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 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:41,080 This isn't enough that Christ died for our sins, but that He 6 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:45,520 rose again from the dead is the evidence to the human race that 7 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:50,360 truly He is the only one that can conquer the power of sin and 8 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:54,880 death, and that His death was accepted by the Father as being 9 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,400 enough for the forgiveness of sins for all those who would 10 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,080 come and trust in Him as their Lord and Savior. 11 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,040 That's why Jesus, when He died, He said it is finished. 12 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:07,800 And aren't you glad it is finished? 13 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,560 One of the facts of life is that everyone dies. 14 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:14,960 All of us are going to pass away from this world in one way or 15 00:01:14,960 --> 00:01:17,520 another. Some of us hope that our passing 16 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,840 will have some meaning, but we don't always get to make that 17 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,200 call. But what Pastor Clark reminds us 18 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,440 today is that not only did Jesus know how he was going to die, 19 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,080 his death did something that no one else could accomplish. 20 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:34,600 He conquered sin and death itself. 21 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:39,000 By the power of his death and his resurrection, we have the 22 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:41,720 hope of eternal life because of Jesus. 23 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:46,720 Now here's Pastor Clark in Acts chapter 17 with today's edition 24 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:51,120 of Living Waters of Grace. When we ended the study last 25 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:56,080 time, I taught Paul was persecuted in Philippi and he 26 00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:00,160 eventually had to leave that region, and he left encouraged 27 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,360 in the Lord because of what the Holy Spirit was doing in the 28 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:07,000 church in Philippi. And so wherever the gospel went, 29 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,160 there was always evidence of people becoming believers and 30 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,880 having their lives transformed. And so he continues today in 31 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,160 chapter 17 of Acts in the city of Thessalonica. 32 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:22,440 And it says now when they had passed through Amphilias and 33 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:25,680 Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a 34 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:30,360 synagogue of the Jews. Now this is about 100 miles from 35 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:34,560 Philippi, about 3 days journey of walking about 30 miles a day. 36 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:38,240 It wasn't a quick jaunt there. They stayed in a couple cities 37 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:40,160 prior to getting to Thessalonica. 38 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:42,320 These cities didn't have a synagogue. 39 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,400 So he didn't really have the ability to meet with a lot of 40 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:48,600 people at any given time. The nice thing about Paul's 41 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:53,320 background being Jewish, he was able to go and be invited to any 42 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,840 synagogue in any city to share the good news. 43 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:59,760 And that was a Lord only opening that kind of door. 44 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,480 Even though the Jewish people from the most point in time, at 45 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,960 this particular point in history didn't recognize Christ as 46 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:11,520 Messiah, but he was able to go into these places and have these 47 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:15,320 open doors that only the Holy Spirit could set up for him. 48 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:19,760 And because of that, he had the privilege of telling them about 49 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,560 the one that they had studied about through the Old Testament 50 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,760 Scriptures. And so Thessalonica, an 51 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:28,880 interesting city. I was there some time ago when 52 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:33,200 my journeys to Israel and on the way back from Israel, I went to 53 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:36,640 Greece and I actually was in Thessalonica and it just gave me 54 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:38,240 chills to walk around the streets. 55 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,840 They're thinking about Apostle and what he did there, what he 56 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:43,920 spoke about. Just fascinating. 57 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,680 It's a coastal city, very beautiful city, couple 58 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,920 universities there, a lot of atmosphere of paganism and that 59 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:54,120 kind of stuff, but still evidence of the gospel of Jesus 60 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:57,360 Christ and and churches in that region to this day. 61 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,600 So he went into the synagogue to to share the gospel. 62 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:05,040 Then Paul, as his custom was, went into them in verse 2, and 63 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,600 for three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 64 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:12,560 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer 65 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,200 and rise again from a dead, and saying this Jesus whom I 66 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:20,160 preached you is the Christ. And some of them were persuaded, 67 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:23,280 and a great multitude of devout Greeks and not a few of the 68 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:26,000 leading women joined Paul and Silas. 69 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:29,240 So he had a very effective ministry at this particular 70 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:31,400 time. The Holy Spirit had prepared 71 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:35,640 hearts to receive what it was He was teaching and he didn't teach 72 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,720 from human logic. It says he reasoned with them 73 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:45,040 from the Scriptures. He always used the Scriptures 74 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:49,840 because the Scriptures are the only ingredient that can cause 75 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:52,760 someone to become a believer in Jesus Christ. 76 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:59,280 It's not arguments, it's not debates, it's not human ideas. 77 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:03,080 It's the preaching of the gospel that changes hearts. 78 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,480 As all of us know, the majority of us here today are here is 79 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,280 born again believers because of the impact that the Gospels had 80 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:12,520 upon us. But what's interesting here as 81 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:16,080 you get into this study and read about these Greek words, 82 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:20,440 reasoning and explaining and demonstrating was that he took 83 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:26,400 the time to give them the opportunity to ask questions as 84 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:30,520 he shared the truth of the gospel with them and he reasoned 85 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:34,440 with them, not from his own logic as a an attorney. 86 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:39,520 Very bright man, the apostle Paul was, his dependency was on 87 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:41,280 the scriptures. Now we got to realize at this 88 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:45,120 time the Scriptures weren't what we have in our hands today. 89 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:51,560 The 66 books of the Bible, all the Apostolic writings, and even 90 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,840 the book of the Acts at the time was not written yet. 91 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:58,360 So he was referring to everything and his understanding 92 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:02,360 of the Old Testament that he was grounded in as a Jew. 93 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:07,280 So he's preaching Christ from the Old Testament Scriptures, 94 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:12,400 Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, and many other scriptures that gave the 95 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:17,160 evidence that Messiah would come and be born of a virgin and 96 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,560 eventually become the Savior of the world. 97 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:24,880 And so as he's debating and talking and explaining, he 98 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:30,160 specifically talked about the absolute necessity of Christ 99 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:34,640 having to die for sin. The Jewish people understood the 100 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,320 need for atonement. They understood the need for 101 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:39,560 repentance. They understood the need for 102 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:42,360 shedding of blood. They utilize the skins of 103 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:46,680 animals and slaughtering animals and sufficing them in the altar 104 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:50,120 throughout the Old Testament scriptures to show that without 105 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:53,200 the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. 106 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:57,760 But the shedding of blood of animals and goats was not enough 107 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:02,960 to redeem mankind from his sinful nature, his fallen sinful 108 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:04,840 nature. There had to be one that would 109 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:08,600 come and be truly the one that could atone for sin. 110 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:13,440 And he demonstrated to them that Jesus Christ was a Lamb of God, 111 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:15,600 slain before the foundation of the earth. 112 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,840 Without the death of Christ, there is no gospel. 113 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,440 Without the death of Christ, there is no forgiveness of sins. 114 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:25,880 Without the death and the shedding blood of Jesus Christ, 115 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:31,160 there is no ability for mankind to be free from his guilt, from 116 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:35,360 the power and impact that sin has on the human condition in 117 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,120 the human life. And so he's explaining to them, 118 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:41,880 and they're connecting with this because they understood the need 119 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:46,160 for atonement and sacrifice, but they didn't quite understand yet 120 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:48,920 that Jesus Christ is their Messiah. 121 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,840 And so Paul's discussing this with them, but not only the fact 122 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:57,800 that Christ had to suffer and die, but that he rose again from 123 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:02,800 the dead. This is the true power of the 124 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:04,960 gospel. This isn't enough that Christ 125 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:09,360 died for our sins, but that He rose again from the dead is the 126 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:14,240 evidence to the human race that truly He is the only one that 127 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:18,520 can conquer the power of sin and death, and that His death was 128 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:22,920 accepted by the Father as being enough for the forgiveness of 129 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:27,200 sins for all those who would come and trust in Him as their 130 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,160 Lord and Savior. That's why Jesus, when He died, 131 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,200 He said it is finished. And aren't you glad it is 132 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:35,880 finished? There's nothing else anybody can 133 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:37,960 add to what it is that Christ has done. 134 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:42,120 There's no work that you and I have to do to try to make sure 135 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:46,600 that we are really saved. We're saved based upon the 136 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:50,360 gospel of Jesus Christ. For Jesus Christ told us. 137 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:54,800 For God so loved this world that he gave his only begotten Son, 138 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:59,800 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have 139 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:04,200 everlasting life. Such a simple, powerful, 140 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:10,680 profound, miraculous word of God from Jesus own lips of salvation 141 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:16,760 being by faith alone, by grace alone in Christ alone, right? 142 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:21,880 Not anything that we could do, only what He's done. 143 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,320 And we serve him because of what He's done for us. 144 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,720 We don't serve Jesus to try to get points or to try to get on 145 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:32,520 the good side of God. We're already on the good side 146 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:36,440 of God because what Christ has done for us, he reconciled us 147 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,720 fully, completely. There's not one thing you or I 148 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:43,320 could do or add to the finished work of Jesus Christ. 149 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,960 And this is a big stretch for these Jewish people in the 150 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:51,240 synagogue because many of them have been indoctrinated in 151 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:57,720 works, righteousness, all the responsibilities of the edicts 152 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:04,320 of the law and all the principles of kosher stuff and 153 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:07,840 all the Jewish traditions. It was just overwhelming. 154 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:12,640 And the evidence of all that stuff in the Old Testament was 155 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:16,720 allowed and designed by God to show the human race it. 156 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:21,440 No matter how much you work or how hard you try or whatever you 157 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:25,520 try to do to be good, you can't be good enough to be acceptable 158 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:28,320 to God. There's only one that makes you 159 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:30,760 good enough and that's Jesus Christ. 160 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:34,440 And this is the whole foundation of the good news of the gospel 161 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,760 of Jesus Christ. It takes the guilt, it takes 162 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:42,400 this sense of I have to do something off of us and get our 163 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:44,640 eyes on the one who did it all for us. 164 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:48,520 And that's the one we worship. That's the one we celebrate. 165 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:51,960 And so it says it's some of them were persuaded. 166 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,920 Not everybody that hears this message believes. 167 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:00,680 Perhaps it took a while for you to hear it and believe it. 168 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:03,600 It did take some time for me. I didn't believe it the first 169 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,360 time I heard it. Matter of fact, I wanted to try 170 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:10,160 to reject it and ignore it and act like it wasn't true so I 171 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:12,160 could live the way I wanted to live. 172 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:14,120 And I did that for a period of time. 173 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:21,080 It's such a compelling, powerful truth that whenever it begins to 174 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:24,480 get into your heart and into your mind, it eventually 175 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:29,000 captivates you because God is the one that comes after us. 176 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:34,040 We don't come after God. The Bible tells us that there's 177 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:38,440 none that seeketh after God. That's tragic, but God seeks 178 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:41,640 after us. Aren't you glad that He sought 179 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:45,360 us and bought us with his redeeming blood, as the hymn 180 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:48,840 says? And so some believe, praise God. 181 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:52,960 There's this evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit through 182 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:54,400 the preaching of the Word of God. 183 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:57,320 Paul couldn't do anything to save them. 184 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:01,360 All he could do is present the evidence which he did here very 185 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,560 accurately. And it says some were persuaded 186 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,280 and a great multitude of the devout Greeks and not a few of 187 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:11,520 the leading women join Paul and Silas. 188 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:14,360 All the sudden, there's a church established here in Thessalonica 189 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,400 at this point in time. Pastor Lewis took us through 1st 190 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:21,000 and 2nd Thessalonians a while back, and you might want to read 191 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,640 those books now because this is all about this particular city 192 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:27,920 in this church plant and all that developed in here because 193 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:31,400 of the work and the continual growth of the church in the days 194 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:33,520 long after this had actually occurred. 195 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,080 And then it says in verse 5. But the Jews who were not 196 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:38,840 persuaded. And there's always people that 197 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:42,200 aren't going to believe you have friends, neighbors, family, 198 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:46,440 relatives, whatever coworkers you shared the gospel with, and 199 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,080 they have not been persuaded yet. 200 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:51,520 But don't give up. Keep praying for them. 201 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:56,200 Keep living your faith out. Allow God to do the work and 202 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,240 trusting him to convince them you can't convince them. 203 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,440 So some of these Jews, and these are the same Jews that cause 204 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:05,960 problems in some of the other cities leading up to this 205 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:11,280 chapter, became envious. They're jealous of the power and 206 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:15,720 the influence that this word, the gospel of Jesus Christ is 207 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,560 having on the people. The Old Testament law has lost 208 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:24,480 its allure, its impact. It's boring, it's dead, it's 209 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:31,160 dry, it's dead, it's lifeless. The law cannot do anything but 210 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:35,120 bring death. The Spirit gives life. 211 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:39,800 And so they're dealing with these people that are wondering 212 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:42,600 like why are these people listening to this guy? 213 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:46,840 We're losing influence, we're losing population in our 214 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,320 synagogues. And now these people are 215 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:53,280 following the teachings of the gospel given through Paul and 216 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:57,080 Silas. And these guys were not any self 217 00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:00,560 focused and interested in breaking up what was happening 218 00:14:00,560 --> 00:14:02,480 here. But it says they went out and 219 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:05,000 they took some men from the marketplace. 220 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:08,880 They're looking for troublemakers, Pagan godless 221 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:13,760 people to stand up and get a mob and set all the city in an 222 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:17,360 uproar. Something that we see happening 223 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:18,840 in our own country now, isn't it? 224 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,120 When Christians try to congregate on outside events to 225 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:27,080 try to have opportunity to share the gospel, we read in the 226 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,840 headlines, we see in the news these mobs that are standing up 227 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:34,680 and and hating anything that represents God's love and his 228 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:39,080 mercy and his justice and his grace and attacking and stoning. 229 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:41,720 And they did this back then and they're doing it now in all 230 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,920 parts of the world. That's actually beginning to 231 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:47,840 happen in our own country. And so they can't find Paul and 232 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:50,000 Silas at the time. So it says they attacked the 233 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,160 House of Jason, and the Bible doesn't tell us a lot about 234 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:57,400 Jason, but Jason was a brother who obviously was a believer and 235 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,360 he had this influence in the community at the time. 236 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,840 And so believers were beginning to assemble with Jason. 237 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:07,480 And Jason was the one that I'm sure gave up Paul and Silas some 238 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,520 place to hang out for a while as they were in the city. 239 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:14,080 And so they're going to his house now and they're looking to 240 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:16,320 bring Paul and Silas out to the people. 241 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,640 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some 242 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:22,760 brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out. 243 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:30,120 So this by your connection and your influence in your life for 244 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:35,760 Christ, people are going to at times attack you, maybe not to 245 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:39,240 this extreme at this point in time in our history as a nation, 246 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:42,600 pray that there would be revival, that we won't have to 247 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,880 deal with this kind of stuff. But in many, many places of the 248 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:48,400 world today, this is happening to the Christians. 249 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:52,720 So you're guilty by association. You might not be the one that's 250 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,080 doing the preaching or the teaching, but just the fact that 251 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:59,080 you're supporting or connected with those who do, you're going 252 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:03,720 to be accused of insurrection. And so they, they bring him out 253 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,120 and they can't find the other guys. 254 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:09,400 They're saying now to the authorities, these who have 255 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:12,400 turned the world upside down have come here too. 256 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,920 Isn't a wonderful thing that these two guys, two men in the 257 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,560 midst of a city at the time of over 200,000 people and 258 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:23,760 Thessalonica are having this kind of impact? 259 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:26,960 It's impossible for men to have this kind of impact. 260 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:29,680 This is the power of God. This is the power of the Holy 261 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:33,240 Spirit that is waking the city up to their need of Jesus 262 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:36,920 Christ. And I think about revivals and 263 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:40,880 times that God's moved and has brought many, many people into 264 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:43,520 his Kingdom. What happens when the church 265 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:47,560 begins to have influence? It begins to turn people's lives 266 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,600 right side up. They hear the gospel and their 267 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:56,800 lives begin to be changed. We're not the same. 268 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:03,600 If any man's in Christ is a new creation, old things are passed 269 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:05,240 away. Behold, all things have become 270 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:08,800 new. We're not the same as we were 271 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:16,119 before, and people notice that. That's what impacts people to be 272 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:21,119 interested in what it is you're following or believing in. 273 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:26,280 And these guys are paranoid now and they're accusing Paul and 274 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,920 Silas and anyone at this point in time who's a follower of 275 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,000 Christ. They're they're turning the 276 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,240 world upside down. But I'll tell you, if there was 277 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:38,840 ever a time in our time that the world needs to be turned right 278 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:43,240 side up, it's today. And we're the ones that God 279 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:46,560 wants to use, and He will use us. 280 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:50,440 And He is using US in spite of our imperfections, in spite of 281 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:53,760 our fears, in spite of our anxieties or insecurities at 282 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:56,960 times. The Lord is in US and He will 283 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,640 shine through us if we get out of the way and let His life and 284 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:04,040 His light be evident in and through our lives. 285 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:10,680 And so Jason is being accused here as harboring them or giving 286 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:14,200 them a safe place to be. And these are all acting 287 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:16,400 contrary to the decrees of Caesar. 288 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:20,920 So they're basically saying that Paul and Silas are causing a 289 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,080 rebellion against Caesar is the king. 290 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:27,720 And that was never the case. Jesus was accused of causing 291 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:31,280 problems in the political arena. Jesus could care less about the 292 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:34,040 political arena. He said, my Kingdom isn't of 293 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:39,120 this world. Politics isn't what gets the 294 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:40,880 Kingdom established here in the earth. 295 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,680 Jesus Christ is the only one that can establish the Kingdom. 296 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:47,840 And the Kingdom isn't of this world. 297 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,920 It's not of America or Russia or China or Saudi Arabia or the 298 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:56,440 Mideast or Africa or whatever. It's a supernatural Kingdom that 299 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,760 Christ is going to bring forth when he returns again. 300 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:03,800 And that's what our eyes need to be on, not what happens 2 years 301 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:07,640 from now in Washington. Now I have my desires and you do 302 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:09,320 too. But whether they come to pass or 303 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:11,720 not is immaterial to the Kingdom of God. 304 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,760 Because Christ said He will build His church and the gates 305 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:16,360 of hell will not prevail against it. 306 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:22,440 His church isn't dependent upon Republicans or Democrats or 307 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:26,960 communists or socialists. His Kingdom is rooted in 308 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:31,760 supernatural power. He said His Kingdom will come 309 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:34,440 and when His Kingdom comes, it'll last forever. 310 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:39,280 There will be no war, no nation, no person, no leader that can 311 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:43,520 tear or destroy or circumvent the Kingdom of God. 312 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:49,400 And so all this upheaval that's happening throughout the ages in 313 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,800 the book of the Acts to the day that we live now, people are 314 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:58,640 paranoid about people like us that have a stand for the Lord 315 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:02,280 Jesus. And so they were. 316 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,600 Saying that there's another King Jesus. 317 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:10,160 Well, yeah, King Jesus, He is the King of kings and the Lord 318 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,560 of Lords. He's been that before the 319 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:16,440 foundation of the earth, and that's his throne. 320 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:20,120 And he's on the throne in spite of what we see happening in this 321 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:24,880 world today. His will will be done as it is 322 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:27,600 in heaven. It will be done on earth. 323 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:30,920 He promises that in his prayer, the Lord's Prayer. 324 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:39,520 And so they're having to listen to this nonsense of this crowd, 325 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,240 these authorities at the time and these comments that are 326 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,360 being made. And as they're saying this, it 327 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:48,640 says in verse 8, and they troubled the crowd and the 328 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:51,600 rulers of this city when they heard these things. 329 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:53,360 So they're really getting uptight. 330 00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:56,880 We got a problem here. There's an insurrection going on 331 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:58,440 there. They want to bring down Caesar 332 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:02,440 and they're thinking mentally, if Caesar is diminished in the 333 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,000 eyes of the city of Thessalonica, they'll lose all 334 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,160 the benefits of being part of the Roman Empire. 335 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,080 It was all self-serving politics. 336 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:15,800 So when they then took security from Jason and the rest, they 337 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:17,800 let them go. So the whole deal was Jason had 338 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:21,440 to give them a certain amount of money, promising them that he 339 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:25,000 would get Paul and Silas out of the community and then he get 340 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,000 his money back. So verse 10, then the brethren 341 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:32,240 immediately send Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. 342 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:34,200 So I don't want to lose any money here. 343 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:36,800 Paul and Silas, you know you. I mean, we're glad you're here, 344 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:39,040 but you're probably better off going on down the road now, 345 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,960 going somewhere else. So when they arrived, they went 346 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:46,400 into the synagogue of the Jews and now they're in this place 347 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:51,520 called Berea, this other city, these people in Berea it says in 348 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:56,000 verse 11, very powerful comment made about these people. 349 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:59,880 May it be said of us these were more fair minded than those in 350 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:03,320 Thessalonica and that they received the Word with all 351 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:06,760 readiness and search the Scriptures daily to find out 352 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:12,640 whether these things were so. We need to be Bereans. 353 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:18,320 I'm thankful for the focus that Calvary Chapel has around the 354 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:21,240 world and their churches to go through the Bible 355 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:25,320 systematically, verse by verse, line upon line, precept upon 356 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:27,920 precept. I don't have the right or the 357 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:31,720 privilege to make it up as I go or to go somewhere that the 358 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:36,120 Bible doesn't tell us to go. You know, we're locked into a 359 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:41,120 responsibility as teachers to teach the whole council of God. 360 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:46,280 And the privilege of being able to do that is we learn things 361 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:49,520 like we're learning today. And I hate to say it, but in 362 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:54,800 most churches today you will not hear this kind of teaching. 30 363 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,720 years ago, a lot of the Bible churches taught this way. 364 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:01,280 Nowadays there's less and less. It says in the last days there 365 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:03,720 will be a famine for the word of God. 366 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:09,840 Men will be lovers in themselves rather than lovers of God and 367 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:13,120 it'll be hard to find places that teach sound doctrine. 368 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:18,240 And so these Bereans were already developed by the power 369 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:21,720 of God to does not take anything they heard lightly and say, 370 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:25,400 well, this guy taught this. He seems to know the Bible. 371 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:29,640 So I guess it's true. You have to know the Bible like 372 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:32,600 I'm responsible to know the Bible. 373 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:37,720 All of you guys are responsible to know the Scriptures so that 374 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:41,760 when you're listening, if something's going the wrong way, 375 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:43,760 you're going to know right away it's going the wrong way. 376 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:46,760 It's going to convict you. It's going sideways. 377 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:51,320 It's not true, and you're going to hold the teacher accountable 378 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:54,160 to something that they taught that isn't founded in the 379 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:58,480 scriptures. Thanks for joining us on this 380 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:01,440 journey through Acts. On today's edition of Living 381 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,840 Waters of Grace, Pastor Clark shares that one of the most 382 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:08,560 remarkable things about the book of Acts it's how it shows the 383 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,640 disciples transformation. The followers of Jesus we meet 384 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:17,480 here are very different from the often confused and fearful 385 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:21,240 disciples in the Gospels. After Jesus's death and 386 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:24,640 resurrection, and especially through the power of the Holy 387 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:29,200 Spirit, the apostles experienced a profound change in their 388 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,920 hearts and boldness. Their faith became unwavering, 389 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,840 and they moved forward with courage to spread the gospel 390 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:41,400 despite opposition and hardship. Acts reminds us that the same 391 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:46,320 Spirit who empowered them is at work in US today, shaping our 392 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:49,920 hearts and giving us strength to live boldly for Christ. 393 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,960 Living Waters of Grace is a ministry of Calvary Chapel 394 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,800 Westmoreland. If you're in the Greensburg, PA 395 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:02,080 area, we invite you to join us this Sunday at 10:30 AM at 400 E 396 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:04,320 Pittsburgh St. Unit 6B. 397 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:09,480 Visit calvarychapelonline.com For more information where you 398 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:13,920 can also join our e-mail list, submit prayer requests, give 399 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:16,520 online and download our mobile app. 400 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,720 If you are in the Greensburg area, you can listen to Grace FM 401 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:25,360 on the new 91.7 frequency. Pray about helping support the 402 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:28,360 new station that will reach thousands more listeners. 403 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:35,760 Send gifts to Grace FMPO Box 716, Greensburg, PA 15601. 404 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:39,000 If you can join us in person, you can subscribe to the Calvary 405 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,720 Chapel Westmoreland YouTube channel so you'll be alerted 406 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:44,720 when new material becomes available. 407 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:48,240 We're so grateful that you joined us today in Acts. 408 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:51,320 TuneIn again soon for another edition of Living Waters of 409 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:51,920 Grace.