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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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Idolatry is fashioned in many 
ways today. 

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We don't have shrines and 
temples of of some ridiculous 

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Pagan deity around our necks. 
At least I hope we don't. 

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But idolatry is in the form of a
lot of other things. 

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It can be our material wealth. 
It can be something we own that 

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we love and that every time we 
see it, we just smile and say 

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that's mine, you know? 
And I'm going to give hours a 

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day to whatever I think is 
important. 

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That's mine. 
It could be making sure you see 

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every football game possible on 
Sundays, or maybe it's never 

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missing a single CrossFit 
session. 

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You have ATV show that you claim
as yours. 

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Or maybe you own a car that you 
can't stand to have any 

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scratches on. 
Pastor Clark makes it clear 

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today that idolatry in today's 
time is different than Bible 

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times. 
And yet it's kind of the same. 

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It's giving your heart and your 
devotion over to something other

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than God. 
So take some time and think 

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about this. 
What or who are you worshipping 

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now? 
Here's Pastor Clark in the book 

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of Acts Chapter 19 with today's 
edition of Living Waters of 

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Grace. 
Acts chapter 19. 

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We're going to look at the verse
18 before we go into today's 

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text. 
And many who had believed came 

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confessing and telling their 
deeds. 

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Also, many of those who had 
practiced magic brought their 

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books together and burned them 
in the sight of all. 

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And they counted up the value of
them, and it totaled 50,000 

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pieces of silver. 
So the word of the Lord grew 

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mightily and prevailed. 
Verse 21. 

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And when these things were 
accomplished, then Paul's going 

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to begin to talk about what's 
next in his life. 

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This is a big deal. 
And what happened here and what 

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we read about Whenever the Holy 
Spirit works in our lives, there

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is a transition from one way of 
living to a new way of living. 

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And I loved it when Pastor Lewis
was teaching us in First 

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Thessalonians because there's a 
verse there that really ties 

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into what happened to these 
people in Ephesus. 

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Same thing with the Thessalonian
believers in First Thessalonians

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19. 
It said what manner of entry we 

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had to you. 
In other words, the apostles are

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saying how the Word impacted him
and how you turn to God from 

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idols to serve the living and 
true God. 

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So conversion or repentance or 
belief in faith in Jesus Christ 

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is just not like this mental 
thing we we do. 

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So we go to heaven. 
I mean, that's a good thing that

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we go to heaven if we trust in 
Christ. 

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But it's much deeper than this 
believing so that we might have 

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a better life. 
Now, the purpose of coming to 

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Christ is a term from the old 
way of life, the way we used to 

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live and the way we used to be 
wired in other, in other words, 

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and how we thought about life 
and what we did in our lives, 

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the things we regret now that 
we're Christian. 

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So true repentance is always a 
change of mind. 

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You change the way you're 
living. 

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And even to this day when I 
study the Scriptures and when I 

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pray and I have my time with the
Lord, I'm always open. 

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I want him to show me things in 
my life that He wants to still 

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change. 
It's not like once we become 

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Christians, we don't need to 
change, right? 

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There's this continual 
transformation by the Holy 

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Spirit to conform us more to the
image and likeness of Jesus. 

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So when I whenever I'm talking 
to the Lord and and thinking 

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about things I say to him, is 
there anything in my life right 

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now that isn't the way it should
be that you want to change, that

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you want me to to look at 
differently and respond to you 

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differently. 
And there's never really a time 

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where he doesn't share something
with me that's helpful to help 

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me want to be more like him and 
to let go of some things that 

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sometimes get in the way of my 
relationship with him. 

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And that's that intimacy, that 
relationship we have with Jesus.

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And as we were worshipping, I, I
was thinking back there that 

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it's so incredible that each of 
us can have a personal 

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relationship with the Lord that 
I've never physically, outside 

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of a spiritual touch, touch the 
Lord. 

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I, I haven't seen him as, as a 
human being other than the lives

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and the writings of the 
Scripture. 

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I don't see him like I, I see 
you physically at this point in 

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time, but one day I will see 
him. 

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The Bible says we'll see him 
face to face and we will see him

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and we shall become like him 
because we shall see him as he 

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is. 
He truly is. 

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So one day we will have that 
privilege of physically 

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encountering Jesus as a man and 
as a as a risen savior when we 

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go to heaven. 
But what's incredible for you 

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and I, when we think about this 
privilege we have to have this 

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communion with the Lord, is that
we can talk with him moment by 

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moment, That we can lay our head
down in the pillow at night when

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we're troubled and, and talk to 
him and he listens and he 

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responds to us when we're 
overwhelmed by life and this 

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having difficulty with whatever 
we might be going through, we 

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can ask for his help and he'll 
help us. 

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He's he's always near. 
I love what it tells us in 

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Hebrews that we don't have a 
high priest who cannot be 

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touched with the feeling of our 
weaknesses, our infirmities, but

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was in all points tempted as we 
are, yet without sin. 

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And then the writer says that we
can have boldness to enter into 

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the holy place by the blood of 
Jesus, this relationship of 

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Christ shed blood that enables 
sinners to go into the presence 

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of God and not be rejected. 
And we can go into that throne 

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room of grace and find mercy and
help in our time of need. 

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Isn't that wonderful? 
You don't have to come to church

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in your time of need. 
You can go right to Jesus 

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wherever you are, in your car, 
in your house, in your 

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apartment, in your bedroom, and 
you know, your leisure time. 

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You, you can go to the Lord 
24/7. 

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And how privileged we are to 
have that relationship. 

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And I hope and I trust that 
you're taking advantage of that 

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relationship. 
The Lord has provided for you 

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through his death, burial, and 
resurrection, that you can have 

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a real conversation with God and
he'll have a real conversation 

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back with you. 
That's priceless. 

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And this is something that the 
world doesn't know about. 

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We see the headlines this past 
week of this tremendous, 

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horrific assault on this young 
man who didn't do anything other

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than run, and he was assaulted 
and brutalized and murdered for 

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no good reason. 
And this is just a tippity 

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iceberg. 
We get the the news all the 

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time. 
I mean, I'm reading about 

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husbands shooting wives, wives 
killing husbands, riots, mobs, 

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you know, fighting, you know, 
out in the streets and trying to

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force us as Christians to accept
godless ideologies and, and, and

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basically wanting to shut us up 
and to tell us that our opinions

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don't matter and, and in regard 
to marriage or sexuality or 

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whatever. 
And so we're living in times 

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when you study this with me 
today, understand that this is 

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going on today too, Not to the 
degree that it was an Ephesus in

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America. 
Pray that it never will been in 

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Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi 
Arabia, Emirate Republic, 

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Pakistan, India, you know, 
China, all these places in the 

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world, people are being brutally
tortured for their faith in 

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Jesus Christ. 
And so as we study this, we have

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to understand the courage that 
Paul had. 

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Paul was not afraid of a fight. 
God gave him the strength to 

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persevere. 
He always had this desire to 

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take the gospel to wherever he 
could take it. 

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And he always had a great 
attitude. 

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He was always positive, he was 
always joyful. 

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He had his time of struggles. 
He talked about despairing of 

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life itself at times and being 
brutalized himself and people 

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throwing rocks at him and that 
kind of stuff. 

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But it never stopped him from 
what it was that God called him 

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to do. 
And I think about your call as a

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Christian mind. 
As a Christian, God has certain 

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purposes for your life and 
relationships He wants you to 

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have with people. 
And lots of times those 

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relationships will end up in 
conflict because of your 

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position regarding who Jesus 
Christ is and how you live. 

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Some people will reject you, 
some people won't like you, some

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people want to argue with you, 
some people want to slander you 

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or whatever. 
At this point in time, you know,

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they might even want to fight 
you or beat you or whatever. 

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I, I, I pray that's not the case
in our time. 

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But we have to be ready for 
whatever may come down the road.

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And we have to be willing to 
stand as the apostle Paul stood 

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and those who served with him in
this particular time. 

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So Paul is purposing in the 
Spirit, the Holy Spirit speaking

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to Paul about the next goal that
the Lord had for him. 

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That is, he's beginning to 
complete his ministry after a 

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couple years in Ephesus. 
He's been teaching for two years

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in that Bible school. 
The school tyrannis 8 hours, 6 

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hours, 8 hours a day for six 
days a week for two to three 

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years. 
If you were in that place with 

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him, you would be out on the 
streets sharing what it is you 

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have learned because it was just
so living and so fresh and so 

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alive and so anointed of God. 
People's lives are being 

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transformed to the degree and it
was impacting the commerce of 

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this Pagan city in a very 
negative way. 

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And it says when he had passed 
through Macedonia and Arcade to 

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go to Jerusalem, saying after 
I've been there, I must also see

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Rome. 
So already Paul has got his eyes

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on other opportunities to 
minister, and so it says in 

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verse 22, so he sent into 
Macedonia two of those who 

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ministered to him, Timothy and 
Rastus, but he himself stayed in

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Asia for a time. 
Now, there's a lot of things 

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that go on when we study the 
Bible. 

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You sort of have to be willing 
to look at some other passages 

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in order to have some things 
make sense because he's talking 

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about a lot of geography here. 
But if you looked at these maps,

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you would see how, how close 
these different places were and 

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how you were able to get to 
these different places in a 

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period of days or weeks or 
whatever, using boats or donkeys

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or walking, whatever. 
And so there was no part in that

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known world at the time that 
Paul wasn't anxious to get to to

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do the ministry. 
And so this this issue here of 

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these different places he's 
mentioning, Paul wrote to the 

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Corinthian church from the city 
of Ephesus. 

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And the Corinthians is another 
book in the Bible we'll get to 

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eventually. 
He also wrote from Rome to 

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Ephesus. 
So why was he interested in 

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going to Rome? 
And I want to look at Romans 

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chapter 15 for a minute. 
And this all ties together with 

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Paul's great heart of missions. 
It says in the heading there 

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plan to visit Rome. 
For this reason I also have been

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much hindered from coming to 
you. 

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But now I'm no longer having a 
place in these parts and having 

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a great desire of these many 
years to come to you whenever I 

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journey to Spain. 
So not any was he planning on 

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going to Rome, but he eventually
wanted to get to Spain. 

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I don't know if he ever got 
there or not. 

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We don't have any indication he 
did or didn't. 

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But that was a plan. 
He says I shall come come to you

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for I hope to see you on my 
journey and to be helped on my 

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way there by you. 
If first I may enjoy your 

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company for a while. 
So Paul not, and he liked 

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teaching, but he liked being 
around people like us so he 

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could have fellowship with them 
because we would encourage him. 

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But now I'm going to Jerusalem 
to minister to the Saints. 

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Now, Jerusalem was in a time of 
famine and poverty. 

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And so whenever we know about 
people who are in crisis, 

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through missions, our own 
missionaries that we support, or

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through Calvary Chapel, that 
lets us know about different 

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things that are going on in the 
world. 

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We have the ability to budget 
part of what it is. 

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It comes in through the 
offerings to go help people in 

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crisis, even though we're not 
going to physically be there. 

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And so Paul's going to Jerusalem
to minister to the Saints for 

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it, please those from Macedonia 
and IKEA to make a certain 

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contribution for the poor among 
the Saints who are in Jerusalem.

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So Paul sending Timothy and 
Erasus to these places to 

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receive the offerings that these
cities had stored up for the 

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help of those who are suffering 
in Jerusalem. 

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And it says it pleased them 
indeed, and they are their 

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debtors. 
For if the Gentiles have been 

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partakers of the spiritual 
things, so in other words, they 

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became believers because of Paul
and the ministry and the Word 

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and the gospel. 
Their duty now is also to 

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minister to the people that 
helped them in material things. 

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Therefore, when I performed this
sealed to them this fruit, I 

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shall go by way of you to Spain.
But I know that when I come, I 

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shall come in the fullness of 
the blessing of the gospel of 

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Christ. 
So here we are reading about 

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things an ethicist, but Paul 
spiritually multitasking like 

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you and I do, you're thinking 
about maybe later what you're 

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going to do and you know, is a 
Bengals going to win or the 

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Chiefs and all these things are 
thinking about today, right? 

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Really important stuff I must 
say, right? 

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Depending on who you want to 
win, right, But you know, you're

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thinking about next week and 
family and people that you wish 

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00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:20,280
would come to church with you 
that haven't yet or people that 

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you love that don't know the 
Lord yet. 

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You have all these thoughts and 
you're thinking, well, I take 

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this trip to this place one day 
and I see these friends or 

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relatives or these coworkers. 
I'm going to tell them more 

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about my faith and what Christ 
did for me. 

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That's that's a good thing that 
the Holy Spirit is always 

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putting things in our heart that
we can think about doing in the 

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days ahead, the further the 
gospel. 

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But Paul, even though he's an 
Asian Ephesus, at this time, 

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he's already thinking about all 
these other things that need to 

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be accomplished. 
And 1st Corinthians is also 

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tying into this. 
If you turn there, First 

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Corinthians 16, I read verses 
one through 4 and Pauls talking 

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about this collection that 
they're going to take to 

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Jerusalem. 
Now concerning the collection 

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for the Saints, as I've given 
orders to the churches of 

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Galatia, so you must do also on 
the first day of the week, let 

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each one of you lay something up
aside, storing up as he may 

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prosper, that there be no 
collections. 

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When I came, when I come, and 
when I come, whomever you 

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approve by your letters, I will 
send to bear your gift to 

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Jerusalem. 
But if it is fitting that I go 

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also, they will go with me. 
So, So these churches work 

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together and obviously they gave
offerings like we do, you know, 

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monthly or weekly or however we 
do it online or anything 

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00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:37,160
offering boxes outside. 
So that like if there's a big 

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issue here, and I've never had 
to do this, nor has Lewis not, 

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00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:44,400
nor do we ever want to do it. 
We're not interested in begging 

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for money or asking for money. 
You guys give liberally as God 

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is purpose in your heart for God
loves a cheerful giver. 

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He doesn't want to manipulate 
any of us. 

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00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:58,160
He doesn't want to force us. 
That's a privilege that we give 

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what it is that the Lord 
prospers us with. 

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But whenever we have a need or a
missionary rights us or we have 

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something in our heart of 
benevolence or crisis in the 

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church, we don't have to say, 
well, this family has this 

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problem. 
We're going to take a special 

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00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:14,040
offering today so we can help 
this family or help these 

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00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:16,240
missionaries. 
Everything that comes into the 

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00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:20,000
church is put in a a general 
fund for George, who's the 

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00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:24,000
financial guy here to help us 
determine what it is we can 

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budget and how we can help. 
And so the Lord has never not 

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had funds in the storehouse for 
us to be able to use things for 

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people and missionaries and 
struggles and people in in 

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00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:36,400
crisis and that kind of stuff. 
And this is all taught 

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throughout the New Testament. 
So as Paul is working in 

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Ephesus, he already has a heart 
in his mind. 

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He's serving the believers in 
Ephesus, but he's concerned 

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about the church in Jerusalem 
and he's also wanting to go 

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visit these other places to see 
how they're doing since the 

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churches have been established. 
That's a beautiful, beautiful 

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thing to, to see how these 
things are all weaved together 

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in the Scriptures. 
And, and about that time in 

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verse 23, as as he's thinking 
and planning and and talking 

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about the things ahead, there 
arose a great commotion about 

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00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:14,920
the way. 
The way was considered the name 

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of the new group of followers of
Jesus Christ. 

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00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:22,359
Yeah, The way represented John 
14-6, where Jesus said I am the 

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00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:24,480
way, I am the truth. 
I'm the life. 

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No man comes to the Father but 
through me. 

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00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:32,280
The way is the only way. 
There is only one way, right? 

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His way. 
And he said, it's so clear. 

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Aren't you glad he didn't say, 
well, I'm one of the ways, or 

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00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:39,080
this is something you should 
consider? 

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00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,160
There are other ways. 
No, he was real clear so we 

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wouldn't be confused. 
Jesus is the only way, and we're

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not bigoted. 
We believe what he said and we 

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00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:52,160
know it's true because we found 
the truth in regard to our 

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00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:56,040
salvation is only wrought in the
person, in the work of Jesus 

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00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:58,200
Christ. 
He's the only one that has 

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00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:00,200
conquered the grave. 
He's only the one that's 

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00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:02,120
overcome death. 
He's the only one that's 

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00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:04,000
sinless. 
He's the only one that's 

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perfect, and He's the only one 
that could die on the cross to 

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00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:12,120
redeem us and save us and atone 
for our sins. 

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00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:18,160
And so these people are uptight 
about this issue of the way a 

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00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,040
lot of people are getting 
aggravated and why Verse 24 for 

322
00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:25,040
a certain man named Demetrius, 
the silversmith who made silver 

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00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:29,000
shrines of Diana brought no 
small profit to the Craftsman. 

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00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:35,160
So this guy made his livelihood 
from making idols out of silver 

325
00:18:35,360 --> 00:18:39,320
and crafting these little mini 
miniature gods, replicating the 

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00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:43,800
temple of the person of Diana 
the high priestess, if you may. 

327
00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:48,000
And it was really a weird image 
and multi breasted woman. 

328
00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:52,400
And the temple prostitutes at 
this temple of Diana would go in

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00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:56,040
their short skirts and and have 
one breast exposed to represent 

330
00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,240
the the deity of this Diana 
temple prostitutes. 

331
00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,280
All kind of Pagan rituals and 
occultic things going on. 

332
00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:05,800
I mean, the whole thing was 
crazy. 

333
00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:09,840
What's happening is Paul and his
preaching in the school at 

334
00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:12,520
Tyrannis. 
People like us are there and all

335
00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:16,760
of a sudden maybe we had these 
little idols in our house or 

336
00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:18,840
warm around our neck. 
Some people did that. 

337
00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:22,400
All of a sudden we're hearing 
the word of God and the truth 

338
00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,000
regarding Jesus Christ, and all 
of a sudden we want to get rid 

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00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,560
of these things, right? 
And that was the purpose of the 

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00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:30,280
fire and burning those things 
and throwing them away. 

341
00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,160
This being free from it. 
Well, as a result of this 

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00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:36,440
happening in the community in 
the city of Ephesus, there was 

343
00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:40,360
less people buying these things.
So if you made good living by 

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00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:43,600
making these things, maybe 
you're selling, you know, 1000 a

345
00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:45,480
week or something. 
And all of a sudden you look at 

346
00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:49,240
your numbers and now they're 600
a week and then they're 400 a 

347
00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:51,080
week and then they're three. 
You know, you're, you're 

348
00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:54,120
starting to get bothered, right?
Because you know that what's 

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00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:57,840
happening in the city now is 
impacting your livelihood. 

350
00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:01,400
So this is the purpose of why 
Demetrius is beginning to get 

351
00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,840
this crowd together, because he 
made these silver shrines of 

352
00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:08,440
Diana and it brought a lot of 
money to the Craftsman who were.

353
00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,680
Involved in it, it says in verse
24 he called them together with 

354
00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:14,760
the workers of similar 
occupation. 

355
00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:18,000
So he's getting all the people 
in the union together to tell 

356
00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:22,280
them about what's going on and 
why the numbers are down and why

357
00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:25,320
the revenue is a lot less than 
what it once was. 

358
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,760
Because they probably didn't 
really quite grasp the impact 

359
00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:31,400
that Christianity was having in 
the city of Ephesus. 

360
00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:35,640
So he calls them together and he
says, man, you know that we have

361
00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:39,400
our prosperity by this trade. 
This is how we make our 

362
00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,560
livelihood. 
Moreover, you see in here that 

363
00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:46,480
not only at Ephesus, but 
throughout almost all Asia, this

364
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:50,640
Paul has persuaded and turned 
away many people saying that 

365
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,120
they are not gods which are made
with hands. 

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00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:58,600
Now, Paul never once picketed in
front of the temple of Diana. 

367
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:02,240
There's no indication that he 
was there with signs and, and, 

368
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:04,960
and telling everybody, don't go 
in there and don't do this. 

369
00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:07,320
Don't do that. 
He was just teaching the word. 

370
00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,880
And whenever you teach the word,
it has an impact on lives. 

371
00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:16,520
It it changes your thought 
process, it changes your 

372
00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,520
worldview. 
It changes what your priorities 

373
00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,520
are and what you invest and 
spend your money on you. 

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00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:25,880
If you're doing things that 
aren't right, the Holy Spirit 

375
00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:29,520
convicts you and speaks to your 
heart inwardly and says, you 

376
00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,600
know this isn't cool. 
You know, you know, you really 

377
00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,040
need to let this go. 
You need to move away from this,

378
00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:36,680
this idol or whatever it might 
be. 

379
00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:40,240
An idolatry is fashioned in many
ways today. 

380
00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:44,520
We don't have shrines and 
temples of, of some ridiculous 

381
00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:48,000
Pagan deity around our necks. 
At least I hope we don't. 

382
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:51,800
But idolatries in the form of a 
lot of other things. 

383
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:57,800
It can be our material wealth. 
It can be something we own that 

384
00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:01,520
we love and that every time we 
see it, we just smile and say, 

385
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,600
that's mine, you know? 
And I'm going to give hours a 

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00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:08,120
day to whatever I think is 
important. 

387
00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:10,960
That's mine. 
And so we begin to become 

388
00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:17,800
consumed and controlled by metal
and, and, and leather and tires.

389
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:20,080
And those cars are the biggest 
idols for all of us. 

390
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:22,880
When you first get it, you know,
you're excited and there's 

391
00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,840
nothing wrong with having a nice
car, but it can really overcome 

392
00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:28,240
you, can't it? 
Especially when someone wrecks 

393
00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:29,400
into it. 
You just bought it. 

394
00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,080
Like it happened to me. 
I'm in Philadelphia and someone 

395
00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,920
knocks my mirror on my Sienna 
and I'm like, you got to be 

396
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:37,520
kidding me. 
You know, it's just like, I just

397
00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,480
got this thing the Lord said, 
Clark, it's just a piece of 

398
00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:42,000
metal and it's a means to an 
end. 

399
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:43,600
It's how you make your 
livelihood. 

400
00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,640
It's how you stay safe and drive
around. 

401
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,800
But I, I had to, I had to sort 
of like repent a little bit. 

402
00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:51,840
John's an auto body guy. 
He likes it when we wreck. 

403
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,080
That's good for you, your 
prosperity. 

404
00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,840
But you know, I had to think 
like, well, you know, it's just 

405
00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:04,080
a car, right? 
But things can control our 

406
00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:07,880
hearts at times, can't they? 
How about our houses? 

407
00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:11,040
Nothing wrong with having nice 
houses, but when they begin to 

408
00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:16,240
have problems, how can it begin 
to make us depressed or upset or

409
00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,240
uptight? 
Or, you know, it's, it's 

410
00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:20,400
interesting. 
I love sports. 

411
00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:23,120
Many of you do too. 
But if my whole life was like, 

412
00:23:23,120 --> 00:23:27,000
well, you know, I'm not going to
go to church today because I'll 

413
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,520
miss the kickoff. 
And, and I actually did that 

414
00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,480
when I was younger. 
The Steelers were kicking off at

415
00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:36,480
like 12, man, I was, I was the 
first one out the door at 11:30.

416
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:39,120
Cindy, come on, we got to go. 
Where are we going? 

417
00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:43,480
The game is starting at that. 
Pastor's going to go on and on 

418
00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:44,680
and on. 
Let's get out of here. 

419
00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:48,960
One pastor, he like tortured us.
He'd have an Alder call, 

420
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,480
especially in a big stealer day.
And I knew man, we were going to

421
00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:55,360
miss like at least 1/2 an hour 
to have the game. 

422
00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:00,240
We're so glad you joined us 
today on this edition of Living 

423
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,240
Waters of Grace. 
Pastor Clark is teaching through

424
00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:06,560
the Book of Acts, which is the 
only book that chronicles the 

425
00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:10,400
history of the early church 
immediately after Jesus's 

426
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:13,560
ascension. 
It gives us a front row seat to 

427
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:16,800
how the Gospel began to move 
outwards, starting in Jerusalem 

428
00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:19,720
and reaching into the heart of 
the Roman Empire. 

429
00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:24,200
In just three decades, a small 
group of frightened ordinary 

430
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,920
believers became a bold, spirit 
empowered movement that 

431
00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:32,120
transformed the known world. 
Acts is not just a history 

432
00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:34,440
lesson. 
It's a reminder of what God can 

433
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:38,320
do when His people are 
surrendered, obedient and filled

434
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,920
with the Holy Spirit. 
Their perseverance still 

435
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:46,040
inspires us today. 
May we follow their example and 

436
00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,640
live faithfully for Christ in 
our own time. 

437
00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:51,200
We hope today's message 
encouraged you. 

438
00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:55,160
Living Waters of Grace is a 
ministry of Calvary Chapel, 

439
00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,520
Westmoreland. 
If you're in the Greensburg, PA 

440
00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,000
area, we'd love to have you join
us in person. 

441
00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:06,760
Our Sunday service begins at 
10:30 AM at 400 E Pittsburgh St.

442
00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:09,760
Unit 6B. 
Be sure to visit 

443
00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:13,680
calvarychapelonline.com to 
confirm times and learn more. 

444
00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:17,400
If you are in the Greensburg 
area, you can listen to Grace FM

445
00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:22,400
on the new 91.7 frequency. 
Please pray about supporting 

446
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:26,360
this outreach. 
Gifts can be sent to Grace FMPO 

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Box 716, Greensburg, PA 15601. 
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Join our e-mail list, submit 
prayer requests, and give online

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all at calvarychapelonline.com. 
Thank you for tuning in and 

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spending this time in God's 
Word. 

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Be sure to join us again for 
Living Waters of Grace.