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 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,440 All those scoffers, all those who are arrogant, all those who 6 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,480 don't believe what you and I believe will one day give an 7 00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:48,240 account and be on their face before God that they cursed and 8 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,000 refused to believe in. And they'll have to give an 9 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,080 account, and they'll have to confess when it's too late that 10 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,280 truly you are the Christ. They won't want to, but they'll 11 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,280 be forced to do that out of the authority and the sovereignty of 12 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,600 a holy God. Watching the news or opening up 13 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:09,000 any social media app is one of the single most discouraging 14 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,720 things you can do these days. The headlines are littered with 15 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:15,760 anti God sentiment. It hurts. 16 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:20,840 It hurts to see the Holy name of Jesus dragged through the mud. 17 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:24,280 Pastor Clark said a few moments ago that there's coming a time 18 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:28,880 when that won't be the case. All the anti God talk will stop 19 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:33,160 in an instant. Every knee will bow and every 20 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,040 tongue will declare that Jesus is God. 21 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,400 The goal is for as many people as possible to make that 22 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,760 declaration before they're forced to do so. 23 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:49,160 Now here's Pastor Clark in the Book of Revelation Chapter 7 24 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,360 with today's edition of Living Waters of Grace. 25 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,520 OK, I'm going to continue a little bit right near the end of 26 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:59,040 Chapter 6 before we go into Chapter 7. 27 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:04,840 In chapter 6, we will finish up there on verse 12 it says I look 28 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,360 when he opened the 6th seal. And behold, there was a great 29 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:10,280 earthquake. And the sun became black as 30 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,000 sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 31 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,960 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops 32 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,800 its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 33 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,640 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up. 34 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:27,040 And every mountain an island was moved out of its place. 35 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,560 And the kings of the earth are great men, the rich men, the 36 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:34,040 commanders, the mighty men, every slave, every freeman hid 37 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,840 themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and 38 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,840 said to the mountains. And the rocks fall on us, and 39 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:44,280 hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the 40 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:47,400 wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath 41 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:52,720 has come, and who is able to stand as you live your life, and 42 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,880 I live mine every day. We are confronted, all of us 43 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,080 with our own lives and the people that we come in contact 44 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:00,760 with. And it says in the last days 45 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:02,760 there will be No Fear of God in the land. 46 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,480 And it isn't only the world that we live in that lacks the fear 47 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,000 of God. It is the very Church of Jesus 48 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,120 Christ. It seems to has lost its bearing 49 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,400 in regard to understanding of what it means to fear the Lord. 50 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,320 The Bible says the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, 51 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:23,000 and they depart from evil. God's wrath is about to be 52 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,440 poured out upon this world, and those of us who know Christ will 53 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,280 be taken on in the rapture prior to this cataclysmic event that 54 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:31,920 we're reading about in chapter 6. 55 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:38,480 What would be the strongest influence in this world today in 56 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:43,440 regard to people understanding that we are moving to God's 57 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,080 judgment? And I was thinking that as I was 58 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,280 sitting there, that it's our very lives, isn't it? 59 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:53,840 As we walk with the Lord, as we fear the Lord, as we are living 60 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:58,040 in repentance, as we're living as though we could meet the Lord 61 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:02,240 any moment. People sense that spirit in us, 62 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,800 a spirit of sobriety and a spirit of joy at the same time 63 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,920 that they see your character and they see your walk, and they 64 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:14,880 know without you saying a word, there's something different 65 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,600 about your presence, your countenance when you're in the 66 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:19,880 midst of other people. They just know you're different 67 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:26,840 and they begin to find out that you fear God, that you walk with 68 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:29,480 him. As we said in Corinthians last 69 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,720 week, that the fragrance of God in your life and mine. 70 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:36,240 When we're walking with the Lord, there's a fragrance of 71 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:39,880 life unto life unto those who are being saved, and there's a 72 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:43,800 fragrance of death and judgment unto those who are lost. 73 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,600 And so this, your very life, as you walk with the Lord, your 74 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,120 life is having a spiritual influence on people. 75 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,240 And many times you don't have the opportunity to give them the 76 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,360 Full disclosure of everything that we're studying about in 77 00:04:57,360 --> 00:04:59,240 Revelation. But it's enough just to 78 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:03,840 encourage you today as you walk with the Lord and seek Him with 79 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:07,440 all your heart and love Him with all your heart, soul, and mind. 80 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:11,560 Love your neighbors, yourself. That has a very, very powerful 81 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:17,520 influence on people and it draws them to the one who lives within 82 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:19,880 you. Remember, it's the goodness of 83 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:22,640 God that leads us to repentance. Sometimes people think we go out 84 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,560 with signs and you talk about God's wrath and his anger and 85 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:27,760 Hellfire. That's all true, obviously. 86 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:30,560 But you know, for me, and I'm sure if you think about your own 87 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:34,640 life, what drew me to Christ was His love and His mercy and His 88 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,080 goodness. It was clear the way I lived for 89 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,240 a period of time. I was on my way to hell, but I 90 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:43,480 wasn't focusing on hell, that I needed to get saved, to leave 91 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:45,040 hell. I needed someone who loved me, 92 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:49,560 someone who could forgive me and be merciful to me, and that's 93 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:51,600 what brought me to Christ personally. 94 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,840 So as we read about this situation at the end of chapter 95 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:57,680 6, it's a very, very difficult time. 96 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:01,080 And God's wrath will come upon all these great people, the 97 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,240 kings of the earth, the great men. 98 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,360 I think of all the famous people in sports, in Hollywood that 99 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:10,040 live arrogantly, independent of God and don't acknowledge him 100 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,440 for their gifts and talents. The rich men, the commanders, 101 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,880 the mighty men, every slave, every freeman, will at that 102 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:22,360 point in time hide themselves and ask for protection, not for 103 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,360 mercy, but for protection from the wrath of God. 104 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:28,720 And it reminds me of what it says in Philippians regarding 105 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:32,160 our Savior. It says, Therefore God also hath 106 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,080 highly exalted Him, and given them the name which is above 107 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:41,360 every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow of 108 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,560 those in heaven, and those on earth, and to those under the 109 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:49,400 earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ 110 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,200 is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 111 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:56,520 Amen. Every knee, every tongue will 112 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,960 confess the truth. So all the scoffers, all those 113 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:02,440 who are arrogant, all those who don't believe what you and I 114 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:06,720 believe, will one day give an account and be on their face 115 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:10,560 before God that they cursed and refused to believe in. 116 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,400 And they'll have to give an account and they'll have to 117 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:17,440 confess when it's too late that truly you are the Christ. 118 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:20,920 They won't want to, but they'll be forced to do that out of the 119 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,720 authority and the sovereignty of a holy God. 120 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,560 So don't get too enamored by those who've become successful 121 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:32,160 in this world apart from Christ. Don't be idol worshippers of 122 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,200 people with fame and fortune and sports and celebrity. 123 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:38,080 You can enjoy them and appreciate their skills, but 124 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,320 realize what they're facing. What should a profit a person if 125 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:44,120 they gain the whole world right and lose their own soul? 126 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:46,600 What would a profit a person if they win the Grammy or the 127 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:52,120 Academy Award or the Super Bowl team or to win the the Pennant, 128 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:56,880 you know, or the Stanley Cup? All those great athletes will 129 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:01,080 have to face this holy God. It's a sobering thing to think 130 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:02,480 about. South John's having this 131 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:07,320 revelation and he's got this impression on his heart of the 132 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:09,200 things that the Holy Spirit has given him the right. 133 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,280 In Chapter 7, he says after these things, now we're going to 134 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:16,160 have a little window here between the bowls of of God's 135 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:20,760 trumpet judgments being poured out and the last seal, the 7th 136 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,040 seal, which will be the prelude to the trumpet judgments. 137 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,000 We'll pick that up in Chapter 8 next week. 138 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,880 So this is sort of a interim situation here we're going to be 139 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:31,560 discussing today. And he says, after these things, 140 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:35,480 I saw 4 angels standing at the four corners of the earth, 141 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,679 holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not 142 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,480 blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 143 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:46,240 This is his next vision. After you read chapter 6, you 144 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:48,880 wonder how in the world can anybody have even survived what 145 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,840 we just read about in chapter 6. Yet there'll be many, many 146 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:53,880 people still alive in the face of the earth. 147 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,280 And yet, as we study this chapter, there's two multitudes 148 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:00,560 during the tribulation that are going to have an opportunity to 149 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:04,840 be saved. It'll be the elect 144,000 Jews 150 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,880 that will come to know Christ during this tribulation period. 151 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,560 And then nine through 17, it refers to those out of all the 152 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:15,120 nations, that's the Gentiles, people from every tongue, tribe, 153 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:17,920 kindred, a nation will have an opportunity to be saved. 154 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:22,320 And how will they be saved? How will this occur as we think 155 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:25,800 about the time that Christ will eventually gather everyone at 156 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,440 the end of this tribulation period, at the second coming 157 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:33,800 prior before His millennial Kingdom, this is how this will 158 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:35,800 occur. This is how people will come to 159 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,160 know Christ during this time. Flip over to Matthew chapter 25, 160 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:48,160 Matthew 25 and 31 and 32. The Son of Man comes in glory, 161 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,800 and all the holy angels with him. 162 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:55,120 Then He will sit on the throne of His glory, and all the 163 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,960 nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them 164 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,480 one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the 165 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:07,280 goats, so that the time of the tribulation period is an 166 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:10,360 opportunity for many people to still come to Christ. 167 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:14,280 It will be a very difficult time because of those who decide to 168 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,960 stand for the truth during that time and refuse to take the mark 169 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,920 of the beast, which is the mark that those who are unbelievers 170 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,280 will receive in order to do commerce, to buy and sell, and 171 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:28,040 to be able to do business and live like everybody lives right 172 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:30,200 now. It'll be a special code that 173 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,040 they'll have to have, and if they don't have it, it means 174 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:37,040 they're injecting the Antichrist and there will be many, many 175 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:38,920 people that would be martyred during that time. 176 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:41,560 We'll pick that up in a minute. But what's interesting, in verse 177 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:46,320 one of Revelation Chapter 7, it talks about this issue of wind. 178 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:49,320 And you know, as I study these things, it's easy just to pass 179 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:51,400 through this stuff and say, OK, well, that's interesting. 180 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,200 What does that mean? But when you look at wind, can 181 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:56,920 anybody actually see wind itself? 182 00:10:57,680 --> 00:11:00,160 We see the results of wind when there's a storm. 183 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:03,240 You see the trees blowing or we had that microburst a couple 184 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:04,800 weeks ago. There's a bunch of branches and 185 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,360 debris laying everywhere. It was obvious that there was a 186 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,360 powerful windstorm that came through this particular part of 187 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:14,080 the country at the time. But you you can't personally see 188 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:18,640 the wind in itself. And it's a independent entity of 189 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,280 the the manifestation of what it causes after it blows. 190 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:26,760 Jesus says to Nicodemus, Nicodemus in John chapter 3, can 191 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:29,640 anybody tell which direction the wind's coming from? 192 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:33,760 He says so is the work of God's Spirit. 193 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:37,200 That which is born of flesh is flesh, that which is born of 194 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,160 spirit is spirit. And he says you must be born 195 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:41,960 again to enter into the Kingdom of heaven. 196 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:46,240 I was talking to my boss this week about an individual that 197 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:49,160 has come to work in our company as a sales manager. 198 00:11:49,680 --> 00:11:51,680 I'm just thanking God. I'm not under the authority of 199 00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:55,040 this person because they are totally, totally lost. 200 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:59,400 They have no love for people. It's all bottom line. 201 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:03,480 It's all focused on results. It's all focused on adding 202 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:08,200 value, perceived value, but not having any value for the 203 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,000 individual that works in the company. 204 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,440 And the several people who are under the authority of this 205 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:16,360 person, their lives are really, really in, in difficult turmoil 206 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:17,720 right now. And I pray for them every day. 207 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:21,320 So I was confronting my boss. He's a Christian about, you 208 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:25,120 know, are we just going to do what the corporate world says or 209 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:27,480 are we going to stand up for what's right? 210 00:12:27,560 --> 00:12:29,680 Are we going to quench a spirit in our company? 211 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:32,480 And as soon as I say quench a spirit, I got his attention. 212 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:34,080 Just So what do you, what do you mean by that man? 213 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:36,000 You know, I said, well, that's what I sense we're doing right 214 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,160 now. Light and darkness can't walk 215 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:39,360 together. And that's a real tough 216 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:41,360 situation when you're in the business world, isn't it? 217 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,200 Because many of us have to do commerce and business and many 218 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:48,160 times trying to be pushed to do things that we know aren't 219 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,960 ethical or aren't Christ like. And we have to decide whether 220 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:55,840 we're going to stand on the truth or we're going to stand on 221 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:59,440 our potential promotion and looking good in the eyes of of 222 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,960 man. But this person was saying, 223 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,960 well, she's a she's a good Catholic woman. 224 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,000 I said, well, she's not born again. 225 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,120 You got to be born again to enter into the Kingdom of 226 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,320 heaven. It's not about being a good 227 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:16,400 Protestant or a good Catholic person. 228 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:19,760 It's about are you in Christ and do you have a spirit in you? 229 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:22,600 And if you have the spirit of Christ in you, how you treat 230 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:25,800 people in your business is going to be completely different than 231 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:28,880 someone who's in the world that knows nothing about Christ. 232 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,960 It's like the picture of a David and Goliath. 233 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:35,880 You know, you look and say, how in the world can anything be 234 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:39,560 done? But David was a man of faith and 235 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:44,760 he was able to see by the Spirit of God the mighty power of this 236 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,320 great giant fall to the ground, be humbled. 237 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:52,520 But when we look at this wind and no one can actually see the 238 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,160 wind, but we see its effects, it's interesting. 239 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,080 Some science here for you guys, and I'm just going to read this. 240 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,280 I wouldn't attempt to try to impress you thinking I 241 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:04,040 understand all this stuff. But the sun has very, very 242 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:05,760 intense heat. We're all aware of that. 243 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:11,640 The laws of heat transfer and the shape and the rotation of 244 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:13,640 the Earth are the chief cause of the winds. 245 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:17,280 I never knew that. I looked out the window during 246 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,440 science, you know, thinking when I could play baseball later or 247 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:23,400 something if I were to listen. Maybe maybe some of the younger 248 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:25,480 people say, oh, Clark, that's that's obvious and what's wrong 249 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,000 with you. But but the wind is caused by 250 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:30,840 the uneven heating of the atmosphere, meaning the air 251 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:34,240 around the Earth by the sun. Now science has unchangeable 252 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,480 laws and scientists understand this that I'm talking about 253 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,280 here. But we see it as miracle of God 254 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:42,880 and how he's orchestrated the universe and how every little 255 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:46,960 thing happens, how everything flows is from His creative hand. 256 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,240 Now when you get near the equator, the heat or the air 257 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:55,520 rises to about 60,000 feet straight up. 258 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,840 Yet there's no prevailing winds near the equator and up to about 259 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:02,240 700 miles on either side of the equator. 260 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:07,360 What happens is there because the air rises vertically, there 261 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:11,320 is instead of moving horizontally across the Earth, 262 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:15,200 there's this calming effect which is called the doldrums. 263 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:20,160 So we look here, this this miracle in in the verse 1 of 264 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,960 Chapter 7 as a this is prior to God's judgment. 265 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:28,720 There's going to be an awesome silence, a deadly calm before 266 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,360 this huge storm that's going to be poured out when the trumpet 267 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:36,440 judgments begin to occur. Isn't that fascinating? 268 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:38,400 I mean, we just take it for granted. 269 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:41,000 You know, the wind comes and God knows how to cool the earth and 270 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:44,120 how to make the wind happen at the right time to keep 271 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:46,720 everything in balance. But with his hand and his 272 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,440 authority, he will stop the wind. 273 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,880 The angels will be holding the four corners of the earth, and 274 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,960 there won't be any wind blowing any earth on the sea or on any 275 00:15:56,960 --> 00:15:59,320 tree. Everything will be dead silent. 276 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:02,960 The calm before the storm. I guess that's sort of what it's 277 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,880 like in the midst. I've never been in a tornado, 278 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:08,480 the eye of the tornado. But they say that's what it's 279 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,640 like prior to the what happens in the beginning. 280 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:14,240 And at the end of that, everything is just an eerie 281 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:18,480 calmness. And so he says, I see another 282 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:21,720 Angel in verse 2 ascending from the east, having the seal the 283 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:24,360 living God. And he cry with a loud voice to 284 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:27,640 the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and 285 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:31,840 the sea, saying, do not harm the earth, the sea or the trees till 286 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:35,520 we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. 287 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:40,280 So again, God's authority in control, this judgment, it's 288 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:42,880 going to come out. It's not out of control, it's 289 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:44,960 just not occurring as it wants to. 290 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,360 But God has complete control when the time of these things 291 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:50,760 will come to pass. But there's something that has 292 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:55,560 to occur prior to this going on. And he's talking about sealing 293 00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:00,920 these 144,000 believers with the power of the Holy Spirit. 294 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,160 Now whenever we come to Christ and we have faith in Christ, we 295 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:09,319 are born by God into the body of Christ. 296 00:17:09,319 --> 00:17:14,200 The Bible says in Romans 8-9. For any man have not the spirit 297 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:17,000 of Christ, he is none of his. So you can't be a believer 298 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,960 without the Holy Spirit. Some people teach that you 299 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,200 receive the Holy Spirit after you get saved. 300 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,640 What's impossible to get saved without the Holy Spirit? 301 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,960 The Holy Spirit comes in dwell us at the moment of our 302 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:29,920 conversion or our faith in Christ. 303 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:32,800 OK, now there's different manifestations of the Spirit 304 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,080 that can occur and will occur and many of our lives 305 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:40,560 subsequently to our conversion. But what happens when we 306 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:43,040 believe? You can see this in Ephesians 307 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,080 chapter 1 if you flip over there for a minute, Ephesians chapter 308 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:53,160 1 verse 13 and 14 it says in him you also trusted. 309 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:57,040 This is regarding him, Jesus Christ and him you also trusted 310 00:17:57,040 --> 00:17:59,960 after you heard the word of truth, the gospel, your 311 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:03,800 salvation, whom also having believed says you were sealed 312 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:07,200 with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is a guarantee of our 313 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:09,840 inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to 314 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,720 the praise of his glory. So the Holy Spirit comes to 315 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:17,600 dwell in us. We're sealed by the power of God 316 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:20,360 through the person of the Holy Spirit, and it's the evidence 317 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:23,960 that we belong to God without the Holy Spirit. 318 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:27,800 You aren't a Christian, and you should know if you have the Holy 319 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:30,240 Spirit because whenever you have the Holy Spirit, your life has 320 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:33,400 changed, your desires have changed, your interests, your 321 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,000 motivation. You have conviction now about 322 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,320 sin in a way that you didn't have it whenever you didn't have 323 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:44,320 the Holy Spirit and it says in first Corinthians 12/13 for by 1 324 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:47,680 Spirit are we all baptized into the body of Christ. 325 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,960 The baptism of the Holy Spirit placing us from one place 326 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:56,400 outside of the Kingdom of God and then doing a work by his 327 00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:02,840 Spirit and placing us into a new family by his Spirit and Spirit 328 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:07,640 baptism. And if you study the ancient 329 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:13,240 foundational documents like the Nicene Creed or some of these 330 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:16,800 things that fought out the truths of historic Christianity 331 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:20,200 in the beginning, because of all the heresies, says there's one 332 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:21,720 Lord. And Ephesians says there's one 333 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:25,440 Lord, 1 faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who's 334 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,640 above all and in all and through us all. 335 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:30,400 And so we're sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. 336 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,000 And it tells us in chapter 4, verse 30 of Ephesians, it says, 337 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:38,200 and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were 338 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:40,080 sealed for the day of redemption. 339 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:41,920 How do you grieve the Holy Spirit? 340 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:45,600 It says, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and 341 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:49,200 evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind 342 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:52,000 to one one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, 343 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:53,720 even as God and grace forgave you. 344 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,320 If we hold bitterness and anger and any kind of attitude in our 345 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:00,760 heart toward anybody, toward God, toward any kind of 346 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:05,000 situation, it says we grieve the Holy Spirit, we hurt the Holy 347 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:06,920 Spirit, we wound the Holy Spirit. 348 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:09,240 And the Holy Spirit can't just say I'm out of here. 349 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:11,120 I don't like dealing with Clark right now. 350 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:14,000 He's just like making me miser, you know, He just makes me feel 351 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:15,680 like I don't want to be in him anymore. 352 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:19,520 With the beauty of the Holy Spirit is he doesn't depart in 353 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,200 the new covenant. He dwells in US forever. 354 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,000 We're in the Old Testament, remember, David prayed in Psalm 355 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:26,680 51. Take not your Holy Spirit from 356 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:27,880 me. That was his biggest fear 357 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:30,600 because the indwelling, the permanent of the indwelling of 358 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,480 the Holy Spirit didn't occur until Pentecost. 359 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:34,960 And so these things are important. 360 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:39,360 But in Revelation 7, this is what he's going to do for these 361 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:44,240 144,000. He's going to mark them with the 362 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:49,360 seal, the Holy Spirit and the ceiling is something it's done 363 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:52,880 and seen by God. I don't see a physical mark on 364 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:57,600 you or you don't see one on me. But it's evident by how we live 365 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,480 and how we treat each other if we are in Christ. 366 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:04,040 But Jesus says by this shall people know you're my disciples 367 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:06,720 by the love you have for one another. 368 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:12,720 And so in this sense of what God is doing in verse 2, he is 369 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:17,400 making this mark visible though to the spirit world and all the 370 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:21,120 demons of hell and the person, the Antichrist. 371 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,280 They're going to know for sure that these people have been set 372 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:29,000 apart by God and there will be a certain protection given to them 373 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,600 in the midst of all these cataclysmic events during this 374 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:35,000 time in order for them to do what it is God's called them to 375 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,520 do during this tribulation. All those from the ends of the 376 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,160 earth, the other nations, the other people groups will be 377 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:45,200 directly impacted by the evangelistic methodology of 378 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:49,800 these 144,000 during this time of tribulation. 379 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:54,760 And so in in verse 3, it says do not harm the earth and the sea 380 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:58,280 or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on our 381 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:00,080 forehead. So this command is given to the 382 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,840 angels and these angels are the very ones that will sound the 383 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:06,640 trumpet judgments as we get into chapter 8 next week. 384 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:12,160 This won't start again until these servants of God are sealed 385 00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:17,800 and protected by the Lord God. So how are people going to get 386 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:20,000 saved during this time? When you think about it, I mean, 387 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,640 with the Antichrist ruling and hassling people and persecuting 388 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,520 Christians, how are people going to be saved? 389 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:31,480 Well, we'll study later on about the two witnesses that were 390 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,760 eventually martyred that God will raise up. 391 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,520 But there's going to be such powerful testimony during this 392 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:40,760 time of tribulation, in the midst of the chaos, in the midst 393 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:42,880 of the trials and the tribulations that are going to 394 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,520 come upon the world. It's going to cause people to do 395 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:47,840 one of two things. They're going to move away 396 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:51,120 farther and farther from God and curse him, or they're going to 397 00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:53,720 move closer to him and say, there's got to be an answer to 398 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:55,240 this. I don't want to have to deal 399 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:56,960 with this. I need mercy. 400 00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:58,600 I need grace. And many of those people will 401 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,640 remember the things that you and I had told them while we were 402 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:04,560 alive, prior to us being caught up in the air. 403 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:08,560 I don't know about you, but as a unbeliever prior to coming to 404 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:12,080 Christ, what drew me to Christ was trials and tribulation. 405 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,240 It was the lifestyle I was living. 406 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:19,920 It was the condemnation and the guilt and the darkness. 407 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:24,320 It was all about me from my drug induced hippie stage. 408 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:29,760 And I, I just, I cried out to God I didn't know existed and I 409 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:33,120 asked for His help and I asked him if he was real that he would 410 00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:35,600 reveal himself to me and show me who He was. 411 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:38,560 And he did. And it put me on the beginning 412 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:43,760 path of my salvation. I look at people in life and I 413 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,520 know that God uses trials for both groups. 414 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:51,280 He uses trials and believers lives to cause us to get on our 415 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:55,160 face and say Lord I want to move towards you, not away from you. 416 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,840 Thanks for being with us today here on Living Waters of Grace. 417 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,440 We're in the Book of Revelation, and we find it fascinating how 418 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:09,080 influential and involved the angels are in this book. 419 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:13,640 They bring about whatever it is that God has instructed them to 420 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:17,000 do, but it's through their actions that much of the 421 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,880 judgments come on the earth. The angels are in submission to 422 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:25,000 God as their authority, but He utilizes them in unique ways 423 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,440 throughout this book. Like angels have a specific 424 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,160 purpose from God, you have a unique purpose and plan too. 425 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:36,360 God wants to use you in your life as a testimony to others 426 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,840 and to bring others who are currently lost into the fold of 427 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,520 God. God would love more than 428 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:45,960 anything for all who are willing to come to Him for salvation, 429 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:50,480 but He wants it to be their choice, not a forced situation. 430 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:55,320 This is the way God works, not forcing himself on anyone, but 431 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:59,520 giving each person free will. If you're interested in learning 432 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,440 about this choice that's free and that it's a gift, go to 433 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:08,560 calvarychapelonline.com and click on the About Us tab and 434 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,200 then find the link for what we believe. 435 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,920 We'd love to be a help and a resource for you as you walk 436 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:18,040 through what it means to be a follower of Jesus. 437 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:22,040 If you find the contact tab on our website, you can get in 438 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,760 touch with us or submit a prayer request. 439 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,680 We'd love to hear from you. That's all for today's edition 440 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:32,600 in Revelation, but there's much more that Pastor Clark plans to 441 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,040 share with us from this culminating book of the Bible. 442 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:38,680 Stay tuned for that. And make sure to mention this 443 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,800 radio program to others. Invite them to tune into Grace 444 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:47,840 FM 91.7 FM. They can stream worldwide at 445 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:52,760 Grace Radio dot FM. This has been Living Waters of 446 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:53,320 Grace.