Thursday, August 10th | Live Worthy of Your Name

Welcome back, everyone. Today is Thursday, August the 10th. I'm Ryan Hill. I'm Jon Galantis. You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at ClearviewTodayShow.com, or if you have any questions for Dr. Shah or suggestions for new topics, send us a text at 252-582-5028, or you can email us at contact at ClearviewTodayShow.com. That's right.

Sorry, I started reading the wrong thing. You guys can help us keep the conversation going by supporting this podcast, sharing it online, leaving us a good review on iTunes or Spotify, anywhere you get your podcasting content from. We're going to leave a couple of links in the description of this podcast so you can do just that. That was a porky pig moment. The first verse of the day comes from Samuel 3.19. The verse of the day says, So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground. If you're in the ministry, that's probably your worst nightmare. That's the absolute worst thing you can do, is get to the end of your ministry and realize, I've wasted my life.

I've proclaimed the word, and nobody got it. Nobody listened. It didn't matter. There was no impact.

I can't remember where I was, but we were sharing about deepest fears and what is your biggest worry or something like that. That was honestly mine, getting to the end of my life, and it didn't matter that I was here. I didn't make a difference.

I didn't make an impact. I've done funerals with Dr. Shah before, and it's heavy. It's a heavy moment when you drive away and you realize this little cemetery tucked in the corner of some woods out in the country. That's where these people might be.

That's where they're going to be, and there will come a day where people won't think about them again. Cemeteries all across the world are filled with people who, I really hate to say it, but it really did not matter that they lived. If they had never been born, if they'd never graced the earth.

Yeah, they touched people. I didn't matter to their family, I mean, for sure. But there will come a day when we don't matter, and I think that's a deep insecurity, especially with people who are in the ministry. It's very important to them that they make a difference, and I love what it says about Samuel.

It wasn't that Samuel grew, and he was educated, and he was smart, and he was wise, and he made all the right decisions, so people listen to him. It's, the Lord was with him, and because the Lord was with him, none of his words fell to the ground. Well, and look what it says. It says, and let.

That means God didn't let his words fall to the ground. That's the key. Yeah, and that's the goal of our show, is that the words we say... Like, yeah, we love to laugh and have a good time, but at the end of the day, we are on a mission with this show. We've been given a gift, and we take that responsibility very seriously, and it's something that we love doing, and we love making you guys a part of it.

That's right. We're going to get Dr. Shaw in just a minute and continue this conversation a little bit about the heart of Clearview Today. But if you guys have any questions or suggestions for new topics, send us a text to 252-58-25028, or you can, of course, visit us online at ClearviewTodayShow.com. Stay tuned.

We'll be right back. This is actually the second book in the 30 Days series, and the whole point of this devotional is to help us get unstuck from the ruts of life. Life doesn't have a reset button, but our God is a God who does new things. His mercies are new every day, which means every day is a new chance for you to start over. You can grab 30 Days to a New Beginning on Amazon.com. We're going to leave a link in the description box below, and if you already have the book, let us know what you think about it.

That's right. Send us a text, 252-582-5028. Share what God has done in your life through this devotional. Hey, maybe we'll even read your story on the air. Ellie, you ready to get back to the show?

Let's do it. Welcome back to Clear View Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com, or if you have any questions or suggestions for new topics, send us a text, 252-582-5028. That's right. If today's your first time ever tuning in to the Clear View Today Show, we want to welcome you, let you know exactly who's talking to you today. Dr. Abbadon Shah is a Ph.D. 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, AbbadonShah.com. That's right. Dr. Shah, as we get started in the main portion of the show, we want to take a second and remind the listeners about why we do this show. We have a lot of laughs, we have a lot of jokes to go back and forth, but ultimately, the goal behind, the heart behind Clear View Today is impacting people for the gospel, is that the truth of Christ would impact people's lives and would change the way that they view themselves or change the way that they view the world around them.

Absolutely. We want to be that voice of biblical reason, not just reason, not just conservative values, although we believe that those are our values. Having said that, we want to have biblical values in a world which is very different than the one you grew up in, but has become that world. We want to be that voice of reason and make Christ visible.

Every episode, we do a verse of the day at the top of the show. Today, we did 1 Samuel 3.19. I had some pause, because you and I have been diving deep into Samuel over the past almost a year, maybe a year and a half. We've been just looking at Samuel for some creative projects that we're doing in the future. 1 Samuel 3.19 was our verse today, and it was just, so Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.

It just got me to thinking about your heart behind the radio show and our heart collectively, but just your passion when the radio show was first pitched, that we have something important to say and that most Christians either don't believe that or they don't believe that it's going to come from them. You know what I mean? Let someone else do the talking. Let someone else be the leader.

Let someone else speak wisdom. And your passion when we started was that we have something, God has given us something to say, and we want to say it and let not our words just fall on deaf ears or fall to the ground. Especially in America today where people have the idea or this relativistic or pluralistic world where, hey, you know, let's not be offensive and let's not try to force our Christian values on people from the other part of the world who may not believe like we do.

And they're here in America, and so let's just accommodate and let's just be sensitive to that. And many years ago, my dad told me this. He said, you know, speak up because there are people out there who are not able to say the things that you can say. Being from India, being from a Muslim background, although I grew up in a Christian home, my dad was, and he said, say it, speak out and don't just speak out the same old, same old. Speak out after doing good research and study of history and theology and apologetics and ethics and all these things and values and speak out because it will help people here and it will help people across the world who are hoping someone like them will talk, will stand for the truth.

And not just any truth, but the truth about Jesus Christ being the only way truth in life. And so that's why I feel like our show is unique. Our show, we have a lot of people supporting us and if you're not supporting us, please do. We'd love for you to partner with us, to take the gospel to not just in America, but all over the world. Yeah. How do they do that, Ryan?

How do they support? I would love to tell them, Jon Lee. Go visit ClearveedTodayShow.com. You can find updates, important information there, but there's also a donate button at the bottom where you can click that link. Let us know that gift that's coming from our Clearveed Today Show family. We count you as partners, teammates with us, standing side by side as we seek to impact people with the truth of the gospel. And all those donations, we want you guys to know they really impact us on a personal level because we don't see it as, oh good, some more money came in, now we can do more radio shows. It's truly that, that we feel as though we are partners together. We are working together, teaming up to put the word of God out there as far as we possibly can. And as long as we see that vision keep coming to fruition, we want to keep doing it. That's right. That's right. So on today's episode, we're continuing our conversation from yesterday, examining the letters to the seven churches in the beginning of Revelation. And we began the conversation yesterday around the church in Sardis and the issue that they were having. And this idea of looking alive, but really they were dead. Right.

Now, unlike the other churches where Jesus would give them a compliment, you know, your works, your love, your service, your patience, Sardis gets no compliment. Oh man, you guys. You hate to hear that. Yeah.

Was that your video? You showed me the one time, give me compliments. Please.

I need compliments. Sardis didn't get any. Really very interesting about Sardis is that this letter has the word Anama. Anama means name, and it's mentioned four times in this letter.

So I just want to read those out. The first one is in verse one, I know your works that you have a name that you're alive, but you're dead. Verse four, you have a few names, even in Sardis, who have not defiled their garments. Verse two, and now in verse five, he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments and I will not blot out his name from the book of life. All the same word.

Yes. But I will confess his name before my father and before his angel. So this, this name was very important. Now name in Hebrew thought depicted a person's inner reality. In the Bible, you see that Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah, Saul became Paul, Simon Peter became Simon became Peter. So name had a deeper meaning, but in Greek, it was just an external superficial identification. So when it says here four times, you have a name, you have a name means you, you think you have a reputation, but you don't. In reality, you are contrary to your given name. They're not living up to their name.

They're not. Now keep that in mind because that's going to help us resolve one of those highly contested exegetical issues in this letter. So remember that they're not living up to their names.

So Jesus says you have a reputation, but it's false. And then he says in verse two, be watchful and strengthen the things which remain. Be watchful, be alert, be vigilant. Don't be like Croesus.

Genu Gregoron means be alert. Strengthen the things that remain means certain aspects of the church, but also people strengthen the people who are struggling. For I have not found your works perfect before God. The word for perfect is play Raul, which can be perfect, but also convincing means I hear your name, but you're not living up to it. And your works are not convincing me.

So question for us, how is our spiritual life? Right. Do you think you have to convince people that you are a Christian? Do you have to convince people that you are walking with God? Yeah. Do people, do people look at you and know, or do they have to really dig deep to find where you may not be a hypocrite?

You know what I mean? You said this in one of your sermons one time, Dr. Shaw, and it's, it was, it's a chilling statement and it gives us, it should give us pause. If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Right. Right.

Great question. Would you be able to be convicted of being a Christian if somebody accused you? And it's a, it's a crazy feeling when, when Jesus, the King, the, the, the author and the judge, he's the one looking at you and saying, you know, I'm really not convinced because we can kind of fool ourselves when it comes to other people. We can trick ourselves into thinking, I don't have to convince you.

This is between me and God, but Jesus himself looking at this church and saying, I see what you're doing. I hear what you're saying, but it's not convincing me. Well, it's like, you can't really brush that off in any way. Ultimately as, as parents, as dads, I mean, I've told my kids, Hey, you're not just representing yourself. You're representing me. Like you're representing your family name. This is Christ whose name we are supposed to be bearing, whose name we are supposed to have, looking at them and saying, Hey, you're not, you're not a good representation of me.

Yeah. So the treatment or the cure is remember. It means go down memory lane and remember how you have received and heard. In other words, go back to the point of your salvation.

That day where you heard the truth and it was that, it was that one defining moment. If you could go to some of these dead churches and ask that question to the people. And I'm not talking to the people who are the remnant type people who are hanging in there, who are fighting the good fight, who are refusing to give up. I'm talking to the ones who are ho-hum is going along because there's enough money sitting in the bank account. And they're just going to keep on doing things that they've always done because it somehow soothes their soul, but it really doesn't serve God, glorify God, spread the gospel, reach the law.

So it's not doing anything there. My question to them would be, do you remember when you got saved? Do you remember how it was? And I guarantee it. Those people will either get mad or be confused, like mad, like, do you think I'm not saved? Or they would be confused.

Like, why are you even asking that? Yeah. But a genuine person who really wants to see their church be alive will say, yeah, it was 50 years ago or 30 years ago or five years ago. I remember I was at such and such place or a church or driving down the road or at a concert, a Christian concert or some revival meeting where I heard the gospel. And I knew God was speaking to me and I knew he was talking to me about giving my life to Jesus. And I understood the gospel. I understood that Jesus, God's son, came and died on the cross for my sins. And he rose from the grave on the third day and I gave my life to Jesus.

And I remember that day like it was yesterday or today. And I've been saved ever since. And I've been through ups and downs in lives. I've made mistakes.

I have, I have lost my way at times, but overall I will never forget that day. Now, if people don't have that, they're still dead in trespasses and sins. So we're talking to a living dead church. So what Jesus is telling them is, do you remember the point when you became alive?

Because if you don't have that point, then you're lost. Yeah. Do y'all want to just take 60 seconds and tell our stories real quick?

As you were telling that, I was like, man, that seems kind of fun. I remember in 2007, I had heard things about Jesus. I'd heard Jesus loves you. Be careful.

Hey, you know, be good. Jesus is watching you. But it wasn't until I was like 15 in 2007. I went to a Bible study just because some friends brought me along. And I remember it was the parable of the sower. That was why when you preach your series on parables, we got to the parable of the sower.

That one hit me really hard because as he was telling the parable of the sower, this one fell on the rocky ground, and this one fell on the side of the road, and the thorns and stuff choked it out. I remember sitting there as a 15-year-old and being like, that's me. Which I didn't know at the time, but that's the whole point of the parables is to see yourself in. I remember being like, that's me. I hear Jesus' name, and I hear, okay, Jesus loves you. I believe you exist, but there's no root.

It hasn't taken root in my heart. And I remember that was the passage that led me to want to make that decision. I remember for me when I was a kid, I think I was seven years old, just hearing a Bible lesson on how God loves humanity in the sense of you would love a painting that you made, or you love all of your action figures, or you love all your toys. God loves each of us individually. He loves me. He has a plan for me. He sees me and all of the things that are bad about me and all the things that are good about me and all the things that I've done wrong. And I can just remember, even as a seven-year-old, being struck by that. The Creator of the universe knows me and has a plan for my life and wants me to be a part of what He's doing. And I can't do that if I'm stuck in sin, if I'm dead in trespasses, if I'm in my little seven-year-old mind. I understood what that meant. And so I remember going and talking to my parents and then going and talking to the pastor and being baptized. So that was seven-year-old Ryan. And then fast forward to about 15, I remember being at a youth camp and just having this pressing almost of, like, I have a plan for you.

I have a design for you. It's more than you think of for yourself. Because at 15, you kind of start to think about what you're going to do in the future. But I can remember even at 15 praying and saying, God, whatever you want from me, you've got it.

I'm going to be obedient to whatever. And so I didn't realize that at the time, but that was me feeling that God had called me to ministry, had called me to even at 15. And just in the years that followed in 15, 16, 17, a really clear sense of like, you're meant to, you are designed to work with students. And even in your peers at that time, you're designed to reach people in this generation for the gospel.

For me, I was four years old. Dad had just preached a message on how Jesus is coming soon. And when he comes, those who believe in him will go with him. Those who won't will suffer in the great tribulation.

So this is the end times preaching. And I remember sitting at the corner of the bed with my mom and asking her that if Jesus were to come, would dad go with him? And she said, yes.

Would my brother go with him, my older brother? And she said, yes, because he believes Jesus as his Lord and savior. I said, how about you? He said, of course I will. And then I asked the question, what about me? Will I go?

She said, I don't know. Do you know Jesus as your savior? And that's when I said, no, but I want to. Well, we can pray right now. So at four years of age, I prayed to receive Jesus as my savior. And of course, just like you, I went through ups and downs in life. And then in my teenage years, I rededicated my life to the Lord.

I remember walking forward through an evangelistic crusade that my dad had arranged where this man from Australia or New Zealand by the name of Don Stanton, he was a prophecy preacher who had come. And so I walked forward and rededicated my life to the Lord. So remember, therefore, how you have received and heard is a very important thing.

And I think it also just keeps us sharp and it keeps us ready because we know that day is coming where Christ is coming. That's so special. I'm glad you asked that, Jon, because, you know, as we were talking about, as we were describing it, I remember all of those thoughts and I remember all the, I can remember the smell of the room. I remember vividly what it looked like. I don't remember much from like those, those years, like specifics like that, but I do remember specifically what that room looked like. I remember the smell of the room. I remember where I was. It was at Takoa Falls at the college. We went to youth camp.

That's my first youth camp was at Takoa Falls. I remember the feeling of sitting there and like my heart like thudding again. I was like, that's me. Every, I'm every one of those seeds except the right one. Every single, except the one that takes root, I'm all three. I can see parts of my life where I'm all three. But I like what you were saying to remember and to hold fast because like I said, that day is coming and, and I don't want to be, I don't want to be like caught picking up the pieces and trying to like jump on board. You know what I mean? Well, take about a minute.

How about the guys in the back? What is your story? David, how about you? Well, for me, I was probably, I think I was, well, I don't think, I know I was seven years old. I was with my mother in our house and I had gone to church my whole life. Like I think two or three weeks after I was born, they were taking me into the church. So I'd always been going to church, been there serving, but never actually got saved. And I asked my mom, you know, well, I want to be saved.

So what do I do? So she, you know, we knelt down on the couch in the living room and prayed, asked Christ into my heart and to be my savior. And then from that moment forward, that's, I mean, that's when I was saved.

So yeah. About you, Nick, go ahead. I remember you preached a sermon. I forgot what the sermon was about then, but I remember later on, I came and talked to you in our old house in our living room and you explained it to me way better than that. I accepted Jesus to my heart that night. And then you were baptized. I remember baptizing you. Yeah.

So I was baptized the next coming Sunday. And that was at the old building, right? That was the one in Tabernacle. I think so. Yeah. That seems right.

Cause you baptized Thomas here. Here. Yeah. Yeah. That was very early in my time here.

I think it was probably my first year. Wow. So pretty cool how we all have a story and I hope our listeners, our viewers will always remember that no matter what you're going through your life, sometimes when you find yourself becoming cold or even disillusioned, go back and remember where you heard the gospel, where you received the gospel for the first time and then hold fast and repent. I mean, there's a place for you to repent and ask God's forgiveness and a change of mind, change of mind about your sin, yourself, your savior. And therefore it says in verse three, if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

That's right. So he wants, warns us about the imminent return of Christ. He's coming soon. And the question for us is, are you ready for his coming?

He can come any moment. So if you're living as if you're dead, I don't know what that says about you. Either you are dead and is spiritually dead in trespasses and sins, or you're living dead.

And either way you have to answer to the savior. That's right. Certainly not ready.

Certainly not ready to meet him. Yeah. Yeah. That's the thing is we, I think we trick ourselves into thinking like there's going to be this big grand showing and like we're, we've got like a couple of hours to get ready. But like the, the idea of just not even being able to finish this radio show within like a second, I'm right before the presence of God. And it's like, the time is now.

Yeah. You need to, you need to not get ready. You need to be ready now. And it is doable because it says in verse four, you have a few names, even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy.

So there are people. So no one can say, but you don't understand the situation I'm going through. You don't understand the temptations in the world and what I have to deal with. And I messed up. But see, everybody is what Jesus is saying to this church is even there, there are people who have not compromised, who are still living in the reality of their salvation, who are still holding fast, who are still repenting.

You can too. The word is a word of hope that this is possible and they're not too far gone. I think just that statement in and of itself is, is a game changer for a lot of people. Cause I think, I think this is a tactic of, of, you know, trying to get Christians away from being obedient to God, but just this mindset of I'm too far gone, I've messed up too much. I've out sinned God's forgiveness. I can't, I'm beyond redemption. I'm beyond salvation. And that is simply a lie.

That's not true. Some people who have, who feel as though they were saved, but I've turned away too far and like now I've lost it somehow or too many times. And so now I need to either get resaved again, but God's not going to probably accept it cause he thinks it's not sincere and maybe it's actually not sincere. And you know what I mean? Like people feel as though they were saved at one point it was real, but now I'm not saved anymore. And you know, we know that that's not the case.

Yeah. Now here comes the final point. We call it the prognosis. It means if you follow Jesus's treatment for your living deadness and you repent, or you remember, and you hold fast and repent, he who overcomes, this is verse five, he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments and I will not blot out his name from the book of life. Now this passage has been a point of contention for quite some time.

What does that mean? Like if God can blot out our name. From the book of life. Does that mean that we can lose our salvation? Does that mean that we can sin so much and so many times and, and, or sin that sin that Jesus will take out an eraser and, and just wipe out my name?

And if so, what's the number? Like how many sins can I get away with? Like if I lie ten times, he'll take it out. So if I lie nine times, I'm good. Do I need to repent? Then it starts back over at zero.

Or is there a sin that I will commit that I cannot get it back? Now here's what I want us to go back to our initial talk about names. Remember the Anima name thing? Names represented their reputation. Names represented reputation. So what Jesus is saying here to this church is not that your name can be taken out of the book of life, but keep in mind, there's, is the book of life is the book of those who have been made alive, who will eternally live. So when you receive Jesus as your savior and King, your names are now listed in the book of life. Your name, your reputation is that you are a book of life person. So when you start living as a dead person, whether because of sin or complacency or just apathy, then you are living contrary to your reputation. And you need to examine yourself if you are worthy of the book of life.

That's right. And what a reminder for us, live worthy of your name. Live worthy of the name that you have your reputation, that you ought to have as somebody, a book of life person. Live worthy of that. If you guys enjoyed today's episode, if you have questions or suggestions for new topics, send us a text at 252-582-5028, or you can visit us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com. Partner with us, stand shoulder to shoulder by giving, clicking that donate button at the bottom of the page and help us impact the nations with the gospel of Jesus. We love you guys. We'll see you next time on ClearView Today.