1 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:08,119 This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:12,680 Waffer, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, County 3 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:16,400 of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,720 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,880 And if we are salt and light, we will have an impact on the lives 6 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:45,360 of people that don't know Jesus. So you know, to become a 7 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:49,800 pro-life becomes a work of the spirit in someones heart. 8 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,560 Well, maybe they were pro-choice before, and all of a sudden 9 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:56,320 their worldview changes. I can't kill babies. 10 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,600 I can't kill creations of God anymore. 11 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:02,000 And I'm not going to be that way, right? 12 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,239 So all of a sudden the votes change and the commitment of the 13 00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:07,720 people and you know, and the world doesn't seem like it's 14 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:10,880 going to hell and in handbasket. You might think you're just one 15 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,920 person and there's no way you could make a difference in your 16 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:18,640 school, but if you organize a time of prayer on campus, I bet 17 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,320 others will come alongside you. If you take a stand against some 18 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:25,760 agenda at work, you better believe some others likely will 19 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:28,920 too. Sometimes it just takes a person 20 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,720 who has a little courage to help others remember that they can be 21 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:37,080 brave in that situation, too. Pastor Clark teaches today about 22 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:40,760 Paul and others in Ephesus who took a stand. 23 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,920 Now here's Pastor Clark in the book of Acts Chapter 19 with 24 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:47,800 today's edition of Living Waters of Grace. 25 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:50,840 Well, as a result of this happening in the community in 26 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,320 the city of Ephesus, there was less people buying these things. 27 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:58,200 So if you made good living by making these things, maybe 28 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:00,640 you're selling, you know, 1000 a week or something. 29 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:03,880 And all of a sudden you look at your numbers and now they're 600 30 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,640 a week and then they're 400 a week and then they're three. 31 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:08,639 You know, you're, you're starting to get bothered, right? 32 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:12,440 Because you know that what's happening in the city now is 33 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:16,200 impacting your livelihood. So this is the purpose of why 34 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,560 Demetrius is beginning to get this crowd together, because he 35 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,440 made these silver shrines of Diana and it brought a lot of 36 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:25,600 money to the Craftsman who were involved in it. 37 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:29,920 It says in verse 24 he called them together with the workers 38 00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:32,680 of similar occupations. So he's getting all the people 39 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:36,840 in the union together to tell them about what's going on and 40 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:40,760 why the numbers are down and why the revenue is a lot less than 41 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,360 what it once was, because they probably didn't really quite 42 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,080 grasp the impact that Christianity was having in the 43 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:50,480 city of Ephesus. So he calls them together and he 44 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:55,080 says, man, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. 45 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:57,080 This is how we make our livelihood. 46 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:00,920 Moreover, you see in here that not only at Ephesus, but 47 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:05,440 throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned 48 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:09,680 away many people saying that they are not gods which are made 49 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:14,320 with hands. Now, Paul never once picketed in 50 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,000 front of the temple of Diana. There's no indication that he 51 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,800 was there with signs and, and, and telling everybody, don't go 52 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:22,720 in there and don't do this. Don't do that. 53 00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:27,320 He was just teaching the word. And whenever you teach the word, 54 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:32,600 it has an impact on lives. It, it changes your thought 55 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:34,560 process, it changes your worldview. 56 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,680 It changes what your priorities are and what you invest and 57 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,720 spend your money on you. If you're doing things that 58 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:45,240 aren't right, the Holy Spirit convicts you and speaks to your 59 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,040 heart inwardly and says, you know this isn't cool. 60 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:50,120 You know, you know, you really need to let this go. 61 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,880 You need to move away from this, this idol or whatever it might 62 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,920 be. And idolatry is fashioned in 63 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:59,720 many ways today. We don't have shrines and 64 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:04,600 temples of, of some ridiculous Pagan deity around our necks. 65 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:08,480 At least I hope we don't. But idolatry's in the form of a 66 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:13,200 lot of other things. It can be our material wealth. 67 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:17,440 It can be something we own that we love and that every time we 68 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:22,360 see it, we just smile and say that's mine, you know, and I'm 69 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:26,160 going to give ours a day to whatever I think is important. 70 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:29,040 That's mine. And so we begin to become 71 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:35,960 consumed and controlled by metal and, and, and leather and tires. 72 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,240 And those cars are the biggest idols for all of us. 73 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,080 When you first get it, you know, you're excited and there's 74 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,080 nothing wrong with having a nice car, but it can really overcome 75 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:46,520 you, can't it? Especially when someone wrecks 76 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:47,680 into it. You just bought it. 77 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:50,440 Like it happened to me. I'm in Philadelphia and someone 78 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:54,280 knocks my mirror on my Sienna and I'm like, you got to be 79 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:55,720 kidding me. You know, I was just like, I 80 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,320 just got this thing. Well, Lord, said Clark, it's 81 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:00,480 just a piece of metal and it's a means to an end. 82 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:02,080 It's how you make your livelihood. 83 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:04,160 It's how you stay safe and drive around. 84 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,360 But I, I had to, I had to sort of like repent a little bit. 85 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:10,480 John's an auto body guy. He likes it when we wreck. 86 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:14,720 That's good for your, your prosperity. 87 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,560 But you know, I had to think like, well, you know, it's just 88 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:22,840 a car, right? But things can control our 89 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:26,640 hearts at times, can't they? How about our houses? 90 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:29,840 Nothing wrong with having nice houses, but when they begin to 91 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:35,120 have problems, how can it begin to make us depressed or upset or 92 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:37,160 uptight? Or, you know, it's, it's 93 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:39,360 interesting. I love sports. 94 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:42,120 Many of you do too. But if my whole life was like, 95 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:46,000 well, you know, I'm not going to go to church today because I'll 96 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,600 miss the kickoff. And, and I actually did that 97 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:51,600 when I was younger. The Steelers were kicking off at 98 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:55,640 like 12, man, I was, I was the first one out the door at 11:30. 99 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:58,280 Cindy, come on, we got to go. Where are we going? 100 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:00,280 What's the game? It's starting at 9. 101 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:03,080 You know, that pastor's going to go on and on and on. 102 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:07,240 Let's get out of here. One pastor, he like tortured us. 103 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:10,400 He'd have an older call, especially in a a big stealer 104 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:11,760 day. And I knew, man, we were going 105 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,760 to miss like at least 1/2 an hour to have the game. 106 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:18,080 But anyway, you know, you don't where your treasure is, your 107 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:20,800 heart is, I'm not like, you know, no guilt trips here. 108 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:26,200 But if there's anything in your life that is above God, then get 109 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,360 it right and say, Lord, forgive me and put it in right position 110 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,000 so that I'm not worshiping whatever that is above you. 111 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,440 That's always the issue of whether something becomes an 112 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,320 idol or not an idol in your heart. 113 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,600 So these guys are really upset about this issue. 114 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:46,880 And he says their prosperity is being affected. 115 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:49,040 And this has happened throughout Asia. 116 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:51,800 So it's so exciting to know that this school that Paul was 117 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,480 teaching in over 2 years, people like you and me and hopefully 118 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,200 like we're going out into the world that a culture sharing our 119 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:01,480 faces, we have opportunity that maybe the city of Greensburg 120 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:02,760 would change a little bit, right? 121 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:07,520 Maybe there'd be a few less nightclubs or no casinos aren't 122 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:10,440 going to shut down because they generated a lot of money for it 123 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:12,880 upstate. And, you know, so everybody has 124 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:14,240 reasons why they do what they do. 125 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,160 But I mean, there's this element of a salt and light that impacts 126 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:22,160 and and pushes back darkness. So I talked a little bit last 127 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,520 week that we can't be apathetic, complacent or indifferent as 128 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,360 Christians because the power of God is in US. 129 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:32,480 And if we are salt and light, we will have an impact on the lives 130 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:38,480 of people that don't know Jesus. So you know, to become pro-life 131 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,320 becomes a work of the spirit in someone S heart. 132 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:45,200 Well, maybe they were pro-choice before and all of a sudden their 133 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:47,760 worldview changes. I can't kill babies. 134 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:52,520 I can't kill creations of God anymore and I'm not going to be 135 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:54,720 that way right. So all the sudden the votes 136 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:58,040 change and the commitment of the people and you know, and the 137 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:00,600 world doesn't seem like it's going to hell on in handbasket. 138 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:04,280 We begin to get excited because things can be changed, whether 139 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:08,320 it's through people who are running that have godly or the 140 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,800 votes change or whatever. The the most important thing to 141 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:16,880 understand is that you and I right now in 2023 are 142 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:20,360 responsible for what's happening in the world. 143 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:25,840 Whether we stand up for truth or we zip our mouths and not say 144 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:29,520 anything right, we're going to be held accountable by the Lord 145 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:32,200 one day in the judgement seat of Christ where we're judged for 146 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:37,159 our works, not for our sin, that we live our lives fully for the 147 00:08:37,159 --> 00:08:41,720 purposes of why Christ saved us. Were we ashamed of the gospel or 148 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,240 we we're bold to preach the gospel? 149 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:47,040 Do we care enough about people and love them enough to want to 150 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:49,360 tell them about what the Lord's done for us? 151 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:52,040 Or we just didn't want to get involved in a conflict or an 152 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:54,280 argument. I mean, that's the challenge all 153 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:55,760 the time. Well, they won't listen. 154 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:57,240 Well, how do you know they won't listen? 155 00:08:57,600 --> 00:08:59,960 And even if they act like they don't listen, maybe they are 156 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:03,200 listening and they're thinking about what you said and they're 157 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,000 giving it some thought and consideration and maybe believe 158 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:11,880 later on. And so now the, the, the crowds 159 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:17,240 are growing and this area that they went to, this arena held 160 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:20,880 about 25,000 people. This wasn't a small move or mob 161 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,640 issue. This was a big deal, and this 162 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,960 guy's saying that Paul is the one who's responsible for all 163 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:29,440 this. Well, he isn't. 164 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:31,440 It's God who's responsible for this. 165 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,240 They could kill Paul, but the work of the of the Kingdom of 166 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:38,960 God will go on and it has gone on without Paul, without you, 167 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,160 without me. God always raises up new people 168 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,600 to continue to, to proclaim the word. 169 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,560 So verse 27. So not only is this trade of 170 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:51,080 ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple 171 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,840 of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence 172 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,880 destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship. 173 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:00,120 Now this guy could care less about her. 174 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:04,280 He wasn't a follower of this ridiculous deity, but he knew 175 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:07,720 she this concept and this worship, this false religion 176 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:11,160 made a lot of money for them. And so now he's trying to get 177 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:14,760 these people who are devoted to Diana to be upset, saying that 178 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:18,560 the testimony of the power of her influence in the nation's at 179 00:10:18,560 --> 00:10:21,320 the time is going to be a greatly diminished. 180 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,240 So these people in verse 28 now when they heard this, they were 181 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:29,120 full of wrath and cried out saying great is Diana the 182 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:32,200 Ephesians. So the whole city was filled 183 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:36,080 with confusion and rushed into the theater with 1 accord, 184 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:41,560 having seized gay eyes and our Tarkas, Macedonians, Paul's 185 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:46,000 travel Companions. So it's a, it's a mob scene. 186 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,640 It's dangerous. No one's standing to reason. 187 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:51,400 If you've ever been in an environment where there's been a 188 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,080 riot, it's it takes on a life of its own. 189 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:57,400 And all the sudden people who are in the midst of the crowd 190 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,360 all the sudden become infected. And next thing you know, they're 191 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:02,840 on board with whatever the ridiculous thing is that 192 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:06,400 someone's upset about. That's what happened at the mob 193 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:08,800 rule. Whenever Jesus was Pilate and 194 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:12,200 they asked Pilate asked who should we release Jesus or 195 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:14,760 Barabbas? And they all yelled Barabbas. 196 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,200 And then they started yelling at crucify him, crucify him. 197 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:21,120 And all the people that were yelling crucify him probably 198 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:23,720 didn't even want him to be crucified, but they were caught 199 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:26,440 up in that atmosphere. It's demonic and it begins to 200 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:28,400 take people over. It's like what happened on 201 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:31,520 January 6th, right? There was people there that just 202 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:35,240 wanted to have a, a reason to stand up for thing they felt was 203 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:36,960 important. And next thing you know, people 204 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:40,880 are breaking barriers down, going into the buildings of 205 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,200 government and all of a sudden, you know, guns and all. 206 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:45,720 I mean, it was, it was anarchy, lawlessness. 207 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:48,160 This is what's happening in our nation right now. 208 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:50,560 Lawlessness. That's what happened with these 209 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:54,520 police officers, lawlessness, beating and brutalizing this 210 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:56,680 young man. This is going on right now. 211 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:00,720 And we need to pray by the power of the Holy Spirit that the Lord 212 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:04,760 would circumvent this and put a protective, protective hedge 213 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:08,360 around all of us, the churches, the people of God, and that the 214 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:12,320 law enforcement officials would be people who are standing for 215 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:16,680 justice and not injustice. The consequences of what people 216 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:20,200 do need to be dealt with it. You just can't be behave this 217 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:21,480 way. It's barbaric. 218 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,440 And this is what's happening here though they grab this, 219 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:27,480 these two guys that serve with Paul, thank God they weren't 220 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:31,000 martyred or killed. Paul's travel companions. 221 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:35,000 And when Paul found out about this in verse 30, he wanted to 222 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,960 go into the people and the disciples will not allow him. 223 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:41,760 Then some of the officials of Asia, these people weren't even 224 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:44,200 believers, but they respected Paul, who were. 225 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:48,600 His friends sent to him pleading that he would not venture into 226 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:50,280 the theater. Paul would have went in there. 227 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:53,280 He would have probably been martyred at that time wasn't his 228 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,200 time to be killed yet. So he didn't go in. 229 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:01,400 So therefore some therefore cried one thing and some another 230 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,800 for the assembly was confused. This mass confusion. 231 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:08,440 There's no no truth in this stuff going on and most of them 232 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:10,360 did not know why they had come together. 233 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:12,800 Isn't it amazing, amazing you're there and you're with all these 234 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:15,120 people and then you look to your spouse or your friend. 235 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:17,360 What are we doing here? Why are we here? 236 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,440 I'm sure that's probably the thought of some of the people on 237 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:24,280 the January 6th are probably like, this has turned into 238 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:30,160 something insane and ungodly and unjust and illegal, and they 239 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,240 drew Alexander out of the multitude. 240 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:36,680 Now, Alexander was a Jewish guy and the Jews were the ones that 241 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:39,360 really caused the persecution against the Christians at the 242 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,000 time. It wasn't so much the Roman 243 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,520 Empire. They tolerated different moves 244 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:46,920 of whatever religion. But in this instance here, 245 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,880 Alexander's motioning with his hand, he wanted to act like he 246 00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:51,640 could control and get everybody calmed down. 247 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:55,760 He wanted to make his defense to the people, but when they found 248 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:59,720 out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about 249 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:03,240 two hours. Great as Diana of the Ephesians. 250 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:07,200 So again, nothing is making sense. 251 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:11,560 This is going on for two hours. This this mass mass confusion. 252 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,600 Now I don't know if you've ever been in a riot. 253 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,680 I hope you're not and never are in a riot, but it, it begins to 254 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:24,720 become very, very dangerous. And we, we see the aftermath of 255 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:28,840 some of these things in the streets of our country going on 256 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:32,840 right now up in the Oregon and San Francisco and, and some of 257 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:35,200 these other places. I mean, these cities have become 258 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:38,080 destroyed. They're not safe to walk in. 259 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:40,400 They're not safe to live in. They're not safe to be in 260 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:45,240 because we have allowed, for whatever crazy reason, the 261 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,960 extremism against the police. I'd hate to be a police officer 262 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:52,200 right now having to deal, you know, based upon what's just 263 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,880 happened because everybody's going to think cops are horrible 264 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:59,640 and and and dangerous to be around instead of realizing that 265 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,360 God raised him up to protect us from injustice. 266 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:07,520 And so things are really out of control. 267 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,720 Lewis has been teaching in Timothy about in the last days 268 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:15,720 there will be lawlessness. We see it, we're experiencing it 269 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:18,720 and what is it that we're going to do about it? 270 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:23,840 But pray and be a light and be salt in the midst of a crooked 271 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:27,880 and perverse generation who were supposed to shine his lights. 272 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:33,040 So then we see God in His mercy and His sovereignty in verse 35. 273 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:35,840 And when the city clerk, it quieted the crowd. 274 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:38,560 This guy is sort of like a mayor, but obviously an 275 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:42,600 anointing upon him to be able to bring some sanity. 276 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,720 And they begin to listen for some reason to him, men of 277 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:51,760 Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of 278 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,360 the Ephesians is temple, guardian of the great goddess 279 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,720 Diana and of the image which fell down from Zeus? 280 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,960 So he, he goes to their mythology, calms them down 281 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:03,960 because the majority of the people, this is how they're 282 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:05,720 wired. This is what they think about 283 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:08,040 their city. This is the reputation. 284 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:11,560 Everything's still intact. He's saying, therefore, since 285 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:14,600 these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do 286 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:17,120 nothing rashly. So in other words, don't behave 287 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:18,720 this way. You're worked up about about 288 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:22,280 nothing. Nothing's changing right now in 289 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:25,960 in Ephesus in regard to our Pagan ways. 290 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:29,360 For you brought these men here who are neither robbers of 291 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:33,480 temples nor blasphemers, blasphemers of your goddess. 292 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:38,400 And what a testimony these guys, Paul and his associates and 293 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:43,720 those who serve with them had done nothing to diminish the 294 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,760 emphasis of these people in regard to what it was they 295 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:50,360 thought was important. Paul wasn't bad mouthing the 296 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:51,440 goddess. That wasn't. 297 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:55,200 We can learn something here, I think today from how we deal 298 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:57,560 with the culture. You're not going to win any 299 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:03,680 battles by, you know, hating and having signs defaming gay people 300 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,280 or pro-choice people and these kind of things. 301 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:10,440 That has no impact. All it does is inflamed people. 302 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:14,440 I mean, I've driven down Route 30 by Barnes Noble and I've seen 303 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:18,280 the most horrific signs of babies who are being aborted as 304 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:19,640 you almost want to wreck your car. 305 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:20,680 It's horrible. See it? 306 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:21,880 I don't want to think about that. 307 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:26,839 I know what's going on. But but but by doing that, what 308 00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:30,200 what is that doing to people right by you think the people 309 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:33,160 that think it's OK to kill babies and good signs are going 310 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,800 to bother them, just going to make them mad and hate us more. 311 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:42,320 There's a way of reaching people in regard to these senseless 312 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:47,040 philosophies and ideologies and worldviews that people have, and 313 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:48,800 it's the preaching of the gospel. 314 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:53,320 It's not condemning the pro-choice people. 315 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:59,600 It's loving them enough to help them get free from the blindness 316 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:02,920 that the devil has allowed to be on their eyes, that they don't 317 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:07,320 understand who Jesus is. They're used to people fighting 318 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:13,400 them, they're used to the people picketing and arguing, but 319 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:17,200 they're not used to people caring about them and loving 320 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:19,680 them. And we can't love people like 321 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,440 that apart from Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, 322 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:26,880 right? We can't, we can't give people 323 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:31,120 grace without God's grace in our hearts first. 324 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:35,040 We have a tendency to be angry as Christians, and it's very 325 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,280 unattractive to the lost. And they think they're getting 326 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:42,800 their way because the matter we get, and the more upset we get, 327 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:47,600 the more they invalidate our testimony and the more weak we 328 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,800 become because we're trying to win a battle on the energy and 329 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:54,800 the power of our human flesh and ability to try to legislate 330 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,080 righteousness. You can't legislate 331 00:18:57,080 --> 00:18:59,320 righteousness as much as we would like to. 332 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:04,880 Only God can restore righteousness and it comes 333 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,960 through the cross and every one of us here today, for the most 334 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:12,640 part, I'm sure, had to come through the cross to become, we 335 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:14,720 all had to come through the cross to become righteous. 336 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:18,600 When we become righteous, not self-righteous, but righteous in 337 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,680 good position with God, the things that he's concerned about 338 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:23,760 or cares about, we should care about too. 339 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:26,680 For God so loved the world. That's everybody in it. 340 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:29,720 That's the murderers, extortioners, the rapists, the 341 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:32,400 immoral, the extortioners, the thieves. 342 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:35,960 God so loved the world, the people in this world, that he 343 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:39,360 gave of his only begotten Son, that whoever and that's all 344 00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:42,120 those people along with us, whosoever would believe in him, 345 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:44,680 would not perish, but have everlasting life. 346 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,800 And I love what it says later. God did not send his Son into 347 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:52,640 the world to condemn the world. We've been doing, I'm not 348 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:54,960 talking about you, but the rank and foul. 349 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,000 I think of us many times as Christians, we've been doing too 350 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,640 much condemning. He didn't come to condemn the 351 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:02,480 world. He knew like this is what you 352 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,240 get when you're lost, when you're a Sinner and you don't 353 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:07,880 have a savior. This is this is your way you 354 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:11,320 live. You can't live any other way but 355 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,480 a godless way. God did not send his son into 356 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:16,640 the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him 357 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,360 might be saved. And so he's calming these people 358 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:25,080 down and he says. Therefore, since these things 359 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:28,120 cannot be denied, verse 36, you ought to be quiet and do nothing 360 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:31,080 rashly, for you have brought these men here, who are neither 361 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,000 robbers or of temples nor blasphemers, your goddess. 362 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:37,080 Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow Craftsman have a case 363 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:40,640 against anyone, the courts are open and there are pro councils. 364 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:43,680 In other words, you guys are bothered you do this legally by 365 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,920 the form of government that we have in the Empire, and let them 366 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:48,720 bring charges against one another. 367 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:51,880 But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be 368 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:55,600 determined in a lawful assembly, for we are in danger of being 369 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:59,280 called in question of the day's uproar, there being no reason 370 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,560 which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering. 371 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,920 He was concerned if the leaders of the Roman Empire saw that he 372 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:09,760 was losing control as one of the responsible parties in this 373 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:13,080 city, then they would lose the freedom they have to conduct 374 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:16,600 their business and their ways according to what they were 375 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:19,040 allowed to do, according to the rules of the empire. 376 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:22,400 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the 377 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,440 assembly. There's never any excuse for any 378 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:29,440 disorderly gatherings. And the interesting point as we 379 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:34,520 conclude is that the city of Ephesus is no longer like it was 380 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:37,560 at that time. There is no temple of Diana 381 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:38,880 there. It was destroyed. 382 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,040 There's some excavation showing that the place was real. 383 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:47,560 And they got some pillars in a museum in in Britain, One of 384 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:52,200 these tall pillars, columns there was 125 columns, 60 feet 385 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:56,880 high that surrounded this, this edifice, this amazing edifice. 386 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:00,360 But it's no longer there. It's just a memory of history. 387 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:04,080 The idol makers of Diana are no longer making these things. 388 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:08,040 They're gone and Ephesus now is more like a tourist stop. 389 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:10,400 If you're on Bible journeys and that kind of stuff, they'll 390 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:12,760 they'll take you to Ephesus and show you around. 391 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,720 We know the Book of Revelation discussed the church in Ephesus 392 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:20,920 that left its first love and you know, these kind of historical 393 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:23,240 things. But Ephesus is no way an 394 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:27,280 influential center of commerce, let alone spirituality. 395 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:33,200 There's only one power that can overcome all this stuff that 396 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:38,320 we're all dealing with in the year that we're living, 2023 and 397 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:42,920 onward. And it's not by picketing, it's 398 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:46,440 not by hating, it's not by revolution. 399 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:51,240 It's by this as Paul proclaimed it in Romans 116. 400 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,920 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, For it is the 401 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:58,600 power of God, the salvation for everyone who believes, for the 402 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:02,760 Jew 1st, and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of 403 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:07,440 God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just 404 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:09,920 shall live by faith. So when you go out this week, 405 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:12,280 you live by faith in the truth of the Word of God. 406 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:17,600 You live by 100% confidence, faith in the gospel of Jesus 407 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:20,200 Christ. That this is the answer for 408 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,920 conflict. This is the answer for you to 409 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:27,680 speak to people who are lost or who counterintuitive, they think 410 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:29,720 differently than you do because they're lost. 411 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,560 And then we love them. We love them enough to share 412 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:35,480 with them and to pray for them and to care for them. 413 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:40,000 So May God give us grace as we lift up Christ in our life daily 414 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,640 the best we can with the ability He's given us in the home and 415 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,480 the marriage with the kids, the family, the workplace, the 416 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:50,880 community, the neighborhood. And that God, as He is faithful, 417 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:55,000 will turn hearts to himself when His word is proclaimed. 418 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,800 Amen. Thank you for listening to this 419 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:00,840 edition of Living Waters of Grace. 420 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,120 Pastor Clark is teaching us about the book of Acts in this 421 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:07,080 series. Acts is a powerful and unique 422 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:10,040 part of Scripture, not just because it records the spread of 423 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,480 the gospel geographically from Jerusalem to the ends of the 424 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:18,040 earth, but also culturally. Acts shows us how the message of 425 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,760 Jesus moved beyond its Jewish roots and began to reach the 426 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,640 Gentile world. What started with Peter leading 427 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:28,520 a small group in the Upper Room became a global movement with 428 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:32,320 Paul taking the gospel to cities, synagogues, and 429 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:35,000 marketplaces across the Roman Empire. 430 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:39,480 Acts captures this vital transition and reminds us that 431 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:43,280 the good news of Jesus is for all people in every place. 432 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:48,480 May we be inspired to carry that same gospel boldly into our 433 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,640 world today. Living Waters of Grace comes to 434 00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:53,920 you from Calvary Chapel, Westmoreland. 435 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:58,440 If you're in the Greensburg, PA area, you can listen to Grace FM 436 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:03,320 on the new 91.7 frequency. 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We're so thankful that you 448 00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:50,760 joined us today. Be sure to tune into the next 449 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:53,120 edition of Living Waters of Grace.