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 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,320 And verse 3 And then the second Angel poured out his bowl on the 6 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,520 sea and it became blood as of a dead man. 7 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,400 And every living creature in the sea died. 8 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,400 Now we read about this in Revelation chapter 8. 9 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,440 There was a partial destruction of the waters. 10 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,840 They were partially destroyed and the sense of becoming 11 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:00,000 contaminated with blood. But now we see the complete 12 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:04,000 contamination. Everything in the waters, every 13 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:06,960 living creature in the sea, it says in verse three, died. 14 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,280 Water is essential to all life on Earth. 2/3 of the Earth's 15 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,000 surface is covered with water. The human body is made-up of 16 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,000 half to 3/4 water. Without food, a human body can 17 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,960 survive for up to three months, but without food, that number is 18 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:26,000 drastically reduced to three to seven days. 19 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,720 In Pastor Clark's teaching today, he warned you of a time 20 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:33,080 when God will judge the earth by turning the sea into the 21 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:36,880 likeness of blood. But today you can be sure that 22 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:39,280 if you turn to God, He will show you mercy. 23 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,960 Now here's Pastor Clark in Revelation Chapter 16 with 24 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:45,920 today's edition of Living Waters of Grace. 25 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:48,760 Revelation chapter 16. We're going to go through the 26 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:54,600 1st 11 verses this morning, so let's read the first verse here. 27 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,440 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven 28 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:02,920 angels, go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the 29 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:05,920 earth. Last week we studied about this 30 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,400 great voice out of the temple that we're in the time now where 31 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:11,840 there is no more opportunity for intercession. 32 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:16,200 There is no time to ask God to hold back his judgment. 33 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,880 As we pray right now, as brothers and sisters, we pray 34 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,480 for our families and our loved ones and the people we care 35 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,960 about that there would still be time for them to come to, to 36 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,040 know the Lord and be saved. But there will come a time when 37 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:33,440 God's temp temple will be closed in the sense that there will be 38 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,800 no more opportunity to ask Him to wait. 39 00:02:36,920 --> 00:02:40,360 His time has come to pour out His judgment and disgrace. 40 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,280 A great voice of God comes out of the temple and he's speaking 41 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:47,800 very clearly now to the angels, the seven angels. 42 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:51,680 This is the third woe that we read about in Revelation 11/14, 43 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,760 that the wrath of God is about to be poured out upon the earth 44 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,840 right at the end of the tribulation period. 45 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:02,400 This wrath will be poured out to punish sin because God's 46 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:07,480 righteous judgment is now about to come into focus, and also the 47 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,080 opportunity still for chastisement upon people on the 48 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,040 earth that they still might think about repenting. 49 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,520 But we'll find out as we go through this particular text 50 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,840 today that regardless of what happens, men still refuse to 51 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:25,160 repent of their deeds. And as we study these different 52 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:27,960 bowls of judgment, it reminds us of what happened in the nation 53 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,520 of Israel and the book of Exodus, when God plagued Egypt 54 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,960 with the boils and the water that turned to blood, and the 55 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,640 extreme darkness that occurred on the face of the earth for 56 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,920 three days. And Exodus Chapter 7, nine and 57 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:46,720 10, verse 2, we see that, we see the first Angel, He goes forth, 58 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,400 it goes out and pours out his bowl upon the earth. 59 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,840 And a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the 60 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:57,000 mark of the beast and on those who worship the image. 61 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:00,480 The people prior to this horrible event coming out 62 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:02,080 thought they had it made for a while. 63 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:04,480 They were looking at all the people that were on the earth 64 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:07,960 that were recognizing that all the things that they heard about 65 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:12,080 prior to their lost their loved ones who had already gone to the 66 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:14,240 Kingdom of heaven. There are the people who are 67 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:16,800 still in the face of the earth at this time of the tribulation 68 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:20,680 were warned by people like us that when the Antichrist comes 69 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:23,520 on the scene, if you're still on the earth and you haven't 70 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:26,360 received Christ, you still have an opportunity. 71 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:28,920 But whatever you do, do not take the mark of the beast. 72 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,320 Because if you take the mark of the Antichrist, you sold your 73 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:34,920 soul to the devil. There is no opportunity for 74 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,560 repentance. You've been deceived and your 75 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:41,280 judgment is sealed. But the people at that time that 76 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,600 didn't know or could care less about what we're talking about 77 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,840 today, I thought they had it made. 78 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:51,080 Economy is going well. There's peace on the earth. 79 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,080 Everything is flowing in a prosperous way. 80 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:57,760 Anybody that didn't accept the mark of the beast at that time 81 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:01,200 would be considered a fool because life is so good. 82 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:04,600 The Antichrist promises peace on earth and wonders and and 83 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:07,600 there's going to be a season of peace on the earth during that 84 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:09,280 time. So the people that receive the 85 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:13,040 market of beasts are going to think that they got it made, and 86 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:15,200 the people that haven't are the fools. 87 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,640 But the real fools now will be seen as those who did receive 88 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:21,000 the mark of the beast. Because not only do they have 89 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:24,240 this mark on their bodies that give them the opportunity to buy 90 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,120 and do commerce, but they're going to receive a horrendous 91 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,680 mark, a sore from the throne of God that's going to be very 92 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,480 painful and very hideous. And every time they look at 93 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,520 themselves in the mirror, they'll no longer recognize the 94 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:39,560 solace that they had temporarily from the mark of the beast. 95 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:44,160 They will only see this horrendous sore that will point 96 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:48,520 them out as those who are followers of the Antichrist in 97 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:50,720 verse 3. And then the second Angel poured 98 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:54,720 out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man, 99 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,520 and every living creature in the sea died. 100 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,480 Now we read about this in Revelation chapter 8. 101 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,400 There was a partial destruction of the waters. 102 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:07,720 They were partially destroyed and the sense of becoming 103 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,840 contaminated with blood. But now we see the complete 104 00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:15,720 contamination everything in the waters, every living creature in 105 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:17,640 the sea it says in verse three died. 106 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:20,920 I love the ocean. I don't know about you, but at 107 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,240 this makes your heart sick to look and think about the 108 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:26,480 vastness of God's beautiful creation. 109 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,840 That one day, that beautiful sea that we enjoy riding the waves 110 00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:32,800 in and surfing and all that kind of fun stuff, playing in the 111 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,120 water with our kids will one day be destroyed. 112 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:40,200 And no one will even consider walking in it, let alone getting 113 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:42,040 any salt water in their mouth anymore. 114 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:46,960 Because now they will have to experience the horror of all the 115 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,000 waters being destroyed. And you think about this 116 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,840 horrible event where every creature dies. 117 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:56,160 Our water system, our water supplies will be completely 118 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:58,720 contaminated. It will be very clear that the 119 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:02,200 earth will not be able to continue as it is without this 120 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:06,280 wonder of drinking water. And verse 4 it says, And the 121 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:09,880 third Angel poured out his bowl in the rivers springs of water, 122 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:13,360 and they became blood again. We read about this partially 123 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,880 occurring in Revelation 8. Now the waters are completely 124 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:21,080 contaminated and the time will be short for Christ's return as 125 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:24,800 the earth cannot survive very long with this kind of chaos. 126 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,160 And verse 5 it says And I heard the Angel of the waters saying, 127 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:33,240 You are righteous, O Lord, the one who is and who was and who 128 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,960 is to be, because you have judged these things, for they 129 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,120 have shed the blood of the Saints and prophets, and you 130 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:44,800 have given them blood to drink, for it is their just due. 131 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:50,080 So now after all this time, the horror of all these people on 132 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:53,320 the face of the earth that hated people who were Saints, who were 133 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:58,680 Christians, forced them to die martyr's death, laughed and 134 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:04,040 ridiculed over the blood that was shed by the horrible people 135 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,480 on the face of the earth that persecuted the Christians. 136 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:11,520 Now God's righteous judgment is coming and it's pure and it's 137 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:15,840 appropriate. And we see the horror of this 138 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:20,320 situation because not only is this blood everywhere, it says 139 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:23,160 he's given them blood to drink for it as their just do. 140 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,200 The ones that scoffed and ridiculed the blood of the 141 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:30,800 martyrs will now have to drink the blood of the waters of 142 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:33,320 death. And God is faithful and he's 143 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:37,840 righteous, and his judgment is surely to come one day, even 144 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,000 though the world innocently thinks every day that life will 145 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,760 go on the way it always does, but one day it will be too late. 146 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,520 And as we study this book, one of the things I'm concerned 147 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:50,560 about, Everybody's interested in end time prophecies, and it's 148 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:53,680 thrilling and it's fascinating. But if it doesn't have any 149 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:58,440 impact on changing my life as I teach it and yours as you listen 150 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:02,400 to it, what's the point? If I'm not concerned about my 151 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:06,120 own life in repenting? If I'm not concerned about lost 152 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:07,920 people needing to hear the gospel? 153 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:10,920 You know, it's like what the Scriptures say, ever learning 154 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:13,280 and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, what's 155 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,320 the point? The Bible tells us knowledge 156 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:20,120 puffs up, but love that edifies. And I know some people who are 157 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:24,040 marvelous students of prophecy, but they don't live as 158 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:25,880 Christians. I can't understand the 159 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,080 connection. You would think if you were in 160 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,160 the prophecy and understood the gravity of what's going to come 161 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:34,400 out in the world, that it would cause you to have some burdens 162 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:38,360 and some concerns for anybody that doesn't know Jesus Christ. 163 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,400 I pray that's what occurs as we study this book. 164 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,400 I want it to be practical. And that's not something that 165 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:47,600 feeds our minds, our intellect, intellects. 166 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,240 Verse 8 it says then the 4th Angel poured out his bowl on the 167 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:56,880 sun and power was given him to scorch men with fire. 168 00:09:57,280 --> 00:09:59,120 And men were scorched with great heat. 169 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:02,480 And they blasphemy the name of God who has power over these 170 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,520 plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory. 171 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:08,160 Have you ever been in the sun where you got in a real bad 172 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:09,760 sunburn? It's not pleasant, is it? 173 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:13,800 You put that solar cane on and rub that Noxzema on to try to 174 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:16,080 get rid of rid of the heat. I mean, there's nothing worse 175 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,080 than getting a bad sunburn. I remember as a kid, you know, 176 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:21,760 as before we knew about skin cancer and that kind of stuff. 177 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:25,240 And my mom abused my brother and I should send us out in the sun 178 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,760 without suntan lotion, you know, And at night we would be we 179 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:32,640 would be our backs would be almost beat red and I forget 180 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:34,720 what she rubbed on us. She rubbed some kind of stuff 181 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:36,120 on. And you'll be OK. 182 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,360 I didn't mean she abused us. She didn't know any better, you 183 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:41,800 know, but you know, we'd be laying in bed at at night and 184 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,120 our backs would all night. You couldn't sleep. 185 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:46,840 Remember that when you were kids, It hurts so bad everywhere 186 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:48,280 you turn. You couldn't get comfortable. 187 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:50,400 You know, you tried to sleep on your stomach and you were red. 188 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:54,400 Sleep on your back, you're red. And but at this time, this kind 189 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:58,200 of sun condition will be like unlike any other sunburn that 190 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:01,400 anybody could ever experience. Some people in our congregation 191 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,040 have gone through the process of chemotherapy. 192 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:07,040 And that is bad enough in a sense of how it burns the skin. 193 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:10,640 This kind of heat that's going to come off the sun will be 194 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,480 cataclysmic. It'll it'll burn the very flesh 195 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,280 off of people's bodies and they'll have to flee from it. 196 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,520 They'll hide somewhere to get out of the get out of the rays 197 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:23,080 of the sun. The sun's usually a blessing to 198 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:25,200 man. And now the sun has become a 199 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:29,200 curse. And what's shocking here, as it 200 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:33,120 says these people, they blasphemy God because of this, 201 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:36,200 instead of saying God, we, we sense your anger. 202 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,080 We know we're sinful. We know we need to turn away 203 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:42,760 from our sin and our pride. They, they curse God, they shake 204 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:46,320 their fist at him and, and, and just say horrible things about 205 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:48,840 the Creator. And because of their pains and 206 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:53,360 their sores, it says they did not repent of their deeds. 207 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:55,960 It shows you the hardness of man's heart. 208 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,280 Back in Exodus when God was dealing with Moses and Moses was 209 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:04,000 dealing with the afflictions on the nation of Egypt through the 210 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:07,080 various plagues. The purpose of those plagues 211 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:11,840 were intended by God to 'cause that nation to realize the evil 212 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,840 that they had done towards God's chosen people, the nation of 213 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,800 Israel. And every time Pharaoh sort of 214 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:21,680 got it a little bit and started reconsidering his, his evilness 215 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:25,360 and his hatred and his vindictiveness and, and 216 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:30,280 deceptions toward God's chosen people, as soon as he began to 217 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:33,960 start to turn a little bit, he turned right back again to being 218 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:36,960 the hard hearted evil man and leader he was. 219 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,520 And even in the midst of this going on in the Book of 220 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,960 Revelation, it says they, they refused to repent. 221 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:46,840 It says they did not repent of their deeds. 222 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:51,080 They refused to give him glory. So it shows you the hardness of 223 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:55,120 men's hearts. We all have hearts that at times 224 00:12:55,120 --> 00:13:01,280 can be hard, even as Christians. It, it's, it, it's never ceases. 225 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:06,040 It never ceases to amaze me as a pastor, knowing my own heart and 226 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:09,680 knowing the hearts of those I, I serve, that at times we can be 227 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:14,520 very, very difficult in regard to being pliable in the hands of 228 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:18,320 God. The Lord in the midst of his 229 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:22,720 love is bringing judgment. Of course, He has to destroy the 230 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:25,080 world one day. It's obvious because men won't 231 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,440 repent, repent. Their deeds are evil. 232 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:29,960 They refuse to repent. But God's heart throughout the 233 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:32,600 beginning of time, in the midst of adversity and trial and 234 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:36,840 tribulation, is to turn the people's hearts toward him. 235 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,200 That we would cry out for mercy and say, Lord, forgive me. 236 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,800 And God is a merciful God because if He hears us cry out 237 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:47,800 for mercy and forgiveness, He will never once turn his back 238 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:50,760 away. His mercy endures forever, the 239 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:53,120 Bible says. But there's something in the 240 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:57,600 heart of man that the pride is so thick and so strong that we 241 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:01,320 will refuse to acknowledge our wrongdoings and our sin and not 242 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:03,920 repent. And so God begins to pour these 243 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:08,000 plagues out of darkness. It reminds us of what happened 244 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:12,280 in Exodus chapter 1021 and 22. The darkness was so thick. 245 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:16,600 It says that God extended that through the hands of Moses so 246 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:20,040 that the darkness would be felt. Sometimes you've been in a 247 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,480 situation where you've just felt darkness. 248 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:25,280 Maybe you felt the darkness of the evil 1, the oppression, the 249 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:27,000 attacks of the evil 1. I have. 250 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:29,720 It is so thick, it is so dark. It is so real. 251 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:31,080 You almost feel you can touch it. 252 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:34,880 Or maybe you've been out in the woods some night and the stars 253 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:37,240 are overcast. You can't see the the moon and 254 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:40,040 and you're trying to find your way in a path and it is so dark 255 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:42,120 that you know you better not go anywhere. 256 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:44,760 You'll really get lost. So you just stay in the place 257 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,440 that you are. It was such a thick darkness in 258 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,200 Exodus. It lasted for three days and it 259 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:53,560 says it was so dark that the people had not the ability to 260 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:57,720 see one another, neither anyone rose from the place that they 261 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:00,840 were in. It also says that they nod their 262 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:04,440 tongues in verse 10 because of the pain of the sores and the 263 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,600 heat from the sun. And it reminds us of what it 264 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:11,960 says in Matthew 2530. And he casts the unprofitable 265 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:16,120 servant into outer darkness. And there shall be weeping and 266 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:19,200 gnashing of teeth. This is a preview of hell. 267 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:23,080 Hell is a literal place. It is a place designed by God 268 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,520 for the devil and his angels. God never intended that man, his 269 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:28,120 creation, would have to be in hell. 270 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,680 But because of our own hardness, the own wickedness of our own 271 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,880 hearts, and our refusal to repent and submit to God, we 272 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:40,400 we'll have to enter into that place if we don't have Christ as 273 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,520 not any our Savior, but our Lord. 274 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:48,360 And so he says in verse 11 that they did not repent of their 275 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:50,440 deed. I'd like to read something to 276 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:52,240 you. This is something that's just 277 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:54,080 been on my conscience the last couple weeks. 278 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:57,240 It's from a devotional I've been looking at, and it says, my 279 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,200 brethren deem it all joy Whenever you fall into diverse 280 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,880 temptations or trials, knowing that the testing of your faith 281 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:07,520 works out patience. God has a purpose for trials and 282 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,520 adversity. It's to cause us to be humbled 283 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,200 and to be broken and to repent and to turn toward him. 284 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:18,000 With these words from his general epistle, James, a 285 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,600 brother of the Lord, reminds us that the various afflictions we 286 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:24,520 encounter in our daily lives can be of great benefit. 287 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,840 And we know, as Paul reminds us, that those who love God, all 288 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,560 things work together for good in Romans 828. 289 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:34,640 Now listen to this and see if this applies to you. 290 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,240 I know it does to me. The demands of today's secular, 291 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:43,760 humanistic, ego worshipping society, where personal comfort 292 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:48,080 and pleasure reign supreme, have often caused many, if not most 293 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,600 of us to take our focus off of striving to live the Gospel of 294 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:53,280 Christ. Does that affect any of you 295 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:57,040 guys? However, unlike Peter, who, 296 00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:00,720 having taken his eyes off of his Lord and having begun to sink 297 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:05,200 into the sea, immediately cried out to Jesus to save him, we 298 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:09,880 seem to be either unaware of or indifferent to the fact that we 299 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:14,760 are focusing upon and sinking within the toward sea of this 300 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:18,079 temporal life. And thus we become bait for the 301 00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:22,200 many demonic passions lurking therein, seeking to devour our 302 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,520 souls. This is why God and His 303 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:28,319 limitless love for us will permit us to experience various 304 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:34,200 tribulations so that we will wake up and cry out to him for 305 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:39,400 help, so that we can again fix the eyes of our souls upon Him. 306 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:43,120 I believe we have to wake up in these days. 307 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:47,240 The church is dead everywhere, the Church of Jesus Christ in 308 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:50,000 these last days. The Bible says there's a great 309 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,040 falling away. Men will be lovers of themselves 310 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:56,640 rather than lovers of God. And we're living in those days 311 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,720 and we're fighting against those days, all of us, for our 312 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,560 families, for our marriages, for our children. 313 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,040 And as I said earlier when we prepared for the Supper, the 314 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:11,600 apostle John who wrote the Book of Revelation also says that if 315 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:15,520 we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth 316 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:17,760 is not in us. So we're studying about all 317 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:20,160 these poor people in the Book of Revelation today. 318 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:22,760 Sometimes we read all these poor people. 319 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:25,080 They refuse to repent of their sin. 320 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,240 They won't acknowledge the Creator. 321 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:31,200 They blast him to the Creator. And many times I look and I look 322 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:34,840 at the image of the Church of Jesus Christ today and I say, do 323 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:38,320 we look any different than those who will have to face that 324 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:43,960 eternity of hell? Are we the kind of people that 325 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:46,360 are refusing to repent of our sins? 326 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:49,880 Are we walking around in self righteousness saying I have no 327 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:54,280 sin, I'm judging other people's sins, but I'm not judging my own 328 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:57,200 sins. It says if we hate, say that we 329 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,040 have not sinned, we make him a liar and His word is not in US. 330 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,600 The purpose, one of the roles of the Holy Spirit, God, the Holy 331 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,680 Spirit, is to convict you and me of sin. 332 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:13,560 He does that perfectly well. He makes it very clear to my 333 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:16,320 conscience and yours whenever we're behaving in an 334 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:19,560 inappropriate way, when we're thinking things we shouldn't, 335 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:21,800 when we're doing things we know we shouldn't. 336 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:27,120 He makes it very clear about where we're at in our lives in 337 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:30,840 regard to sin. First, Peter chapter 4 says for 338 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,600 the time has come for judgment to begin. 339 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:35,560 Where? At the House of God. 340 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:38,720 Now we're studying about the judgment and revelation, right? 341 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:42,080 Well, revelation hasn't fulfilled yet in the sense of 342 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:45,200 the prophetical vision of John in the days ahead. 343 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,800 It's going to come to pass, but I have to live right now. 344 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:52,680 And so I'm thinking about judgment and revelation, but I 345 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:56,040 first of all have to realize that judgment has to 1st begin 346 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:59,840 with me and with this House of God. 347 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:04,040 And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those 348 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:06,040 who do not obey the gospel of God? 349 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:07,880 And that's what we read about in Revelation. 350 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:12,280 What will be the end of those in that book who will not obey the 351 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,680 gospel of God? It says there will be 9 of 352 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:19,520 teeth. Now if the righteous 1 is 353 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:24,000 scarcely saved, where will the ungodly in the Sinner appear? 354 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:27,280 Peter asked that question. James tells us that we're to 355 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:30,480 draw near to God and he will draw near to you. 356 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,160 That's repentance. Repentance is turning away from 357 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:40,160 walking away from God in my own path of destruction and selfish 358 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:47,000 and foolishness and delusion and turning to the Lord, drawing 359 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:50,040 near to him. And if I turn from my sin and 360 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:54,080 repent and draw near to God, God doesn't run the other way. 361 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,280 I'm the one that's running the other way in my rebellious sin, 362 00:20:57,280 --> 00:20:59,080 right? I'm the one that's running away 363 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:00,520 from God. And I've been there and you've 364 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:01,880 been there. And we got loved ones that are 365 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:04,800 running from God. But whenever we come to our 366 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:08,280 senses like the prodigal and we turn and we know we want to go 367 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:12,960 to the House of the Father, we turn towards God and he runs 368 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:16,920 toward us. He comes to us and embraces US. 369 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:19,920 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. 370 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:23,680 And as we're drawing near to God, the responsibility that we 371 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,560 have, James says we're to cleanse our hands. 372 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:31,040 He says cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your heart. 373 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,840 You double minded. The double minded person is 374 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,000 going this way and going this way and going this way and going 375 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:40,120 this way and going this way and going this way and we don't know 376 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:42,440 which way we're going. We get nowhere. 377 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:44,720 God's calling us. We know our conscience is 378 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:48,320 affected, but the sin in us, we love that sometimes more. 379 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:51,240 And we're going this way and, and, and we're we're like 380 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,560 spiritual schizophrenics where we have no rest, we have no 381 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:59,280 peace because we have this constant tension of holiness in 382 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:03,840 our own desire for what we think we want and what's best for us. 383 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:09,680 James also tells us that we're confess our trespasses, our sins 384 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:14,360 to one another, to pray for one another, that you may be healed. 385 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,680 The sin causes spiritual sickness. 386 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:24,040 It causes death. You know, sometimes we know what 387 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,840 it's like to be obviously physically I'll. 388 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:29,880 We get flu shots to protect ourselves from the flu. 389 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,920 We get different inoculations. We take vitamins to protect 390 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:34,520 ourselves from disease and illness. 391 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,040 We try to eat properly so we have the proper nutrition so 392 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,720 that we stay healthy. Not realizing, though, that 393 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,600 that's all in vain if we're living a life of habitual sin. 394 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,240 Because no matter how many inoculations you get and how 395 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:49,440 many vaccinations you get, how many flu shots you get, how many 396 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,560 vitamins you get intake, and how well you try to eat, eat and 397 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:55,040 work out, the wages of sin is death. 398 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:57,480 You're going to die. You can't stop that. 399 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,560 You can't prevent it. You can't help yourself and you 400 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,760 can't help anybody else from the process of physical death. 401 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:08,440 The wages of sin is death. And so he calls the church, he 402 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:12,480 calls Christians together and James that we get together and 403 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:16,440 we pray for one another and confess our sins to one another 404 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:18,880 that we might get the help that we need. 405 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:21,400 There's nothing more tragic than a church that listens to a 406 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:24,720 message and goes home and there's no confession, there's 407 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:27,520 no repentance, there's no praying for one another. 408 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:29,440 It's, it's, it's not even a church. 409 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:32,240 It's an institution, it's a business. 410 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:34,440 It's just, I don't know what you would call it. 411 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:35,920 It's, it's nothing. It's dead. 412 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:39,920 And if we go out without repentance, if we go out without 413 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:43,600 confession, if we go out without praying for one another, we are 414 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,400 walking out sick and we are walking out dead, James says. 415 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:52,880 We are digging into the Book of Revelation here on Living Waters 416 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:55,640 of Grace. Pastor Clark is tackling this 417 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,520 challenging book as we try to discern the messages that are 418 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:03,160 within its pages. There's so much imagery and at 419 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:06,600 times you're not always sure what's literal and what's 420 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:09,440 metaphorical. At one point there's a reference 421 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,760 to an adulterous woman riding on a beast. 422 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:16,160 And as someone else mentioned, at one point it almost sounds 423 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:20,680 like a rodeo from hell. And in actuality it kind of is. 424 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:25,000 You learn about the downfall and demise of a sinful and 425 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:29,280 rebellious world, falling down in worship to someone who is the 426 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:36,200 anti hero, the enemy, Satan working his insidious ways into 427 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:40,880 the minds of fallen people. It's sad and it's heartbreaking, 428 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,600 but it's a classic story of good versus evil. 429 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,040 Thankfully, we know how this story ends. 430 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:55,320 Jesus wins, Jesus reigns, and evil is conquered once and for 431 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:57,880 all. We pray and trust you've 432 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:02,920 received Jesus as your Savior. But if you haven't, don't wait 433 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,160 until the events in Revelation become what's happening on the 434 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,680 streets. None of us wants you to be there 435 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,960 at that time. Instead, we'd love for you to be 436 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:17,760 with us in heaven as we celebrate the marriage supper 437 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:23,240 with Jesus as his bridegroom. To get a better understanding of 438 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:26,400 where we are in the Book of Revelation, to listen to any 439 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:31,080 messages before or after this one, you can find them at our 440 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,680 website, calvarychapelonline.com. 441 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,400 That's it for today's edition, but we hope you'll want to hear 442 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,880 Pastor Clark teach more from the Book of Revelation. 443 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:46,240 It can be exciting to think about the future for believers, 444 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,320 but it can feel a bit harrowing for those who don't believe. 445 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:53,480 Come hear more next time on Living Waters of Grace.