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

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Wofford, senior pastor of 
Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, 

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

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continues teaching through God's
Word. 

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There's no rules here that you 
have to jump through 30 hoops 

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before you can serve the Lord. 
You have to be born again. 

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You have to love the Lord and 
love people and be walking with 

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him and God will use you right. 
It's real simple, but that's the

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focus of, of, of a healthy 
church. 

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And so these people also told 
without feigning. 

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And that means working in spite 
of seeing results. 

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Just keep showing up. 
Keep doing what it is that God 

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tells you to do. 
A joke amongst our set up tear 

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down team at church is that the 
only requirements for helping 

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are #1 are you breathing and #2 
do you have a pulse? 

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All jokes aside, it doesn't take
crazy qualifications to serve in

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most roles at church. 
What it does require is a 

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willing spirit and love for your
neighbor. 

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In today's message, Pastor Clark
provides scriptural evidence 

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that God can and will use anyone
who is willing to serve in His 

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Kingdom. 
We need not worry about what 

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we'll do. 
Just come with a willing heart. 

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Now. 
Here's Pastor Clark in 

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Revelation Chapter 2 with 
today's edition of Living Waters

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of Grace. 
People come in and, and they see

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all the parts of the body 
working together, someone 

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outside shoveling and, and 
someone, you know, helping with 

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the Lord's Supper, running sound
or run, you know, singing and 

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worship and, and, and this 
sometimes a part in the body is 

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a, someone that comes in that's 
new, that you go up to them and 

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say, Hey, I'm glad you're here. 
It's, it's nice to see you. 

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What's your name? 
You might be the only person 

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that Sunday that has a chance to
connect with someone else. 

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And that's the body of Christ. 
That's the love that's being 

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manifest in the in the midst of 
the church. 

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And so how does a church grow? 
And I'm not talking numerically,

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of course, God does grow 
churches numerically. 

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But what's the purpose of the 
church growing numerically? 

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It isn't to be a big church. 
The purpose is that people were 

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being called to do ministry, 
right. 

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They're coming to the church to 
not sit in a Pew, but to say, 

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what is it that I can do? 
How can I serve? 

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How can I help? 
What's what's my gift? 

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Like this fellow that's moving 
in from Idaho, He told me, 

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Clark, I can help. 
I like to do evangelism. 

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And he says I'm an I'm an usher.
And you know, he just has a 

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heart to serve his his son's 16.
He says, boy, I hope he can 

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maybe, you know, be involved 
helping in a worship. 

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I said, sure, he can he can talk
to Rick. 

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And you know, there there's no 
rules here that you have to jump

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through 30 hoops before you can 
serve the Lord. 

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You have to be born again. 
You have to love the Lord and 

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love people and be walking with 
him and God will use you right. 

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It's real simple, but that's the
focus of of of a healthy church.

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And so these people also told 
without feigning and that means 

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working in spite of seeing 
results. 

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This keep showing up, keep doing
what it is that God tells you to

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do. 
And God's the one that brings 

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the harvest in his time. 
They also had this sacrificial 

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heart and I think of as a small 
church, how you guys give of 

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your time and how you give 
financially. 

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It's a blessing we never have to
beg for money. 

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We never have to push about 
money. 

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The Holy Spirit is the one that 
puts it on your heart what it is

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that you're to give. 
And that's between you and the 

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Lord. 
And it's a wonderful thing to be

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able to give freely without 
condemnation or without guilt. 

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And as we know we can't ever out
give God. 

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I mean, I challenge my own heart
as the Lord prospers me. 

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I always want to advance what it
is I personally sacrifice before

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the Lord. 
And sometimes we all can think, 

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well, if I didn't give as much 
as I gave to the church, I could

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be driving a new car. 
You ever think that the payment 

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I could be using for. 
I mean, that's ridiculous. 

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Don't think that way, but our 
flesh sometimes sinks that way. 

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It's just normal for all of us 
because we're still human. 

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But it's cool to be content with
what we have live within our 

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means, actually live under our 
means. 

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My dad taught me that many years
ago. 

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He was a president of a company.
And one of the big shots from 

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this chairman of the board said,
well, Clark, how many acres do 

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you have? 
And my dad says I got a probably

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about 1/4 of an acre. 
And they expected my dad, 

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because of the position he was 
in, to have a big mansion and 

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all that. 
My dad lived in a very modest 

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home. 
He turned on the company 

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limousine. 
He drove a Ford Pinto station 

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wagon. 
He didn't park in the director 

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for the president and he parked 
somewhere else. 

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It's just my dad set that 
temperament for my brother and I

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as an example. 
He was a very, very sacrificial,

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humble man. 
And what he did with his 

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resources and finances was 
always for the sake of helping 

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other people and never consumed 
with himself. 

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That's an amazing individual. 
But anyway, Ephesus, this is the

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kind of church they have. 
They are, but it says in verse 

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4, then the accusation comes in 
spite of all the good things 

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they're doing. 
He says, I had this one thing 

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against you. 
You've left your first love as a

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pastor. 
I have to continually keep 

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myself in the love of God. 
I'm like you guys. 

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I got a wife, I got children, I 
got grandchildren, I got son in 

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law's, I got a job, I got all 
kinds of things that my mind can

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get focused on. 
And those are all good things to

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be focused on. 
But sometimes I can allow things

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in everyday life to take my 
focus off of my relationship 

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with the Lord. 
You know what I mean? 

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If I don't start my day with the
Lord and walk with the Lord 

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through that day and end my day 
with the Lord, my heart will not

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be full of this first love. 
My relationship with Cindy, 38 

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years of marriage. 
There was years, I have to admit

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to you people that I was not 
loving her the way Christ told 

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me I'm to love his church the 
way he loves his church. 

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And so I was inadequate in the 
sense of my emotional connection

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with my wife. 
I was there, I showed up, I paid

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the bills, I did whatever a 
husband's supposed to do, but I 

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was not connecting with her 
needs as a woman in the sense of

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her emotional needs. 
And so the reason I wasn't, I 

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was focused on my job and my 
career and my success and my 

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golf clubs and my time and this 
and that and my Ford Thunderbird

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or whatever. 
And, and I sacrificed some years

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that I look back on. 
I say, Lord, it's only your 

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mercy that you kept us together 
all these years, but God was 

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merciful. 
He broke me and he humbled me 

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and he gave me an amazing woman 
that stood beside me and never 

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gave up on me. 
And so 38 years I can say to you

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guys today, honestly, I love 
Cindy today more than I love her

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when I first met her. 
She is an amazing woman. 

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I, I never tire of looking at 
her face when I wake up in the 

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morning. 
I never look at her and say, why

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did I end up with her. 
Now she might say that about me,

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especially now with my scar now,
but but you know, that's a work 

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of God's Spirit. 
It's a work of his grace and, 

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and and it's nothing I've done, 
but it's as I've yielded myself 

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to the Lord and won his will, 
not mine. 

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He restores to me the joy of my 
salvation and to you too. 

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And so the the but I have to 
work on my relationship with 

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Cindy. 
When she asked me things and 

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says things, I got to listen and
I got to say, OK God, how am I 

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to respond here? 
Sometimes I have to admit she 

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still drives me crazy. 
I know I drive her crazy at 

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times too, but that's just two 
people that are different living

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together in the same house, 
being married. 

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We're still different even after
30, but there's so many things 

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that we're a lot alike. 
When she fell and broke her 

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shoulder, the Bible says the two
shall become one flesh. 

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I noticed the next time my 
shoulder was hurting. 

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It's really bizarre. 
And then one day I'm like on a 

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business trip and I running out 
of Panera Bread because I forgot

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my wallet and I'm wearing these 
clogged shoes and I was running 

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faster and the shoes stayed with
me. 

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All of a sudden I knew I was 
falling and I started going like

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this man. 
I banged my hand and thank God I

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didn't break anything. 
And I called her later and told 

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her what happened. 
She's man, my arm, my hand was 

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hurting today. 
I mean, this, it's just weird 

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how you know that there is this 
element of this, this one, this 

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we have in this relationship. 
But I look at that love with my 

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wife and it's parallel to how my
relationship needs to be with 

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the Lord. 
If my love with Christ is where 

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it needs to be, I guarantee my 
love with Cindy will be where it

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needs to be. 
But if my love with Christ isn't

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where it needs to be, I'm not 
going to be able to be what it 

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is. 
She needs me to be as her 

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husband because Christ is not 
the center of my life. 

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And so every day as a husband, 
as a father, the grandfather is 

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an employee, as a pastor, all 
the roles that I have, and you 

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have many different roles too, 
as men and women and children, I

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have to persevere and keep 
myself in the love of God. 

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The Scriptures actually say to 
keep yourself in the love of 

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God. 
So my devotion to Jesus has to 

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be above everything else. 
And when I look at the church 

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and I pray for you guys every 
day, I go by the names and a 

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list. 
I think, OK, where are they with

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the Lord or where aren't they 
with the Lord? 

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That's not an outward judgement.
It's just like God. 

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I pray that they're digging deep
into you and they're finding in 

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you everything they need. 
That's the heart of a pastor. 

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That's the heart of the Lord for
all of us. 

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He wants you and me to be in 
love with Jesus. 

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And if we are, He knows our 
lives are going to be whole and 

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satisfying and protected from 
sin and destruction and stupid 

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moves and decisions. 
So my devotion to Jesus in the 

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Church of Ephesus, he's got this
concern that in spite of all 

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this outward biblical stuff 
they're doing, they've moved 

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away from loving Jesus. 
And when you love Jesus, you're 

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fervent about him. 
You're uninhibited. 

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You know, you got a friend, the 
neighbor or relative. 

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You're not like, oh, should I 
tell him about the Lord or 

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should I bring it up? 
Man, you could care less what 

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anybody thinks. 
You just want to shop from the 

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rooftops. 
Jesus is Lord, I love him. 

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Jesus did this for me and he did
that and I prayed and he you 

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don't care if people think 
you're nuts because you're so in

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love with the Lord. 
But it when you find yourself a 

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little bit inhibited, 
embarrassed maybe about your 

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faith, wondering if it's going 
to affect your relationship with

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people. 
You're moving away from your 

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first love. 
Whenever you don't have a desire

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to read the word and to be in 
the word, not because we're 

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going through the Bible day by 
day through the Bible at the end

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of the year, you can say, hey, I
did it, but you're going through

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it because you can't wait to 
hear God's voice to your heart 

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for today. 
Fresh mana for today, something 

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God's giving you this for your 
relationship with him. 

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As I got those verses into that 
surgery, boy, that was so 

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important. 
I said, Lord, I need a word from

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you. 
I need you to give something to 

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me. 
And he did and I held it in my 

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pocket by my heart so I could 
look at it and be reminded of 

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his faithfulness. 
The relationship has to be 

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personal. 
A husband can be father on in 

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the Lord or the wife and and 
that's not good because you 

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can't go in the fumes of another
person's relationship. 

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You guys can't live on the fumes
of a sermon for a week. 

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Hopefully it spurs you and 
encourages you and gives you a 

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little bit of encouragement. 
You're right, but you're going 

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home because of your 
relationship with Jesus that you

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had prior to even coming to 
church on Sunday and you're 

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walking close with him. 
It's like the couples in the 

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honeymoon when you first met 
your your spouse. 

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So the person you were going to 
eventually end up marrying, you 

223
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couldn't wait to see them. 
You were on the phone with them 

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00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,040
texting. 
I remember Jess and Dan met each

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00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:55,440
other in eHarmony. 
How many hours did you guys 

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00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:58,320
spend on the phone? 
6A hour a day. 

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Plus they're emailing. 
I mean, I mean, it was crazy, 

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you know? 
And that is the picture of the 

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relationship with our Lord, that
we are talking to him all day 

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00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,800
long and we're never hearing 
something that we've heard 

231
00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:12,960
before. 
We're bored. 

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It's a it's a, this is a 
wonderful relationship, But 

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whenever you start to take each 
other for granted in the 

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relationship, or do you ever 
take the Lord for granted? 

235
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Oh, yeah. 
I'm going to go to heaven 

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00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:24,640
someday. 
That's nice. 

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You know, Lord loves me. 
Yeah. 

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Eternal life. 
That's great, but everything 

239
00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:32,600
else is crowded out the 
excitement of what that all 

240
00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:34,200
means. 
You're beginning to take Him for

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00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:36,000
granted. 
You're moving from your first 

242
00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:40,240
love when life begins to be 
routine and boring and 

243
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uneventful and this a drag. 
You've left your first love and 

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then your relationship with the 
Lord is in danger when you're 

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neglecting worshipping God and 
worship. 

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00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:52,600
This isn't here with Rick and 
the guys on Sunday morning. 

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Worship is in your car with your
CD. 

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00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:57,480
Worship is in your home with 
your Bible open where you're 

249
00:12:57,480 --> 00:12:59,880
just praising God and thank 
thanking him for how much he 

250
00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:03,280
loves you and all that he's done
and, and how great he is and how

251
00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:06,920
he's created the universe and 
how he has his hand on 

252
00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:09,640
everything that's going on in 
the world at the same time with 

253
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every life and every individual.
It's just mind blowing. 

254
00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,520
And so you worship God and 
you're, you're loving God. 

255
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You find yourself serving God, 
giving of your your livelihood 

256
00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:26,000
for God's work, helping brothers
and sisters, helping neighbors, 

257
00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:29,680
helping people that don't know 
the Lord doesn't matter because 

258
00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:31,680
you love the Lord. 
Dan and I were digging this 

259
00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:34,560
woman out yesterday and she was 
like I said, well, where you got

260
00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:35,760
to go? 
She's like, how old is that 

261
00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:37,640
Lady? 
80s or something? 

262
00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:39,720
Yeah, she's out there with a 
shovel. 

263
00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:41,760
And you know, we say, hey man, 
no, we'll, we'll do it until 

264
00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:43,600
we're over there helping. 
I said, where are you going? 

265
00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,840
She said I got to go to Mass. 
I said, when She said 4:00, I 

266
00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:49,880
said in the name of the Father, 
Son and Holy Spirit, you are 

267
00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:51,320
absolved. 
You can stay home. 

268
00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:53,680
She thought I was kidding. 
I said, no, I'm a pastor. 

269
00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:55,680
You just take it easy. 
The Lord knows you can't get out

270
00:13:55,680 --> 00:13:57,880
here today. 
But she was so determined to go,

271
00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:00,920
but we were digging her out and 
and she says, Oh, I can't, I 

272
00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:02,560
feel so bad. 
I'm making, I say, hey, we're 

273
00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:04,000
doing this because we love 
Jesus. 

274
00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,280
We're doing this because of him,
you know, And I said, plus you 

275
00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,440
have some of those pizzelles in 
the house and those cookies. 

276
00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:12,760
And she said, all I do is she 
was all excited. 

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00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,080
She went in and got him and 
brought him out to us, you know,

278
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,720
but but seriously, you know, we,
we just did it because it's part

279
00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:22,800
of this, what you do as a 
follower of Christ and you love 

280
00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,800
him. 
And the Bible told the church in

281
00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:29,720
Ephesus, in the book of 
Ephesians, that they were seated

282
00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:31,880
with Christ Jesus in heavenly 
places. 

283
00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,480
That's our position right now 
spiritually, you're in the 

284
00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:38,480
heavenly places with Christ 
where everything that is his is 

285
00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:43,600
yours, where we can't be lifted 
up any higher than he has us 

286
00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:47,680
right now. 
It's incredible what our 

287
00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:51,920
inheritance is in Christ, but 
where are you with that right 

288
00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:55,200
now, today? 
Where is your relationship with 

289
00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:57,560
the Lord? 
How are you doing with Jesus 

290
00:14:57,560 --> 00:15:01,280
Christ? 
He warns them that if they don't

291
00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,840
repent, and I talked about 
repentance pretty extensively 

292
00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:07,840
last week. 
Repentance is the realization I 

293
00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:10,880
can't live like this anymore. 
I can't go through this 

294
00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:16,200
spiritual fog like this anymore.
I'm done with this waste of time

295
00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:19,200
and energy and things that 
aren't going to last. 

296
00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:21,200
And boy, I'll tell you when, 
when you, when you're dealing 

297
00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:25,520
with some kind of cancer, some 
kind of life potential problem, 

298
00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:28,120
you start realizing how short 
your life is, right? 

299
00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,720
All of us and one day all of us,
I don't care how young you are 

300
00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:35,040
in here, you're going to be in a
grave if Christ hasn't come yet 

301
00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:37,640
and your body is going to rot 
and you're just going to have 

302
00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:39,400
bones in there. 
I mean, there's nothing left. 

303
00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:40,560
Your spirit will be with the 
Lord. 

304
00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:42,960
The Bible says to be absent the 
bodies, to be present with the 

305
00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:47,520
Lord, everything you live for. 
And if it isn't for Christ is 

306
00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:49,640
all going to be a waste. 
It's all going to burn. 

307
00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:55,640
And I think as God gives me days
on this earth, my whole desire 

308
00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,560
is for you guys and for his 
work. 

309
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:02,040
That's the focus of my heart. 
I want to be around God willing 

310
00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,880
for my kids and to see my 
grandkids grow up and to see 

311
00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:10,760
them follow the Lord. 
That's that's the passion and 

312
00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,640
also that the days that I'm 
living, even though I got a lot 

313
00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,240
of things like you guys work and
all these other things that can 

314
00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:19,920
destroy. 
I want my life to count for 

315
00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:22,960
eternity so that whenever I'm 
done and I stand before the 

316
00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:26,840
Lord, we can hear well done, 
good and faithful servant. 

317
00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,840
But he's warning them if you 
don't repent from where you've 

318
00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:33,120
fallen and whenever your first 
love isn't there, you got to 

319
00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:35,880
admit you're backslidden. 
He says repent and go back and 

320
00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:39,280
do the first works or I will 
come to you and remove the 

321
00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:42,080
lampstand from its place. 
Unless you repent doesn't mean 

322
00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:44,600
you're losing your salvation, 
and it means your ability to 

323
00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:47,680
influence the community as a 
church is gone. 

324
00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:52,880
This church built back in 1895 
used to have 350 people coming 

325
00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:56,360
on Sundays, 2 services, 
fantastic Sunday school thing, 

326
00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,600
all that. 
I got the book of the pastors 

327
00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,040
and the history when they 
started moving away from the 

328
00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:04,960
truth of the Word of God, when 
they started changing things and

329
00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:07,920
doing things that weren't about 
Jesus but were about the 

330
00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:09,960
denomination and programs and 
all that. 

331
00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:14,640
The crowd wasn't alive anymore. 
The church didn't have a light 

332
00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,119
anymore and it eventually church
died. 

333
00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,520
It closed down the lampstand. 
Lampstand was removed from this 

334
00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:24,960
place many years ago. 
And God, I believe by His grace,

335
00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:28,720
has put it in our midst again. 
The light of Jesus Christ is in 

336
00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,120
this place in the lives of all 
you folks. 

337
00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:34,120
It isn't the building, it's the 
people that inhabit the 

338
00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:36,800
building. 
But this church, Jesus says, is 

339
00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:39,720
in danger an Ephesus of losing 
the light. 

340
00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:45,760
And the judgment, he said, will 
come now, not later on. 

341
00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:50,760
He will remove the influence, 
the salt, the light from their 

342
00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:54,440
own lives and from the 
community, and they're going to 

343
00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,400
be in really, really bad shape. 
And of course, as I said, 

344
00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:03,000
Ephesus today is a pale image of
what it once was. 

345
00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:07,320
These people separated 
themselves from false doctrine. 

346
00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:11,440
And I guarantee one thing for 
sure, we will not tolerate any 

347
00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:14,480
false teaching in this church at
all. 

348
00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:18,080
Someone has some kind of weird 
teaching that's not Apostolic 

349
00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:20,680
and it's not historical 
Christian teaching. 

350
00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:25,280
I don't have time for it. 
You know, there is no new stuff 

351
00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:27,320
coming out. 
People are saying let's go find 

352
00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:28,800
this new thing and find that new
thing. 

353
00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:31,920
All it is the Bible says is 
winds, winds of doctrine that 

354
00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:35,160
blow into the church to try to 
get people off the truth of 

355
00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:38,440
God's word. 
And this church was very strong 

356
00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:43,400
when it's it's separated itself 
from the false doctrines and the

357
00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,920
false deeds. 
He uses this term Nicolaitans, 

358
00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:49,160
it says conquering the people. 
The Nicolaitans were the type of

359
00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,360
people that wanted to Lord it 
over the people in the church. 

360
00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:54,040
They wanted to control the 
people. 

361
00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:56,880
They wanted to manipulate them. 
They wanted the the people in 

362
00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:59,200
the church to pay homage to them
as leaders. 

363
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,520
And the the church wasn't there 
to serve the Lord and the 

364
00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,120
people. 
These people were trying to make

365
00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:07,600
these people serve them. 
It was all about them. 

366
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,240
And heresy, it was the 
development back then of the 

367
00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:16,200
clergy and lady where the paid 
professionals, the people had 

368
00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:19,360
the seminary degree or the 
doctoral degree or all that 

369
00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:21,080
stuff. 
They were like here and 

370
00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:23,760
everybody would look up to them 
and think, Oh my look, they do 

371
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:25,840
this, they do that, their robes 
or whatever. 

372
00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:30,080
The Bible never developed a, a 
hierarchical system in, in 

373
00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,160
regard to the body of Christ. 
As I said in the beginning, 

374
00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:36,200
Christ is the head and we're all
at his feet. 

375
00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:40,560
We all have different gifts and 
abilities, and pastors or elders

376
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:44,160
have a responsibility to 
shepherd the flock of God in the

377
00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:48,360
sense of the way the Scriptures 
teach us to serve the flock but 

378
00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:52,600
not to Lord it over the people. 
You're more important than I am.

379
00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:56,680
The leadership of the church is 
supposed to be at the bottom of 

380
00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,880
the body, lifting the people up 
in their relationship with the 

381
00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:03,920
Lord. 
We're the least in the church, 

382
00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:06,160
and you're the most in the 
church. 

383
00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:10,200
That's how the Lord has 
developed his Kingdom. 

384
00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:14,160
Jesus said, if any of you want 
to be great, let him first be 

385
00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:18,800
his servant. 
He who is first must be last. 

386
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,080
So how do we regain our first 
love? 

387
00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:23,280
Let's just begin to to close 
down here. 

388
00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:25,400
If you're here today and you're 
thinking, Clark, I hear what 

389
00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,160
you're saying about this and 
down deep inside me and I know 

390
00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:31,560
I've drifted and, and sometimes 
we think, why can I change or 

391
00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,240
can I change? 
It's all matter of your heart 

392
00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:35,600
and your will. 
If you can be here today and 

393
00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:38,800
just be honest and say I've 
slipped from my first love and I

394
00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:40,920
want to be restored to it, 
that's repentance. 

395
00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:42,960
The good news is that you can 
repent. 

396
00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:45,960
I can repent. 
And so you repent and then you 

397
00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:49,000
pray and you say, Lord restore 
to me this first love 

398
00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:52,080
relationship. 
And you start in a practical way

399
00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:57,560
this week, being the Word every 
day, not out of ritual or duty, 

400
00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,000
but because you want to hear 
from the Lord, because you love 

401
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,400
Him by word. 
Have I hid in my heart? 

402
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:03,960
Then I might not sin against 
you. 

403
00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:06,440
Be in the Word, and when you're 
in the Word, obey what it's 

404
00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:08,000
saying. 
If the Lord's been speaking to 

405
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:09,760
you about something, you haven't
been doing it. 

406
00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:12,840
Stop not doing it and just start
doing it. 

407
00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:16,760
And that will again restore that
love relationship with the Lord.

408
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:21,240
Worship Him, fellowship, get 
together with one another and 

409
00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,880
fellowship. 
Hang out, attend the activities 

410
00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:26,600
of the church when you can. 
Don't be a Lone Ranger. 

411
00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,560
Don't be aloof. 
Let your brothers and sisters 

412
00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:36,000
know you need them and they need
you, and then find a place to 

413
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,520
serve. 
I guarantee whenever you start 

414
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,240
serving in the church, you start
getting hot. 

415
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:45,720
You just, there's a, there's a 
special presence of God that 

416
00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:49,560
comes on your life when you 
begin to actively do something 

417
00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:53,000
in the body to help others. 
The Lord stirs you up. 

418
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,920
He gives you abilities and 
skills and gifts that you never 

419
00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,680
knew you had. 
And what happens to he keeps you

420
00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:01,200
closer to himself when you're 
serving him. 

421
00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:04,880
Believe me, I would not be where
I am on my walk with the Lord 

422
00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:09,360
right now if I wasn't being 
responsible to be a pastor, 

423
00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:11,080
which is what he called me to 
do. 

424
00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,200
I would be in bad shape right 
now spiritually. 

425
00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:17,320
And for years I quenched God 
because I didn't want to, you 

426
00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:19,240
know, sort of like, you know, 
let someone else do it, you 

427
00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:21,560
know? 
But I'm so thankful. 

428
00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:23,720
It keeps my heart close to the 
fire. 

429
00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:28,400
I don't have a choice. 
Each week I need to be walking 

430
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:34,480
with God as close as I can so 
that I don't defame him and I 

431
00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:38,440
don't bring reproach upon him 
and I don't let you guys down 

432
00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:40,720
and pray for me. 
Pray, please pray for me. 

433
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,840
I need your prayers every day in
order to do what it is the Lord 

434
00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:46,160
has called me to do. 
And then he ends it up here. 

435
00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:49,120
If you, if you're involved this 
way and you're, you're living in

436
00:22:49,120 --> 00:22:54,000
these ways in regard to first 
love, the good news is, is that 

437
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,600
you will overcome. 
If you have an ear to hear today

438
00:22:57,840 --> 00:22:59,600
what the spirits saying to the 
church. 

439
00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:02,960
He says to him who overcomes 
this means the person who's 

440
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:06,920
walking in victory, walking in 
deep relationship with Christ. 

441
00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:09,600
If you're walking in first love,
you're going to overcome no 

442
00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,960
matter what happens in your 
life, no matter what the doctor 

443
00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:16,480
diagnosis, no matter what 
happens in the home or the 

444
00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:20,160
family or the situation, it's 
not going to tear you away from 

445
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:24,400
the power of God because you're 
living in a life of supernatural

446
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:27,120
victory and abundance. 
Jesus says I've come that you 

447
00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:30,680
might have life in John 1010 and
that you might have it more 

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00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:33,000
abundantly. 
Christ came to give us a life 

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00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:37,360
that's supernatural and we all 
can have it despite being in 

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00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:40,880
love with the Lord, right? 
Don't be careless and neglecting

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what it is He's asked of us as 
His church and what He asked of 

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the Church of Ephesus. 
It's real real simple, real, 

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real basic. 
But it's real easy to drift, 

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isn't it? 
But it's real easy to repent 

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too, right? 
This has been Living Waters of 

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00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:01,840
Grace with Pastor Clark. 
We're going through the 

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00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:05,280
challenging and also intriguing 
Book of Revelation. 

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00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,520
Whether you're a fan of reading 
ahead in books of fiction, 

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00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,800
there's such a benefit to 
reading ahead in the Bible to 

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00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:15,680
read about how it all ends. 
But in an interesting turn of 

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00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:20,320
events, the Book of Revelation 
is not really the end, but 

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00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,840
rather the beginning. 
It's the end of life as we know 

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00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:27,720
it here on earth, but there's so
much to look forward to. 

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00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,720
But what comes after all? 
The judgement of the earth and 

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those who reject God. 
There's a lot to work through, 

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00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:38,160
and it can be heartbreaking to 
read through the intense 

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00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:42,040
judgements and wrath that will 
come on those who hate God with 

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00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:45,400
all their might. 
The thing is, God has given 

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00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:47,480
chance upon chance to these 
people. 

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They don't want it. 
So the outcome is that there are

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00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:55,360
judgements and consequences for 
those who've rejected the good 

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00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:59,560
news and the gift of salvation 
that's offered through Jesus's 

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00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:03,640
death and resurrection. 
Are you one who has heard about 

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00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:07,520
these things but doesn't really 
want it because you want to live

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00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:13,000
life on your terms? 
Trust me, living for Jesus is so

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00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,560
much better. 
That doesn't mean it will be 

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00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:19,440
easy, but as you listen and read
through Revelation with us, 

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00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,760
you'll come to a stark 
realization that you don't want 

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00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:25,720
to be on earth when the 
apocalypse happens. 

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00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:30,480
So check out Calvary Chapel 
online.com to learn how to come 

481
00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:34,880
to a saving grace through faith 
that will allow you to be with 

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00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,480
Jesus for eternity. 
We'd also love to meet you in 

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00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:40,920
person at Calvary Chapel 
Westmoreland. 

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00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:44,360
Come join us at 400 E Pittsburgh
St. 

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00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:52,880
Ste. 6B in Greensburg, PA 15601.
This has been living waters of 

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00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:53,440
grace.