1 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:08,119 This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:12,240 Wofford, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,400 County of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,720 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:39,920 There is this truth in the Bible called election. 6 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,560 And so God has already ordained people that are going to get 7 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:45,560 saved based upon hearing the gospel. 8 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:49,440 So the the cool thing is when you and I go out, people are 9 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,520 already planned, planned by God to believe, right? 10 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,040 And you and I just have the easy responsibility to tell people 11 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:57,480 the truth. And people believe. 12 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,600 It's not anything we did other than just giving them the 13 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:02,960 gospel, because that's how people believe when they hear 14 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,160 the truth. But God's already chosen them to 15 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,360 become believers. It's scary to witness to people 16 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:11,640 about the gospel. After all, we know that not 17 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,040 everyone is going to be receptive to our message. 18 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,400 Some may be apathetic, but there's always a chance that 19 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:21,560 someone could respond with anger or hostility to the good news. 20 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:24,760 But Pastor Clark reminds us today that when we witness to 21 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:26,920 people, we're not just planting seeds. 22 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:30,800 In some cases, we're watering the ground so that the seeds 23 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:34,880 that God has already planted can flourish and his presence can 24 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,440 bloom in their hearts. Now here's Pastor Clark in the 25 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:42,440 book of Acts Chapter 18 with today's edition of Living Waters 26 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,720 of Grace. We are in the book of Acts, Acts 27 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:50,800 chapter 18, and as we study this book, I don't know about you, 28 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:56,320 but I find that I experienced sort of a, a deeper relationship 29 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,520 and friendship with the people that I'm studying about or 30 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,480 reading about. I've known the Apostle Paul ever 31 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:06,680 since I first got saved back when I was 20 years old. 32 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,360 And I, I know so much about his life and his ways and his 33 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,920 passion, his ministry, his, his perseverance that I, I, I sense, 34 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:17,880 and I'm sure you do that. I actually, I'm a Co laborer 35 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,480 with him in this day that we live as you are too. 36 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,960 We're all missionaries. We're all in the ministry 37 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:27,320 together. And so as we study these 38 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,440 teachings in the book of the Acts, it's the history of the 39 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:34,680 church and how it started and how the Lord used certain people 40 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,480 to spread the gospel and how people became believers as a 41 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:42,120 result of these men and women who gave of themselves for the 42 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:46,040 sake of others. And when we study this, I, I'm 43 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:53,120 challenged myself to think about the depths of love and humility 44 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,720 and yieldedness that Paul and and the others that we read 45 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:01,080 about had. And as I am being worked on by 46 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:05,760 the Lord, as you are too, I find that my will is becoming more 47 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,800 his will and less my will. When I was younger as a 48 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,280 Christian, I always blew through the red lights and I always 49 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,000 wanted my will first. I'm sure you did too. 50 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,280 And I've learned through life that that doesn't work. 51 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,640 God's will is the perfect will and it's the best will to 52 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:23,520 follow. And whenever God begins you to 53 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,800 give you a check in your spirit where you are yielding to 54 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,000 wanting his will and not your will be done. 55 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,840 Boy, that's that's amazing work of God's Spirit, isn't it, to 56 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,240 give us that sense. Oh Lord, what do you think about 57 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:36,240 this? What do you want? 58 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,760 What do you want me to do? What do you want me to use my 59 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,240 resources for my gifts and my talents, my abilities. 60 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,120 And it's more blessed to give than receive. 61 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,520 And I think of my own life. Well, what can I give to the 62 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,360 Lord? He's given me and you so much 63 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,880 more than what we could ever ask or think right or deserve. 64 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:00,960 And what could we give him? Will we give him our lives? 65 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:05,560 We give him maybe a deeper consecration, a more willing 66 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:10,120 heart to surrender and and want his will above our own will. 67 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:13,000 And that would really honor him. So as we study this this 68 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,200 chapter, we'll see a man and others are mentioned in here 69 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,680 that live their lives for the sake of God's will. 70 00:04:19,959 --> 00:04:23,120 And may we all be blessed by what we here today and learn. 71 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,320 Father God, we commit ourselves to you today and we're just so 72 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:28,960 grateful that we can come together as a community of 73 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,960 believers that love you and love one another. 74 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,080 And Lord, we truly are here today that we might learn how to 75 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,760 follow you in a deeper way. Thank you for the example of the 76 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:43,520 apostles and, and those who served both the men and godly 77 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,440 women that we read about today. And it's just amazing, God, how 78 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:52,480 you established your church, how you went before everyone, before 79 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:54,240 they even began to do these things. 80 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,080 And you had a plan before the foundation of the earth to save 81 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,680 Lord, to deliver, to set free, to transform. 82 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,720 And we're still doing that today and the days that we live. 83 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:07,680 And so, Lord, we just thank you and we praise you for who you 84 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,400 are. Ask Lord your blessing and favor 85 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,720 upon your word, and may it touch every heart that you brought 86 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:15,320 here today. And those who are listening 87 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:19,200 online or on the radio, however they connect with this church, 88 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,520 Father bless them. We pray in Jesus name, Amen. 89 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:27,120 So we'll look here at verses one through 3 as we begin this 90 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:29,600 chapter. After these things, Paul 91 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,520 departed from Athens and went to Corinth. 92 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:37,160 So after these things, we talked about the ministry of Paul on 93 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:41,080 Mars Hill when he was proclaiming the gospel to a 94 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:44,840 Pagan people that knew nothing about the truth of the living 95 00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:47,560 God. They had a statue that was there 96 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:52,200 in honor of the unknown God. And Paul was making it clear to 97 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,240 the people in Greece that there is a God that you can know and 98 00:05:56,240 --> 00:06:00,160 that he's real and he's living. He's not a statue and he's the 99 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:04,400 Lord Jesus Christ. So he continues on this vein of 100 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:08,160 preaching and he's left Athens and he's now in Corinth. 101 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:12,560 And Corinth is a isthmus South of Athens. 102 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:16,360 And it's a little peninsula. Basically it comes off the, the 103 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,480 nation and it's only about two to five miles wide. 104 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:23,640 So what would happen is that travellers on the two sides of 105 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:28,000 the seaports and boats and ships would come to Corinth to, you 106 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,320 know, transport their, their goods. 107 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:33,280 And it was a big, big city in regard to commerce. 108 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,560 Unfortunately, what Corinth is known for is its blatant 109 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,440 immorality and ungodliness. They had a temple there called 110 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:46,200 the Temple of Aphrodite, who was the fertility goddess building 111 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,840 on the top of the hill there that thousand prostitutes would 112 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:56,720 come down every night to engage in their occupation, to be 113 00:06:57,160 --> 00:06:59,680 tempting the men in the seaport at the time. 114 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,120 And the money that would come in through the prostitution would 115 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:07,360 support the prostitutes as well as continually fuel the power 116 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,640 and the energy of that godless temple that people were 117 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,920 worshipping at. And because of this issue of of 118 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:18,680 Corinth in the the immorality and godliness, it's interesting 119 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:22,960 that Paul wrote the book of Romans from the city of Corinth 120 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,520 in the 1st chapter. Chapter 1 talks about all the 121 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:31,000 ungodliness of sexual morality and perversion and homosexuality 122 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,240 and lesbianism and on and on and on. 123 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:39,120 The filth and the godless heart and mind of the people that 124 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:42,720 lived in the city. And so this is where Paul is 125 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,640 right now. Initially he's here by himself. 126 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,960 And it says, and he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born 127 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:53,400 in Taunt Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with 128 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,800 his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the 129 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:00,800 Jews to depart from Rome. And he came to them, this 130 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:05,400 couple, interesting Priscilla and Aquila, husband and wife 131 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:09,480 team that loved the Lord, knew the Lord and were very 132 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,360 influential in ministering with Paul. 133 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:15,920 They're mentioned in numerous times and in the New Testament 134 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:19,480 in the book of Corinthians and their ministry with Paul. 135 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:24,040 It is evident here as we study that they were believers and 136 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:27,920 they were in that city providentially to we'll see in a 137 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:31,320 minute here, to work with Paul in the ministry there. 138 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:35,080 They had to leave Rome because Rome had a hatred for Jews. 139 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,600 And so the edict was by the leader at the time that all 140 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:41,080 Jewish people had to to get out of Rome. 141 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:46,040 And so they ended up in Corinth providentially and it says and 142 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,640 he came to them. So Paul finds out where they 143 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:50,360 are. Doesn't give a lot of details on 144 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:52,840 how he knew them, but one thing they had in common for sure 145 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:57,320 beside their faith was that they because he was of the same trade 146 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:00,320 he stayed with them and worked for by occupation. 147 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:04,320 They were tent makers and tent makers, they were primarily 148 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,040 involved with working with leather goods, and that's how 149 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,720 they made their livelihood. Paul at times was supported by 150 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,480 the churches when he was on his missionary journeys. 151 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:17,200 And at times he would work with his hands and earn extra income 152 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:19,680 so that he would not be a burden to anybody. 153 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:21,920 And so this is where he's at right now. 154 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,160 And it says in verse 4. And he reasoned in the synagogue 155 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,080 every Sabbath and persuaded both Jews and Greeks. 156 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:33,240 What's remarkable about the calling of God on Paul's life, 157 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:38,520 being a Jew versus being a Gentile, was that he had access 158 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:44,680 to the most influential places of spirituality, places where 159 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:47,000 they would want to talk about God, they would want to worship 160 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:48,200 him, they would want to know him. 161 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:50,760 It wasn't like he went into a city and civil war. 162 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,880 How do I get started here with telling people about who Jesus 163 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,080 is? He had the privilege, because he 164 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:57,840 was Jewish, to go into the synagogue. 165 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:01,360 And so he would have respect and honor, and he would be able to 166 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:05,480 go in and begin to discuss the gospel and Jesus being the true 167 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:07,760 Messiah. And he did this in every 168 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,120 synagogue and every city that he had visited. 169 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,360 That's where he always started. And his goal was to persuade 170 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:19,080 people by the power of the Holy Spirit to believe that Jesus is 171 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:23,360 truly the Messiah. And so it says in verse 5 when 172 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:25,840 Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia. 173 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,640 Now, if you remember, he told them in chapter 17, hey, when 174 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:32,240 you get done, quickly come and catch up with me. 175 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:34,960 They had eventually come from where they were. 176 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:39,400 Timothy was working in one of the church plants, as was Silas. 177 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,440 And Paul is, I'm sure, really grateful that they're there now. 178 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:48,000 And Paul is now compelled by the Spirit because he's encouraged 179 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,600 by these two guys. They're giving him a report of 180 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:54,480 how the church is doing where they were serving. 181 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,440 And it's like when missionaries come here and they come here 182 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:01,040 whenever they're on furlough to give us updates as to what's 183 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,400 happening in the field and what's what's going on with the 184 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,040 church and people coming to faith in Christ. 185 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:08,000 And we support these missionaries. 186 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:12,360 And it's exciting for us to be a part of that because the the 187 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:16,760 fruit of their laborers is accounted to your account in 188 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:20,200 heaven because we're part of what God's doing in these other 189 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:22,720 foreign countries through our prayers and through our 190 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:24,960 offerings that we use to help support them. 191 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,760 So when they come and give a report, it really edifies us. 192 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:32,960 It builds us up, it excites us, us to know that God is working 193 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,840 not only here, but he's working all around the world. 194 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:40,760 And so they're a blessing to Paul giving these updates. 195 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:45,120 So he's now filled with God's Spirit, excited about what it is 196 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,280 he has an opportunity to do. And he testifies to the Jews 197 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:53,960 here that Jesus is the Christ. But when they opposed him and 198 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:57,080 blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, Your 199 00:11:57,080 --> 00:11:59,960 blood be upon your own heads. I am clean. 200 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:02,320 From now on I will go to the Gentiles. 201 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:09,160 So not every time in every place that Paul went any more than you 202 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:10,920 or I. When we share our faith with 203 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:14,640 family, loved ones, Co workers, neighbors, whatever are we 204 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:16,840 receive well, many times we're rejected. 205 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:19,640 Many times people don't want to hear what it is we have to say. 206 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:24,760 And obviously we're not alone. The apostle himself encountered 207 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:29,400 these kind of experiences of opposition and rejection lots of 208 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,240 times whenever these things happen, it really didn't seem to 209 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:34,160 disturb him. He didn't say a whole lot. 210 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:38,880 But in this particular instance, it seemed to get him really 211 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:41,680 upset. So he he rebuked them when they 212 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:44,200 opposed him and said you blasphemy. 213 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:48,400 Blasphemy is a lot of people say, well, what's blasphemy? 214 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,840 It's abandoning God. It's speaking evil of God. 215 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:55,920 It's not believing in God, it's rejecting the gospel of Jesus 216 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:58,320 Christ. There's only one sin that people 217 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,560 can't be forgiven of, and that's blaspheme of the Holy Spirit. 218 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,080 And sometimes Christians will say, I don't know. 219 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:06,280 I think one time I blasphemed the Holy Spirit. 220 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:08,880 Well, we all did it one time before we came to faith in 221 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,520 Christ. We rejected him, we denied him. 222 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,720 We may be cursed about him or didn't believe, but then when we 223 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:18,080 became believers, it's impossible to blasphemy the Holy 224 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:20,280 Spirit. Blaspheme of the Holy Spirit is 225 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:23,880 rejection of the Gospel. And so Paul is exhorting them 226 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:27,160 and warning them and telling them that they're blaspheming 227 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:29,200 this truth of Christ being Messiah. 228 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:34,680 So he's physically showing this attitude of disappointment and 229 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:37,640 he shakes his garment, saying them, your blood be on your own 230 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:38,560 heads. I'm clean. 231 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:40,720 In other words, I gave you the truth. 232 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,320 I'm not going to be held responsible or accountable for 233 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:47,360 not speaking the truth. And that's sort of an 234 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:51,400 interesting verse because I think it's a challenge for all 235 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:58,080 of us that we are not going to be held responsible for not 236 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:01,240 telling someone about Jesus that the Lord spoke to you and me 237 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:05,520 about witnessing to Sometimes we get afraid of witnessing or 238 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:07,240 we're getting embarrassed. We don't want to share our 239 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:09,240 faith. It's just our pride or whatever 240 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:12,120 should never be embarrassed about sharing the gospel. 241 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:13,880 But sometimes that happens to us. 242 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:17,840 You know, sometimes God, you know when I sometimes all the 243 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:22,800 time, God sets up opportunities for us to be able to witness. 244 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:26,480 Not everybody you meet, you're going to have an opportunity to 245 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:29,840 maybe talk about the Lord, but sometimes, you know, real clear 246 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:33,600 that you got a connection with someone that God wants you to 247 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:36,040 tell them about what Jesus did for you. 248 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:42,560 And you want to be free from the responsibility of being judged 249 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:46,320 for not being faithful to share the gospel. 250 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:48,880 And that really was a heavy burden on Paul. 251 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:53,040 He never, ever wanted to be in a place or situation where he 252 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:56,880 would be judged for not doing what it was that he was called 253 00:14:56,880 --> 00:14:58,640 to do. And I think that's a good 254 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:03,560 challenge for all of us that we would not be responsible for not 255 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,120 telling someone what they need to know to at least have a 256 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:09,240 chance to to believe. And then he says, from now on, 257 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:12,800 I'll go to the Gentiles. So Paul was the apostle to the 258 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:16,320 Gentiles. That was his call in ordination 259 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:20,280 from God's plan before he was even saved. 260 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:22,920 He was chosen to be an apostle in his mother's womb. 261 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,680 The Bible tells us for now on, he's going to focus on the 262 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:28,640 Gentiles. But he still has a heart for the 263 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:30,080 Jewish people. He's Jewish. 264 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,240 And so he departs from there, and he enters into the House of 265 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:37,760 a certain man named Justice. His name also is believed to be 266 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:42,240 Gaius, one who worshipped God, whose house was next door to the 267 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,440 synagogue. So Paul's able to hang out now 268 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:48,840 right next door to where he was just preaching with this 269 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:51,760 believer, this man named Justice. 270 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:54,600 Then Crispus, this is fascinating. 271 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:58,120 Verse 8, the ruler of the synagogue believed on the Lord 272 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:01,880 with all his household and many of the Corinthians hearing 273 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:05,200 believed and were baptized. So in spite of the rejection and 274 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:08,120 a lot of people not believing, the good news is someone will 275 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,200 always end up believing. It's like a numbers deal. 276 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:15,000 The more you tell, the more opportunity you have to see God 277 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,160 harvest people and bring them into the Kingdom. 278 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:21,120 And what's really powerful should give you and I confidence 279 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,240 there is this truth in the Bible called election. 280 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:27,800 And so God has already ordained people that are going to get 281 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:29,800 saved based upon hearing the gospel. 282 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:33,560 So the, the cool thing is when you and I go out, people are 283 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:36,600 already planned by planned by God to believe, right? 284 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:40,040 And you and I just have the easy responsibility to tell people 285 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:41,440 the truth. And people believe. 286 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,960 It's not anything we did other than just giving them the gospel 287 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:46,880 because that's how people believe when they hear the 288 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,960 truth. But God's already chosen them to 289 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,680 become believers. And so that's why you want to 290 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:56,000 spread the gospel, as Jesus said to every living creature, only 291 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,080 God knows who's going to come to him. 292 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:00,920 And it's not our job to decide who's going to come and who 293 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,080 isn't. Our job is just to share the 294 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:06,319 truth of the gospel. So here the probably the most 295 00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:10,520 unlikely person at the time that you would think would believe is 296 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,920 the ruler of the synagogue. He's the big guy, he's the 297 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:18,040 leader, he's the one that's responsible for the services and 298 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:22,920 and this guy becomes a believer. It tells us later in the book of 299 00:17:23,079 --> 00:17:26,400 Corinthians that this guy was baptized by Paul along with 300 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:29,760 justice. So this move of God, this 301 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:32,560 wonderful and he believed on the Lord. 302 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:35,000 And not only did he believe, but his whole family ended up 303 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:38,400 believing. And as a result of that, many of 304 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:40,840 the Corinthians hearing believed and were baptized. 305 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,920 So in spite of the rejection, in spite of Paul may be getting a 306 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:47,760 little frustrated, God still did what he promised he would do. 307 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:50,760 He would save people from the preaching the gospel. 308 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:54,640 Now in verse 9, now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a 309 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:58,680 vision. Do not be afraid, but speak. 310 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,400 Paul had six visions. I've never had a vision. 311 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,360 I don't. I've never met anybody that's 312 00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:06,720 had a vision. I think it'd be sort of cool to 313 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:08,840 have a vision if it was from God. 314 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:12,520 I don't want a deceptive vision from the Evil 1 or some lying 315 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:15,680 vision, but I'm up for any visions that God wants to give. 316 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:20,920 But it had to be so encouraging to Paul to have the supernatural 317 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:25,560 connection with the Lord that he was chosen to have revelation 318 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:29,160 given to him. That was uncommon pretty much 319 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,840 for most people, because he's an apostle, I'm sure, and because 320 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:36,040 he had the weight of the building of the New Testament 321 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,200 church in the beginning stages. He needed all the help he could 322 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:41,800 get. And Jesus is telling him here, 323 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:46,080 do not be afraid, but speak Now. Paul's obviously afraid he 324 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:49,160 wouldn't have this vision. He's maybe nervous about 325 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,200 something, apprehensive about something. 326 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:56,000 He sees the conflict, he sees the hatred, he's aware of the 327 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,760 martyrdom, he's aware of the danger, the stoning, the 328 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:02,080 imprisonment, all the things that can happen if you represent 329 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,920 the Lord in a country like this, at a time like this. 330 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:10,040 And the Lord is comforting him. He's saying don't be afraid and 331 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:13,080 do not keep silent. In other words, just keep 332 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:17,880 preaching for I am with you and no one will attack you to hurt 333 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:21,160 you for I have many people in this city. 334 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:25,160 How comforting they had to be. To Paul, it was an assurance 335 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:28,920 that keep doing what you're doing this maybe down the road 336 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:30,520 you're going to have some issues and he did. 337 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:33,920 But this wasn't the time that his life is going to be taken. 338 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:39,320 He had opportunity now to be bold and to proclaim Christ in 339 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:43,240 the midst of the culture that wasn't really open to what he 340 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:46,000 had to say. No one's going to hurt him. 341 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:49,320 And so he needed to hear that, I'm sure, in Corinth, because it 342 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:53,280 was a barbaric, godless city. And he was pretty much by 343 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:57,840 himself outside of Priscilla and Aquila at the time in regard to 344 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:01,640 doing this ministry. And I love what it says here. 345 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:05,520 He's encouraging Paul. For I have many people in the 346 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:06,880 city. In other words, Paul, there's a 347 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:10,920 lot of people that live here in Corinth that need me, that will 348 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:13,920 come to know who I am because of what it is you're going to tell 349 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:16,720 them. I remember years ago, my brother 350 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:20,520 was a church planner and he had an opportunity to take over a 351 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:22,800 fledgling Baptist Church in Ambridge. 352 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:28,160 It was previously pastored by a transgender, believe it or not, 353 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:31,400 person dressed up in dresses privately. 354 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:33,560 He was a preacher. I have no idea how that 355 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:35,080 happened. So my brother had to go in and 356 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,640 try to get this church back on its feet again. 357 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:40,280 And so we were at a pastors conference and we had an 358 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:44,240 opportunity to talk to Chuck. He had finished one of his 359 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:47,160 messages and we went up and I went in to introduce Pastor 360 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:50,960 Chuck and my brother Doug. And Chuck says where where are 361 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:52,640 you serving? And Doug says Ambridge, 362 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,400 Pennsylvania. And and then Doug began to tell 363 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:59,360 him what a terrible city it was. It was, you know, really rundown 364 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:02,240 because of steel mills had closed down a lot of drug 365 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,560 addiction, alcoholism and poverty. 366 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:07,680 And and I'll never forget what Chuck says. 367 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,560 He looked at me. He says couldn't be any worse 368 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:14,600 than corns. And he said the dog, he says, 369 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:17,480 you know why you're there. And Doug just looked at him 370 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:20,280 shell shocked. And Chuck said because many 371 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:25,160 people need me there. So wherever there's a church, no 372 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,520 matter how big or how small, it's there. 373 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:34,600 And those cities, because people need Jesus, God placed us here 374 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:38,080 in this city because people need the Lord, they need the word, 375 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:40,120 they need to be taught, they need to be fed. 376 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:45,080 So God has all these plans. And so Paul's encouraged by this 377 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:48,520 vision that the Lord gave him, and it says he continued there a 378 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:51,080 year and six months teaching the word of God among them. 379 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:57,080 This particular town was the place that Paul spent his most 380 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,600 time. He's never been in a place this 381 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,040 long in regard to ministry, 18 months. 382 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:05,800 So he's discipling, he's teaching, he's educating, he's 383 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:08,440 equipping, he's establishing this church. 384 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:11,400 And of course, we studied First and 2nd Corinthians. 385 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:14,480 You remember a lot of the craziness in that church that 386 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,600 carried over from the culture, people getting drunk at the 387 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:20,240 agape feast, sexual immorality in the church. 388 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:23,560 I mean, this whole kind of messes, egos, some saying, well, 389 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,640 I prefer Paul's preaching. I prefer Apollo's preaching, 390 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:29,320 preaching. I I prefer Cephas Peters 391 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:31,360 preaching. And Paul had to teach him, hey, 392 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:35,000 it's not what these guys are doing, it's what the spirits 393 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:37,120 doing. All they're doing is watering, 394 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:40,840 watering the word into your heart so only God can give the 395 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:42,240 increase. So he said, you know, you don't 396 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:45,640 have favorites, you don't play this kind of political game, 397 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:48,840 just a lot of things in the in the city of Corinth, even after 398 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:51,800 the church established that needed to be dealt with. 399 00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:55,960 And then it says in verse 12 on Galileo, Galileo was his name 400 00:22:56,200 --> 00:23:00,840 was pro council of Archaea. The Jews with 1 accord rose up 401 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:05,000 against Paul and brought him to the judgment seeing saying this 402 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,640 fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law. 403 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:12,280 Once again, these rebel rousers, these Jewish people is 404 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:16,400 continually causing problems in the in the city are causing 405 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:20,920 problems again, trying to set Paul up and lying about what it 406 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:23,760 is he's doing. And so when Paul was about to 407 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:27,120 open his mouth, and this is interesting too, I got to give a 408 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:29,720 defense. If I'm slandered, if I'm accused 409 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:34,920 of something I didn't do, the first thing you want to do is 410 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,520 clarify to people who are judging or accusing you, 411 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:40,000 especially if it's a legal issue. 412 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:43,520 This is what my testimony is. This is what the truth is. 413 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,320 Well, he didn't even have to say anything. 414 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,440 He was getting ready to speak this pro council leader. 415 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,080 And this would be in the center of the city, a high platform 416 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,200 where people would bring grievances to this judge and he 417 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:58,800 would have to make a ruling. Thanks for joining us on today's 418 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:02,480 edition of Living Waters of Grace, a ministry of Calvary 419 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,800 Chapel, Westmoreland. Today, Pastor Clark is teaching 420 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,960 about the book of Acts. And as we learn more about Acts, 421 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,360 it becomes clear that the early church didn't miss a single 422 00:24:12,360 --> 00:24:16,920 opportunity to share the gospel. In nearly every chapter, you see 423 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:20,680 apostles like Peter and Paul stepping into conversations, 424 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:25,040 crowds, and crises with boldness, ready to proclaim the 425 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,560 name of Jesus. Their example challenges us to 426 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:32,520 consider how we might step into gospel moments in our own lives. 427 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:36,600 What doors might God open this week for you to speak truth, 428 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:40,040 offer hope, or live out your faith in a way that points 429 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:43,200 others to Him? The story of Acts reminds us we 430 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:47,360 are part of the same mission. Today, let's live with eyes open 431 00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:51,000 and hearts ready to respond. We hope you are challenged by 432 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,000 today's message. If you're in the Greensburg, PA 433 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:58,280 area, we'd love to see you in person this Sunday at 10:30 AM 434 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,320 at 400 E Pittsburgh St. Unit 6B. 435 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:06,480 For more information, visit calvarychapelonline.com. 436 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:10,320 You can also join our e-mail list, give online, or submit a 437 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:12,280 prayer request right from the site. 438 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:16,000 If you can't make it in person, be sure to tune in on the 439 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,600 Calvary Chapel Westmoreland YouTube channel. 440 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:21,680 Subscribe so you never miss new teachings. 441 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:25,840 If you were in the Greensburg area, you can listen to Grace FM 442 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:31,000 on the new 91.7 frequency. Pray about helping financially 443 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:34,360 support the new station that will reach thousands more 444 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:37,280 listeners. Send financial gifts to Grace 445 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:43,640 FMPO Box 716, Greensburg, PA 15601. 446 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:46,800 Once again, we're so grateful you joined us today to be 447 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,800 inspired by God's Word. Please tune in again for more 448 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:52,600 Living Waters of Grace.