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 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,160 He's called our comforter. He does not expect us to do life 6 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:44,840 in our own strength. And I want to know that deeper 7 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:48,360 myself personally, because there's days that I get 8 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:53,040 frustrated too and burn on and overwhelmed and discouraged or 9 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,320 whatever. And and I don't want to stay in 10 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:57,480 those places. I want to immediately connect 11 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,240 with the fact that I need the help of the Spirit of God. 12 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:03,920 And when we ask for the help of the Holy Spirit, He will 13 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:05,880 definitely come through for us. Amen. 14 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:10,920 The Holy Spirit is like a sturdy railing, keeping you balanced 15 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:12,800 when life's weight feels too heavy. 16 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:16,640 In today's message, Pastor Clark portrays how God is your 17 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,360 comforter. Not expecting you to face life 18 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,880 alone might hit days of frustration, burnout, or 19 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:24,640 discouragement. Feeling overwhelmed? 20 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,560 Instead of lingering there, you can turn to the Spirit for help. 21 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,520 He's ready to come through when you call, bringing strength and 22 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,360 peace. God knows your struggles and 23 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:37,640 offers his Spirit to carry you forward. 24 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:42,160 Now here's Pastor Clark in the book of Acts chapter one with 25 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:45,080 today's edition of Living Waters of Grace. 26 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:50,040 Father God, we thank you Lord, for the gospel of Jesus Christ. 27 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:52,440 It is the only hope that the world has. 28 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:57,000 And Lord, you told us clearly that you are the way the truth 29 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:58,960 of life, and no man comes of the Father. 30 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:03,320 But through you, everywhere we live, we have an opportunity to 31 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,440 share our relationship with you, Lord, with other people. 32 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,840 I pray, Lord, that you would work in our hearts as a church 33 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:14,040 family, as a body, where we work, where we live, 34 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,440 friendships, Father, neighbors, that you would open up doors of 35 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:21,600 opportunity for each of us on a daily basis to be able to share 36 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,080 the gospel with people. Lord, because we know that you 37 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,480 love people and you want us to love people and and father, 38 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:30,800 we're around people every day that are on their way to a 39 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,560 crisis eternity if they don't know Jesus Christ as their Lord 40 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:36,720 and Savior. We don't grasp that many times 41 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,760 we get up and we live our lives and we see countless hundreds of 42 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,240 people every day and we don't perhaps at times sink. 43 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:47,160 I wonder where they're going to spend eternity. 44 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:50,720 And Lord, you tell us in your word that the only way we can 45 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,720 spend eternity with You is to have you as our Lord and Savior, 46 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:58,240 to have our sins forgiven, and to have you come into our life 47 00:02:58,240 --> 00:02:59,920 and change us to become like you. 48 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,360 And so, Father, we just ask that we would be used by you. 49 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,640 We know this is Your will. We know the book of the Acts was 50 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:10,400 written by you, penned by you through Luke the Evangelist to 51 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:14,480 help us see the beginning of the church and how it thrived and 52 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:16,840 how it grew and how it increased Lord. 53 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,640 And so Lord, we hold one another up and pray for one another. 54 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:25,720 We ask Lord God today by your spirit's power, by your Holy 55 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:30,120 Spirit's power, that you would truly minister to us through the 56 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,440 word of God today and that the book of the Acts would it is a 57 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:35,920 living book. It's, it's the Acts of the Holy 58 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:38,160 Spirit through the hands of the apostles. 59 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:43,400 And so God teach us to trust you and to know you and to walk 60 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,880 deeper with you. And, and God, we, we do all 61 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,320 these things for your glory and for your honor, and we pray 62 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:51,840 these things in Jesus name, Amen. 63 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,000 God bless you guys. We are in the book of the Acts. 64 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:56,760 We're starting the series and Acts. 65 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,080 We finished the Gospel of Matthew. 66 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,600 And so I felt that it would just make sense to to see what 67 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,680 happened to the church immediately after, you know, 68 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,480 Jesus was getting ready to ascend into heaven to be with 69 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:11,520 his father. Before, though, I go to the book 70 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:13,480 of the Acts. I wanted to talk about the Holy 71 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,600 Spirit a little bit. I've taught this book several 72 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,920 times before, the book of the Acts, and I don't know if it's 73 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:22,240 because I'm getting older, things are sinking in more, I 74 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:24,560 don't know. But boy, I'll tell you, these 75 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,320 truths in the Bible are just hitting me at different levels 76 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:30,560 than ever, ever before. So I wanted to ask you a 77 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,080 question. Have you ever heard this phrase? 78 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,440 God helps those who help themselves. 79 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:38,600 Do you believe that's in the Bible? 80 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:43,280 Well, some people do, and we're all conditioned to sort of live 81 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:45,440 in our own strength. I don't know about you, but I'm 82 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,160 when I review my life and I think about my life, I'm 83 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,200 astounded at times of how much I'm trying to do in my own 84 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:56,800 strength, which is ridiculous. And so the reason I want to tell 85 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,720 you a little bit about this personally is that the I need to 86 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,400 be reminded about this as much as you do. 87 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:08,000 And in the book of John chapter 14, it says the heading verse 15 88 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,920 of John 14. And Jesus promises another 89 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:13,560 helper. He says, if you love me, keep my 90 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:16,840 commandments and I will pray the Father and he will give you 91 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:20,280 another helper that he may abide with you forever. 92 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,760 The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it 93 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:28,080 neither sees him nor but you know him, for he dwells with you 94 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:32,160 and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans, I 95 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:36,880 will come to you. And then he says over in the 96 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:42,680 book of John 15, he says, I am the vine, you are the branches. 97 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,440 And he that abideth in me, and I in him the same bringeth forth 98 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:50,560 much fruit. Without me you can do nothing. 99 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:55,840 Really think about that. Without Him we can do nothing. 100 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:01,800 And then He also tells us about this importance of this witness 101 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:05,440 that we have the privilege to be able to be part of. 102 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:10,160 He says in the 25th verse of John 14, These things I've 103 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:12,240 spoken to you while being present with you. 104 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:15,720 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send to my 105 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,960 name, He will teach you all things and bring to remembrance 106 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,800 all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace 107 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,720 I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give 108 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,080 to you. Let not your heart be troubled, 109 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:31,560 neither let it be afraid. You have heard me say to you, 110 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:33,640 I'm going away and coming back to you. 111 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,600 If you love me, you would rejoice because I said I am 112 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,880 going to my Father, for my Father is greater than I. 113 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,400 And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come 114 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:49,400 to pass, you may believe I will no longer talk much with you. 115 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,800 For the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me 116 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:55,840 but that the world may know that I love the Father. 117 00:06:55,840 --> 00:06:59,760 And as the Father gave me commandments, so I do arise. 118 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:05,640 Let us go from here. And so we have this opportunity 119 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:09,880 to share our faith. That's why God established the 120 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:15,920 Church to help us learn how to communicate to one another and 121 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,760 to the world their need of Jesus Christ. 122 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:22,560 And so perhaps you're here today and maybe you have never really 123 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:25,720 felt comfortable sharing your faith with other people. 124 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,800 Well, you're not alone, right? We're all beginners at this, and 125 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:32,720 we're learning how to openly find opportunities to share our 126 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:36,320 relationship with Jesus. But what I love about the Word 127 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:39,280 of God, the Comforter, the encourager, the Helper, it says 128 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:44,080 in John 1526 And the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you 129 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:47,120 from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the 130 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:50,200 Father. He will testify of me, and you 131 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:52,840 also will bear witness because you have been with me from the 132 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,400 beginning. So the Holy Spirit dwells in the 133 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,840 lives of the believer. So we have the supernatural 134 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:05,280 power and authority and ability to speak to people about their 135 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:09,360 need of a Savior, Jesus Christ. It comes from the Spirit of God 136 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:11,680 in us. He is the ultimate witness. 137 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,280 He's the one that testifies of the truth. 138 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:19,000 And the Holy Spirit always works to magnify the Lord Jesus. 139 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:20,840 He doesn't draw attention to himself. 140 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,920 And so as we study the book of the Acts today and begin to work 141 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:29,160 through this, my prayer for us as a church is that we would 142 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:32,760 find opportunities in daily life to share our faith with other 143 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:36,280 people, that we would pray and ask God to open up doors and 144 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,840 opportunity that we might be able to present the Lord to 145 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:43,120 others. And Speaking of crew, we support 146 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:45,960 a missionary with CREW as a church. 147 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,600 We have for quite some time. He was a student at Northwestern 148 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:53,600 University studying engineering, had an opportunity to have all 149 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,520 kind of countless job opportunities making big bucks. 150 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,520 But for some reason, the Lord had dealt with him and worked 151 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,360 with him to be part of crew. So he's moved up in the ranks of 152 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,360 crew to be a leader, and we get his newsletter. 153 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,560 His name's Nick, and he comes here periodically. 154 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:10,600 But I wanted to read some prayer requests. 155 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:12,960 He asked. Pray for all the students who 156 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,840 attend the winter conferences in January and February. 157 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,840 They do that all over the world, that they would take away 158 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,400 practical next steps in walking closely with God and continue to 159 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,960 grow closer to Him. Back on campus. 160 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:28,960 Pray that those in the local communities who got to hear 161 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:32,000 about Jesus and who made decisions to follow Jesus during 162 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:35,160 the outreaches at the conference would be connected to their 163 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:38,120 local churches and continually grow in the knowledge and love 164 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:40,120 for God. And he asked for a prayer for 165 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,240 himself. Pray for me in this season of 166 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:46,440 discernment as I process my next steps and what I will be doing 167 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:50,040 after my program ends in June. Especially pray that I would be 168 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,920 trusting God in the unknown. So that's Nick, so hold him up 169 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:55,680 in your prayers. So let's go to the book of the 170 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:59,200 Acts. It's right after the Gospel of 171 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:03,280 John, and we're going to start working through this book just 172 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,960 like we went through Matthew, verse by verse and chapter by 173 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:13,880 chapter. And before I start again, the 174 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:22,080 Holy Spirit, he wants us to know him in a deeper way, in a 175 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,520 personal way. God the Father, God the Son, God 176 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:31,600 the Holy Spirit. He's the helper to comforter and 177 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:35,160 He wants to help us. And I pray that we have the 178 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,880 humility whenever we're stressed out and we're burnt out and 179 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:42,040 we're overwhelmed and we're tired or whatever, frustrated in 180 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:45,800 life that it would dawn on us that we need God's help. 181 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,400 And we just say, Lord, I'm not in a good place right now. 182 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:54,760 I need your help, Holy Spirit. And that's wisdom, isn't it? 183 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,960 Because He's called our comforter, He does not expect us 184 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:03,240 to do life in our own strength. And I want to know that deeper 185 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:06,680 myself personally, because there's days that I get 186 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:11,280 frustrated too and burn on and overwhelmed and discourage or 187 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:13,480 whatever. And, and I don't want to stay in 188 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:15,600 those places. I want to immediately connect 189 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:18,240 with the fact that I need the help of the Spirit of God. 190 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:21,880 And when we ask for the help of the Holy Spirit, he will 191 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:23,880 definitely come through for us. Amen. 192 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:30,760 So it starts in the first verse of the 1st chapter of Acts. 193 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:35,120 It says the former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that 194 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,240 Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He 195 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,560 was taken up, after He, through the Holy Spirit, had given 196 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:45,280 commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, To whom he 197 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:49,160 also presented himself alive after his suffering, by many 198 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:52,920 infallible proofs, being seen by them during 40 days, and 199 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of 200 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:58,120 God. So Luke is the author. 201 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:02,400 He wrote the Gospel of Luke, the Evangelist Luke, and he also is 202 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:04,640 writing the the book of the Acts. 203 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:08,360 At this particular time, he was not an apostle, he was an 204 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:11,040 evangelist. He was a medical doctor, he was 205 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,800 a surgeon, and he traveled with the Apostle Paul and his 206 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,280 ministry to help him with some of his infirmities and 207 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,880 illnesses. Luke was a disciple of the 208 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:23,720 apostle Paul. So we believe that Paul LED Luke 209 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:27,320 to the Lord Jesus. Luke got all the data and the 210 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,680 information, interviewed apostles and people who are 211 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:35,440 eyewitnesses of the accounts of the life of Jesus Christ, and he 212 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:37,600 compiled those things in the gospel of Luke. 213 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:42,160 And then he's now compiling all the experiences he had traveling 214 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:44,160 with Paul throughout all the regions. 215 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,560 Whenever the book of the Acts is put together, they believe that 216 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:50,400 he finished his sometime before 8060. 217 00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:53,920 Because there's no information in here of the crisis that 218 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:57,240 happened in in Rome when the church was sacked and all that 219 00:12:57,240 --> 00:12:59,680 kind of stuff, and the persecution began to be poured 220 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:06,000 out upon the church. Luke is a student of history, 221 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:12,440 and everything he wrote was rooted and founded in evidence, 222 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,640 not theory. Luke, when he wrote these 223 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:21,600 things, he took his time to be very, very detailed in what it 224 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:27,040 was he was speaking about the subject matter in the book of 225 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:31,720 Acts, the Holy Spirit is mentioned 56 times and prayer is 226 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:35,640 mentioned 39 times, more than any other book of the Bible. 227 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:41,360 Prayer and the person, the Holy Spirit are discussed. 228 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:47,640 And so this is really the foundation of what makes things 229 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:53,280 work in this earth in regard to the things of God, prayer, and 230 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,600 the power of God, the Holy Spirit. 231 00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:01,080 Theophilus, this person that Luke's referencing here was some 232 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:05,600 type of perhaps Roman dignitary. It appears in the Gospel of Luke 233 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:07,680 that he had an interest in Christianity. 234 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:11,040 And so Luke actually sent the letters to this fellow 235 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:13,360 Theophilus. That's about all we know of him, 236 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:16,920 of everything that Jesus began both to do and teach. 237 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:20,640 So everything that Christ did, and we studied that in a book of 238 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:24,640 Matthew from the beginning of his birth to the eventual 239 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:29,920 crucifixion and ascension, resurrection, are all detailed 240 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,240 in the Gospels. And so everything we read in 241 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:38,680 Acts is grounded and founded in the historic aspect of Christ 242 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:43,920 being truly a human being, fully God in human form, human flesh 243 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,600 who died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the 244 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:52,160 dead for our sins. And so he's giving again the 245 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:56,280 details and everything now that is culminating in the outpouring 246 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:00,360 of the Holy Spirit of Pentecost is rooted in this evidence that 247 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,720 until the day he was taken up after he through the Holy Spirit 248 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,800 of giving commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen. 249 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:09,480 Remember the last thing we studied in the book of Matthew, 250 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:12,400 chapter 28. He said go into all the world 251 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,960 and preach the gospel, right. Some of you are starting to fall 252 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:18,800 asleep. Preach the Gospel unto every 253 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:21,920 living creature that entitizing them in the name of the Father, 254 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,280 Son, and Holy Spirit. And lo, I'm with you always, 255 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:26,640 even and to the end of the age, right? 256 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,040 And so that was a commandment not only to the apostles, but to 257 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:33,520 us as the church, as Christians, as believers to spread the 258 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:38,240 gospel. And so it says that whom he also 259 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,760 presented himself alive after his sufferings. 260 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:45,000 And we read in First Corinthians 15 that Christ died for our 261 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:46,480 sins. According to the scriptures, He 262 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:49,240 was buried. He rose again on the third day, 263 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:51,720 according to the scriptures, and ascendeth into heaven. 264 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:56,840 He was seen by over 500 witnesses after He rose again 265 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:01,080 from the dead, literally seen by many, many witnesses. 266 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:05,760 So He presented himself alive after his crucifixion by many 267 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:09,360 infallible proofs. He was seen by them during the 268 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:11,320 40 days. He would come in and out of 269 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:15,400 their lives during this time before He ascended to tell them 270 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:18,000 more and more things about what it was he wanted them to 271 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,960 accomplish. And he was always speaking about 272 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,960 the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. 273 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:28,000 I was reading something this morning about fasting. 274 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:31,880 And fasting sometimes is a good thing to do, especially for 275 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:35,920 media right now, How much more media fee do we need about 276 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,640 what's happening in the world? It's very, very overwhelming and 277 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:43,560 at times very, very depressing. And we need to pray for peace. 278 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:47,200 We need to pray for these world rollers to come to their senses 279 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:51,800 and be able to sit down and talk about the issue before more and 280 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:53,960 more people are slaughtered needlessly. 281 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,600 It's heartbreaking to see what what's happening to these 282 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:01,960 people. 1.4 million people are out of that country of Ukraine 283 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,000 now trying to find a place to work and to live. 284 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:08,000 And where do they find food? We're going to be involved with 285 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:11,520 some other Calgary's across the world financially and helping 286 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,560 and if we all help a little bit, that's going to be significant 287 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:18,240 in regard to refuge and relief. We have missionaries on the 288 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,119 ground in Ukraine who are actually helping people get out 289 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:23,240 of the country. There's a Calgary Chapel in the 290 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,760 farthest western region in Ukraine, which is surrounded by 291 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,480 NATO countries that Russia isn't going to mess with over there. 292 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:33,880 That's about as safe as you can be in Ukraine, that particular 293 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:36,360 region. And they are already helping in 294 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:39,760 the church, providing things for the people who are moving out of 295 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:45,480 out of the Ukraine. But this need of understanding 296 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:50,640 where we are in time in regard to the work of the Holy Spirit 297 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:54,160 and what it is he wants to do in the days that we're living. 298 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:58,240 And so I, I look at the time we're reading about in the book 299 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:02,960 of the Acts prior to the persecution and the difficulty 300 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:06,560 of living under a Roman rule as a Christian. 301 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,400 It's a difficult time in parts of the world to live as a 302 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:15,080 Christian under various types of dictatorships in the world. 303 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,800 And then this is other places other than what we're dealing 304 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:23,160 with right now with Russia. We have issues in Iran and we 305 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:27,280 have issues in China. We have issues in North Africa, 306 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:32,120 we have issues in Venezuela, we have issues in Colombia. 307 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:36,160 There's rulers that don't have a lot of good things planned for 308 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:40,240 the people of those countries. So when you look at Acts, Acts, 309 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:45,120 this isn't a past tense book. It's a living book right now in 310 00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:47,920 regard to what it is we're dealing with in our own world 311 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,680 today. In verse 4 it says in being 312 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:54,320 assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart 313 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:56,960 from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father. 314 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,560 Now remember in John where Jesus was talking to His followers 315 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:04,160 telling them He would send them the comforter, the helper. 316 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:06,520 OK, this is real time now for them. 317 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:12,120 They're told specifically to wait until the Holy Spirit is 318 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:14,000 going to be poured out upon them. 319 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:17,920 Now, they had experiences with the Holy Spirit, as did the Old 320 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:20,440 Testament believers, the Old Testament Saints. 321 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:25,200 But the Holy Spirit before Pentecost came upon people and 322 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:27,040 then he would depart from people. 323 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:31,680 We know David in Psalm 51 when he prayed his prayer repentance 324 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:36,840 after his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, he prayed 325 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,080 in that one section and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 326 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:42,720 Now for a New Testament Christian, that would be a weird 327 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:45,760 prayer because we the Holy Spirit doesn't leave us as 328 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,440 Christians. He's in US and he'll never leave 329 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:51,280 us or forsake us. But we can quench the Holy 330 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:55,440 Spirit and we can grieve the Holy Spirit by living in our own 331 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,120 power and our own strength. The Holy Spirit wants to fill us 332 00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:03,000 every day afresh that we have strength and power and wisdom, 333 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,320 ability to to live for the glory of God and the blessings of 334 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,560 other people. But in this instance, they have 335 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:14,760 not received the Holy Spirit in the indwelling yet permanent 336 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:16,800 indwelling. And this didn't happen till the 337 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:20,080 day of Pentecost. The apostles received the Holy 338 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:22,400 Spirit at different times. Jesus breathed on them and said 339 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:26,000 receive the Holy Spirit for ministry and the miraculous 340 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,960 things that they did. They didn't experience this 341 00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:32,960 complete experience that you and I experienced when we got saved 342 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,840 and we were born again. When we were born again, the 343 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:40,040 Holy Spirit came to dwell in us at the moment we were born 344 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,560 again. It tells us in First Corinthians 345 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:48,000 12/13, For we are all baptized by 1 Spirit into the body of 346 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,720 Christ at our conversion, at our belief. 347 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:55,720 It tells us in Romans 8-9, if any man have not the Spirit of 348 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:59,080 Christ, he's none of his. So some movements in 349 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:02,880 Christianity will say to people, have you received the Holy 350 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:05,040 Spirit? And they asked this in Acts. 351 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:06,240 We'll get into that down the road. 352 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:09,200 Since you believe, well, you can't be a Christian if you 353 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:12,880 don't have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in the 354 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:14,760 believer. The Holy Spirit does not in 355 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:17,440 dwell the unbeliever. And the only way you can have 356 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:19,280 the Holy Spirit is to be born again. 357 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:22,400 I don't know your experience when you were born again, but 358 00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:26,920 it's pretty significant for most of us because there's a way of 359 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:32,080 life and a new sense of being an experience after you're born 360 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:34,600 again that you didn't have before you were born again. 361 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:37,920 You just know that you know that you know. 362 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:41,920 And it tells us that his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, bears witness 363 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:44,880 with our spirit that we are the sons and daughters of God. 364 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,720 So when you come into a church like this, and maybe you've 365 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,360 never been here before, if this is your first time, we welcome 366 00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:52,200 you. You can feel connected 367 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:55,360 immediately because you're with other people who have the same 368 00:21:55,360 --> 00:21:57,080 Spirit. You do the Holy Spirit. 369 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:01,760 And so he's commanding them to not depart from Jerusalem, but 370 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:04,800 to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you have 371 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,280 heard from me. And he said, for John truly 372 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:09,600 baptized with water. And he's referring to John the 373 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:13,360 Baptist baptism, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit 374 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:17,040 not many days from now. Therefore, when they had come 375 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:20,560 together in verse 6, they asked him saying, Lord, will you at 376 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:22,720 this time restore the Kingdom to Israel? 377 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:27,200 And this is a great question for them to ask because God will one 378 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:29,280 day restore the Kingdom in Israel. 379 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,680 This will actually happen the second coming of Christ when the 380 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:36,160 millennial Kingdom begins. But this is not the particular 381 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:37,920 point in time that this is going to occur. 382 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:42,120 But they're familiar with the, you know, Ezekiel 36 and these 383 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:45,160 prophecies that are going to one day be fulfilled. 384 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:47,600 They're asking him the specific question. 385 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:49,800 They're thinking there's going to be a literal Kingdom right 386 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:51,680 now. We're going to have freedom. 387 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:53,920 God's going to roll and reign, and we're not going to have to 388 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:58,560 deal with Roman government or Russian government or Ukrainian 389 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:00,800 government or American government or whatever 390 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:03,960 government you want to say. The good news is one day the 391 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:07,520 Lord himself will be the ruler and he will rule with an iron 392 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:10,200 hand in Jerusalem. There won't be anybody else 393 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:11,920 telling the Lord what to do at that time. 394 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,480 That's when there will be real peace, That's when the nations 395 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:19,560 will be under his role and reign and they won't have these rogue 396 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:21,960 governments behaving the way they are now. 397 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:26,680 But anyway, he says it's not for you to know the times or seasons 398 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:29,360 which the Father has put in his own authority. 399 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:34,280 People love to sort of plan and in her mind study. 400 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:37,360 This is when I think Jesus is going to come and they have it 401 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:39,680 all calculated. They can use computers now and 402 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:43,640 algorithms and figure out dates and based upon different feasts 403 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:44,960 in the Old Testament or whatever. 404 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,560 I've never met anybody that got it right yet. 405 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:52,280 You know, Jesus isn't anyone that knows the big the return of 406 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:54,880 Christ to this world to set up the Kingdom, and that's the 407 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:58,600 Father. We're so glad you joined us 408 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:01,320 today on this edition of Living Waters of Grace. 409 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:04,760 Pastor Clark is teaching through the Book of Acts, which is the 410 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:07,960 only book that chronicles the history of the early church 411 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,120 immediately after Jesus's ascension. 412 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:14,960 It gives us a front row seat to how the Gospel began to move 413 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,720 outward, starting in Jerusalem and reaching into the heart of 414 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,600 the Roman Empire in just three decades. 415 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:25,240 A small group of frightened ordinary believers became a 416 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:29,320 bold, spirit empowered movement that transformed the known 417 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,120 world. Acts is not just a history 418 00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:34,440 lesson. It's a reminder of what God can 419 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:38,360 do when His people are surrendered, obedient and filled 420 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:41,960 with the Holy Spirit. Their perseverance still 421 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:46,040 inspires us today. May we follow their example and 422 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,640 live faithfully for Christ in our own time. 423 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:51,200 We hope today's message encouraged you. 424 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:55,160 Living Waters of Grace is a ministry of Calvary Chapel, 425 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,520 Westmoreland. If you're in the Greensburg, PA 426 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,000 area, we'd love to have you join us in person. 427 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:06,760 Our Sunday service begins at 10:30 AM at 400 E Pittsburgh St. 428 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:09,760 Unit 6B. Be sure to visit 429 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:13,680 calvarychapelonline.com to confirm times and learn more. 430 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:17,400 If you are in the Greensburg area, you can listen to Grace FM 431 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:22,400 on the new 91.7 frequency. Please pray about supporting 432 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:26,400 this outreach. Gifts can be sent to Grace FMPO 433 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:33,480 Box 716, Greensburg, PA 15601. Stay connected through Facebook, 434 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:37,000 YouTube, or our Calvary Chapel Westmoreland app. 435 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:41,920 Join our e-mail list, submit prayer requests, and give online 436 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:47,120 all at calvarychapelonline.com. Thank you for tuning in and 437 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:48,680 spending this time in God's Word. 438 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,040 Be sure to join us again for Living Waters of Grace.