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 --> 00:00:18,760 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,600 God in his mercy and his grace, at the end of time there will be 6 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:44,440 no more remembrance of the former things for the former 7 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:47,920 shall not be remembered or ever come to mind. 8 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:51,800 But now we live in this time when someone dies that we love 9 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,360 and we're not sure of their eternal destiny. 10 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,840 And it's very, very difficult. All I can hope and pray for in 11 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:03,840 the few last moments of a soul's life that they hear once again 12 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:07,840 Jesus saying, come to me, the Lord reaching out to them one 13 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,400 last time. It's a sad thought to think that 14 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:13,480 the ones we hold dear in our hearts may not make it to 15 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:16,040 heaven. We pray that the Lord can draw 16 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,480 them near so that we will see them again. 17 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,440 We hold on to this worry and often wonder if we will be 18 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,680 waiting in angst for them today. Pastor Clark teaches us the 19 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:29,400 beautiful measure of God's mercy and grace. 20 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:33,040 God will give us a new mind that will not allow us to remember 21 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,760 the former things of this world. There will be no worry or 22 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:40,840 heartache over things we cannot control, only joy. 23 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,960 Now here's Pastor Clark in Revelation Chapter 21 with 24 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:48,000 today's edition of Living Waters of Grace. 25 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:54,240 Revelation Chapter 21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, 26 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:59,000 for the 1st heaven and the first earth had passed away. 27 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:04,240 Also there was no more sea. Then I, John saw the holy city, 28 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:08,360 New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as 29 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,760 a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from 30 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:17,040 heaven saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, 31 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,360 and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. 32 00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:25,280 God Himself will be with them and be their God, and God shall 33 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,720 wipe away every tear from their eyes. 34 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,600 There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. 35 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,080 There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed 36 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,600 away. Then he who sat on the throne 37 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:39,760 said, Behold, I make all things new. 38 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,320 And he said to me, write, for these words are true and 39 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,000 faithful. And he said to me, It is done. 40 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:50,280 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. 41 00:02:50,640 --> 00:02:53,560 I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him 42 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,480 who thirst. He who overcomes shall inherit 43 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:00,240 all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 44 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:06,040 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable murders, sexually 45 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:10,760 immoral sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their 46 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:14,760 part in the lake, which burns with fire and brimstone, which 47 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,280 is a second death. If you'd also turn over to 48 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,960 Second Peter, this is a prelude to this section of scripture. 49 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,960 This will shed a little bit more light on what's actually 50 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:28,960 transpiring here in this section of Revelation, Second Peter, 51 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:31,280 chapter 3. It's wonderful that the 52 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:33,280 scriptures interpret the Scriptures right? 53 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:37,960 We don't have to depend on man's wisdom or his insight in regard 54 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:39,880 to understanding what the Word of God teaches. 55 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,720 We study line upon line, precept upon precept. 56 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,960 And so we'll see here already in Peter as he's prophesying and 57 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaking of the things that are yet to come, the things that 58 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:52,680 we're still waiting for starting in verse 7. 59 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:56,120 But the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the 60 00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:00,360 same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and 61 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,920 perdition of ungodly men. But beloved, do not forget this 62 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:08,240 one thing, that with the Lord one day is 1000 years, and 1000 63 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,440 years is 1 day. The Lord is not slack concerning 64 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,960 His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering 65 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:18,399 toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all 66 00:04:18,399 --> 00:04:21,240 should come to repentance. Verse 10. 67 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:23,160 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief. 68 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,080 In the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a 69 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,640 great noise, and the elements will melt with fervor and heat, 70 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,880 both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned 71 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:35,120 up. Therefore, since all these 72 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:38,440 things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to 73 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:42,400 be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and 74 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:46,000 hastening the coming day of God, because of which the heavens 75 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,880 will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt 76 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,920 with fervor, heat. Nevertheless, we, according to 77 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:56,280 this promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which 78 00:04:56,280 --> 00:05:00,600 righteousness dwells. So we start in chapter 21 today, 79 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:02,960 and you might wonder, well, how does this happen? 80 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,600 What happened to the old heaven and the old earth? 81 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:07,760 Well, we've just read in Peter that they're going to be 82 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:10,560 destroyed. God will burn them with fire, 83 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:14,680 and He will start a brand new civilization in the Kingdom of 84 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:18,280 heaven made-up of His people who have believed in Him since the 85 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:20,840 beginning of time. There'll be no sin in the 86 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:24,240 Kingdom of heaven, no more suffering, no more pain. 87 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,560 How different that is from what we read about in the Garden of 88 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,680 Eden in Genesis chapter 3 verse 19. 89 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,720 It says in the sweat of your face ye shall eat bread till you 90 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,680 return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. 91 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:40,000 For dust you are, and the dust she shall return. 92 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:41,840 Take a look at your body for a moment. 93 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:44,720 Just look at your skin. Just hold your skin. 94 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,000 It's hard to believe our minds can't grasp this, but this is 95 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:50,480 all going to turn to dust one day. 96 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,440 Somehow we're wired to think that this body in its present 97 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:57,640 state is going to just go on and on and on. 98 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,680 But it isn't. As we know, as we attend Funeral 99 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,640 services of loved ones and friends, we we look at them in 100 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,920 the casket or the cremation bowl, they're already dust. 101 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:12,120 And we always feel sorry for people when they pass away. 102 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:15,520 I don't know why we feel sorry for people, Christians who pass 103 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:17,680 away because they've passed from death unto life. 104 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,880 They're in glorified waiting for their glorified bodies. 105 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,000 They're in a temporal body waiting for their final 106 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,480 resurrection. But we stand around and and we 107 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:29,680 lament the passing of someone, not realizing that it one day 108 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:32,560 it's going to be us or it's inevitable, right? 109 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:36,000 All of us. And Genesis clearly shows us 110 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:40,120 that this is what has transpired because of our sin, because of 111 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:44,240 the fall. Revelation verse 4, chapter 21 112 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,960 says, But God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 113 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:52,040 There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. 114 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:55,280 There shall be no more pain. For the former, things have 115 00:06:55,280 --> 00:06:58,640 passed away. The most difficult thing for us 116 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:01,640 as human beings to have to go through is having someone we 117 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:05,640 love pass away, isn't it? We cry, we grieve. 118 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:10,400 The grieving sometimes goes on for days, weeks, months, years. 119 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,240 There's sorrow, there's a sense of loss. 120 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:17,000 But in this Kingdom, God will wipe away all of our tears. 121 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:19,800 There won't be any more physical death. 122 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:24,120 There won't be any sorrow. There'll be no more crying. 123 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:29,840 There'll be no more pain. For the former, things have 124 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:34,400 passed away after the fall of man because of sin. 125 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,720 Today we are living in a present state of sorrow. 126 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:44,040 We're living in a present state of pain and of loss and of 127 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:49,840 crying and how we should long as the apostles and the end of the 128 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,360 Book of Revelation when it says Maranatha, come quickly, Lord 129 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:58,040 Jesus, why would we want to see the coming of the Lord prolong 130 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,240 longer when we see the suffering on the face of the earth in 131 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:04,840 these days that we live, we should all look forward to this 132 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:07,440 day. Even creation longs for this 133 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:10,320 day, the trees and the everything that's been created 134 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:12,440 by God over there in Romans chapter 8. 135 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:17,080 Turn there for a minute Romans chapter 8, it tells you how the 136 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:21,560 creation is also suffering, waiting for this glory to be 137 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,640 revealed. For the apostle Paul says in 138 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:28,920 verse 18, I consider that the sufferings of this present time 139 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:31,800 are not worthy to be compared with the glory that should be 140 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,039 revealed in US. For the earnest expectation of 141 00:08:35,039 --> 00:08:38,400 the creation eagerly awaits for the revealing of the sons of 142 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,360 God. For the creation was subjected 143 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:45,880 to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it 144 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:48,840 in hope. Because the creation itself also 145 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,200 will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the 146 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,200 glorious liberty of the children of God. 147 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,520 For we know that the whole creation groans and laborers 148 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:00,960 with birth bangs together until now. 149 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:05,080 Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the 150 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:09,680 Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, eagerly 151 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:13,880 waiting for the adoption, for the redemption of the body. 152 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:16,800 So that should be the desire of all of us as Christian. 153 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:20,240 We're to enjoy our life now and be thankful for what God has 154 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:22,760 done and is doing for all of us and our families. 155 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,000 But we should have this longing to be with the Lord. 156 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:31,120 The early church had this desire to be absent in the body, to be 157 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:34,400 present with the Lord. It's good news, I think of the 158 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:38,240 winter season when it comes and fall's a beautiful time of year 159 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:39,960 and all the leaves fall. It's glorious. 160 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,840 But it's so stark, isn't it? Right now when you drive down 161 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:45,120 the highway and all you see is sticks. 162 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:47,280 There's no color. It's just drab. 163 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:50,240 It's, it's ugly, basically that you're waiting. 164 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:52,160 Wow. I can't wait to see green on 165 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,560 those trees again. And, and this is the blue sky 166 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:57,320 and the sun. That's that's something God's 167 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:00,160 put in us because out of death comes life. 168 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,520 And as we look at death this time of year, even the trees 169 00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:08,480 every year, I believe now a tree isn't a, a human being like us, 170 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,360 but it has this desire because God's created that way to be 171 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,240 able to bear trees forever and never lose 1 leaf. 172 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:19,200 And I believe that the trees in the season of the fall are sad 173 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:22,440 because all their beauty is gone, all their leaves are 174 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:25,160 dropped and many of them end up dying. 175 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,680 How God has created this whole universe to anticipate this 176 00:10:30,680 --> 00:10:35,040 glorious return, it tells us in Isaiah 6517. 177 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,760 For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former 178 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:42,360 shall not be remembered or come to mind. 179 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,320 Someone called me the other day and had a very profound 180 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:48,600 question. They said, Clark, what will it 181 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:51,960 be like when we're in heaven and we're all rejoicing to be with 182 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,120 the Lord? But then we're thinking about 183 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,880 our loved ones and our family and our friends who aren't there 184 00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,680 that are in hell. How can we be able to live with 185 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:03,560 that throughout all eternity knowing that they won't be with 186 00:11:03,560 --> 00:11:08,040 the Lord in glory? Well, the good news is for us, 187 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:12,920 it says in Isaiah, the former shall not be remembered or come 188 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:16,000 to mind. How great God is, because it 189 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,160 wouldn't be heaven if all we did was remember our loved ones that 190 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:22,320 didn't come into the Kingdom. That would be hell, wouldn't it? 191 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:26,200 But God, in his mercy and his grace, at the end of time, there 192 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:30,200 will be no more remembrance of the former things for the former 193 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,560 shall not be remembered or ever come to mind. 194 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,240 But now we live in this time when someone dies that we love 195 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:39,680 and we're not sure of their eternal destiny. 196 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:43,960 And it's very, very difficult. All I can hope and pray for in 197 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:48,800 the few last moments of a soul's life that they hear once again 198 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:52,640 Jesus saying, come to me, the Lord reaching out to them one 199 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,880 last time, believe. And none of us know who repents 200 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:59,400 on their deathbed, who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ for the 201 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:03,040 forgiveness of their sins at the last few seconds of their life. 202 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:07,680 But it's devastating to see someone pass away that has 203 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:12,200 rejected Jesus Christ. But in verse 3 we see this holy 204 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:17,080 city and it's described in verse 2 as a holy city because there 205 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:21,800 is no sin in it anymore. This holy city is coming down 206 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:24,720 and God will dwell with His people. 207 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:29,520 It says in verse 3, behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men 208 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:32,920 and he will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. 209 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:37,520 God Himself will be with them and be their God. 210 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:41,880 We look in the book of Genesis and it says that God walked with 211 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:46,400 His creation, Adam and Eve, initially in the cold of the 212 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:48,320 morning. He walked with them in the 213 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:51,720 garden until they sinned and they weren't able to hear His 214 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:55,760 voice audibly anymore because they separated themselves from 215 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,400 His wonder and His glory. And God began to reveal and 216 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:01,880 speak then through the written word to people. 217 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:05,440 We see in the Old Testament that God dwelt with Israel in the 218 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:07,880 Tabernacle and later in the temple. 219 00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:11,720 We know as the children of Israel move through bondage of 220 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:15,320 of Pharaoh and God out of Egypt that that God manifested himself 221 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:19,000 at night in a pillar of fire and a cloud by day. 222 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:21,640 And when the pillar of fire began to move or the cloud, the 223 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:24,440 people knew that it was time to move into the next location. 224 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:28,640 It was very clear evidence that God was in their midst and yet 225 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:31,040 they still sinned and did foolish things. 226 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:36,800 And then Christ comes to dwell among us today, not in temples 227 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:42,240 like buildings, churches made by hands, but He lives inside our 228 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:44,680 hearts, the bodies of His people and His church. 229 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:48,680 If you turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 6, this will reinforce 230 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:51,560 that truth to you today, First Corinthians chapter 6. 231 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:53,840 And I think this is something we all forget. 232 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:58,000 Now, this is tied into the issue of sinning, whether it's 233 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,920 immorality or drunkenness or stupid things that we can still 234 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:04,600 unfortunately do as followers of God. 235 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:09,480 By the grace of God, we overcome sin, we overcome temptation, but 236 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,240 sometimes we don't. And we have to learn to 237 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:16,320 continually live in repentance. We have to turn from the things 238 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,200 that are destroying our lives. And today, if you're here and 239 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:22,640 you're stuck in a life besetting sin, as a Christian, I pray 240 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:25,360 today that you turn from that and say enough's enough. 241 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:27,120 I don't want to live this way anymore. 242 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,120 This is pulling me down. It's pulling my family down. 243 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:32,880 It's pulling my life down. God, you don't want me to live 244 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:34,920 this way. And the danger of living in a 245 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:37,960 way, even though we think we know the Lord and we believe 246 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,600 he's forgiven us. Galatians makes it clear, as I 247 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,160 say many times that if we continue in these sins, if their 248 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:46,960 life besetting sins, they're dominating our lives. 249 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:51,840 It says we won't inherit the Kingdom of God even if we we say 250 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:55,720 we believe if we really believe and we are saved and Christ is 251 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:58,120 in our life. We want to turn from the sin. 252 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:01,000 We don't want to live under its dominance anymore. 253 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:04,360 And the apostle is speaking to this in the Corinthians. 254 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,840 He says, do you not know in verse 19 that your body is a 255 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:12,200 temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God 256 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:16,280 and you're not your own, for you were bought with a price. 257 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:20,520 Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which 258 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,560 are gods. So Christ bought us with his 259 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:25,760 blood. He paid for us. 260 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,040 We don't own ourselves anymore. We belong to him. 261 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,440 And so the Holy Spirit lives in my life today. 262 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:35,720 I trust the Holy Spirit is the one that's ministering to you 263 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:39,960 today through my life and that you're listening to the word of 264 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:43,600 God through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives and dwells 265 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,520 in you. But how often do we forget that 266 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:50,040 the Holy Spirit lives in us? We get up on Monday morning all 267 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,240 ready to go and we're thinking, oh man, I got to do this and do 268 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:54,960 that. And all this stuff's in front of 269 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,720 us and we're wondering how we're going to do it and how we're 270 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,000 going to make it. And somehow we get our weary 271 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,120 bodies up and chug a couple gallons of coffee down our 272 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:06,440 throat and we get in our car and we're starting to go and, and 273 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:08,560 man, you know, it's just not really working that well. 274 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,160 We don't feel real motivated and real excited and we're not 275 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:15,200 anticipating God doing anything because we think God's up there 276 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:18,400 somewhere. And the mystery is God is on his 277 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:20,760 throne and at the same time he's in us. 278 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:24,840 In him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 279 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:28,960 I love an ancient prayer. It says, O heavenly King, O 280 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:33,320 Comforter, the Spirit of truth are in all places and fill us 281 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:36,000 all things. Treasury of good things and 282 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,880 giver of life, come and dwell in US and cleanse us from every 283 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:42,120 stain and save our souls. O gracious Lord, you know the 284 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,240 Holy Spirit resides in the body of Christ. 285 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:48,600 He doesn't depart like he did in the Old Testament when David 286 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:51,520 cried out to the Father. Please do not take your Holy 287 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:54,040 Spirit from me. If you're in Christ and you 288 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,280 belong to Christ, the Holy Spirit is in you until the day 289 00:16:57,280 --> 00:16:59,320 you're taken to be with Him in glory. 290 00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:03,240 But let's be honest this morning, do you ever forget that 291 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:05,240 the Holy Spirit lives in you? Raise your hands. 292 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,920 It's about every one of us. Now, if we go out to our car 293 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:17,280 after church and we see the gas gauge on empty, we realize we 294 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:20,440 have to go get fuel, right? We're not going to drive around 295 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:22,200 and think that gas gauge is lying. 296 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,520 It's not real. I have faith I'm going to keep 297 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:28,600 driving because eventually the car is going to sputter and it's 298 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:31,240 not going to have the capacity to go forward anymore. 299 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:33,520 That's the way it is with us as Christians. 300 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:38,040 But the good news is God, the Spirit doesn't diminish in US 301 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:40,040 ever. He's the fullness of the Father 302 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:44,840 dwelled and manifests in us. But we leak and the way we leak 303 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:49,440 is sin, pride, self will, independence. 304 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,240 And so all of a sudden we have this sense that we don't have 305 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:55,160 any empowerment in our life. And that's when we have to 306 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,440 repent and we just say, Lord, I've gotten off track somehow 307 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:01,200 and I want to come back and get things right. 308 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:05,200 And the way we get things right is humbling ourselves again and 309 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:09,760 again and again and again and repenting again and again and 310 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:13,880 again and again, and be restored to the Lord so he can restore to 311 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:17,320 us the joy of our salvation. And as we humble ourselves, as 312 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:22,760 we yield, as we repent, the Spirit of God begins to well up 313 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:26,160 within us and begin to take control and begin to cause our 314 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:28,520 senses to be under his leadership. 315 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:31,680 And our mind begins to be renewed and our heart has a joy, 316 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:34,000 joy and a strength and a stability. 317 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,400 And, and all of a sudden we realize, like Paul, we can do 318 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:39,720 all things through Christ who strengthens us. 319 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:42,160 Amen. That's the good news. 320 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:47,120 Now we have to realize that the Christian life has not been 321 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:49,720 designed to live without the Spirit of God. 322 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:52,400 It's foolishness. But we're told in the Scriptures 323 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:56,280 that we quench the Spirit of God, we grieve the Spirit of 324 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:58,520 God. And when we quench the Spirit of 325 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:01,120 God, it's basically saying, I don't need your help. 326 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:04,200 I can do this myself, which is pride and will fall. 327 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:08,440 We can grieve the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's saying, don't 328 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:11,080 do that, I don't want you to act that way. 329 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:13,360 I don't want you to do this or think that. 330 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:16,800 And we're blowing them off and we're just going to do what we 331 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,040 want to do. And it breaks his heart. 332 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:22,000 We grieve him. And so all the sudden, the sense 333 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,600 of his presence is not alive. We don't sense his nearness. 334 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:29,320 We don't sense his leading, his guidance, his blessing, and how 335 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:34,200 foolish that is to, to live in a way that the Holy Spirit is not 336 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:38,800 dominating our lives. And the purpose of the church, 337 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:41,400 you know, isn't like Sunday, OK, got to go to church. 338 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:42,800 You know, it's the right thing to do. 339 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:46,080 And I, I show up, I come to church and I hope you come to 340 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:48,880 church to be corrected and redirected all the time. 341 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:52,360 My mind is brought back to the main focus of where it needs to 342 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:56,080 be and I get filled up with the presence of God, the Spirit of 343 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:58,520 God. I have a stability in my life if 344 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:02,960 I'm faithful in my study of God's Word and doing what God 345 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:06,360 says to me to do in His Word when I want to be with 346 00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:07,960 believers. When I want to pray with 347 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:11,200 Christians, when I want to be in the Word, when I want to gather. 348 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:13,880 That's why Paul said don't forsake the assembling of 349 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:16,400 yourselves. And so many think they can take 350 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,000 church or leave it. I know what happened in my life 351 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:20,640 when I started blowing church off. 352 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:25,440 I mean, it messed my life up. It mess my marriage up, it mess 353 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:27,720 my kids up. I mean, you got to be 354 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:29,800 disciplined. You got to be focused. 355 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,520 You got to be committed to the things that the Lord says He 356 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:37,240 wants you to be committed to. He says these things to keep us 357 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:40,000 protected. He says if you forsake the 358 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:44,480 assembling of yourselves as a man, or some do, He says a root 359 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:47,880 of bitterness will spring up among you and you'll start to 360 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,160 get hard in your heart and you'll begin to start judging 361 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:53,720 people and you'll think everybody's hypocrites. 362 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:55,200 Why would I want to go to that church? 363 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:58,680 They're a bunch of hypocrites. Well, we come to church because 364 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:02,200 we know we're hypocrites, right? We repent of our hypocrisy. 365 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:05,440 We ask God to change us and to break us and to cleanse us and 366 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:07,720 to fill us so that we become more like Christ. 367 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,400 We don't come to church because we're perfect, do we? 368 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,880 The church is designed to be a hospital for sinners, not a 369 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:19,440 museum for the Saints. The early church understood that 370 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:23,840 the church was a place of restoration to heal broken lives 371 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:26,680 that have been destroyed through sin and have been ruined through 372 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:28,720 sin. That's why we have an altar call 373 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:30,360 here every week. It's not a tradition. 374 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:33,320 It's a place we're coming down lame spiritually. 375 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:35,400 We're coming down hobbling to the front. 376 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:38,320 Maybe we don't look like that physically, but inwardly we are. 377 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,600 We're saying, Lord, I'm here again at this place of 378 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:45,080 brokenness and repentance. Revive me again, Lord, give me 379 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:48,560 hope, give me victory. Give me strength, keep me from 380 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,640 doing the things that I did last week that were unpleasing in 381 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:55,640 your sight, making my life a drag for people that have been 382 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,200 around me. You know, the Christian life is 383 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:04,280 a life of being positive, excited, joyful, overcoming, and 384 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:08,840 that comes by the Word of God and confession of our sins to 385 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:12,400 God and to one another. But even though the Spirit of 386 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:17,160 God dwells within us, which we all know, we don't grasp this 387 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:21,800 like we will one day when we see the Holy Trinity before our very 388 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:24,160 eyes in the throne room of heaven. 389 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:27,760 Everything today that I'm speaking about to you and you're 390 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:30,560 listening, you have to receive it by faith. 391 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:34,880 I can't prove anything to you other than my own life hopefully 392 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:37,320 being somewhat of an example and yours to me. 393 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,120 I can look in your lies and see Christ alive. 394 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:43,320 And the Bible says we're living epistles known and read of men. 395 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,160 It isn't hard to to know when you meet a Christian, is it? 396 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:48,920 You just know by the way they act, the way they talk, the 397 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,480 smile on their face, their gratitude, their gratefulness, 398 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:53,360 their thankfulness, their humility. 399 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:56,320 It just dawns on you that this person is a believer. 400 00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,160 And you know what it's like when you're with someone who doesn't 401 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:02,840 have the Spirit of God in them. Matter of fact, Paul says their 402 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,560 spirit bears witness with our spirit that we're the sons and 403 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,760 the daughters of God. You know, when someone comes to 404 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,720 the church here the first time, I've never seen them before. 405 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:16,720 I feel immediate connection when I know that the Spirit of God's 406 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:18,560 in them, it's like I've known him my whole life. 407 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:20,400 They're my brothers, they're my sisters. 408 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:23,560 And I might not know where they live or what their names are 409 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,760 yet, or what their interests are or what their likes or dislikes 410 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:29,920 are, But there's this fellowship in this community of oneness 411 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:34,400 that occurs by the Spirit of God that tells us his Spirit bears 412 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:37,240 witness with our Spirit that we belong to Him. 413 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,800 There's no division in the body of Christ from God's 414 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:44,000 perspective. There's no caste system. 415 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,240 It's all the oneness and the fullness of God. 416 00:23:49,120 --> 00:23:52,000 In the Book of Revelation, Pastor Clark is taking us 417 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,800 through all kinds of events and happenings that are predicted 418 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:58,480 for the future. But for those who believe and 419 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:02,480 follow Jesus, there's much to look forward to in heaven with 420 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:05,480 Jesus. However, for those who are here 421 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:09,720 on earth during the Tribulation, there's all kinds of chaos that 422 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,720 will unfold. The Bible talks about an 423 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:18,000 Antichrist, a false prophet, and of course that evil enemy Satan. 424 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,840 Do you see how there are such clever attempts for the enemy to 425 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:25,080 disguise himself as God and even the Trinity? 426 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:29,560 The true Savior of the world is God and how He comes to rescue 427 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:34,880 through his triune nature God the Father, Jesus the Son, and 428 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:39,080 God the Holy Spirit. Just like Satan tried to take 429 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:43,640 over for God in heaven was cast out, Satan will try to convince 430 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:47,560 people on earth that he is the triune God to be worshipped 431 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:50,240 instead of the legitimate God in heaven. 432 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:54,400 It's an attempt, and although he will capture plenty in his 433 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:59,360 schemes, he will not win. The true God wins, and 434 00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:03,200 Revelation unpacks how that will all happen in detail. 435 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:07,640 Be encouraged because there's a way out for all of this madness 436 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:11,320 that will ensue on this earth. But you don't want to wait 437 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:14,600 indefinitely to make that decision about Jesus. 438 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:18,880 We don't know when the church will be raptured, and you want 439 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,960 to be ready to be with Jesus. To learn more about this, head 440 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:28,200 over to calvarychapelonline.com. We're so glad you've been with 441 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:30,320 us today. And if you'd like to connect 442 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,640 further with this ministry, find us on Facebook or YouTube. 443 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:38,840 You can also download our mobile app at calvarychapelonline.com. 444 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:44,480 Be sure to join us for weekly services at 400 E Pittsburgh St. 445 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:53,040 Ste. 6B in Greensburg, PA 15601. This has been living waters of 446 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:53,600 grace.