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 --> 00:00:41,320 I need to do better, I really do. 6 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:44,560 I need to grow closer to the Lord. 7 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:50,280 I need to deny myself more and fight against the things that my 8 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,640 pride wants to force me to follow. 9 00:00:54,800 --> 00:01:00,240 I need to be committed to the things that Christ died for. 10 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,519 I need to be committed to the lives that the apostles lived in 11 00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:08,840 my job, in my home, in my neighborhood, in my community. 12 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,320 Can you say the same thing that Pastor Clark just said? 13 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:15,800 Do you need to do better with your witness for Christ? 14 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:20,600 Of course, if you answered no, you probably need to listen very 15 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,600 carefully to today's message. We all need to increase our 16 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:28,040 fervency in sharing the gospel. Why? 17 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:31,760 Well, this study through Revelation should be a strong 18 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,360 indicator to the answer to that question. 19 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:39,720 Jesus is coming back, and our job here on earth is to prepare 20 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,600 as many people as possible for his return so that they will be 21 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,040 with him forever. Now here's Pastor Clark in the 22 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,960 Book of Revelation Chapter 9 with today's edition of Living 23 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:53,600 Waters of Grace. Who would have ever thought on 24 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:59,240 September 10th, that day we got up that our country would face 25 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:01,600 what we faced on September 11th, right? 26 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:06,240 It's still, you look back all these years and, and you see the 27 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:10,199 events of that World Trade Tower falling and it's almost like, 28 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:13,120 did it really happened? I mean, I can't believe that 29 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,120 this happened, but it did happen. 30 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,600 And it only took a few people with incredible planning to 31 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:25,760 destroy those towers and to try to destroy our financial markets 32 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:28,920 and all those lives that were lost during that time. 33 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,160 In verse 12, it says the 4th Angel sounded and the third of 34 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,480 the sun was struck, 1/3 of the moon, 1/3 of the stars, so that 35 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,760 a third of them were darkened, 1/3 of the day did not shine, 36 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,280 and likewise the night. And I looked and I heard an 37 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,120 Angel flying through the midst of heaven saying with a loud 38 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,240 voice, woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth because 39 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:50,720 of the remaining blasts of the trumpets of the three angels who 40 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:55,280 are about to sound. You think about Egypt again when 41 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,960 we go back to God's dealing through Moses with Pharaoh. 42 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:04,320 And there was three day period of complete darkness in the 9th 43 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,320 plague in Exodus 10. But what's being described here 44 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:12,560 is an unnatural darkness and it's one of the signs of the end 45 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,480 of the days. And Mark 13, it describes the 46 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,160 sun being darkened and the moon shall not give light. 47 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,920 The darkening of the sun and the moon and the stars portrays A 48 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:26,720 cosmic catastrophe. We think of what happened during 49 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,440 the crucifixion in Luke 30/23/44. 50 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,600 Now it was about the 6th hour, that's 12 noon. 51 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,320 And there was darkness over all the earth until the 9th hour 52 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,680 3:00 that's the time of Christ crucifixion. 53 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,280 The sun was darkened and the veil in the temple was torn in 54 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:48,880 2. So we see this judgment of God 55 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,320 that if you could imagine today, you know, I don't know, we get 56 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:56,360 sunrises, I don't know, probably what, around 6 O clock or 57 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:58,600 something. And we still have some daylight 58 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,720 up to around 9 O clock. Now days are getting longer that 59 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:06,760 you cut that by 2/3 and you only have 1/3 of the day that's 60 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:11,640 emitting lights and sunshine. What that will do to the crops 61 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:15,880 and the food ecosystem, food markets, it's just again going 62 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:19,360 to be catastrophic. And again, this is the the power 63 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,400 of God trying to get the attention of a hard hearted 64 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,960 human race. We see the 1st 4 seals that we 65 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,760 studied a few weeks ago. They were identified by horses, 66 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,560 meaning the swiftness of the judgments of God moving upon the 67 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:35,640 earth during this time of tribulation. 68 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:39,480 These judgments that we just studied, the first four are 69 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,920 clear enough and the indication of God's desire to get the 70 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:47,360 attention of the human race. But the X3 are going to be even 71 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:51,400 worse than the first four. And they're called woes, meaning 72 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:57,120 intense severity. Now, as time moves on in this 73 00:04:57,280 --> 00:05:02,120 particular book we're studying, as I said, things will get even 74 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,520 more horrendous. And Chapter 9, we're just going 75 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:06,160 to go through a few verses here this morning. 76 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:07,880 We'll pick it up again next week. 77 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,920 But I already read the verses. But there's going to be the star 78 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,720 that falls from heaven. And this, this individual is a 79 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:19,400 person is going to be given a key to the bottomless pit. 80 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:23,480 Now, what happens to everybody who dies right now, if you're a 81 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,040 believer, the Bible says to be absent in the bodies, to be 82 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,840 present with the Lord. So our soul goes to be with 83 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:32,760 Christ in his present, but our body is laid in the grave until 84 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,920 the final resurrection, when Christ will actually raise those 85 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,760 bodies out of the graves and will be given new bodies in in 86 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:40,960 the heaven. That's the final resurrection, 87 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,480 but those who without Christ will go into the place of 88 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:47,720 holding until that final judgment. 89 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:52,560 And it's the element of hell, but not to the degree of what 90 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:54,800 will be experienced at the final judgment. 91 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:58,080 When the Bible says that whoever's name is not found, and 92 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:01,480 in God's land, book of life, that book that holds the names 93 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,760 of all those who belong to him, whoever doesn't have their name 94 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,160 in that book will be cast into that final judgment, which is 95 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:13,040 the lake of fire. But the fallen angels that left 96 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:17,040 the throne of God prior to the foundation of the earth were 97 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:21,680 Lucifer, who was the highest created Archangel of God. 98 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:23,800 His job was to reflect the glory of God. 99 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,840 If you remember, before the heaven, he had an amazing job. 100 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:29,720 But God creates us with free wills. 101 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:33,960 And what happened was Satan had the ability, Lucifer at that 102 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,000 time to desire to have the glory that God had. 103 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,840 And he thought, wow, you know, I want to be like God. 104 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:42,800 I actually want to exalt my throne above the Most High God. 105 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:45,280 I want to be seated where God's seated. 106 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:49,600 And so sin was found in him. And so that cosmic rebellion 107 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:54,280 caused him to be cast out of heaven with the fallen angels 108 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:58,760 and they were sent down to the abyss to be locked into that 109 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,960 place until this time that we're reading here in Revelation 110 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,280 Chapter 9. If you remember the story and 111 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:08,800 Luke and not the story, the teaching and Luke chapter 16. 112 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:10,000 I, you know, I got to be careful. 113 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,280 Sometimes we say story is that made believe or everything in 114 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:16,880 the Bible is, is true. You know, Jonah was in the belly 115 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,520 of the whale for three days. You asked me how that can 116 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:21,240 happen. I don't know. 117 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,280 But have you ever seen the size of a whale's mouth and the size 118 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:27,040 of a human being? There's a lot of space in there 119 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:29,960 to be inside the belly of a whale for three days. 120 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:33,480 It's not a big deal. Unbelieving scientists will try 121 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:35,440 to make it like a big deal. So you don't believe it. 122 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:37,240 And if you don't believe that, then all of a sudden they try to 123 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:39,520 break apart the whole Bible so you don't believe any of it. 124 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,800 But believers in Christ, we have total confidence in the validity 125 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:45,520 of everything that's written in the Scriptures. 126 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,560 We believe everything from Genesis to Revelation is given 127 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,880 to us by God to help us to know who he is and what his plan is. 128 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:55,960 But, and Luke 16, it says there's this rich man in hell. 129 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,840 He had it made while he was on Earth, and he treated Lazarus 130 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:02,920 the Servant like dirt. Lazarus is a believer. 131 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:06,320 What goes around comes around because when you die, you can't 132 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:07,840 take your riches with you, right? 133 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:10,680 And if you don't know Christ, doesn't matter how much money 134 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,760 you have, you're going to suffer in hell forever. 135 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,720 Well, Lazarus, even though he had a tough life on Earth, 136 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:18,760 didn't have too much prosperity or wealth. 137 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:21,360 He's a rich man now in the next World, right? 138 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:23,840 It's just amazing how the roles are reversed. 139 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:28,800 But the rich man in hell, he says he can see the chasm 140 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:31,320 between him and where Lazarus is. 141 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:36,400 It's what we call Sheol. SHEOL, the bosom of Abraham, is 142 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:40,080 a place where the Old Testament believers and those who died in 143 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,159 Christ prior to the death, burial and resurrection of 144 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:47,280 Christ were stored or held, place of the peace of God, the 145 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:50,360 presence of God, but still in a holding pattern. 146 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:54,360 And then the other side of that was the place of Sheol, which is 147 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:57,160 this place of where unbelievers are. 148 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:03,200 And it says that he asked that this man Lazarus would be able 149 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,640 to be sent to him to dip the tub of his finger in water and cool 150 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:09,160 his tongue. For he says he's tormented in 151 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:12,320 the flame. And hell is a literal place of 152 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:14,920 judgement, isn't it? Hell is real. 153 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,400 And and the more we understand the reality of hell, the more we 154 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,280 want to make sure that people we care about and love aren't going 155 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:25,560 to have to be in that place. Because once you're there, it's 156 00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:27,040 too late. There's no way to get out. 157 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:30,480 And you know the old phrase, wherever there's smoke, there's 158 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,240 fire? Well, what we see in this abyss, 159 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:36,920 whenever it's opened up, it says the sun of the air was darkened 160 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:41,760 because of the smoke of the pit, the place of hell. 161 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,000 And so this great shaft is like this. 162 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:49,240 Well, and it's this bottomless place, intermediate place of 163 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,920 punishment of the fallen angels and demons until the final 164 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:55,640 judgement of Lake of Fire. So they're down there, this 165 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:59,280 waiting for the state that they can be let out to literally make 166 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:01,520 all hell break loose on the face of the earth. 167 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:06,000 You think things are bad today? You see the permissiveness of 168 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,960 our society, the lack of respect for the things of God, the 169 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,480 pushing of God out of the school systems and out of the public 170 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:18,000 places of our nation, almost a crime to confess that Jesus 171 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,920 Christ is the only way the truth and the life. 172 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:24,360 And we also see the growth of pornography. 173 00:10:24,560 --> 00:10:28,640 You know, my, I have a friend who is involved with the cutting 174 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:33,000 edge technology of, of Internet development and computerization 175 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,360 of, of our society. You know what drives that the 176 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:39,720 money that drives the growth of faster computers and capability 177 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,200 to surf is pornography. And he taught that shocked me 178 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:44,480 when he said, Clark, what do you think? 179 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:47,800 Where do you think these corporations get the money to do 180 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:52,920 all this crazy speed and and capability of of all these 181 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:54,640 things that are in our our homes now? 182 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:58,720 It's driven by pornography and pornography is rampant today. 183 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:03,080 Obscenity is is at an all time high and it's increasing the 184 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:05,120 levels of influence in our culture. 185 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,200 Christianity, The message of the Gospel is getting weaker in 186 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:11,960 these last days in the sense that these other things are 187 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:15,600 becoming so much more appealing and interesting to people. 188 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:18,400 But what is it going to be like when this abyss is open? 189 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:20,240 You think things are bad now, right? 190 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:24,880 Literally all hell will break loose. 191 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,960 And so we see that this torture of these creatures, it says 192 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:31,880 these locusts, these are horrendous beings. 193 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:34,760 I mean, I, I get freaked out from spiders, you know, and I 194 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:36,480 can't I, you know, I was in a place one time. 195 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:38,600 They, they said be careful when you go to bed because we have 196 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,360 scorpions down here. And I'm like scorpions, man, I 197 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:42,760 want to get out of this place now. 198 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:44,240 I didn't sleep too good that night. 199 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,760 I left the light on and they said they sort of crawl like her 200 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:48,640 along the cracks of the, of the room. 201 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:50,840 So all night I'm like, you know, looking around and putting the 202 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:54,080 covers up over my head, you know, but the scorpions thing is 203 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:57,160 like one of the worst heights that anybody could possibly 204 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,120 anybody ever been bit by scorpion in here. 205 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:01,920 That's why we like living up north, right? 206 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,960 The farther S you go, the more you get exposed to these things. 207 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:10,640 But they, they, John says the apostle that it's like the sting 208 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:13,440 of a scorpion, not literally the saying it is a scorpion, but 209 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:15,440 it's like the sting of a scorpion. 210 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:17,680 And it talks about these locusts. 211 00:12:17,680 --> 00:12:21,200 Now these locusts can wipe out vegetation in a very short 212 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,040 period of time, as we saw in Exodus Chapter 9 and 10. 213 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,640 But these locusts are very, very interesting because they have 214 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,200 the face of a man, a body of a iron. 215 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:33,760 They have the body of a horse and they're they're strong like 216 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:35,520 iron. And so you're trying to 217 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:37,880 visualize what the really a weird looking thing. 218 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:39,640 You know, it can fly, it can sting. 219 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:44,040 What kind of creature is this? And can God make something like 220 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:48,000 this or of course, but these things are distorted from God's 221 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,080 original creation, right? They're part of the fallen 222 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:55,280 creation, the the opposite of what God intended. 223 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:58,560 And that's what's weird that whenever we decide to go our own 224 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:03,200 way, we become very, the Bible says we're creating the image 225 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,360 and likeness of God, literally we are. 226 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,680 But because what sin does, it distorts that image and it makes 227 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:14,240 us look like devils and act like devils in our society. 228 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:18,520 But these creatures, whatever they are, they're going to 229 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:21,640 torture all the unbelievers on the face of the earth. 230 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:23,920 So, you know, people think, well, if I hang out with Satan, 231 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:25,680 he's my buddy. When I go to hell, I'll be down 232 00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:27,400 there with all my friends. We'll decide I have all good 233 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:29,880 time. Satan hates us. 234 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:32,960 Whether you're a believer, an unbeliever, he hates you. 235 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:34,480 He's not in cahoots with anybody. 236 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:36,360 All he wants to do is destroy it. 237 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:39,240 The Bible says he comes to rob, steal, kill and destroy. 238 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:43,080 That's his whole agenda. So when these demonic beings are 239 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:46,880 out of this abyss, they won't be able to touch the believers or 240 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:50,760 the 144,000 or they're sealed with the name of God in their 241 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:52,640 forehead. No matter what they want to do, 242 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:54,600 they can't touch them or harm these people. 243 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:57,080 They're protected by God during that tribulation. 244 00:13:57,080 --> 00:13:59,680 But all the people are on the earth that are unbelievers that 245 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:01,560 could care less about the things of God. 246 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:06,680 They're the ones that are going to be tortured now at this time 247 00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:08,720 also because of what's going to happen. 248 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,400 You know, the vegetation isn't impacted by these locusts. 249 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:15,880 Locusts would normally be going after leaves and trees and grass 250 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:19,320 and all that kind of stuff, but they're only focused on getting 251 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:23,640 at human beings. And I can't imagine what this is 252 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:25,400 going to be like. It says it's going to be 5 253 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,320 months of torture. The despair is going to be so 254 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,000 bad. It says in verse 6, in those 255 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,160 days men will seek death and will not find it. 256 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:35,400 They'll desire to die and death will flee from them. 257 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,080 It's almost like it's so bad. I want to commit suicide because 258 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:41,080 I can't imagine anything being worse than this. 259 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:43,920 They're not even going to have the capacity to end their own 260 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:46,240 life. The torture is just 261 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:51,400 unbelievable. Total despair and yet people 262 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:56,120 still won't turn to God. It talks about the appearance of 263 00:14:56,120 --> 00:15:00,560 these locusts in verses 7 through 10 and their demonic 264 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:04,800 spirits inside these beings, just like the demonic spirits 265 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:07,440 that were in the pig. Remember the pigs and, and 266 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:11,400 whenever Jesus was dealing with them, they, they said cast us 267 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,280 out, the spirits that cast us into the swine. 268 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:17,360 And so Jesus, they didn't want to go into the abyss. 269 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:18,840 They said they didn't want to be locked up. 270 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:20,720 They wanted to have because there's an element of these 271 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,520 creatures still out there in this, in the world and the 272 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,600 society now, but the majority of them are locked up. 273 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:29,440 But there's an element of demonic spirits on the face of 274 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,680 the earth right now who are actually possessing different 275 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:37,160 types of beings, human beings, animals, people who are 276 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:43,280 possessed by the devil, the demon are people you don't want 277 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:46,560 to run into. Some people think Hitler was 278 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:49,960 possessed. The way he acted and the way he 279 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:54,440 lived, it wouldn't, wouldn't surprise me the evil that he 280 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:55,880 brought upon the face of the earth. 281 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,320 But these creatures are going to be so horrendous. 282 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:02,600 And this is an interesting thing. 283 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:05,360 You know, when this book was written, John didn't have the 284 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:08,720 ability to see technology like we see it now. 285 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,840 But people who served in Iraq and Afghanistan say that when 286 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:15,400 they read this verse, Christians, these remind them of 287 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:17,600 these helicopters that look like locusts. 288 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:25,160 And they make the sounds of many noise and the face of man 289 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:29,480 driving the helicopter, the potential with nerve gas like I 290 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:33,240 mentioned earlier, where they're able to spray and the pain that 291 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:38,080 will begin to inflict a large mass of people on the face of 292 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,840 the earth at that time, that the pain would be so bad that you 293 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,920 can't eliminate it without any kind of medicine. 294 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:48,760 There's no relief. So all these things are in some 295 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:51,400 ways aren't clear to us as we read it because we're saying, 296 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:52,960 well, what that, what does that look like? 297 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,080 What will that be? It can be this actual creature 298 00:16:56,080 --> 00:17:01,040 in the essence of literal exegesis here of interpretation 299 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:03,920 of what we're reading. And again, it leaves room for 300 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:08,359 the technology of the modern times to bring these things upon 301 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:11,400 the face of the earth. So how many want to be here for 302 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:14,839 that? I pray today if you're here and 303 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:17,800 you don't know Christ, that this will be one more warning for you 304 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:21,599 to turn your life over to the Lord and let him save you today. 305 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:24,880 To let him commend your life and and be your Lord and Savior so 306 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:27,760 you can be spared from this. I just want to close and I think 307 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:31,240 about 2-2 words. There's minimalism today and 308 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:34,720 maximalism. Minimalism is how little so I 309 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:37,760 have to do to be a Christian. Like is it enough for me? 310 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,200 This would go to church on Sunday and put a few bucks in 311 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:44,360 the offering plate and not smoke and curse and chew or go out 312 00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:48,040 with girls that do. Is that is that enough to get me 313 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:51,400 by? That's sometimes how some of us 314 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:56,200 think, well the gospel is completely different because it 315 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,840 says if any man will follow me, let him deny himself and take up 316 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:02,680 his cross daily and follow me. Like from Jesus perspective is 317 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:07,920 if you want to follow me, it's 100 more flat out 100% tilt 318 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,000 toward my Kingdom. That's Christianity. 319 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:14,440 I think a lot of us, especially in these last days when we 320 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:19,080 studied Ephesus, the church in Laodicea, Ephesus left his first 321 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:20,760 love. And Jesus warns them, go back 322 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,400 and do your first works. Be like you were when you first 323 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:27,960 got saved, in tense, radical, focused on the Kingdom and not 324 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,600 this world. And Laodicea thought they were 325 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:34,560 intense. And Jesus says they're lukewarm. 326 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:36,760 He says, I'd like to spit you out of my mouth because you're 327 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:40,480 neither hot nor cold. And they taught good Bible 328 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:42,200 doctor and all this stuff. They were, they thought they 329 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:43,880 were doing everything good. And he says, don't you know 330 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:45,760 you're naked, poor, wretched and blind? 331 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:49,520 So the day when I study this stuff, I can say, well, that's a 332 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:51,080 good study. It's interesting, it's cool, 333 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:53,320 it's fascinating. OK, what am I going to do the 334 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:57,440 rest of my life with this stuff? But let's lay it down. 335 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:01,120 And I'm a prophecy addict and I just like to talk about this 336 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:02,880 stuff and think about it because it's cool. 337 00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:07,240 But it isn't changing my life and convicting me to become more 338 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,480 focused on God's Kingdom and lost people. 339 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:16,000 Then I got a problem, right? So is it enough just to be saved 340 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:19,480 and saved from what? Is there any cost to you and me 341 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,040 to follow Christ? Well, some people say salvation 342 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:23,800 is a gift. It's free. 343 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:25,680 You don't have to do anything. You just receive it and believe 344 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:27,040 it. Yeah, that's the beginning 345 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,440 stages of what salvation is all about. 346 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:33,360 Because you can't buy it. It's a gift, but it it's a cost 347 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:36,440 once it comes into your life because your life isn't yours 348 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:38,040 anymore. Whether you realize it or not. 349 00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:41,200 Your life doesn't belong to you. And what makes you and me 350 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:43,960 miserable every day after we become Christians is we still 351 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,400 want to run our lives like it belongs to us, don't we? 352 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,280 Many times I want to do it my way and do this, and I don't 353 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:52,160 want to do that, Lord. And we argue with the Lord and 354 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:54,680 we fight and sometimes we get involved in things we know 355 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,360 better, but we we just do it because we're proud and we want 356 00:19:57,360 --> 00:20:00,240 to do what we want to do. But Jesus says if any man will 357 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:04,920 follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and 358 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:06,600 follow me. So that's the cost. 359 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:12,000 What's it mean to deny myself? It's different for all of us. 360 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,440 But you need to ask the Lord yourself personally. 361 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:16,840 Lord, how can I deny myself more? 362 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,680 To honestly follow you. What's my responsibility as I 363 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:24,200 study this with you and teach it? 364 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:28,080 What's my responsibility to you and your responsibility to me 365 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:32,280 and to other people, especially people who are ignorant of 366 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:36,480 what's in this book? What's my responsibility? 367 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:39,440 It's to tell them. And when I study this book, I 368 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:43,480 ask myself what's occurring in my heart regarding my spiritual 369 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:46,960 temper, temperature with God. You have to ask yourself today, 370 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:51,320 are you hot with God or are you lukewarm with God? 371 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:55,160 You have to ask yourself that really every day. 372 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:01,040 Am I really focused on what God wants me to be focused on, or am 373 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:06,320 I doing as little as possible to be focused upon what He wants me 374 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:09,800 to be focused upon? So where's your heart today when 375 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:14,000 you think about these things? I would pray that it's where 376 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:18,600 mine is. I need to do better, I really 377 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,680 do. I need to grow closer to the 378 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:25,560 Lord. I need to deny myself more and 379 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:29,920 fight against the things that my pride wants to force me to 380 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:35,720 follow. I need to be committed to the 381 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:39,760 things that Christ died for. I need to be committed to the 382 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:44,200 lives that the apostles lived in my job, in my home, in my 383 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:48,360 neighborhood, in my community. And today, if you drive through 384 00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:51,480 southwest Greensburg, the majority of homes have cars 385 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:54,480 parked in front of them, and they're not in any church today. 386 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:58,000 And they need to hear this because if they don't and they 387 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,280 don't come to Christ, the judgments, if they're still 388 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:02,120 living on earth, will fall upon them. 389 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:04,960 And if they're dead, it's too late and they'll be in hell 390 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:06,960 forever. So there's still time to do 391 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:10,600 something about these issues that we're studying about South 392 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:13,760 practical things. Come on Thursdays when you can 393 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:16,720 and pray for an hour. Pray for the city, pray for 394 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:18,920 yourself, pray for your. It's a sacrifice. 395 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:22,440 Well, I'd rather work around the house or I'd rather watch TV or 396 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:25,080 I'd rather be involved in some kind of athletic event. 397 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:27,600 Well, there's nothing wrong with that, but there's elements of 398 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:29,760 what is it? You're going to press in more 399 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,240 for God for right Wednesday nights. 400 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:35,800 There's Bible studies here for young people and older people 401 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:44,040 and, and you know, commit yourself to the word of God and 402 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:48,960 sacrifice your time, sacrifice your finances for the sake of 403 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:51,080 getting the gospel out to other people. 404 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,320 How much should I give? Well, that's between you and the 405 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:56,960 Lord. But figure out ways that you can 406 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:00,840 give more of yourself, your time, your treasure, and your 407 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,120 talent. Because if we study these things 408 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:09,320 and we're just listening, but we're not doing what it says, 409 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:13,840 then it's hypocrisy, right? For all of us, including me, all 410 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:15,840 we have to do is say, Lord, how can I press Ed? 411 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:20,360 How can I get closer to you? What practical things can you 412 00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:24,600 show me that I can possibly do in order to walk closer with 413 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:26,760 you? Lord, just think about those 414 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:29,240 things this upcoming week with your own time with the Lord. 415 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:32,640 Just say, Lord, speak to me about what it is I can do 416 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:36,120 personally to be more committed to your ways. 417 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:39,960 And it's not about looking what this person's doing or what that 418 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,680 person isn't doing or what, what is it that I'm supposed to be 419 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:44,600 doing? And if you do what you're 420 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:46,760 supposed to do, everything else will take care of itself. 421 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:51,040 Amen. We are digging into the Book of 422 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,480 Revelation here on Living Waters of Grace. 423 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:57,440 Pastor Clark is tackling this challenging book as we try to 424 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:00,760 discern the messages that are within its pages. 425 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:05,360 There's so much imagery and at times you're not always sure 426 00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:07,520 what's literal and what's metaphorical. 427 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:12,080 At one point there's a reference to an adulterous woman riding on 428 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:15,160 a beast, and as someone else mentioned, at one point it 429 00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:20,000 almost sounds like a rodeo from hell, and in actuality it kind 430 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:23,120 of is. You learn about the downfall and 431 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:27,120 demise of a sinful and rebellious world, falling down 432 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:32,640 in worship to someone who is the anti hero, the enemy, Satan 433 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:37,960 working his insidious ways into the minds of fallen people. 434 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:43,600 It's sad and it's heartbreaking, but it's a classic story of good 435 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:46,920 versus evil. Thankfully, we know how this 436 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:52,640 story ends. Jesus wins, Jesus reigns, and 437 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,680 evil is conquered once and for all. 438 00:24:56,160 --> 00:25:00,480 We pray and trust you've received Jesus as your Savior, 439 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,480 but if you haven't, don't wait until the events in Revelation 440 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:06,920 become what's happening on the streets. 441 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,520 None of us wants you to be there at that time. 442 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:15,440 Instead, we'd love for you to be with us in heaven as we 443 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:21,000 celebrate the marriage supper with Jesus as his bridegroom. 444 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:24,480 To get a better understanding of where we are in the Book of 445 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:27,800 Revelation. To listen to any messages before 446 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:31,840 or after this one, you can find them at our website, 447 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:37,000 calvarychapelonline.com. That's it for today's edition, 448 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:40,840 but we hope you'll want to hear Pastor Clark teach more from the 449 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:44,440 Book of Revelation. It can be exciting to think 450 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:48,120 about the future for believers, but it can feel a bit harrowing 451 00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:51,720 for those who don't believe. Come hear more next time on 452 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:53,440 Living Waters of Grace.