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 --> 00:00:12,240 Wofford, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,400 County 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 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,640 Consumerism, right? That's the idolatry of our age. 6 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,520 We're not worshipping a statue anymore like they did back here. 7 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,720 Artemis was there, God of, you know, birth and some kind of 8 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:54,200 like a God of nature that they worship in this city of Sardis. 9 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:58,080 But we are worshippers of consumerism. 10 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,560 And what happens is whenever your mind gets latched onto 11 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,720 something you really want, whether it's a car or some 12 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,760 gadget in the house or whatever, isn't it funny how that's all 13 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,760 you think about? There's always something better, 14 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,480 flashier, more useful, more exciting to purchase. 15 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:19,560 Whether it's tools, home decor, cars, computers, or any other 16 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,560 number of things, our current culture is consumed by the idea 17 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:25,720 of owning the latest and greatest. 18 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:30,640 I know I'm tempted many times to look at buying a new tool to 19 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:35,360 make my work or my leisure more convenient, but God has more for 20 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:38,040 us. Pastor Clark reminds us that our 21 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:43,640 joy is not found in consumerism, in owning new cool stuff, but is 22 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:47,680 found solely in him. Now here's Pastor Clark in First 23 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:52,040 Peter Chapter 2 with today's edition of Living Waters of 24 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:54,800 Grace. Many of us, for whatever reason, 25 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:57,840 we get sidetracked so often and we see these other work. 26 00:01:57,840 --> 00:01:59,920 So I'm going to go do these. And God said, well, I didn't 27 00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:01,760 create you for that. I created you for this. 28 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,400 But I really want to do this. And the Lord said, no, no, come 29 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:05,600 over. This is, this is what I'll 30 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:07,840 empower you with. This is how I'll bless you. 31 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:09,960 This is how I'll use you. No, no, I want this. 32 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:12,080 I want to do this. And so we go do this. 33 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:18,480 And it's not perfect, it's weak, it's dead, it's stride, it wears 34 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:22,200 on us, it makes us breakdown. And eventually we say, I can't 35 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,480 do this anymore. And the Lord says, well, I never 36 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:28,240 asked you to do it. You're doing your works instead 37 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,840 of my works. He says my yoke is easy and my 38 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:33,800 burden is light. So if we're wearing a yoke and a 39 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:36,960 burden and we're trying to serve God and it's burning us out and 40 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:41,160 wearing us down, God's saying this is not the yoke I have for 41 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:43,160 you. Come back over here and humble 42 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,720 yourself and do these things. Well, Lord, that's doesn't seem 43 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:51,000 real important. Well, to me it's critically 44 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,760 important because if you do what I made you to do, people will 45 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:58,600 see me in your life. But if you do what you want to 46 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,240 do, they're going to see you in your life. 47 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,920 Big difference, isn't there. Go to Matthew chapter 5 for a 48 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:11,040 minute. Matthew 5 verse 14 Jesus is 49 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:13,280 speaking here says you are the light of the world. 50 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:17,640 A city that is set on the hill cannot be hidden, nor do they 51 00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:21,960 light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand and 52 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,080 it gives light to all who are in the house. 53 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:29,320 This is to you and me. Let your light so shine before 54 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:30,480 men. Why? 55 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:31,960 So that they could think you're great. 56 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:33,920 You're you're an awesome Christian. 57 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:35,800 That you're this and you're that boy. 58 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:38,480 I wish I could be like her. I wish I could be like him. 59 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:42,600 No, that they may see your good works and glorify who? 60 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,680 Your Father in heaven. When people are glorifying the 61 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:49,280 church and glorifying the pastures. 62 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:54,200 The work is the flesh. The purpose of the works is that 63 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:57,960 people would see that would point them to the greatness of 64 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,280 our God. Turn to First Peter chapter 2. 65 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,600 First Peter chapter 2, verse 11 and 12. 66 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:11,800 Beloved, I beg you, as sojourners and pilgrims, God 67 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:14,040 sees you and me. If we're really his. 68 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:15,760 Hey, we're passing through this place. 69 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:18,000 This world isn't our home, is it? 70 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,440 As much as you like your house, it's temporal. 71 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:25,040 Someday someone else is going to be living in there. 72 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:31,320 I guarantee for most of us, 50 years from now to for the little 73 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:33,920 ones here, someone else going to be in that house. 74 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:38,000 We're just passing through. Don't get too attached to this 75 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:39,720 world. Cindy and I went to the home 76 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:41,360 show. If you guys ever get on the home 77 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:43,960 show in Pittsburgh, no one gave us free tickets. 78 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,760 That place is amazing down there and you get down there and you 79 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,360 want like everything. If I had this in my house, this 80 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:50,920 would be great. If I had this in my house, boy, 81 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:52,800 that refrigerator I have really isn't that good. 82 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,680 And this stove, Cindy's looking at this 36 inch stove. 83 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,720 There's no like no way. The one we have is plenty good 84 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:00,360 enough. She knows that. 85 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:02,720 But she was just like sort of lusting after it a little bit. 86 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:07,280 You know, I was lusting out of one of these ladders. 87 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:08,920 Like, I'm not mechanically inclined. 88 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:11,520 You ever seen those ladders that can shift into different 89 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:13,080 positions? You can make them all kind of 90 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:14,840 things, right? And I thought, I need something 91 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:15,840 like that. And I'm thinking, well, why? 92 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:20,240 I like, I don't go up in the ladder, but I've been wanting 93 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,040 one of these ladders for years. And I yeah, here's my credit 94 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,360 card, man, at $459. Get the ladder and all that, all 95 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:30,080 these extra parts to it. So I'm walking around and I'm 96 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,000 getting convicted, I'm getting buyer's remorse. 97 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:35,840 Well, I emailed the company, said cancel that order and I'm 98 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:38,480 calling the American Express company later today and 99 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:40,840 canceling that order takes 6 to 8 weeks to get it. 100 00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:45,360 So I'm still in the clear. But you know, as I was walking 101 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,480 around, you know, after while I'm not getting overwhelmed, 102 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:49,040 people want you to buy this, buy that. 103 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,680 You get these certain mops that do these, they, they really make 104 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:53,280 them look good. They really work good when 105 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:55,000 you're there and then you take them home and it doesn't do the 106 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:57,120 same thing. It must be like a trick mop or 107 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:00,400 something. And then we laid in this bed. 108 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:02,920 It was so comfortable, man. And this guy from Southern 109 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:04,840 California, they just had that way about him. 110 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:07,720 They're just so like laid back and just like know how to get 111 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:09,560 into your head. And they're just like, man, just 112 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:11,720 like, you know, and Cindy's like, wow, this thing's so 113 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:13,440 comfortable. And, you know, we're talking. 114 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,240 And he says, well, the price of the mattress the, the bed is 115 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:19,440 normally 8500, but we have it for 5600. 116 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,520 And I'm like, I'm trying to act cool that that price doesn't 117 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:28,080 bother me, right? So he can tell looking at my 118 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:32,160 eyes, I'm still not buying. Then he says, we're going to 119 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:35,480 sell it to you guys at a special promotion today for 46. 120 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,640 Then it was 4500. Then he called me over in the 121 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:41,160 corner and he said, look, I need some leads here. 122 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:42,840 Now you got to promise me this one thing. 123 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:45,080 If I give you this really good price, you're going to tell 124 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:47,360 everybody else and I'm going to get a lot of customers, right? 125 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:49,520 I mean, it's like a con. I'm a salesman. 126 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:51,360 So I, I, I, I should pick up on that. 127 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:55,000 But they say salespeople the easiest people to sell, you 128 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:59,680 know, So then he says $4000. And I just looked at him and I 129 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:01,320 said, well, we're going to talk about it. 130 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:02,840 I got, I got away from that place. 131 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:05,480 But you know, as I was leaving and Cindy and I were just 132 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:08,160 talking, we got out of there for under 100 bucks, which is pretty 133 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:11,840 good, you know, you know, and it was cash, it was no charge. 134 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,360 I don't believe in going into debt for consumables anymore. 135 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:20,280 But I was driving home and I thought, how we're impacted by 136 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:24,360 consumerism, right? That's the idolatry of our age. 137 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,160 We're not worshipping a statue anymore like they did back here. 138 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:31,240 Artemis was there, God of, you know, birth and some kind of 139 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:37,000 like a God of nature that they worshipped in this city of 140 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,560 Sardis. But we are worshippers of 141 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,200 consumerism. And what happens is whenever 142 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:46,000 your mind gets latched onto something you really want, 143 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:49,200 whether it's a car or some gadget in the house or whatever, 144 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,480 isn't it funny how that's all you think about? 145 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:54,920 You're doing investigation. You're on the Internet. 146 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:56,480 You're checking the pros and the cons. 147 00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:00,320 You're like spending hours and hours and hours, you know, and 148 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:02,000 God and God's like, hey, what about me? 149 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:04,400 I'm over here. Well, yeah, Lord, but this is 150 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,680 fun right now because I can forget about everything and I 151 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:11,800 can get lost in, in, in this harmless consumer product here. 152 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:13,720 And, and God's speaking out with this. 153 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,880 This is an idol and it can get you in debt and it's taking your 154 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:18,920 focus off of me. You're just, you're, you're out 155 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,000 of balance. You know, you're like way, way 156 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:23,480 over here. And this is all you're thinking 157 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,440 about. The new car, the new this or the 158 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:30,560 new that or the, you know, and of course you might need 159 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,159 something and then you can be way over here to where you're 160 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:35,480 trying to be so spiritual. You're not being practical and 161 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,120 you're not thinking about the basic thing that if I don't get 162 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,640 new tires for my wife's car, the tires are going to blow and it's 163 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:43,240 going to be unsafe. And then she's going to be 164 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,560 calling me up to. But a balance here being 165 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:48,520 directed by the spirit that when is it appropriate to buy? 166 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:51,400 When is it appropriate to not buy all those kind of things? 167 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,480 But we're sojourners though, we're just passing through, so 168 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,320 we shouldn't get hooked into anything too deeply. 169 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:00,960 It says abstain from fleshly lust which war against the soul. 170 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:05,200 A fleshly lust is an over abundance of my thought life 171 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,960 being interested in my consumer product, right? 172 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:11,640 It's a fleshly lust. We all struggle with it, don't 173 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,280 we? It isn't many times the adultery 174 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:19,160 and the fornication I'm talking to you people about, but it's 175 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:23,800 the other stuff that seems somewhat harmless, but it's also 176 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:28,680 warring against your soul. It says have your conduct 177 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:31,800 honorable among the Gentiles that when they speak against you 178 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,400 as evil doers, and this is the point I want to get to, that 179 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,840 they may, may by your good works, which they observe, 180 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,120 glorify God in the day of visitation. 181 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:42,640 In other words, again, the purpose of the good works is 182 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:45,480 that they would what? Glorify God? 183 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:50,720 The purpose of the church is not to magnify the organization, the 184 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,800 programs, the facilities, the ministries, the teachers, the 185 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:59,240 pastors, but the purpose of the church is to magnify and exalt 186 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:01,280 Jesus Christ. Amen. 187 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:05,520 Jesus says if I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself. 188 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,640 You know why the church in America is so weak and why so 189 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:12,880 many people seem disinterested in the message of the gospel is 190 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,080 that men have been lifting themselves up. 191 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:19,040 Jesus says if I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself. 192 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:23,200 May this church be a church that only lifts up Jesus Christ. 193 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:26,720 Guys, when you tell people about the church, don't tell them 194 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:28,520 about how great the worship band is. 195 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:33,640 Don't tell them how the pastor does this or does that. 196 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:37,200 Tell them that when you come to the church, you recognize that 197 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:41,240 Christ is present in the church, that Jesus Christ has lifted up, 198 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,920 that all eyes are on him, and that all flesh is but thus 199 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:49,280 right. Jesus is in the days leading up 200 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:54,000 to his crucifixion in John 12 says there were certain Greeks 201 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,280 among those who came up to worship at the feast. 202 00:10:56,280 --> 00:11:00,160 It's Passover and they're all being drawn to Jerusalem to 203 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:04,720 celebrate Passover. Little did they know that the 204 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:10,360 true Passover lamb that was planned before the foundation of 205 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:14,040 the earth was going to make atonement for sin once and for 206 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,560 all. It says they came to Philip. 207 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:20,680 Philip's one of the apostles who weighed by from Bethesda, 208 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:24,160 Galilee. They asked him saying, Sir, we 209 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:27,840 wish to see Jesus. They're coming up to the temple. 210 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:32,480 They're coming up to celebrate Passover, and it's all 211 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:35,000 traditional and cultural. They do that every year. 212 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,560 But their real intention for coming up there was that we 213 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:41,800 would see Jesus. And that's what we pray when we 214 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:44,760 come to the church here. If I don't see Jesus here, I 215 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:47,920 don't know about you guys. I had a bad day if I didn't 216 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:50,520 sense the presence of Christ here in your life. 217 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:55,200 And then all we're doing, I'm not filled, I'm not fed. 218 00:11:55,520 --> 00:12:00,360 May the people that come to this church have only one desire, and 219 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:04,120 that's the desire to see Jesus. If our works aren't perfect. 220 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:07,320 In other words, if, if I'm preaching in the flesh in my own 221 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:11,360 ability, if the worship team is doing their worship in their own 222 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:13,360 strength. If the Sunday school teachers 223 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:17,200 are teaching the lessons in their own ability, if the 224 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:20,480 women's study or the men's study downstairs before we start is 225 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:24,600 being led by human instrumentality and not the 226 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:27,720 spirit of the living God, they're not going to see Jesus 227 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:30,440 here, are they? The guests, the visitors, the 228 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:32,840 people that come to check us out, the people who are 229 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:35,200 starving. I believe in these days so many 230 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:39,240 don't go to church anymore and so many are in church, just 231 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:41,400 going to church because it's something you do. 232 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:45,000 It's a formality. People have lost the heart and 233 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:47,840 the vision for wanting to come to church to see Jesus. 234 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:52,200 And if we come here together and we see Jesus, we're blessed. 235 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:55,880 Why should we want the people to see Jesus here? 236 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:58,720 Because he's the head of the church. 237 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:02,760 It's not me. It's not anybody else here. 238 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,160 Christ is the head of the church. 239 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,960 Only Jesus can save his people from their sins. 240 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:12,800 We can't. Jesus is the Messiah. 241 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,800 There's no other deliverer. There's no other savior. 242 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:22,800 Jesus is the living bread. Jesus alone is from above God in 243 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:27,960 the flesh, the incarnation Jesus is eternal Jesus is the light of 244 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:32,080 the world, Jesus is the son of God, Jesus is a resurrection and 245 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:35,760 the life Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. 246 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:39,880 Why in the world would anybody want to come to church for any 247 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:45,080 other reason but Jesus? Acts 413 says Now when they saw 248 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:48,320 the boldness of Peter and John, Peter and John filled with the 249 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:52,880 Holy Spirit, they perceive that they were uneducated and 250 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:57,360 untrained men. They marveled and they realized 251 00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:01,360 that they had been with Jesus. All of us here, from the 252 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:05,200 youngest child to the oldest person, I don't care how much 253 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,400 you think you know or you don't know. 254 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:11,520 That's not the point. The point is when people meet 255 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:15,120 you and when they come in contact with you and when they 256 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:19,120 have a conversation with you, are they realizing you've been 257 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:22,640 hanging out with Jesus by the way you act, by the way you 258 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:26,920 talk, by the way you live, man. May that be the case for all of 259 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:28,080 us. And we gather here and we're 260 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:30,760 hanging out with each other. That I know, man, just being 261 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:34,480 around whoever that they're hanging out with Jesus, there's 262 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:36,040 a fragrance that's coming off of them. 263 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,520 There's a love, there's a, a power, there's a, a sensitivity 264 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:41,920 that doesn't come off a normal human being. 265 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:46,080 This church, Sardis, Jesus said, is ready to die. 266 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:50,600 I'll tell you guys, I have been here for 14 years and so many 267 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:53,600 times I have felt like this church is ready to die. 268 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:58,760 His word to this church, to the remnant. 269 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:06,080 Strengthen what is still whole. Don't focus on what isn't going 270 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:10,200 right in the church. Focus on what is going right. 271 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,040 I don't want to bother anybody here that is not interested in 272 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:16,880 following the Lord. I can't make you follow them 273 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:18,760 anyway. But I want to hang out with you 274 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:22,200 guys and pour my life into you guys that are hungry and thirsty 275 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:25,560 for God. I'll do whatever I can, spend as 276 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:31,640 much time as I can with you to help you fulfill the calling 277 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:35,000 that God has for you. But if you're not interested, I 278 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:38,680 I've learned a long time ago not to call people up that I haven't 279 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:43,280 seen for a month or two months. It doesn't do it never does 280 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:45,560 anything. And if they come back because I 281 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:48,240 called them and God didn't call them, what's the point, right? 282 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,000 It's not that I don't care. I pray for the people that how 283 00:15:52,000 --> 00:16:00,200 long ago gone from this church. I can still pray, but we have to 284 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,440 focus on what's strong here and they had to focus on what was 285 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:09,000 strong there. Go back to the beginning of when 286 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:13,320 you first met Christ. I think of how the Holy Spirit 287 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:16,200 has brought new people to this church over the last six months. 288 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:19,280 And I, and this is not a put down for some of you guys who 289 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,880 have been here a long time, but I find that the hungriest people 290 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:23,320 are the people that just arrived here. 291 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:25,960 They're the ones that are there on Wednesday night. 292 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:28,880 They're the ones that are stepping up to serve. 293 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:30,960 They got they got energy. Are they any better than you 294 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:33,000 know? But for some reason, God sent 295 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,680 him here because the church was on the verge of dying. 296 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:39,560 And it doesn't matter how many people in the church, You can 297 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,560 have 500 people in the church and it's on the verge of dying 298 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:45,880 and the 500 people keep showing up year in and year out, day in 299 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:47,200 and day out, week in and week out. 300 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:53,000 But the church is dead, right? But the church, it's alive is 301 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,520 exciting to be in and exciting to be around. 302 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:58,360 There's a really cool picture. We're going to get it. 303 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,920 Cindy's getting ready. We had a dog guy come yesterday 304 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:03,560 to teach. We're getting ready to get rid 305 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,599 of this dog. I've had it and Cindy's like so 306 00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:08,440 connected to it. This is like her baby. 307 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,240 It sits on her lap when she's watching TV at night and he's 308 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,760 just like real calm and just like he's like a demon dog 309 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:19,240 whenever I'm around him. My son-in-law daughter, get rid 310 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:21,680 of him. So she said, hey honey, I got 311 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:23,720 good news. I said, what's the good news? 312 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:25,839 I thought she found someone that wants a dog. 313 00:17:27,079 --> 00:17:30,720 She says I got this dog trainer. This guy's done it his whole 314 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:32,040 life. He's going to come over, blah, 315 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:36,040 blah, blah. I'm like, Oh no, I love her. 316 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:40,560 What am I going to say? OK, honey, we'll have them come 317 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:42,080 over. So we're at the home show and 318 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:43,640 one of the last styles are walking down. 319 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:49,480 I see this guy, Mr. O, He trains dogs, $600 a day. 320 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:52,320 He promises your dog will be changed. 321 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:55,480 I'm desperate. I'm tempted, but I'm not going 322 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:58,800 to So I see him and there's like 8 dogs there and they're all 323 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:00,720 calm that that Cindy thought they were drugged. 324 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:03,880 They're just Bulldogs sitting there a golden all these 325 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:06,000 different types of dogs and they were just like sitting there 326 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:10,280 like like chilling out, not jumping on you, not biting, not 327 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:11,520 barking. It was amazing. 328 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,080 This guy's a Christian. He's been doing this for years 329 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:15,640 and he he was telling me how he does it. 330 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,800 And so I said, well, you know, OK, well, this guy, this not 331 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,920 that guy, but this other guy comes over who's 30 bucks an 332 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:24,240 hour's better than $600.00 per day. 333 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:27,360 He comes over and he makes it clear to us that he needs to 334 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:29,720 train us, not the dog. The dog's not the problem. 335 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:33,000 We're the idiots. It was humbling. 336 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:35,960 He said, no, don't, don't be offended when I tell you this. 337 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:38,920 But, you know, and I felt like I was first grade, you know, just 338 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:42,680 learning basic, you know, dog relation skills. 339 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:50,560 Well, what happened was we ended up learning some things that the 340 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:53,200 dog isn't in charge anymore and he doesn't know what to do. 341 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:56,480 He's like he knows we're in charge. 342 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,480 I mean, our lives have changed in one day with this dog. 343 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:09,320 Where am I going with that? I know there was an there was an 344 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:13,880 illustration there, maybe. What's that? 345 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:16,640 Oh, yeah, the picture. Thank you. 346 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,120 Getting back to prayer. So I'm in there praying today 347 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:23,720 and God bless this little dog. The dog is changing. 348 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:26,240 Even the last couple days before the guy came over, I said, 349 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:28,040 honey, are you praying for this dog? 350 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:33,600 And she says, yeah. And I said to Jeff and 351 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:35,960 everything by prayer and supplication. 352 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:37,760 There's no small things for God, is there? 353 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,120 We think the person who's lost, it's closest to hell. 354 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:44,840 Lord, Yeah, don't bother God with the trivial prayer for a 355 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:47,200 dog. But God is so loving and so 356 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:49,520 connected with everything. There's nothing insignificant 357 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:52,880 with God. So I'm on my knees praying, you 358 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:57,680 know, and all of a sudden I feel the dog and it's laying on the 359 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:00,040 back of my calves while I'm praying. 360 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:04,120 I'll tell you, I said soon, you got to get that picture and send 361 00:20:04,120 --> 00:20:10,680 it around the world. You know, this church is ready 362 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:12,920 to die. I don't believe this church is 363 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:14,760 ready to die right now because I believe. 364 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:18,240 You are repenting, you are turning to God. 365 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:21,360 You are overcomers, you're interested in overcoming. 366 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,160 You want to do his will and you're not afraid of confessing 367 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,640 his name publicly. Many of you came forward last 368 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:30,800 week to pray. You weren't concerned what 369 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:32,800 people were thinking about why you up there praying? 370 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:37,040 Is that person messed up or no, No, Hey guys, I, I pray for this 371 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,560 church that as easy as it is for you to greet someone and give 372 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:44,240 them a hug and and say hi, it will be, this is easy for you to 373 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:46,800 come up here and pray collectively when the Lord leads 374 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,320 you. My heart as a pastor, I want 375 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:51,920 everybody up here to pray because then I think everybody 376 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:53,560 repented. But that's sort of foolish 377 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,160 because you could have everybody up here and maybe only 10 people 378 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,720 are repenting, right? You can't go by what's happening 379 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:01,440 on the outside, but there's something about praying in the 380 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,240 church. God says his church is to be a 381 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:07,960 House of prayer. And so when we close the service 382 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,000 and I ask you if you're so inclined to come on down and 383 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,760 just get on your face before the Lord at the altar up here, don't 384 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:17,200 be intimidated about it. This seat is something normal, 385 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,560 natural. Don't think, oh, it's weird. 386 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:22,040 If I go up there, you know, I want it to be free flowing. 387 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:25,600 And I, you know, I don't want to be trying to be a cheerleader up 388 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:28,080 here, you know, trying to get you to do something you don't 389 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:29,720 want to do. But at the same time, I want to 390 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:34,720 compel you to pray because what will happen at the end of the 391 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:37,400 service many times is that you're convicted, you're 392 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:39,920 challenged. God spoke to you, you know it, 393 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:42,680 But you got to seal the deal, so to speak, because if you just 394 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:46,120 leave and don't interact with the Lord from what he spoke to 395 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:49,280 you about in the message, you won't really probably change 396 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:52,120 that week. You sit at the enemy take takes 397 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:55,000 a seed out as long as soon as it's planted many times right, 398 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:57,760 and it doesn't produce a fruit. But if you come up and you just 399 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:00,480 say, Lord, you drilled me today. You brought something to my 400 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,240 attention and my heart. I want my life to change. 401 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:09,080 You're confessing God in a way before people and he won't be 402 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,080 ashamed to confess you before the Father. 403 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:15,600 He says he has an ear to hear. Let him repent. 404 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:19,200 The last thing I want to touch on is it talks about this idea 405 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:22,280 of he says he who overcomes I should be clothed in white 406 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:24,600 garments. I will not blot out his name 407 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:28,000 from the book of life. I want to tell you that this is 408 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,360 not a comment that's being made like there's a potential for 409 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:34,600 this to happen. I believe in the perseverance of 410 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:38,240 the Saints, the idea of once saved, always saved, can you 411 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:40,880 lose your salvation? People argue about this stuff 412 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:43,440 all the time. It drives me crazy. 413 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:48,200 The key is that if you really know Christ, Jesus says my sheep 414 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:50,920 know me, they hear my voice and what? 415 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:54,280 They follow me. Now, if you think you're his 416 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:58,120 sheep and you aren't hearing his voice and you're not following 417 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:00,480 him, it's obvious that you aren't a sheep yet. 418 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:02,960 You're still a goat, You're still lost. 419 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:07,640 But the true believer is one that will have problems in life, 420 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:11,400 as we all do, stumble, make mistakes, but they don't stay 421 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:12,800 down. They get back up. 422 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:16,160 They repent, they're pressing in, they're persevering, They're 423 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:20,520 going to endure to the end. A true believer endures to the 424 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:26,480 end, right? So the comment isn't being made 425 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:29,880 that there's a potential to wipe some people out of the names, 426 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,800 out of the book of life. What's interesting is our names 427 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,120 are written in that book before we were even created. 428 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:38,920 The elect, and that's the mystery. 429 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:41,480 Who's the elect? Who isn't? 430 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:42,960 Why is there elect? Why is there some? 431 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:47,600 You know, it's God is God. His ways are not our ways. 432 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:49,040 His thoughts are not our thoughts. 433 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:51,840 The beauty is, though, that he's not willing that any should 434 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:55,320 perish, that there all should come the repentance. 435 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:00,720 This has been Living Waters of Grace with Pastor Clark. 436 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,120 We're going through the challenging and also intriguing 437 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:07,120 Book of Revelation. Whether you're a fan of reading 438 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:09,880 ahead in books of fiction, there's such a benefit to 439 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:13,480 reading ahead in the Bible to read about how it all ends. 440 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,400 But in an interesting turn of events, the Book of Revelation 441 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:21,600 is not really the end, but rather the beginning. 442 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:25,040 It's the end of life as we know it here on earth. 443 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:29,080 But there's so much to look forward to for what comes after 444 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:32,240 all the judgement of the earth and those who reject God. 445 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:36,520 There's a lot to work through, and it can be heartbreaking to 446 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,120 read through the intense judgements and wrath that will 447 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:42,920 come on those who hate God with all their might. 448 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:47,000 The thing is, God has given chance upon chance to these 449 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:51,080 people and they don't want it. So the outcome is that there are 450 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:55,360 judgments and consequences for those who've rejected the good 451 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:59,520 news and the gift of salvation that's offered through Jesus's 452 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,640 death and resurrection. Are you one who has heard about 453 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:07,520 these things but doesn't really want it because you want to live 454 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:13,000 life on your terms? Trust me, living for Jesus is so 455 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,560 much better. That doesn't mean it will be 456 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:18,280 easy. As you listen and read through 457 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:22,240 Revelation with us, you'll come to a stark realization that you 458 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,720 don't want to be on Earth when the apocalypse happens. 459 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:30,480 So check out Calvary Chapel online.com to learn how to come 460 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:34,880 to a saving grace through faith that will allow you to be with 461 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,480 Jesus for eternity. We'd also love to meet you in 462 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:40,920 person at Calvary Chapel Westmoreland. 463 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:44,360 Come join us at 400 E Pittsburgh St. 464 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:52,880 Ste. 6B in Greensburg, PA 15601. This has been living waters of 465 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:53,440 Grace.