I have another gripe that is ripe for the harvest. Wait, let me pluck the gripe real quick. That should be our new thing. We got to pluck the gripe.

All right, ready. So my gripe is about dusting. What does that mean?

Like as a chore, you dust the surfaces off in your house. I'm not following. You don't?

No, I'm not familiar. Okay. Continue. I don't know what that word means. It is a pointless chore. It's pointless.

Why? Because dusting is not... It doesn't mean your house is dirty. It doesn't mean your house is filthy.

It's not like this film of grime and grossness. It is just the fact that there are people, beings living there. It's hair follicles. It is a little bit of dust and stuff in the air. It's just skin cells as your body kind of naturally loses them and they just collect on surfaces and you dust them and then you have to do it again. And you dust them and you have to do it again.

Yeah, but dusting? Doing dishes is pointless then. Right, but I need the dishes to eat on. I don't need the top of my bookshelf.

Okay. No one even sees the top of my bookshelf. Okay, I'm with you.

I'm with you. So I have to just real quick dust it because people are like, oh, gross. Your house is dusty? Your house is dusty. Yeah, because people live here.

It's because people live here, Bethany. But if it's dusty, then it's going to become musty. Not necessarily.

Not necessarily. But people, they walk in and they see dust and they're like, oh, wow. What happens when your mom comes over? That's like a pile of filth. No, what happens when your mom comes over? No, it's not.

It's because people live here. And you know the bad thing? Sorry, I'm on a roll here. No, go for it.

Go for it. The bad thing is the more people you have in your house, right? We have this big family. We love each other.

We have pets. The more people you have, the worse it is. The more often you have to dust. Where does the dust come from? Does it come from people?

Us. Do we just put on dust? We are dust. And to dust, we shall return.

The Bible says that. Yeah, I get that. But I'm saying like, why? Okay, so like your mom, let me paint a picture for you. Your mom comes over and she wants to see the kids. Already on edge. And she, oh my goodness.

No, I'm just kidding. She walks in and she's like, hey Ryan, hey Elizabeth. Oh, oh, oh. And she just takes out a glove and she's like, hee hee hee. She's like, hee hee hee hee.

She's like, Ryan, you want to explain this? Yeah, there's the door. Nope. If I want to be dusty in my house, I should be able to be dusty. That's crazy to me that you don't. Now, we dust. That is a chore that I do. I just, it is my least favorite of all the chores.

I hate it. Because you feel like you don't need a non-dusty house. And I get like, you got to take the trash out always. You got to do the dishes always. You got to do laundry always.

I understand all of that. But dusting is just mind numbingly pointless. I suspect that you were made to dust a lot as a kid and you, yes. So that's where this is. I hate it.

That's where all this is coming from. Because I don't think you want to live in a dusty house. And I don't know if you'd be okay with living in a dusty house.

I think you just hate the process of dusting. So I say, I say, I say, I say, make one of the kids do it. I say, I say, I say. That's great. Except the problem is they are still kids. So they can't reach those. So did you ever watch Ed, Edd n Eddy?

Human Ladder, they just like up on each other's shoulders. No, no, no, no, no, no. Cause then we're going to the hospital because somebody broke their head. I got you. All right.

Well, I'm truly so sorry. Have you just tried not doing chores? Yeah. But then chores don't get done. True.

So like, like I don't, I don't want there to be dust and I don't want to have to dust it either. So there, here's my catch 22. Like I can't live in both. I need to think on this one. I need to think on this one.

Let's ponder this. I'm usually pretty good at getting out of chores, but I might need to think on this one. Write in, let us know what your, what's your pointless chores.

What's, what's the one that you hate to do? Cause I know, I know you have one. Nobody's like, Oh, chores. Wow. I love it.

Let me Snow White call the animals in to help me. None of you are like that. I know.

And if you say you are, you're lying to me and don't lie. Don't lie on clear view today. Don't do that to me. I'm already irritated about the, sorry, I'm irritated about the dust. It's okay, man. It's going to be fine. Write in and let us know what your pointless chore is.

What's the one that you hate doing? Two five two five eight two five zero two eight. We're continuing our conversation on Malachi today. I have loved walking through this book and I'm kind of sad to see it start to get to a close, but like we've said, if you've really had your interest piqued by these episodes and you want to learn more, all of Dr. Shaw's messages on the book of Malachi are available on his blog, abidonshaw.com and on our church's website clearviewbc.org.

So go check those out. We're going to get Dr. Shaw and we'll be right back. Hey everyone, my name's Ellie and I'm David. We want to take a minute and let you know how we can actually serve you as you're listening to Clearview today. The Bible paints an extraordinary picture of who we are as a church body. The mission of Clearview church is to lead all people into a life changing, ever-growing relationship with Jesus Christ. A huge part of leading people is praying for them. A big reason that Christians have unanswered prayers in their life is because they're not praying.

You know, first John 5 15 says, and if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of him. If you're listening to the Clearview today show, we want to know how we can pray for you as well. There's a number of ways that you can get in touch with us at Clearview and share your prayer requests. But the best way is by texting us at 252-582-5028. You can also send us an email at prayer at clearviewbc.org or you can download the Clearview app on iTunes or Google play.

You know, on that app, there's a dedicated prayer wall that helps us to get to know what's going on in your life, how we can pray for you and how we can take any necessary steps to get you moving in the right direction. Thanks for listening. Now let's get back to the show. Welcome back to Clear View today with Dr. Abbadon Shaw, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at clearviewtodayshow.com. If you have any questions or suggestions for new topics, send us a text at 252-582-5028.

That's right. And if today's your first time ever tuning into the show, we want to make you feel welcome. Let you know who's talking to you today. Dr. Abbadon Shaw is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor and the host of today's show. You can find all of his work on his website. That's abbadonshaw.com. And before we get started, I actually had a review come in and I thought we could read it on the air. I was really thrilled by this. It's a Facebook review from Stacey Kaye right here in North Carolina.

I'm so thrilled, y'all. I started listening to the Clear View Today podcast a couple of weeks ago on Spotify, and I started it at the very first episode, which was from October 2022, in hopes to eventually catch up to where they're currently recording. Well, as of today, I'm finally caught up to the year 2023.

This is the April episode. Wow. In a few weeks? Yeah. Wow. She really was enjoying Clear View today. Still got a little ways to go before I start getting to the current recordings.

But, hey, hashtag small victories. If you haven't listened to the podcast, number one, it's hilarious. Number two, it's informational.

And number three, it's super relatable. 10 out of 10, Stacey Kaye. Oh, by the way, if I may clarify, if it's the same Stacey Kaye that I think it is, Virginia resident.

Not North Carolina. Oh! Yeah, absolutely. Stacey, thank you so much. Appreciate that review. That's awesome. We're continuing our conversation today. We began the conversation yesterday talking, continuing through Malachi, continuing through what God is talking to the Israelites about their disobedience, how they've been rebelling against God, or they've been just kind of stagnant in their faith. And we began the conversation yesterday centered specifically around tithing. Yes. Dr. Sean, do you want to talk, really, we mentioned three different tithes that were expected of the Israelites yesterday. Do you want to briefly recap those for our listeners?

Yeah. And, you know, God did not let up on them just because, you know, number one, they had been ripped away from their homeland, you know, about a generation ago. Their parents probably died on the way or died in Judah or maybe died in Persia, probably died in Persia or, you know, Medo-Persia. They did not, God did not let up on them because they were the few who came back, you know, left the land of opportunity because that's what Babylon became for them.

But they actually left and came back. God didn't let up on them because they were willing to build the temple and they were willing to build the walls of the temple. God didn't let up on any of those, on them for any of those things. Because we have an idea that, you know, if we do good, then God's going to give us a pass over the bad things. God doesn't do that. You know, his ultimate goal is to prepare us for eternity, is to make us more like Jesus Christ. That's what he wants us to be.

Have our own personalities, no wrong, nothing wrong with the personalities, but in character, he wants each and every believer from the beginning, from the Garden of Eden till the end of time to look, resemble his son in character. So he's going to make us go through times of testing. He's going to make us have to sacrifice. The tithing is a way of sacrificing. And it's also a way of showing our faith in God, that money is not God, but God is God.

And also that God will take care of us. That's the whole point behind tithing. I mean, God doesn't need money. What is he going to do with the money? I mean, he owns everything. You know, he owns us. He could just any moment just like snap his fingers.

We're all gone. And he's got all the money in the world. What's he going to do with that?

He doesn't need it. That's such a great point because even the money that we have, the finances that we are so clutching close to ourselves, God gave you those finances in the first place. He's the one who gave you the ability to work, the ability to earn that money. He blessed you with the opportunity.

It belongs to him anyway. So he wants us to create this economy where, okay, you give that money, but you give it back then to the temple, but now to the church or the churches and so that they can pay the people who do the work. In the temple, it was the Levites, the priests, but in the churches now is the staff. So they can make a living, take care of their families, pay their bills, and they can lead in worship, teach the word and minister to the people and reach the lost. So pay them. God is not saying like, give me the money so I can buy things.

He's like, no. So they can do what needs to be done for the kingdom of God. And in the process you'll be benefited. Yeah. I think people tend to use that argument. Well, it's not for us as humans, it's for God, but we're not painting God out to be like some dragon who's sitting on his hoard of money that he can't spend or he can't do anything with. It was always, like you said, it was always for the continuation of the community being able to worship, having a place, a physical place together.

That's right. And to worship God, to love each other, to support each other through difficult times and to reach the lost through the same gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the history. So that's what tithes really are for. Also to help those in need. You know, when you tithe, when you give your offerings, people have no idea how much we're helping people, at least at this church.

It's unbelievable. Every weekend almost, something is going on. It may not be directly like we're setting up an event in downtown or in the areas that we have adopted or the park that we have adopted. No, it may be we're doing backpack buddies. We're providing food for underprivileged kids.

Whatever. We're doing something that's benefiting the kingdom of God, benefiting those in need. So that's what we're doing. Seeing the outreach, I think, firsthand has transformed my way of thinking. Because it is kind of like you said, even if we told you guys how much went into outreach, I'm talking like dollars, how much went into it, I don't think you would believe it. It's mind boggling to see how God has moved through Clearview Church as far as the outreach ministry goes. Just touching people in the community, helping people in the community, uplifting them, establishing programs.

So much has gone into it to the point where it's like, even now that I've seen it, I kind of hardly believe it. You know what I mean? And sometimes people have the idea that, you know, I don't have to give. I'm entitled not to give because there are other people who are giving. There are people who have money.

You know, I'm on fixed income. I can't. But they're doing it. You know, I can do other things. And I want to remind them, true, those people are giving and they're being blessed. How about you?

How about you? Well, does that mean that God's not going to bless me if I don't give? Well, you think about it. Think about what God has said.

He said, you're robbing me. Do you think that was the same mindset that the Israelites had back then? Like this victim mentality or this like, well, I'm a poor Israelite farmer.

I just can't do it. Yeah. I have dead slavery, you know? So, so why don't you take it from them?

Why me? And almost felt entitled not to give. Yeah. And some people think that all that is in the Old Testament Mosaic law, you know, that's, that's back then we're no longer under it. But if you think about the tithing, okay, this whole principle, this act of tithing, it didn't begin with Moses. It didn't begin with the commandments. It goes all the way back to Abraham. That's about almost 400, 500 years prior to the coming of Moses. Wow. You don't really think about it like that. You just think about it as Old Testament stories, but there's so much space in between.

Yeah, absolutely. For his Genesis 14, 18, then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was the priest of God, first high. Melchizedek was the king of Salem. Melchizedek is righteousness.

Melch is king. He was the king of righteousness. He was the priest king of Salem, which later on became Jerusalem. Jerusalem was occupied by this people known as the Jebusites. This time period we're talking about with Melchizedek, the Jebusites were controlling Jerusalem. And so what we know today as a temple mount was more than likely a place of worship to the living true God.

By the Jebusites. By the Jebusites who at least during the time of Melchizedek were worshiping the real living true God. And how did we know they were worshiping the living true God is because in verse 19 he blessed Abraham. And what did Abraham do in verse 20? He gave Melchizedek a tithe of all. So you have the same sort of imagery where there's this priest of the one true God and then Abraham in faith and obedience is paying a tithe to him. Right. And he is the king priest or priest king of Jerusalem or Salem right now, which was a city controlled by the Jebusites who at that time were worshiping God.

I mean we have so much of history we don't understand. Yeah. Cause I'm wondering if the Jebusites are an offshoot of the Hebrew people, but then there's not even a Hebrew people yet. It's Abraham. So like how are they worshiping?

Yeah. There's no such thing as that. Because remember I preached on that God's light was there in the initial stages and there were these pockets who were truly worshiping God. Jethro, Moses's father-in-law was worshiping the living true God.

Oh yes, that's true. So there were these priest kings who were doing the right thing. And then in time either they forgot or you know, like later on behind Melchizedek came Adonai Zedek, even though his name is Adonai Zedek. Adonai means God, king. He was not worshiping the living true God. He was still over Salem, but he was no longer doing that. Just a matter of several hundred years from the time of Abraham till the time of Moses and Joshua and all of them. Adonai Zedek, no, he was no longer that.

So how people have drifted. And so here he gives him a tithe and later on we also hear about Jacob doing the same thing. He promises to God that he will give a tithe of all. Remember at the pillar in Bethel, he made that promise to God. And he said, and this stone, this is Genesis 28, 22, and this stone, which I have set as pillar, as a pillar shall be God's house and of all that you give me, I will surely give a tenth to you. So this idea of a tenth or a tithe well predates the law then.

It's far back. It's something that was just a part of life for God's people. Just an expectation. I think it was a part of life for all people, but in time many people forgot. Romans chapter 1, they became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened, right? Professing to be wise, they became fools and they converted or they exchanged the glory of the living to God to worship a creature instead of the creator who is glorified and blessed forever. And they began to do that.

And so their foolish hearts were darkened, which means they kind of went down the dark path, but initially the knowledge was there. And also homosexuality came in. They began to defile their bodies among themselves. Men exchanged their natural use. Women did the same thing.

And what was the final answer? God gave them over to a depraved mind to destroy themselves. So this is the pattern, but tithing and all of that was there from the beginning, but in time, of course, forgotten.

How do you then answer that? Because some people will take that and say, yes, but those are all Old Testament laws. And it says in Romans that Christ is the end of the law.

We don't have to do that anymore, you know, because people are always quick to anything. Anytime you ever bring up the Old Testament, people are always quick to say that doesn't apply to us anymore. But number one, tithing goes beyond Old Testament law. It goes to Abraham, Melchizedek, Jacob, time peer, which came hundreds of years before the law, right? We're talking about the Mosaic law.

So for one, that's a poor argument. Secondly, what did Jesus say about law and prophets? In Matthew 5 17, he said, do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets.

I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. So in the New Testament, it's not just that you stop giving tithes, but you give tithes and offerings, right? No longer being under obligations of traditions or ritual doesn't mean that the principles of God are invalid.

Those principles are still very valid. You still completely expect your obedience. So, you know, hey people, let me ask you a question. When you drop the $20 bill in the offering plate for the month, that implies that you're making $200 a month. When you drop $50, I put in a $100 bill. Man, I don't know how you make it because all you're getting is a thousand a month. A thousand a month.

Man, you must be following some hard times. That $100 feels real big when you put it in, but then when you really start looking at how much you actually have, by God's grace, it's really not that much. And people get real funny when you start throwing numbers and amounts around.

Like as long as we keep it vague, everything's kind of cool. But the moment you start like actually telling people, well, you know, is it actually 10%? Let's do the math here.

They're like, ah, I get kind of uncomfortable with that. And I love the way that you've always explained it, Dr. Shah, because we fixated on this 10%. This 10%. I'm giving 10%. Am I giving 10%? And that's not like the cap. That's not the maximum. Starting point.

That should be a starting point. We should be giving above and beyond that 10%. That's baseline.

That's right. And I know there are people who say, well, I'm giving my work to the Lord, my time to the Lord. I get it folks. I know it's tough. We've been there. We've had four kids and there was a time where all four of them were going to Christian school and it was tough.

I mean, it was tough. We were looking in the couch for money. We were borrowing money from the kids. Their grandparents had given to them.

It was like, Hey, can we borrow 20 bucks? We'll give it back to you, Nicholas. You remember that, Nicholas?

I never give it back. That's not true. You live rent-free at our home every day.

You sleep in my bed. You are. Anyways. So coming back to this, we're just joking folks. God says, this is in verse nine.

It's okay. This is still Malachi. We're not, we're not through with Malachi. Malachi chapter three in verse nine. Listen to what God says. You are cursed with a curse for you have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tides into the storehouse that there may be food in my house and try me now in this says the Lord of hosts. If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, says the Lord of hosts and all nations will call you blessed for you will be a delightful land, says the Lord of hosts.

Wow. You can really tell like when there, there are just some books in the Bible where when you read it, it just hits you. And that, that kind of hit me just now where man, all throughout Malachi, the Lord is not playing. He's not goofing around. And yet at the same time, he, he brings in this mercy where he's like, look, I, if you do right, it kind of reminds me of like when he's talking to Cain, like if you do, what's right.

If you obey me, if you follow me, you'll have everything you'll ever want. Yeah. Yeah. That's a great point. I mean, you, you see that here where he's like, God says, try me on this.

He's like, you don't believe me, try it, try it out and see if I won't just overflow blessings upon you, but you gotta do a try. You gotta be obedient. And everybody I know who took God up on that challenge, you know, when I growing up in our home, mom and dad would tell us that, you know, when you grow up and when you go off and do your life and do what you need to do, just know, never forget to tithe. Always forget to always remember to give that 10% above and beyond.

And I did, it was tough. And I was in college, I was in a work study program. And so I would get 10% of what I made.

So if I made $600 that month, I would get like 60 bucks. And then I'm looking at my tithing and I'm like, should I give $6 or should I give $30 or what should I give? And I ended up giving, you know, there were months that I didn't give and, and it would just bother me. And I'm like, okay, Lord, I'm going to trust you here. And just remembering what mom and dad had told me, I would pick up the envelope in that chapel. We had a chapel on campus for students who didn't have a card and couldn't go off campus. At least we had a chapel. That was my church. So for about a year, that's where I went to church.

Get up in the morning, 10 o'clock, show up for church at the student chapel on campus and offering began and I'm like, oh, I don't have any money. This is all I have. Oh, I'll see. Okay. I'm going to give, I'm going to give.

So I would put it in the envelope and put the envelope in the plate. And it would really hurt because I was like, I need the money. This weekend, a bunch of people are going to go to Atlanta to hang out or go shopping or go out to eat. And I'm standing there like, nah, I'm good. I'm going to stay here. I'm going to hang out. I'm just tired.

I got a lot of homework to do. I didn't have any of that, but I didn't have money, but look at where God has brought me, you know, above and beyond. He's blessed because I was faithful in giving. Now again, you don't give because you want God to give you. You give because it is the right thing to do.

And in time you will see what God can do. The one thing you've said that I've always kind of, that's kind of resonated with me is that when you give, when you, I hate to even use the word invest because that's not what you're doing, but when you give to something, you start to take stock in it. You start to value it. You know, when you give to the church, you then start to care about things that go on at the church. You start to care about God's word and you start to see how he's moving and how he's blessing you back. And it starts to kind of fill your spirit. You know what I mean?

It's, it's, it's not something that I come and I just consume. I'm actually giving to it. And so when you start giving, I think you'll start seeing God open up windows of opportunities for you to get involved and you to plug in and to see how he's moving and working through your giving.

Yeah, that's right. And, and, you know, I think about R.G. Letourneau, one of my heroes in the faith. I mean, he was just, just an amazing guy. And the one thing that I remember him talking about is, you know, is giving. When it comes to giving, I'm trying to find this, this quote. He said, oh, here it is. He says, not how much of my money I give to God, but how much of his money I keep for myself. So he gave away 90% of his income to the Lord. He said, I shovel out the money and God shovels it back in, but God has a bigger shovel. So those are the statements that have really stayed with me.

Do I always give above and beyond like I should? I think I let Nicole handle that, but of course we do tithes and offerings, but that's my desire. I love that perspective shift so much for us. It really helps keep things, you know, in the right frame of mind.

And when you're giving, you're not giving part of your finances, you're giving part of what God has entrusted you with back to him. You guys enjoyed today's topic. If you have questions or suggestions for a new topic, send us a text at 252-582-5028. Or you can visit us online at cleareeveetodayshow.com and you can invest in us as we partner together and impact the nations with the gospel of Jesus. We love you guys. We'll see you next time on Cleareevee Today.