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This is Living Waters of Grace, 
the teaching ministry of Clark 

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Wofford, senior pastor of 
Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, 

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County of Greensburg, PA. 
Now here's Pastor Clark as he 

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continues teaching through God's
Word. 

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The repentance that Peter's 
preaching about is a change of 

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mind. 
You might be here today and 

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God's challenging you to change 
your thinking, change your mind.

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He's not telling you you got to 
be perfect. 

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You got to act perfect because 
you can't be perfect. 

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Only He's perfect. 
But He's saying that I will take

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your hand and show you a new way
to live. 

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And I was at that point ready 
for a new way to live, and he 

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gave me new life. 
No matter how hard you and I 

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try, we cannot live up to God's 
standard of perfection. 

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Our hearts are stained by sin 
and we are unworthy of God's 

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presence. 
But Pastor Clark reminds us that

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by the blood of Jesus, we have a
new way to gain access to the 

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Father's throne room. 
When we repent of our sins and 

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commit our lives to Jesus, he 
calls us to a new way of living.

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While we will never live up to 
that perfect standard, Jesus 

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lifts our heads. 
It reminds us that in him we are

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made righteous and holy. 
Now here's Pastor Clark in Acts 

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Chapter 5 with today's edition 
of Living Waters of Grace. 

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So here we are today, where 
we're viewed by people in the 

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House and the Congress and in 
the White House as troublemakers

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that need to be silenced. 
Where are you and me in regard 

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to sharing our faith? 
I met with the evangelist at the

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campus of Penn State College 
last week. 

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He's been a friend of mine for 
years, and he stands in front of

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the science building. 
All these bright young brains 

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coming out of Penn State to go 
into incredible careers and he 

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would just talk and preach and 
share and give positions on what

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is truth and students would 
engage with him. 

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Some would argue, some would 
listen, some would end up 

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believing and become Christians.
Well, Gary told me now, he said,

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Clark, it's so bad up here that 
anybody that's a student that 

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hears this will be really 
apprehensive about engaging me 

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in any kind of dialogue. 
Because they said what'll happen

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is, is that the students will 
get blackballed on Facebook or 

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social media and they'll be held
out as being like right wing 

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crazy people because they are 
interested in the gospel of 

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Christ. 
And they're concerned that 

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that'll be set up somehow in 
their resumes and they won't be 

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able to get jobs. 
And so they're like running 

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silent. 
Fortunately, he's he's allowed 

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to continually do that. 
Quite a wealthy man many years 

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ago made an endowment to the 
college that this would be the 

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deal, that there would be a 
preacher in front of the science

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building until Jesus came being 
funded by some very wealthy 

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person. 
So they can't throw Gary off 

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campus. 
They just got to put up with 

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him, which is. 
Which is pretty cool, you know? 

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Yeah, So you have the situation,
though, that in Jerusalem at the

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time, I mean, it was definitely 
bad and and I would say worse 

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than what maybe we think we're 
experiencing right now. 

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The captain went with the 
officers and brought them 

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without violence. 
They feared the people would 

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unless they should be stoned. 
And when they brought them, they

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set them before the council. 
And the high priest asked them 

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saying, did not we strictly 
command you not to teach in his 

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name? 
Like what? 

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What's up with you guys? 
We told you you can't do this. 

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And look, you have filled 
Jerusalem with your doctrine and

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intended to bring this man's 
blood on us. 

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So what? 
What's amazing is there was such

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a a power in the early church 
that the whole city was aware of

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the gospel. 
Unfortunately, the whole city of

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Greensburg, I'm sure, is not 
aware of the Gospel, nor the 

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state of Pennsylvania, nor the 
United States of America, let 

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alone the rest of the world. 
Why? 

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Because we as Christians have 
been, I think, apathetic or 

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complacent in regard to sharing 
our faith when we have 

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opportunities to share it. 
I'm not talking about pushing 

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people with this stuff. 
There was a time when people 

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tell me about this before I 
believed I didn't want to hear 

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them. 
So I don't want to, I don't want

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to hear about this stuff. 
So people would, you know, 

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respect me and my opinion and 
maybe pray for me, but they 

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wouldn't bug me about this stuff
all the time. 

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But there has to be this 
opportunity to have conversation

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with people that have views that
are different than yours and 

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mine, not out of judgment, but 
out of love. 

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You want lost people to know 
that there's a God who loves 

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them and cares about them no 
matter what they've done. 

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He's a forgiving, merciful God 
that has to be in our hearts as 

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Christians, front and center. 
And the positions of that come 

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up, you know, nowadays in regard
to human sexuality or, you know,

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issues of when life is truly in 
the womb and positions of morals

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and creation and all these 
things that are obviously very 

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viable truths that need to be 
communicated right to people 

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that don't know the other side. 
I mean, I think it's good to 

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have a, a, a conversation with 
someone who's an evolutionist, 

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you know, ridicule them and make
fun of them and call them 

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stupid, whatever you want to 
find out why they think the way 

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they think and what causes them 
to have the position they have. 

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And then share some information 
that you have regarding Genesis 

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and what the Bible teaches about
how mankind came into existence 

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in regard to the issue of jobs 
right now and all the people 

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that or complaining, there's no 
one that's out there that wants 

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to work well. 
No one ever asks the question, 

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why is there less people 
physically able to work? 

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Well, when you think about the 
number of lives that have been 

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taken over the last 30 years, if
they weren't taken, there'd be a

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lot of people that would be here
that could work or do whatever. 

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They're not here. 
They weren't given a chance. 

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They were taken out before they 
were born. 

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So these kind of situations are 
things that have to be 

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communicated. 
And so are we afraid? 

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Are we different than these 
people here? 

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Because, well, what if they 
don't like me anymore? 

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What if they hate me? 
Or what if they reject me? 

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Or what if they you know, what 
if what if I got fired from my 

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job because I I have a position 
of Christian principles. 

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That's something you have to 
look down deep inside and know 

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that God does expect us to speak
out about truth. 

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Let the redeemed of the Lord say
so whom he's delivered out of 

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the hands of the enemy. 
So these guys are being accused 

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of filling the city with the 
doctrine of the gospel of Jesus 

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with that's that's a good thing,
right? 

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And then these guys are 
complaining, well, you're 

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bringing this man's blood on us.
They forget that months ago when

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they were standing and Pilot was
there saying this man is 

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innocent. 
I refuse to be held culpable for

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his demise. 
He's washing his hands as a 

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symbol that he's not guilty. 
Pilot's saying, you know, I'm 

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not going to be guilty of this 
man's blood on my hands. 

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And they yelled, yelled out, 
well, let his blood be on our 

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hands. 
The masses cried out. 

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So it's already true that the 
man's blood of the crucifixion 

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of Christ is on everyone who's 
rejected Christ and who's lived 

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willful, sinful lives to realize
they're responsible for the 

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crucifixion. 
So Peter and the other apostles 

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answered and said we ought to 
obey God rather than men. 

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Now the Bible tells us that we 
have authorities in office to 

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keep the Commonwealth safe from 
the governing officials to the 

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police departments, all these 
kind of things. 

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We're told to respect these 
people that have rollover us. 

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That's in the Bible. 
But there comes a time where you

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may have to decide that there's 
certain things you're being told

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you can or cannot do that are 
against your constitutional 

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rights and your Christian 
liberties. 

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Where you can say, well, I 
respect your opinion, but I have

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to obey God rather than man to 
stand up for what the truth is. 

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And this is what Peter said. 
Now, this guy was a guy that was

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a wimp, freaking out whenever 
they asked him. 

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Before Jesus was crucified, you 
were with him, weren't you one 

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of his followers? 
No, I never knew him. 

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I never saw him. 
He's cursing. 

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You know, he's he's he's doing 
all he can to get out of the 

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issue of being connected with 
Jesus. 

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How different it is now that 
he's still with the power of the

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Holy Spirit and he's able to 
boldly say we ought to obey God 

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rather than men. 
The God of our fathers raised up

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Jesus, whom you murdered by 
hanging on a tree. 

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Him God has exalted to his right
hand to be Prince and savior. 

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That word Prince is translated 
as pioneer. 

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He was the first and only one 
that could die and come to life 

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again through resurrection. 
And because of what he's done, 

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we're all followers of him. 
We're also going to be 

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resurrected on that final day. 
We have life everlasting because

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of what Christ has done for us. 
And then he continues preaching.

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He says him, God has exalted to 
his right hand to be Prince and 

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Savior, to give repentance to 
Israel and forgiveness of sins. 

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That's a good news thing, right?
It's like repentance is turning 

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direction. 
Like I know my own life, you 

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know, and you know your life. 
There came a point in life where

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I was hell bound. 
I was going on, I was on that 

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highway to hell, you know, and, 
and I didn't care. 

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And I that's the way I was. 
And this is how I rolled. 

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And this is what my life was 
like. 

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And then by the grace of God, 
through the prayers of a godly 

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mother and other people, praying
for a son that was wayward and 

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lost and clueless and proud and 
arrogant and self-centered, that

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my heart would be softened and I
would be slightly interested in 

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this message of forgiveness in 
the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

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So at 20 years old, I began to 
think there has to be more to 

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life than what I'm living and 
how I'm living. 

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And I wasn't happy anymore. 
I wasn't peaceful, I wasn't 

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satisfied. 
I, I didn't have any peace in my

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life, had no joy. 
And then I'm confronted with 

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this message of the gospel and 
it began to really get to me and

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it began to make me realize I 
needed to change my evil ways. 

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Remember that song by Santana? 
You've got to change your evil 

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ways. 
That was a big song back then 

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when I and I was, I was enjoying
my evil ways. 

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Well, all of a sudden I wasn't 
having fun in evil ways anymore 

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and I knew I needed to change. 
But how do I change? 

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I can't change myself. 
And then the Lord began to teach

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me that. 
I'll change you, Clark. 

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I'll make you new. 
I'll give you a new heart, a new

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way of looking at things, a new 
mind. 

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I'll give you my Bible, the 
Word. 

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Or you can learn and understand 
what it means to be a follower 

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of me. 
That I'm still learning today 

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how to follow Him deeper and 
closer. 

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It doesn't end just when you 
become a believer. 

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The first day, it's a constant 
every day changing my mind about

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the way I am and things that God
wants to do different in my 

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heart or help me to see things 
in a deeper perspective. 

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The repentance that Peter's 
preaching about is a change of 

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mind. 
You might be here today and 

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God's challenging you to change 
your thinking, change your mind.

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He's not telling you you've got 
to be perfect. 

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You've got to act perfect 
because you can't be perfect. 

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Only He's perfect. 
But He's saying that I will take

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your hand and show you a new way
to live. 

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And I was at that point ready 
for a new way to live. 

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And He gave me new life. 
He said if anyone is in Christ 

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as a new creation, old things 
pass away. 

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Behold, all things become new. 
And he said, and we are his 

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witnesses. 
Peter said, we are the 

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witnesses. 
That's what we are in this 

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church as Christians, as people,
as brothers and sisters. 

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You know, you go to places, you 
know people I, I don't know and 

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vice versa. 
You have an opportunity to 

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spread this gospel, this witness
to give people an opportunity to

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understand what the Lord has 
done for you and what he can do 

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for them. 
We are witnesses to these 

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things, and so also is the Holy 
Spirit whom God has given to 

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those who obey him. 
I'm so excited studying a book 

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of the Acts right now 
personally, because I know it's 

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energizing my life as a pastor 
and the other leaders in the 

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church. 
But I'm sure it's energizing you

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too, to share the Lord. 
And I get more texts and phone 

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calls now than I have in a long 
time. 

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Pray for this person. 
I'm sharing the Lord with them. 

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Pray for that person that 
doesn't know Jesus or, you know,

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this person's closed or this 
person became a believer, 

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whatever. 
I mean, it's, it's exciting 

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because the witness is what gets
the gospel out. 

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And so the culture, as I said, 
can change based upon us talking

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more about the good news, right?
Talking about the good news, 

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telling people the good news. 
So there's this guy Gamaliel 

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here, and we're gonna read this 
and then we'll finish up in this

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section. 
Gamaliel was a a leader in the 

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Jewish sect of the Pharisees, a 
very bright guy. 

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The Apostle Paul, before he got 
saved, sat at the feet of 

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Gamaliel. 
He was a very, very bright guy. 

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As a matter of fact, when he 
died, he was such a strict Jew 

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that they said when he died, the
Jewish people weren't that on 

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fire about their faith anymore 
and they began to become laxed 

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in their following of the law 
and all that kind of stuff. 

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But anyway, he's going to give 
some advice here. 

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When they heard what Peter said 
this, they were furious and 

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plotted to kill them. 
I mean, this is the first time 

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in accident. 
They're just not mad and put him

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in prison. 
We're gonna kill these guys and 

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get rid of him. 
Then one in the council stood 

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up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a
teacher of the law, held in 

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respect by all the people. 
He was respected by everyone and

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commanded them to put the 
apostles outside for a little 

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while. 
Calm down, guys, Quiet down. 

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Put these guys out. 
I want to give you some other 

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perspective here. 
And he said that the men of 

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Israel, take heed to yourselves 
what you intend to do regarding 

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these men. 
Think about it. 

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He's speaking some sanity to 
him. 

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For some time ago, Thaddeus rose
up claiming to be somebody. 

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This was a cult leader. 
A number of men, about 400, 

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joined him. 
He was slain, and all who obeyed

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him were scattered and came to 
nothing. 

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So in other words, this, this 
leader, at this time, this guy 

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Thaddeus, wasn't really 
effective when he died. 

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His movement, his, his plan, 
whatever it was, ended up coming

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to nothing. 
Verse 37 After this man, there's

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another guy they mentioned in 
their history. 

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Judas of Galilee rose up in the 
days of the census and drew away

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many people after him. 
He also perished, and all who 

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obeyed him were dispersed. 
And now I say to you, keep away 

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from these men and let them 
alone. 

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For if this plan or this work is
of men, it will come to nothing.

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But if it is of God, you cannot 
overthrow it, lest you even be 

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found to fight against God. 
Isn't that fascinating? 

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Over 2000 years ago, this thing 
has not ended being nothing, has

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it? 
We're all here today, recipients

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of the power of the gospel. 
Every one of these men, these 

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apostles except for one, the 
apostle John, were martyred, 

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Very serious ways of dying, 
being speared to death, being 

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hung, being put upside down on a
cross, on and on and on. 

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00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:07,840
Horrific deaths every apostle 
had except for John, They tried 

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to destroy him in boiling water,
didn't work. 

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00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:14,600
And he ended up this time of old
age after down the road, after 

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he wrote the Book of Revelation.
So he speaks truth to these guys

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to think about what they're 
doing, and they agreed with him.

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00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:29,040
And this Gamaliel isn't even a 
Christian and he's not really 

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fascinated or interested in, 
even though he knows about the 

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00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:35,480
miracles that have occurred. 
You know, there's a lot of 

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people that that believe 
historically that Jesus is real,

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00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:43,720
that he died, that he rose 
again, that he did miracles, but

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00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:46,040
they still don't believe. 
That's ironic. 

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00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:52,240
It's just the pride in the heart
that keeps us from humbling 

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00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:56,240
ourselves and surrendering our 
lives to the will of God. 

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00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:00,880
I fought that for years. 
I, I didn't, I turned my back on

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this stuff. 
I'm so thankful that God and His

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00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:08,960
grace turned my life around so 
that I could commit my life to 

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following Jesus and wanting to 
be a witness, wanting to be a 

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better witness. 
So they agreed with him. 

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And when they had called the 
apostles and beaten them, they 

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commanded that they should not 
speak in the name of Jesus and 

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they let them go. 
This wasn't a calm beating. 

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It was 39 lashes so bad that it 
ripped their skin apart. 

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People died from a blood 
hemorrhage from these kind of 

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beatings. 
So it wasn't a light discipline,

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00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:48,000
but they told them you guys 
should not speak in the name of 

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00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:52,360
Jesus and let them go. 
It's interesting how it's 

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00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:54,280
translated here. 
You should not speak in a 

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they're not saying you, you will
not speak in the name of Jesus. 

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They're trying to like convince 
them because of the beating and 

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all this other stuff, you, you 
know, you really shouldn't be 

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doing this anymore. 
You're just creating more 

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00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:07,760
problems for yourselves and pain
and suffering. 

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00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:12,200
So they departed from the 
presence of the Council, 

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rejoicing that they were counted
worthy to suffer shame for his 

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00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:27,080
name, Remarkable men that they 
were actually proud that they 

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00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:30,920
went through this beating and 
the suffering and they were 

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associated with Jesus Christ. 
And I pray that would be the 

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case for us. 
Whenever we get pushed back or 

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people don't like us anymore, 
they, you know, condemn us or 

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00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:46,280
accuse us or slander us or 
whatever about whatever in life 

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that we don't really focus on 
what people say or think. 

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We're just glad that we're 
affiliated with the Holy 

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Trinity, the Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit, that we are 

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representatives of the Creator 
God, and that we have the 

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privilege to live for Him and 
speak on behalf of Him and share

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the Gospel with whoever will 
listen. 

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00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,160
They were, they counted it 
worthy to suffer shame for His 

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00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:22,760
name. 
Whenever you feel embarrassed or

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00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:26,760
shame because you're a follower 
of Jesus, read this chapter 

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00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:32,000
again and be encouraged that you
don't have to hold your head 

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00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:35,320
down in shame. 
You can hold your head up high 

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00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:41,960
knowing that one day, whenever 
you stand before the Lord and 

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00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:46,920
give an account of how you lived
your life, the things that'll 

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00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,360
matter at that time is what you 
did for Jesus. 

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00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:55,200
How you spoke up for Him, how 
you lived for Him, how you cared

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00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:58,320
for people. 
You're not responsible for the 

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00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:00,440
results of who believes or who 
doesn't believe. 

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00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:05,320
We can't make anybody believe 
that God uses your life and mine

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00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:10,520
to be a bridge between lost 
people in the Kingdom of God. 

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00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:15,520
Then it finishes in verse 42. 
It says in daily, in the temple 

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00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:19,200
and in every house. 
They did not cease teaching and 

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00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:23,440
preaching Jesus as the Christ. 
Isn't that a wonderful way of 

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00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:30,280
ending this chapter daily in the
temple and in every house. 

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00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,040
They did not cease. 
In other words, the directions 

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00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,680
they were given by the governing
authorities to not speak in the 

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00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:42,040
name of Jesus was not followed. 
They did not stop teaching and 

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00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:47,080
preaching Jesus as the Christ 
and I believe that's what we're 

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00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:48,640
to do. 
We, you know, we don't stop 

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00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:56,080
teaching or preaching the gospel
because of what people say or 

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00:22:56,080 --> 00:23:00,800
what they threaten us with. 
We just keep on doing what we're

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00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:05,040
called to do, right? 
To be witnesses of the Lord. 

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00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,120
I pray this week He would give 
you opportunity to love on 

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00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:13,120
people, love on your neighbors, 
love on your enemy, love on your

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00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:19,760
family, your friends, and share 
humbly the good news with 

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00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:23,040
someone. 
Ask the Lord to give you one 

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00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:28,680
person this week just to say 
something about God, what He's 

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00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:35,560
done for you, how He's blessed 
you, how He's loved you, how 

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00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:41,600
He's forgiven you, and that He 
wants to do that with every 

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00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:45,600
human being, doesn't he? 
He wants to do that for every 

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00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:49,800
human being. 
And the only way they'll know is

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00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:54,960
by us telling them, May God give
you strength and me strength to 

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00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,640
do that. 
We're so glad you joined us 

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00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:01,320
today on this edition of Living 
Waters of Grace. 

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00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,880
Pastor Clark is teaching through
the Book of Acts, which is the 

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00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,000
only book that chronicles the 
history of the early church 

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00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:11,160
immediately after Jesus's 
ascension. 

366
00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:14,960
It gives us a front row seat to 
how the Gospel began to move 

367
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,720
outwards, starting in Jerusalem 
and reaching into the heart of 

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00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:22,120
the Roman Empire. 
In just three decades, a small 

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00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:26,400
group of frightened ordinary 
believers became a bold, spirit 

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00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,760
empowered movement that 
transformed the known world. 

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00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,600
Acts is not just a history 
lesson. 

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00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,840
It's a reminder of what God can 
do when His people are 

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00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:39,640
surrendered, obedient and filled
with the Holy Spirit. 

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00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:43,400
Their perseverance still 
inspires us today. 

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00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:47,920
May we follow their example and 
live faithfully for Christ in 

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00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,280
our own time. 
We hope today's message 

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00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:53,000
encouraged you. 
Living Waters of Grace is a 

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00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,840
ministry of Calvary Chapel, 
Westmoreland. 

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00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:00,240
If you're in the Greensburg, PA 
area, we'd love to have you join

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00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,920
us in person. 
Our Sunday service begins at 

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00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:08,400
10:30 AM at 400 E Pittsburgh St.
Unit 6B. 

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00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:12,040
Be sure to visit 
calvarychapelonline.com to 

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00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,400
confirm times and learn more. 
If you are in the Greensburg 

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00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:20,280
area, you can listen to Grace FM
on the new 91.7 frequency. 

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00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,320
Please pray about supporting 
this outreach. 

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00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:31,240
Gifts can be sent to Grace FMPO 
Box 716, Greensburg, PA 15601. 

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00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:35,840
Stay connected through Facebook,
YouTube, or our Calvary Chapel 

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00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,360
Westmoreland app. 
Join our e-mail list, submit 

389
00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:45,600
prayer requests, and give online
all at calvarychapelonline.com. 

390
00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:48,440
Thank you for tuning in and 
spending this time in God's 

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00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:50,400
Word. 
Be sure to join us again for 

392
00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:52,040
Living Waters of Grace.