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 --> 00:00:41,320 Our faith at times is weak and we pray for God to strengthen 6 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:43,520 our faith. But when the Lord looks at our 7 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,480 heart and He sees what little is there, he can do much with it. 8 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:52,200 And He encourages them regarding the little strength that they 9 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:56,240 have and He tells them to remain faithful. 10 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:01,560 Verse 8 He says you've kept my word and you have not denied my 11 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:03,520 name. And that's what I pray you're 12 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,160 doing every day in your life. You're keeping the word of God 13 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,000 and you're not denying the name of Jesus Christ. 14 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:13,680 When it comes to puppy litters, often there seems to be a runt 15 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,000 of the litter, one that's smaller, maybe even a bit weaker 16 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,440 than the rest. And sometimes that runt is 17 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,760 fighting for his life. Other times he ends up being 18 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,200 rejected by the mother or the siblings. 19 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,760 But in today's teaching, Pastor Clark gives you a different 20 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,920 message. Maybe you feel like your faith 21 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:34,680 is like the runt of the spiritual winner. 22 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,560 You're bringing the little bit of faith you have, and you're 23 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:39,760 asking God to do greater things with it. 24 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:43,120 Keep fighting for that spiritual life. 25 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:45,240 Now. Here's Pastor Clark in 26 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:49,160 Revelation Chapter 3 with today's edition of Living Waters 27 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,680 of Grace. And to the Angel of the church 28 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,640 in Philadelphia, right these things, says He who is holy, he 29 00:01:55,640 --> 00:02:00,520 who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no 30 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:02,960 one shuts and shuts and no one opens. 31 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:06,480 I know your works. See, I have set before you an 32 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:08,960 open door, and no one can shut it. 33 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,600 For you have a little strength, have kept my word, and have not 34 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,680 denied my name. Indeed I will make those of the 35 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:21,480 synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not but lie. 36 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:24,800 Indeed, I will make them come and worship before your feet, 37 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,560 and to know that I have loved you because you have kept my 38 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:32,440 command to persevere. I also will keep you from the 39 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:36,200 hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test 40 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,760 those who dwell in the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly. 41 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,560 Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 42 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,440 He who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my 43 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:49,960 God, and he shall go out no more. 44 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:53,720 I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city 45 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,520 of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven 46 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,760 from my God, and I will write on him my new name. 47 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,560 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the 48 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:07,960 churches. It's about four hours from here, 49 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:11,400 right? That's what I used to think when 50 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:12,680 I didn't know much about the Bible. 51 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,800 I thought, well, I didn't know Philadelphia, PA, was recognized 52 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:18,800 in the Scriptures. But the Philadelphia, it's about 53 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:23,480 25 miles southeast of Sardis, and it's one of two churches. 54 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,280 It wasn't exhorted to repent, nor was it rebuked. 55 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,520 So that encourages you as we study this Book of Revelation 56 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:32,280 together, especially these seven churches. 57 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:34,600 I think as we study them, sometimes we get a little 58 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:36,600 disheartened because we say, boy, look at the church. 59 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:40,720 It's such a mess. The body of Christ seems to be 60 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:44,480 so fragmented and confused. And yet as we've studied, we've 61 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,400 seen that Smyrna and Philadelphia had remained 62 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,160 faithful. So my prayers we study about 63 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:55,200 these churches of the past days would encourage us today that we 64 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:00,040 can be strong and be faithful. We don't have to be dead, we 65 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:05,240 don't have to be antiquated, but we can still be relevant and on 66 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:10,560 fire to, to be a light to the loss in this world that we live 67 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:13,400 in. The city had a small population 68 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:15,640 one time. It was a beautiful, beautiful 69 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,399 city, but it had a lot of problem with earthquakes. 70 00:04:18,399 --> 00:04:20,440 And so people really didn't like living here. 71 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,360 After 8017, when the city was destroyed, it was then rebuilt 72 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,120 again, but it never really took upon its splendor that it once 73 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,040 had. So people lived sort of out in 74 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,240 the suburbs away from the city itself. 75 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,480 But this church is encouraged in the midst of the current 76 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:39,800 tribulation that they're dealing with like Smyrna, to be 77 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,680 encouraged and to stay strong and to persevere. 78 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:45,680 The warning is that in the midst of what they're going through 79 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,800 presently as we study this book, that there's something even 80 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:50,880 worse that's going to happen in the days ahead. 81 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:53,880 A great calamity was coming upon the whole earth. 82 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:58,800 So in verse 7, Jesus is speaking and he says to them, write these 83 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:03,440 things, says he who is holy and he who is true. 84 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:08,280 Jesus Christ is the only one you can depend upon in this life. 85 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:10,880 He's the only one that will never lie to you. 86 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,720 He's the only one that is 100% true all the time. 87 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,160 Other voices, other people, we're all but dust, we're all 88 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,480 but flesh. The Bible says the flesh of man 89 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:23,360 the is like the glory of the grass. 90 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:26,560 It appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 91 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:29,520 Our life's like a vapor. It's just here for a little 92 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,160 while and vantageeth away. All the great men of the past, 93 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:35,800 all the great Bible leaders, and in the Old Testament, in the New 94 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:38,160 Testament, are all gone now and with the Lord. 95 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,280 All those who live throughout the course of modern history, 96 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:44,840 who were great spokespeople for God in the midst of the days 97 00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:46,600 that they lived, are no longer here. 98 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,920 But there's one voice that remains clear and strong and 99 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,800 true day in and day out. It's not dependent upon 100 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:57,720 physicality. Yet He was here as a man, God in 101 00:05:57,720 --> 00:05:59,200 the flesh, who dwelt on the earth. 102 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:03,280 Now He's at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you 103 00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:05,480 and me night and day before the throne of God. 104 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,800 And he promises in the midst of all the struggles and the trials 105 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:13,320 of life, he will build his church, and the gates of hell 106 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:17,560 will not prevail against it. And so Jesus is speaking to them 107 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:22,240 to listen to him, for he is faithful, He's holy, perfect, 108 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:27,560 pure, sinless, and always true. It gives to us in this section 109 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:34,040 also this relation to David, the King of Israel, who was the 110 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:38,240 forerunner in the sense of the picture of the Messianic throne 111 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:42,840 that would one day come and be established by Christ himself. 112 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:47,400 And so we remember David, King David, and David had the key to 113 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:51,040 the heart of Israel, as Christ has a key to the heart of the 114 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:53,040 church, the bride of Jesus Christ. 115 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:58,440 And in verse 8 it says that this church has set before them an 116 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,920 open door and no one can shut it. 117 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:05,720 The open door is the doorway of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the 118 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:09,240 doorway of salvation. The church down through the 119 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:13,600 years has been persecuted by many, many forces and factors to 120 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:18,640 try to keep the church from being alive to proclaim the good 121 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:22,440 news of the gospel to the lost. The church today in our culture 122 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:26,520 has been given an open door in Westmoreland County, here in 123 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,560 Greensburg, in our country, in the US of A. 124 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:34,400 We still have the privilege, don't we, to proclaim freely the 125 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,760 gospel of Jesus Christ. There's an open door. 126 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,760 We're not being put in jail yet. We're not being threatened that 127 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,560 our lives would be taken away from us if we preach the gospel, 128 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,520 unlike other countries that are going through very, very 129 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,760 difficult, tragic times. I got an e-mail the other day of 130 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:56,600 one of the countries in Africa, one of the States and the nation 131 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:01,480 of Africa who are being martyred as we speak because of their 132 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:05,280 faith in Jesus Christ. We, we don't realize at times, 133 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,200 do we, the privilege we have to share our faith. 134 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:10,720 We can share our faith in our jobs. 135 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:12,440 We can share our faith in our neighborhood. 136 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:15,680 We can share our faith wherever we go if we're so inclined. 137 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:20,200 But I'm afraid that somehow we have been deceived into thinking 138 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,280 that somehow the doors aren't open, that people don't want to 139 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:26,600 listen and aren't, they're not interested in what's the use? 140 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,520 And boy, I'll tell you, we really got to get over that. 141 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:32,480 We need to pray as a church that the Lord would inspire every one 142 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:36,280 of us to proclaim freely the gospel wherever we have an 143 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,480 opportunity, wherever we have a chance. 144 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:40,760 And the Lord, he's the one that opens the doors. 145 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:42,679 And sometimes those doors shut, don't they? 146 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:47,480 We think of the trouble that the nation Russia has had, the 147 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:51,960 country, and how at one time in the early 1900s, they were a 148 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,280 very, very powerful spiritual nation. 149 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,600 They were able to worship. There was many worship 150 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,160 communities all over the country of Russia. 151 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:05,920 And then the movement of Stalin and Lenin came on the scene and 152 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:09,640 they said the religion of Christianity is the opium of the 153 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,440 masses. It deadens people and deludes 154 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:14,520 them. And So what we need to do is get 155 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:18,160 rid of anybody that believes this message of Jesus Christ. 156 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:22,560 And so they began to take the pastor's out of their homes and 157 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:27,240 take them to the gulag and put them in persecution and chains, 158 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,080 robbing them from their families and their loved ones. 159 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:34,440 And they thought if they got rid of all The Proclaimers of the 160 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,160 Gospel, Jesus Christ, that they could shut the church down. 161 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,360 The church began to be an institution of the KGB. 162 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,360 And so whenever people would go worship, they had to be very 163 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:47,760 careful because they would be turned in if they were too into 164 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:50,840 their belief in Jesus Christ. And so the church then became 165 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:53,920 religious institution, not a spiritual Organism. 166 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,320 But what's exciting was, and what eventually happened, that 167 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:01,440 wall of communism fell down and the door was once again open 168 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:04,800 right with missionaries there who are proclaiming the gospel. 169 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,760 Many Calvary Chapel churches have been planted throughout 170 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,480 Russia. But again, slowly, things seem 171 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:11,920 to be heading the other way. Again. 172 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:16,040 We have friends in Kiev who are being hassled to find a place 173 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:19,880 where they can gather freely and worship in a building. 174 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,000 They're being told by the government that they're a cult 175 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:25,240 and they're not welcomed in the in the country. 176 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:29,240 And so they're trying to dismantle any kind of a vestige 177 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:32,160 of true Christianity again. And, and these things come and 178 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,120 go in cycles. And Billy Graham said after that 179 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:37,400 wall fell down that now the door is open. 180 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:40,400 We can't hesitate. We need to get into that country 181 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,440 and proclaim the gospel while we have a chance because there's no 182 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:47,040 guarantee that that door is going to be left open forever. 183 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:50,360 And so the church has been faithful to get into Russia and 184 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:53,480 many, many things have occurred there within the the church 185 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:56,320 itself, many people coming to faith in Jesus Christ. 186 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:01,560 And the religion of Russia, which was based upon the ancient 187 00:11:01,560 --> 00:11:05,040 tradition of Orthodoxy, has also come alive where many of the 188 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,560 Orthodox pastors are on fire for the gospel of Jesus Christ. 189 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:10,800 And they're saying it's not about religion, it's about 190 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,200 relationship. It's about truly knowing Christ. 191 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,280 It's about studying His Word and it's about going out into the 192 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:20,400 community and fighting people to come and to see the difference 193 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:24,040 that Christ can make in a life. So the Lord is working in these 194 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,640 days all around the world, but there's some countries like 195 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:32,440 Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran that are closed to the gospel. 196 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:35,760 And if you get into these places and you try to preach and share 197 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:37,560 the gospel, you will risk your life. 198 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,240 You will be in prison, you will be taken to the jails, and many 199 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:43,160 times you'll be martyred for your faith. 200 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:46,280 So we can't take this open door lightly. 201 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:50,440 And I'm afraid in our culture in America, we have taken it 202 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,760 lightly, haven't we? We have not taken the 203 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:57,840 opportunities that we have been given by God to share our faith. 204 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:02,120 And that's a serious indictment upon all of us. 205 00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:05,320 At the back of the bulletin there is a call to repentance, 206 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,560 and it says the faithfulness of the evangelical church in the 207 00:12:08,560 --> 00:12:12,800 past contrasts sharply with its unfaithfulness in the present. 208 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:16,840 Earlier in this century, evangelical churches sustained A 209 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,400 remarkable missionary endeavor and built many religious 210 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:24,080 institutions to serve the cause of biblical truth in Christ's 211 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:26,400 Kingdom. That was a time when Christian 212 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:30,240 behavior and expectations were markedly different from those in 213 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:32,960 the culture today. They often are not. 214 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,840 The evangelical world today is losing its biblical fidelity, 215 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:39,200 moral compass, and missionary zeal. 216 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,800 We repent of our worldliness. We have been influenced by the 217 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:46,520 gospels of our secular culture, which are no gospels. 218 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:49,400 We have weakened the church by our own lack of serious 219 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:53,200 repentance, our blindness to the sin in ourselves which we see so 220 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:57,480 clearly in others, and our excusable failure to adequately 221 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:01,080 tell others about God's saving work in Jesus Christ. 222 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,080 That's an indictment against all of us, isn't it? 223 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:06,480 Is that speaking to your heart? Raise your hand speaking to 224 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:08,360 mine. When the church has an open 225 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:10,720 door, no one can shut it. That's the good news. 226 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:16,400 When Christ, His sovereignty, allows the body of Christ to be 227 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:21,680 able to mobilize and to do His work in His way, no one can shut 228 00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:23,680 it. We have all these rumors that 229 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:27,320 are going around in our culture now about the change of freedom 230 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,240 of speech and freedom of religion, How the Airways are 231 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:32,440 going to be changed and you're not going to be able to have 232 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:35,600 conservative values proclaimed through the media. 233 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,080 All these warning signs are out there, and there's people 234 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:43,640 posturing to prevent you and I from having a free voice in the 235 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:47,560 country that has been founded based upon religious freedom. 236 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:52,000 So we need to pray and we need to vote, and we also need to 237 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,360 talk to our legislators, our congressmen, our senators do our 238 00:13:56,360 --> 00:14:01,720 part in regard to seeing this door staying open by the grace 239 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:06,280 of God. Now, there's always obstacles 240 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:10,120 whenever the doors open. There's always adversaries that 241 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:13,280 would try to keep you from proclaiming your faith. 242 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:17,560 Could be your family, could be your friends, could be Co 243 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:23,600 workers that would keep you from talking about the need that 244 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:25,360 these people have to have a savior. 245 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:29,480 Many times it's fear what blocks us from sharing our faith. 246 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:33,160 Sometimes it's humiliation. We don't want people to think 247 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,920 we're weird or we're different. Sometimes we're afraid that we 248 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:40,960 might offend someone and they won't want to be around us 249 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,960 anymore to be our friend. They won't like us. 250 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:49,160 Sometimes it's in this case of the Church of Philadelphia, it 251 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:53,560 was the Jews who were really making it difficult for these 252 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,280 people to be able to share their faith. 253 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:00,480 In Matthew 2313, Jesus speaks about this group of people that 254 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,720 were harassing the early church and he says, but woe to you 255 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,360 scribes and Pharisees. This is the religious leaders of 256 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,240 the time. Hypocrites for you. 257 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:10,080 Shut up. The Kingdom of heaven against 258 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:13,600 men, for you neither go in yourselves nor do you allow 259 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:20,280 those who are entering to go in. They made the faith so difficult 260 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:26,000 that no one would want to be interested in even attempting to 261 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,920 follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 262 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:33,000 There was so many rules and regulations and obstacles for 263 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,240 the people to have to go through to be accepted. 264 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:39,400 Gentiles for sure, were seen as being unclean and unholy. 265 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,680 And boy, you don't mess around with the Gentiles because if you 266 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:46,200 do and you allow them to come into your synagogue, you're 267 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:48,960 going to have nothing but the impurity. 268 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:55,000 And so they made the synagogue not a spiritual dwelling place 269 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:59,560 for God, but they made it a ritualistic institution that 270 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:05,680 judged people based upon their outward nationality or their 271 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:10,240 appearance or their background. But Jesus says in John 14-6, 272 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:15,480 Jesus says I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. 273 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:19,160 No man comes to the Father but through me. 274 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:21,880 Jesus didn't say that religion is the way. 275 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:24,560 He didn't say ethnicity is a way. 276 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:29,200 He didn't say denominations of the way or specific leaders of 277 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:34,000 the way. He said I am the way, I am the 278 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:40,240 truth, I am the life. No man comes to the Father but 279 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,600 through me. And so many organizations and 280 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:47,280 institutions and unfortunately churches will proclaim that you 281 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:53,560 cannot come to the Father unless you come through them, unless 282 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:55,280 you come through the hands of a man. 283 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:57,680 And Jesus never taught that, did he? 284 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,320 Jesus said the traditions of men make the word of God of no 285 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:06,359 effect, and so whenever we have to jump through hoops in order 286 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:11,960 to get somewhere spiritually, we end up forgetting it and falling 287 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,599 away. And Jesus said if you tie a 288 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:21,440 millstone around the neck of one of his children, he said the 289 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:25,560 judgment that awaits you is something you don't want to have 290 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:30,520 to deal with or endure. The church is persecuted. 291 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,480 Philadelphia. And Jesus says that this church 292 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,000 has a little strength. And that encourages me. 293 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:39,280 We don't need a lot of strength to be effective, do we? 294 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:42,720 All we need is a little. And we have a little strength 295 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:44,640 here, don't we? We do. 296 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:47,000 And what can God do with a little? 297 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,960 He said, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall 298 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:55,200 say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into 299 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,840 the sea, and you shall have what you prayed for it it shall come 300 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:03,120 to pass the mustard seed, the smallest seed, and what Christ 301 00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:09,040 says can be done with that seed. Our faith at times is weak, and 302 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:11,080 we pray for God to strengthen our faith. 303 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,200 But when the Lord looks at our heart and He sees what little is 304 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:19,480 there, He can do much with it. And He encourages them regarding 305 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:23,440 the little strength that they have, and He tells them to 306 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:27,080 remain faithful. Verse 8, He says you've kept my 307 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:30,040 word and you have not denied my name. 308 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:32,920 And that's what I pray you're doing every day in your life. 309 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:36,680 You're keeping the word of God and you're not denying the name 310 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,360 of Jesus Christ in any situation. 311 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,800 Opportunity. You have a chance to lift Him up 312 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:46,440 and to proclaim Him. Now Smyrna in Philadelphia were 313 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:50,160 given the same admonition here in the sense of Jesus giving him 314 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,520 a heads up as to what is the real problem here in regard to 315 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,040 the persecution. And he says I'm going to make 316 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,800 those in verse 9 that those are the synagogue of Satan who say 317 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:01,560 they're Jews and are not but lie. 318 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:06,520 Jesus says in John 839 the Jews are saying, hey, Abraham's our 319 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:09,000 father. There's a lot of pride in the 320 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,320 Jewish nation even to this day. Aren't, isn't there? 321 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:14,480 I mean, they're the proudest nation on the face of the earth. 322 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:18,480 That's why everybody hates them. But there's a reason for some of 323 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,600 that that isn't so much in rooted in sinful pride. 324 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:26,440 It's an anointing of God and his hand upon his chosen people. 325 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:31,640 Yet there is this tendency because of the pride, that 326 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:35,440 because I am a descendant of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and 327 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:39,760 Jacob, I'm special. I'm better than everybody else. 328 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:43,520 And just as Jesus remark when they're having this discussion 329 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:45,760 with Jesus, well, Abraham's our father. 330 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,040 Hey, give us a break. Hey, we're, we're in, we know 331 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:49,400 what we're doing. We're connected. 332 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:53,160 Jesus says to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would do 333 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:56,600 the work of Abraham. Now in James it tells us faith 334 00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:00,720 without works is dead, and that James used Abraham's faith as an 335 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:05,360 illustration of real faith. It was manifest in the obedience 336 00:20:05,360 --> 00:20:08,440 of Abraham, wasn't it? Abraham believed God, the Bible 337 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,480 says, and it was accounted him, accounted to him for 338 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:12,960 righteousness. But in James it also makes it 339 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:17,480 very clear that Abraham's belief or his faith was based upon what 340 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:19,760 he did. There was evidence that he had 341 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:23,440 real faith because he obeyed what God told him to do. 342 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:28,960 That's one thing to be a physical descendant of Abraham, 343 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:33,080 it's another to be a spiritual descendant by faith. 344 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:37,000 If you turn to Romans chapter 2 for a moment, Romans chapter 2 345 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:42,760 verse 28 and 29, it says for he is not a Jew who is 1 outwardly, 346 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:46,440 nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, but he 347 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:50,440 is a Jew who is 1 inwardly. And circumcision is that of the 348 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:54,040 heart in the Spirit, not in the letter whose praise is not from 349 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,680 men, but from God. That's why Jesus said you must 350 00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:59,200 be born again to enter into the Kingdom of heaven, right? 351 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:02,960 You can't bring your kids to church and have them worship and 352 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:05,240 open the Bible and do all this stuff. 353 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:08,280 If they haven't met Jesus personally, it doesn't make 354 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:10,720 sense to them. They just become religious 355 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:12,680 Pharisees. They think, well, I'm a 356 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:13,320 Christian. Why? 357 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:16,040 Because I go to church? Or I'm a Christian because I was 358 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:19,400 baptized, or I'm a Christian because whatever. 359 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,160 You have to be born again to enter into the Kingdom of 360 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,040 heaven. So your kid, just because the 361 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:26,000 mom and dad's a Christian, they've been born again. 362 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:28,800 Your kids aren't automatically born again because the mom and 363 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:32,600 dad are born again, right? Everybody has to come to a point 364 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:36,720 of recognizing their need of Jesus Christ and be born from 365 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,280 the Spirit. Only the Spirit gives life. 366 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:41,120 The flesh profits. Nothing. 367 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:46,080 If you flip over to Romans 9, now Romans Chapter 9 verse 6, 368 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:50,480 but it is not that the word of God has taken no effect, for 369 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:54,120 they are not all Israel who are of Israel. 370 00:21:54,920 --> 00:22:00,080 So these people in Philadelphia are acting very religious and 371 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:05,200 spiritual and they're the biggest pain to the church 372 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:07,960 because they're seen in the culture as the religious 373 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:10,280 experts. And meanwhile they're totally 374 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:14,120 clueless about what real Christianity is about. 375 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,160 And this, because they're born in Israel and they're 376 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:22,520 descendants of Abraham, doesn't make them truly the remnant or 377 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:25,200 the seed of Abraham, it says in verse 7. 378 00:22:25,360 --> 00:22:28,920 Nor are they all children because they are the seed of 379 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,320 Abraham. But in Isaac your seed shall be 380 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:34,320 called that is those who are the children of the flesh. 381 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:36,280 These are not the children of God. 382 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,200 So just because you're born a Jew and you're a descendant of 383 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:43,640 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob doesn't make you a child of God, but the 384 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,800 children that the promise are counted as a seed for. 385 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,320 This is the word of promise at this time. 386 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:51,920 I will come, and Sarah shall have a son. 387 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:56,400 And not only this, when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, 388 00:22:56,520 --> 00:23:00,160 even by our father Isaac, for the children not yet being born, 389 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:03,840 nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God 390 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:07,400 according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him 391 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,680 who calls it was said to her, The older shall serve the 392 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,880 younger, as it is written. Jacob I've loved, but he saw, 393 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,640 I've hated. And so in the mystery of God's 394 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:18,640 plan, he always had a remnant, didn't He? 395 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:21,920 You had this whole nation going through the wilderness, being 396 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:23,760 delivered from the bondage of Pharaoh. 397 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:28,200 Not all of them were believers. Many of them obviously lost 398 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,480 their lives out in the wilderness and God's judgment 399 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:34,320 came upon them. But there was always a seed that 400 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:37,280 God had four ordained. The Bible uses the word 401 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:40,960 election. God's choice is choosing, always 402 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,880 balancing that out with that God is not willing that any should 403 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,840 perish, but all should come to repentance. 404 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:50,400 But God has a special feeling for his elect or his bride 405 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:53,040 today, if you're a Christian here and you believe in Jesus 406 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:55,400 Christ and you've been born of the Spirit. 407 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,840 Thanks for being with us today here on Living Waters of Grace. 408 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,440 We're in the Book of Revelation, and we find it fascinating how 409 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:09,080 influential and involved the angels are in this book. 410 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,640 They bring about whatever it is that God has instructed them to 411 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:17,000 do, but it's through their actions that much of the 412 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,880 judgments come on the earth. The angels are in submission to 413 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:25,000 God as their authority, but He utilizes them in unique ways 414 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,440 throughout this book. Like angels have a specific 415 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,120 purpose from God, you have a unique purpose and plan too. 416 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:36,360 God wants to use you in your life as a testimony to others 417 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,840 and to bring others who are currently lost into the fold of 418 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,520 God. God would love more than 419 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:45,960 anything for all who are willing to come to Him for salvation, 420 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:50,480 but he wants it to be their choice, not a forced situation. 421 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,320 This is the way God works, not forcing himself on anyone, but 422 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:59,520 giving each person free will. If you're interested in learning 423 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,440 about this choice that's free and that it's a gift, go to 424 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:08,560 calvarychapelonline.com and click on the About Us tab and 425 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,240 then find the link for what we believe. 426 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,960 We'd love to be a help and a resource for you as you walk 427 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:18,040 through what it means to be a follower of Jesus. 428 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,040 If you find the contact tab on our website, you can get in 429 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,760 touch with us or submit a prayer request. 430 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,680 We'd love to hear from you. That's all for today's edition 431 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:32,600 and Revelation, but there's much more that Pastor Clark plans to 432 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,040 share with us from this culminating book of the Bible. 433 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:38,680 Stay tuned for that. And make sure to mention this 434 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,800 radio program to others. Invite them to tune in to Grace 435 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:50,080 FM 91.7 FM and they can stream worldwide at Grace Radio dot FM. 436 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:53,320 This has been living waters of grace.