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 --> 00:00:12,680 Waffer, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, County 3 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:16,400 of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,760 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,000 Whenever the Word of God goes forth, it has this power to 6 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:46,000 convict us of our sin, our mistakes, our weaknesses, our 7 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:50,760 ungodliness, our selfishness, our lust, our bitterness, our 8 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:55,720 unforgiveness, all the things that are in the human heart 9 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,040 because of sin. So whenever we hear the Word, we 10 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,680 have to repent, and repent is a change of mind. 11 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,440 Whenever the Word of God really hits you and hits me it, it's a 12 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:08,840 call to action. It's a call to change. 13 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,480 God's Word is like a mirror showing you the truth about your 14 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:15,240 heart. In today's message, Pastor Clark 15 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:18,960 describes how Scripture can Pierce through convicting you of 16 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:21,920 sin. It might expose your weaknesses 17 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:25,600 or self centeredness, revealing what's in your human heart. 18 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,840 When you hear His word, it calls you to repent, to change your 19 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,280 mind and direction. It's not just words, it's a 20 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,000 prompt to transform your life. Are you letting God's Word 21 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,400 convict and change your heart when it speaks to you now? 22 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:44,880 Here's Pastor Clark in Acts Chapter 3 with today's edition 23 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,480 of Living Waters of Grace. Well, let's open in prayer. 24 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,440 We're in the book of the Acts today, Acts chapter 3. 25 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:53,560 If you have your Bibles, you can turn there. 26 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,600 And we will be going through this particular book verse by 27 00:01:57,600 --> 00:01:59,960 verse like we do all the time. Let's pray. 28 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:04,160 Father, we're thankful today that you are the good and 29 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,000 gracious King. Lord, we're grateful how you 30 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:11,200 penetrate our hearts by your Holy Spirit, Lord, how you 31 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:15,840 activate this life in US, daily life in Christ by the Spirit of 32 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,680 God that Lord, there's never a moment that we're left alone 33 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:24,520 that you are with us 24/7. And Lord, I'm also grateful for 34 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,880 this desire that you put on us as your kids to go deeper in you 35 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:33,520 to discover you more. Lord, to be amazed of your 36 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,000 wonder and your grace. And Lord, it is your grace that 37 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:41,320 you supplied to us, that we might first of all be recipients 38 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:44,640 of the grace and the love and the mercy, but that Lord, then 39 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:48,240 we would be able to be conduits that can send us forth from our 40 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,040 lives. Lord, we know that in our own 41 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,080 strength and our own ability, Lord, we have limitations 42 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,480 spiritually. We only can go so far, but Lord, 43 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:02,440 when you give us grace you, you expand the horizons of our 44 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:05,480 ability to bless and impact others. 45 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:07,600 And that's what we ask for each of us. 46 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,440 And Lord, just bless this day together. 47 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,440 And we pray for your church throughout the earth today and 48 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,920 every city and every community where the word is clearly being 49 00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:19,360 taught. May you bless the pastors and 50 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:21,640 the churches. And we pray these things in 51 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:26,680 Jesus name, Amen. So before I start today in this 52 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:32,120 continuing teaching on Acts chapter 3, verse 17, I want to 53 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:36,120 review a couple things in regard to what it is that's happening 54 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,120 in us as we study this book together. 55 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:43,720 First of all, the focal point of this book is Jesus Christ, like 56 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:48,920 every other book of the Bible, but even more so the work of of 57 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,400 God, the Holy Spirit. God is triune Father, Son and 58 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:58,440 Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God is obviously teaching us the 59 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:00,960 word of God. He is the teacher, Jesus said, 60 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:03,440 and he will guide us into all truth. 61 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,360 He's also the comforter and he's the encourager and he's the 62 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:11,000 helper. And so as we study this and we 63 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,840 look at the apostles lives, we have to see how different they 64 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:16,880 are because of the Holy Spirit in them. 65 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,480 I think of the the ministry and the responsibility we all have 66 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:27,240 as as servants of the Lord and to love others, love people with 67 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:31,160 a supernatural love, and we can't do that apart from the 68 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:35,200 Holy Spirit. We need the grace of God to 69 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:39,160 impart to us this supernatural love. 70 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,720 This is not something you or I can manifest in our own 71 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:49,040 strength, our own ability, our love runs short, our love runs 72 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,680 dry at times, even though we know where to love our enemies 73 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,120 or where to love people, where to care about people. 74 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:58,640 It's real easy to be self-centered and self-serving. 75 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:03,840 And so we always need to ask the Holy Spirit to fill us again, 76 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,120 over and over and over again. The the work of the Holy Spirit 77 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:09,920 isn't a one time experience when we first get saved. 78 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:14,920 The the need of the Spirit of God is something we need 24/7. 79 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,440 We need to be filled with the Spirit and we can ask the Holy 80 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:22,640 Spirit to fill us and he will for whatever particular 81 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,800 responsibility we have this in everyday life. 82 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:30,760 And so the life of, of Peter and the apostles is so different 83 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,560 than what we read in the Gospels and how they acted at times. 84 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:38,400 And so we'll, we'll study and we'll see this experience of, of 85 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:42,760 the Spirit in Peter's life as as he deals with the persecution 86 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,960 that's beginning to occur in his life because of the ministry 87 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,080 that he's been called to. So I'm going to read from verse 88 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,160 11 to 17 just to review what we covered. 89 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,840 And then we'll we'll start detail study in verse 17. 90 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:00,960 So this is Peter preaching in Solomon's portico in verse 11. 91 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:05,360 Now as a lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all 92 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:08,520 the people ran together to them in the porch, which is called 93 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:12,760 Solomon's, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he 94 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:16,320 responded to the people. Men of Israel, why do you marvel 95 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:20,480 at this, or why look so intently at us, as though by our own 96 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:23,440 power or godliness we have made this man walk? 97 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,600 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, 98 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:32,040 glorified His servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied 99 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:35,880 in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let him go. 100 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,520 But you denied the Holy One and the just and asked for a 101 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,960 murderer to be granted to you and killed the Prince of life 102 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:46,480 whom God raised from the dead at which we are witnesses. 103 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,920 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man 104 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:54,080 strong whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes 105 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,480 through him has given him this perfect soundness in the 106 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:01,400 presence of you all. So Peter's proclaiming this 107 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:04,440 miracle through the work of the Holy Spirit. 108 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:11,800 If you remember this weeks before the denial of of Peter in 109 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:15,960 that situation where they were asking him if he was affiliated 110 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:21,040 with Jesus, he was afraid and he said no, actually denied him 111 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:23,760 three times. Now, how different is he? 112 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:29,160 He's speaking with boldness the the gospel of Jesus Christ and 113 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:32,680 he said verse 17. Yet now, brethren, I know that 114 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,200 you did it in ignorance and as did also your rulers. 115 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:40,160 So he's letting them know that what they did, which was 116 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:43,240 horrific. Obviously being responsible for 117 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:46,640 the crucifixion of Christ, not only them, but all of us. 118 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:52,080 Our sin is obviously the responsibility of ourselves in 119 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:55,640 regard to how we've lived our lives that Jesus had to die for 120 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,520 our sins. But he's telling them that in 121 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:02,440 their blindness, in their ignorance, they did this as also 122 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:05,960 the rulers did. And that's grace. 123 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,520 That's a message of grace that Peter's preaching to these 124 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,680 people. He's not castigating or putting 125 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,720 them down or making making them feel worse than they probably 126 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,560 feel already as they begin to get convicted by the Spirit of 127 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:22,040 God. But he's letting them know that 128 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:25,720 the things they did, they did because they were blind, they 129 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,400 couldn't see who the Lord was. They they didn't realize their 130 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,960 need of, of God. And, and so he's being merciful 131 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,919 to them and, and gentle, but also bold and truthful. 132 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:41,799 And he said in verse 18, But those things which God foretold 133 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:46,160 by the mouth of all his prophets that the Christ would suffer, he 134 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:48,600 has thus fulfilled. So in other words, they were 135 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:53,200 responsible obviously for the mandate of of having Christ 136 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:57,880 crucified, choosing Jesus to be martyred instead of Barabbas. 137 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,440 He's also letting them know that all this was prophesized in the 138 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:06,600 Old Testament through the prophets of God, that this event 139 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:09,480 had to come to pass. There was no other way that 140 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:13,320 mankind could be saved or redeemed or forgiven or cleansed 141 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:16,720 from their sin apart from the work of Jesus Christ and His 142 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:21,440 death, burial and resurrection. So he told them that what Christ 143 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:25,960 had accomplished and what He suffered was a fulfillment of 144 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,720 what was prophesized by the prophets thousands of years 145 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:33,960 before this event actually occurred and as a result of what 146 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:37,000 had happened. Peter then speaks and tells them 147 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:41,760 in verse 19, Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins 148 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:45,480 may be blotted out so that the times of refreshing may come 149 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:49,200 from the presence of the Lord. So what happens is whenever the 150 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:53,880 word of God goes forth, it has this power to convict us of our 151 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:59,160 sin, our mistakes, our weaknesses, our ungodliness, our 152 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:03,240 selfishness, our lust, our bitterness, our unforgiveness, 153 00:10:03,560 --> 00:10:08,400 all the things that are in the human heart because of sin. 154 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,840 So whenever we hear the word, we have to repent and repent is a 155 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,400 change of mind. Whenever the word of God really 156 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,600 hits you and hits me, it's a call to action. 157 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,960 It's a call to change. It's a call to transformation. 158 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:24,280 It isn't like you just hear it. Well, yeah, I know. 159 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:26,800 Like I'm not living right and this is wrong, but you know, it 160 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:29,480 is what it is. No, When God really gets ahold 161 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:34,000 of your heart, He begins to give you this desire to want to 162 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,320 change your evil ways. You want to go in a different 163 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:39,720 direction. You want your life to change. 164 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:42,640 And that's the evidence of really having a heart that's 165 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:46,360 been hit by the Lord and convicted by the Spirit to 166 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:50,480 change our ways. Repent therefore and be 167 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:53,520 converted. Now we cannot be converted or 168 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:55,840 born again or transformed or saved. 169 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,000 Whatever word you want to put in there in lieu of the word 170 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:03,440 converted, you can't be transformed unless you repent. 171 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:07,400 So the message of the gospel has to have this message of 172 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:09,880 repentance. Jesus said repent for the 173 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:13,120 Kingdom of heaven is in hand. I mean, a lot of people have a 174 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:15,320 God loves you, has a wonderful plan for you. 175 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,480 And and that's true, but without the message of repentance, 176 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:22,760 people will receive that message that their lives won't change 177 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:25,640 because it's a feel good kind of story, right? 178 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:30,560 There's no emphasis on why we need to be saved or no emphasis 179 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:34,880 on why we need to change because the gospel fully has not been 180 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:37,720 proclaimed. Jesus fully proclaimed the 181 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:40,240 gospel. John the Baptist proclaimed the 182 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:44,080 truth of the need of repentance. And the apostles all through the 183 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:47,120 New Testament talk about this need to repent. 184 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:50,880 And the church today needs to to revive this message of 185 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:55,680 repentance and make sure that we all know that this is what is 186 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,920 required of us in order to be forgiven. 187 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:03,720 We have to have this desire and this attitude to change our 188 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:06,000 ways. And this isn't just when we get 189 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:08,920 saved. We are to repent continually. 190 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:11,320 The word metanoia is an active verb tense. 191 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:14,160 So it's all day long. If I have a wrong attitude, I 192 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:17,080 have a wrong action. I have a wrong thought, a wrong 193 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:19,880 focus, right? We all know what that's like, 194 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:23,240 that the Spirit of God convicts us, and I need to say that's 195 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:26,280 wrong. Lord, forgive me and go the 196 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:27,840 direction that the Lord's leading me. 197 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:32,840 Not ignore the Lord or not blow it off, but deal with what it is 198 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:37,920 I have to deal with now. Repentance in the heart is 199 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:42,440 uncomfortable at times because we don't like to think about 200 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:49,200 like our inadequacy or, you know, fallenness or weaknesses. 201 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,600 We, we sort of want to have a better opinion of ourselves than 202 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:54,800 we should many times. And I'm not talking about having 203 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:58,040 a a bad opinion, but I'm, I'm talking about having a true 204 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:00,400 opinion. We're not to think of ourselves 205 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:02,360 more highly than we ought to think, right? 206 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:04,920 So I'm vulnerable. You're vulnerable to the work of 207 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:07,560 the Holy Spirit and I need corrected in my life. 208 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:11,720 Cindy reminds me of that often if you're married, you know your 209 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,840 spouse is, you're the second person to the Holy Spirit in 210 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:16,560 their life. They point things out when you 211 00:13:16,560 --> 00:13:19,600 need to make some changes and address some things, right? 212 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:22,040 And that's a good thing. Even though many times we, we 213 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,200 want to excuse things and not listen to them. 214 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,720 But I I find as I want to go deeper with the Lord, and I know 215 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:30,760 you do too, I just don't want to have this superficial 216 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:33,360 relationship with God. I want to have this intimate, 217 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,440 close friendship with God as I know He desires to have with me. 218 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:41,000 And in order for that to be happening and having fellowship 219 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:45,320 with God, I have to respond to what it is He's speaking to my 220 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:49,160 heart to deal with. And that is important. 221 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:52,280 It's not so much anymore to be saved. 222 00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:55,280 I'm saved, you're saved. When Christ died, He died for 223 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:57,640 all your sins, past, present and future. 224 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:01,240 But it's the relationship with God, it's like if you, if you 225 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:03,880 have a friend or a loved one or someone you work with that 226 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,960 you've offended and you know you've offended them, you 227 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:10,640 usually should have the desire to want to be reconciled and 228 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:13,800 make amends if you can and say, please forgive me for this. 229 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:16,760 And I was wrong. And most people in in life are, 230 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:18,920 are have a tendency to be gracious and forgive. 231 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:21,400 And that's a good thing. But you know, for God, our 232 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:24,800 relationship with him, he loves us and forgives us even when I 233 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:27,480 don't ask for forgiveness in my daily life. 234 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,400 But what happens is my heart will then begin to grow, grow 235 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:35,120 cold and distant and hard. And sometimes when you find 236 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:38,320 yourself in a position in life where the word isn't affecting 237 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:42,440 you like you know it should or you aren't like worshipping God 238 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,760 or you don't want to attend any kind of Bible studies or church 239 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:48,280 meetings or whatever, you're, you're, you're moving away. 240 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,800 It's always a, a picture of backsliding or refusal to 241 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:54,880 repent. And then our heart begins become 242 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:59,120 hardened, as Paul says, through the deceitfulness of sin, sins 243 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:03,320 very deceitful, we can justify our behavior and our actions and 244 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:06,200 our attitudes, thinking that we're right and everybody else 245 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:07,960 is wrong. And and God's like, hey, you 246 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:11,920 know, you got to deal with this. So I'm dealing with stuff on a 247 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,280 daily basis. And it's not a negative thing or 248 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,960 a cloud thing or God's not a God of condemnation, is he? 249 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,480 He's not a God of thrown guilt trips on us. 250 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:24,120 It's all about this love that he wants us to experience every 251 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:26,520 day. He wants to love on us. 252 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:29,720 And it breaks his heart whenever we have things in the way in our 253 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:31,920 lives that we can't receive that love. 254 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:34,640 We can't experience that love, We can't interact with that 255 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:38,000 love. So this need of repentance is a 256 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,600 very, very important message. Now, the majority of the people 257 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:44,760 at this time were listeners and they weren't believers. 258 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,360 And so Peter is obviously throwing the net out so that 259 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:52,000 people would do what he's, you know, commanding them to do, 260 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,800 repent and be converted. And what happens is when these 261 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:59,720 people, and there was 3000 that got saved in the first sermon of 262 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:03,440 Peters, there's approximately 2000 it says in the Bible that 263 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,040 came to know the Lord during this sermon. 264 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:09,640 So there's now 5000 people, but there's a lot of people that are 265 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:12,040 listening that still aren't receiving this message, 266 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:15,560 especially the religious leaders, they were very tuned 267 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,760 out to Christ being the Messiah. To this day, the nation of 268 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:23,120 Israel for the most part is tuned out that Jesus is the Lord 269 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:27,560 and the Messiah. And so he tells them that if 270 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:30,280 they repent, their sins will be blotted out. 271 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,880 And that word blotted out means totally erased. 272 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:37,160 And there'll be no more record of their guilt ever again for 273 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,160 all eternity. So that the times of refreshing 274 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:41,760 may come from the presence of the Lord. 275 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:45,320 So not only are they forgiven, but then you know what it's like 276 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:48,320 when you get forgiven, you are refreshed. 277 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,800 You sense God's favor, his smile. 278 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:55,640 It's, it's a joyful thing to have our sins forgiven. 279 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:00,400 It's a joyful thing to have relationships reestablished 280 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:03,640 through forgiveness and, and reconciliation. 281 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,800 There's nothing like it. It's, it's just refreshing and 282 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:10,520 it, and that kind of refreshing only can come from this presence 283 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,920 of the Lord. And I desire, and I know you do 284 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:17,680 too, I want to have a deeper awareness of the presence of the 285 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,599 Lord in my life. It's what makes life worth 286 00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:23,240 living. It's what makes life joyful and 287 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:25,240 peaceful. I don't want to live like 288 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:29,120 mentally, I know this stuff, but it doesn't affect my moment by 289 00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:32,360 moment existence. I, I want to be able to, to look 290 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:35,120 at the creation and look at the beautiful day that He's given us 291 00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:38,840 today and have a praise and a worship of my heart for his 292 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:43,760 mercies and his love and His kindness as the good and 293 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:47,880 gracious King. What a beautiful song to think 294 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:53,080 about and reflect upon that He has done all this stuff because 295 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,040 He loves us. And so for us to interact and 296 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:58,720 receive it and experience that, we have to have these kind of 297 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:01,920 hearts that are conditioned to keep turning toward God, keep 298 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:04,080 turning toward God, keep turning to God. 299 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:08,080 And then he says something profound here in verse 20. 300 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:10,440 And that he may send Jesus Christ. 301 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:14,200 He was preached to you before whom heaven must receive until 302 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:18,600 the times of restoration of all things which God has spoken by 303 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:21,360 the mouth of his holy prophet since the world began. 304 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:25,880 So there's this indication here that if the nation of Israel 305 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,400 would have accepted the Lord nationally, that the second 306 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:34,240 coming of Christ would have happened at that particular 307 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:39,240 time. Profound insight that the Lord, 308 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:43,080 you know, he wants to come and establish his Kingdom, but he's 309 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,960 waiting and he's waiting and he's waiting for the masses of 310 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:51,240 the world to turn toward him until that last person is saved. 311 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,040 It's called the time of the fullness of Gentiles in the book 312 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:57,720 of Romans, when that last person, wherever they are in the 313 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:01,520 middle of the world, some tribe somewhere or some major city, 314 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:05,840 that last person, whenever the body of Christ is full, that the 315 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,960 trump will sound and the rapture will occur. 316 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:12,440 The dead in Christ will rise, and we which are alive will be 317 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,200 caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in 318 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:17,240 the air and say, shall we ever be with the Lord? 319 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,000 And then the second coming of Christ at the end of the 320 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:23,960 seven-year tribulation. But when the Lord is preaching 321 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,000 through Peter, in this particular instance, you got to 322 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,000 realize that the audience was primarily Jewish. 323 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:35,120 The speakers were Jewish, the leaders of the synagogue were 324 00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:39,440 Jewish, the population was in that area of Jerusalem 325 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:42,760 predominantly Jewish. The Lord came to His own 326 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:46,000 initially and the Bible says the his own received him not 327 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:48,840 eventually. The gospel was open to the 328 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:52,200 audience of the world, the Gentiles, everyone else. 329 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:58,600 But God chose through Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 that there 330 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,640 would be this covenant made with this group of people that lived 331 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:06,360 in the nation of Israel. And through the seed of Abraham, 332 00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:09,960 which would obviously be Jesus, all the nations of the earth 333 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:11,640 would be blessed. That's all of us. 334 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:15,000 The whole world would be blessed because of what God had done in 335 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:16,160 and through the nation of Israel. 336 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,560 They were the people that God utilized as the prophets. 337 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:23,000 The greatest prophet of that time was known as Moses. 338 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:27,480 In verse 22 it says For Moses truly said to the fathers all 339 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:29,720 those who were in leadership at the time in the nation of 340 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:32,000 Israel. The Lord your God will raise up 341 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:36,040 for you a prophet like me. From your brethren, Him you 342 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:39,760 shall hear, and all things whatever He says to you, and it 343 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,040 shall be that to every soul who will not hear. 344 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:46,160 That prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. 345 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,880 So Moses spoke about the Messiah who was to come. 346 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:53,160 The nation of Israel has gone through tremendous heartache, 347 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,680 burned in ovens, all kind of things going on. 348 00:20:56,960 --> 00:20:59,680 And it isn't over yet. The, the, the army of the north, 349 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:03,920 Russia in the last days will be that country that will descend 350 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:05,720 upon them to try to destroy them. 351 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:09,120 And you used to think, boy, I don't know, it doesn't seem 352 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,720 possible. Russia seems like a very calm 353 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,600 country, right? Sort of picking up some of the 354 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:19,560 ideologies of capitalism and free enterprise and religious 355 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:22,680 freedom and all that, and then all of a sudden this rogue 356 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,760 leader in Russia has become a tyrant, right? 357 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,400 Do you think it's possible that if he does this to Ukraine, he 358 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:32,760 could do this to Israel? The intentions prophetically are 359 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:35,880 directed that way. And in time this will all be 360 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:37,800 unfolded. I don't know if it's going to be 361 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,840 in our lifetime, another 100 years, whatever 1000, but it is 362 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:44,480 prophetically in the Bible regarding what will happen in 363 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,440 that last period of the seven-year tribulation, in the 364 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:53,240 last 3 1/2 years. So Moses is being referenced by 365 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,520 Peter. Peter knows the prophets and 366 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,960 knows the Old Testament Torah in the Scriptures. 367 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:03,000 This is this is how they preach. They preach from the Old 368 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,400 Testament. Now as New Covenant believers, 369 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,560 we preach the gospel primarily from the New Testament. 370 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,360 We can use the Old Testament, but the New Covenant is far 371 00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:14,720 better than the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant we learn 372 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:18,560 historically of how God worked through his nation Israel. 373 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:20,720 Unfortunately, almost to no avail. 374 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,360 The nation of Israel, in spite of having all these blessings 375 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:26,760 and promises, they've still refused to believe for the most 376 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:32,400 part that Jesus is the Messiah. And so Peter's telling them that 377 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,800 Moses told you guys that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. 378 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:39,040 You're to hear from him. Verse 24. 379 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:41,480 Yes. And all the prophets from Samuel 380 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:45,680 and those who follow, as many as have spoken have also foretold 381 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,200 these days that this wasn't Moses, there was others. 382 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:52,360 You are sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made 383 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:55,880 with our fathers saying to Abraham, and in your seed all 384 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:59,560 the families of the earth shall be blessed to you first. 385 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:02,680 God having raised up his servant, Jesus sent him to bless 386 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:07,240 you and turning away every one of you from your iniquities. 387 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:12,080 And so the gospel is the same today as it was in the days of 388 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:15,440 the book of the Acts. It's still empowered by the the 389 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:19,040 work of the Holy Spirit and it convicts people and it causes 390 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:23,000 them to see their need of Jesus. But for some reason right now, 391 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,960 and you can study this later, we went through it extensively when 392 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:27,280 we went through the book of Romans. 393 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:31,840 You can read Romans chapter Doctor 9:10 and 11:00 and it'll 394 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:35,880 sort of encapsulate all this plan that God has for Israel 395 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:39,600 while they're blind and part so that the the gospel would come 396 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:43,400 to us and we would receive it and that eventually Israel and 397 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:46,400 the Jewish people would become jealous of us because we've 398 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,400 become partakers of this covenant that God gave to 399 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,480 Abraham. They've sort of cut themselves 400 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,440 off from the covenant temporarily because of their 401 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:55,120 unbelief. Thank. 402 00:23:57,360 --> 00:23:59,680 You for joining us on this journey through Acts. 403 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,680 On today's edition of Living Waters of Grace, Pastor Clark 404 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,760 shares that one of the most remarkable things about the book 405 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:10,360 of Acts is how it shows the disciples transformation. 406 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:15,240 The followers of Jesus we meet here are very different from the 407 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:19,040 often confused and fearful disciples in the Gospels. 408 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:23,120 After Jesus's death and resurrection, and especially 409 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:27,320 through the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles experienced 410 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:30,800 a profound change in their hearts and boldness. 411 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:34,640 Their faith became unwavering, and they move forward with 412 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:38,800 courage to spread the gospel despite opposition and hardship. 413 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:43,560 Acts reminds us that the same Spirit who empowered them is at 414 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:48,280 work in US today, shaping our hearts and giving us strength to 415 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:52,160 live boldly for Christ. Living Waters of Grace is a 416 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:54,760 ministry of Calvary Chapel Westmoreland. 417 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:58,440 If you're in the Greensburg, PA area, we invite you to join us 418 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:03,080 this Sunday at 10:30 AM at 400 E Pittsburgh St. 419 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:07,720 Unit 6B. Visit calvarychapelonline.com 420 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,520 For more information where you can also join our e-mail list, 421 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:16,240 submit prayer requests, give online and download our mobile 422 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:18,720 app. If you are in the Greensburg 423 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:23,160 area, you can listen to Grace FM on the new 91.7 frequency. 424 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,680 Pray about helping support the new station that will reach 425 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:31,160 thousands more listeners. Send gifts to Grace FMPO Box 426 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:37,560 716, Greensburg, PA 15601. If you can join us in person, 427 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:40,480 you can subscribe to the Calvary Chapel Westmoreland YouTube 428 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:44,160 channel so you'll be alerted when new material becomes 429 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:46,440 available. We're so grateful that you 430 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:49,600 joined us today in Acts. TuneIn again soon for another 431 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:51,920 edition of Living Waters of Grace.