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 --> 00:00:18,720 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:41,040 They were multiplied, they were growing, they were expanding. 6 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:45,160 The crowds were being drawn to the word of God. 7 00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:50,680 And, and, and that's what is encouraging because Jesus says 8 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,560 if I be lifted up, I'll draw all men to myself. 9 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,160 If Christ is being lifted up in your heart and your daily life 10 00:00:57,240 --> 00:00:59,760 and your activities and your job and your home and your 11 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,640 neighborhood community, you will have divine encounters with God. 12 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,040 You will have opportunities to tell people about the Lord. 13 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,000 It's just going to happen supernaturally. 14 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:12,840 When you're fully surrendered to God, you'll get to see him move 15 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,640 through your life more. He'll use you if you're 16 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,000 committed to following where He calls when He calls you. 17 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,680 Today you'll be with Pastor Clark looking at the conversion 18 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:24,840 of Paul. God used a man who once 19 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:28,480 persecuted Christians to be one of the most influential people 20 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:33,200 ever for Christianity. It may be in small ways or ways 21 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,480 you never imagined possible, but God will use you too if you let 22 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:39,600 him. He just wants you to be faithful 23 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,440 to do what he says. Now here's Pastor Clark in the 24 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:46,280 book of Acts Chapter 9 with today's edition of Living Waters 25 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,760 of Grace. Paul is being sent back home out 26 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:52,640 of Jerusalem, or most of the activity is at the time, and 27 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:56,000 he's going to be there for approximately 812 years, 28 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:01,440 studying, preparing, perhaps working with some of the early 29 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:06,320 church plants in Cilicia and Tarsus and Syria, that region. 30 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:10,600 But the Bible doesn't give a lot of details on that time that he 31 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,720 was there. He was there like I say, 8 to 12 32 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:14,960 years. So think about this. 33 00:02:15,640 --> 00:02:18,880 He was in the desert for two to three years in a time of 34 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:23,600 silence, and now he's going to be sent back home and he's 35 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,840 really not going to be able to fully be engaged in what it is 36 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,240 that's on his heart or what he sends God calling them to deuce. 37 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:34,520 He had to learn patience. He had to learn the trust in in 38 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,880 God's plan and not his own. He wasn't striving. 39 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:41,720 He didn't argue with these guys. He submitted and humbled 40 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:44,960 himself. And so he goes down to Tarsus, 41 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,960 it says in verse 31. Then the churches throughout all 42 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:53,480 Judea, Galilee and Samaria had peace and were edified. 43 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,840 So we remember the church at Pentecost started in Jerusalem. 44 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,640 That's all we heard for a period of time in Acts, the city of 45 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:04,200 Jerusalem. And now we see that the church 46 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:09,680 has spread into these other regions in Judea and Galilee and 47 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:11,280 Samaria. Remember the great Pentecost 48 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,280 that says you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes 49 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,400 upon you should be my witnesses in all Jerusalem, which they 50 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:22,360 were at Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. 51 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,360 And this is happening and it says that they had peace and 52 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,200 they were edified, meaning they were built up in their faith. 53 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:33,320 It would be hard to have peace under persecution. 54 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,800 The Lord got a hold of Paul's life and he was a major 55 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:40,480 instigator of the persecution. He was endorsed by the governing 56 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,000 authorities to basically take Christianity down. 57 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:47,360 He was the big influence, the big leader of this, and that is 58 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:49,840 not happening. So the church, even though 59 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,920 persecution was occurring, it wasn't to the degree it would 60 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,000 have been or was whenever Paul was lost. 61 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:00,520 And it says they were walking in the fear of the Lord and in the 62 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,640 comfort of the Holy Spirit. Walking in the fear of the Lord. 63 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:11,040 That's something that I believe we all need to understand more 64 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:14,240 deeply. What does it mean to walk in the 65 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:18,360 fear of the Lord? How do we know when we're 66 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:23,320 becoming more like Jesus? Is it based upon how much we 67 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:28,920 know the Bible, or how many people we witness to, or how 68 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,680 many people we gave a promise book to or a Bible? 69 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:40,960 The Holy Spirit tells us that His attributes are Lovejoy, 70 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,880 peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness and 71 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:47,880 meekness, temperance, self-control. 72 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,360 Whenever the Lord is getting a hold of our lives and we're 73 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:59,960 beginning to fear the Lord, we begin to be repelled from sinful 74 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:05,440 lifestyles, sinful patterns, sinful activities that we may be 75 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:08,600 at one time engaged in to a great degree. 76 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:12,120 Even after being believers for a period of time. 77 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:16,000 As we're growing, we're learning to to be holy as He's holy. 78 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:20,640 It's not an overnight experience where we're being made into the 79 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:25,120 image and and likeness of Christ, but you can be certain 80 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:30,080 that you're walking in the fear of the Lord whenever you notice 81 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:34,720 you're becoming more gentle, less abrasive, when you're 82 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:38,920 becoming more humble, when you're becoming less critical, 83 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:43,240 when you're becoming more loving, when you're becoming 84 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:48,160 more patient, when you have more joy in your life, you can be 85 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,600 encouraged that you are becoming like Christ. 86 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:53,720 And that's really what it's all about, isn't it? 87 00:05:54,960 --> 00:06:03,240 The church is to feed the sheep that we might become more Christ 88 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:07,400 like that when we drive down the road after any given message of 89 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,720 wherever we've been in church, that we're thinking about 90 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:14,520 becoming more like Christ, that that should be our desire. 91 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:20,280 That should be our heartbeat. When we see the unchrist like 92 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:24,080 characteristics in our heart, it should bother us and to disturb 93 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:25,560 us that we don't want to be that way. 94 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:27,280 We want to be a different kind of people. 95 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:32,520 We want to live our lives for the purposes of the Lord. 96 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:38,560 And, and so this fear is not this anxiety or anxiousness of, 97 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,000 of, of God being upset with us or we're being going to 98 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:46,000 discipline us or, or something. That the fear is a loving, 99 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:51,640 tender work of God's Spirit where he's massaging our heart 100 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,160 and renewing our mind and talking to us about things that 101 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,960 he wants us to begin to live and does not know about. 102 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:05,800 And that the fear then causes us to want to change, right. 103 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:11,840 We don't fear God. We don't care about change. 104 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,560 But when we begin to fear God and we're walking with him to a, 105 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:23,560 a deeper degree, we begin to hear him more and understand his 106 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:25,440 ways. We're, we're begin to slowly 107 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:31,320 become more In Sync with the Spirit who lives in us to want 108 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:35,920 to guide us and make us Christ like we, we're not interested in 109 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:40,520 grieving the spirit or quenching the spirit because that's 110 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:42,960 evidence that there's No Fear of God in US, right? 111 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:49,560 And so this is all work of God and how he, he changes us and, 112 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:54,480 and, and transforms us and, and the fear of the Lord, the Bible 113 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:58,360 tells us is the beginning of wisdom and they depart from evil 114 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:02,960 is understanding not only the fear of the Lord, but they were 115 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:07,360 comforted of the Holy Spirit. I think so much anxiety that we 116 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:11,360 experience in our lives, there's so much nervousness or double 117 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,160 mindedness or, or stress or whatever the term might be, 118 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:19,320 depression, despondency, all the things that can affect us many 119 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:23,480 times are a result that if we're not fearing the Lord, the, the 120 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,680 Spirit can't comfort us because we're going our own way, doing 121 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,240 our own thing right, just living the way we think we should live. 122 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,360 And then we have anxiety. If we're not living the way God 123 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:36,679 wants us to live or we're anxious, there's something in 124 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:40,400 our soul that isn't restful. We're, it isn't well with our 125 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:44,640 souls because of this lack of fearing the Lord. 126 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,600 When the Lord looks down upon the planet and he sees his 127 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:53,360 people, the people he can most use and work through are the 128 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:57,080 people that are beginning to understand the healthy aspect of 129 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:02,240 fearing the Lord and begin to become more Christ like. 130 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:04,640 And what many times we don't even see it in ourselves. 131 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:07,640 We don't know it that other people pick up on it or they 132 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,520 say, you know, you're different. The wife says to the husband, 133 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:12,360 you're, you're so much more patient with me. 134 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:15,080 You're you're, you're, you're more gentle, you're less 135 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:18,240 abrasive or arrogant or obnoxious or whatever the 136 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,840 comments might be at times. And, and it should encourage us 137 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:26,040 if our wives say something like that to us, because that means 138 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,120 we're becoming a little bit more like Jesus, right? 139 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:31,760 Because we know what we're like without Christ. 140 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:34,960 We know how we live and how we act without the Spirit of God. 141 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,480 And we should know the difference when the Spirit of 142 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:43,360 God is at work in our heart. And so then we have this comfort 143 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:47,400 of the Holy Spirit, the, the, the peace of God, because what 144 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:49,240 we're, we're living under his lordship. 145 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:54,000 We want to fulfill the, the purpose of our being here on 146 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,080 this planet for whatever long period of time we're here. 147 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,960 It's not for my purposes, It's for his purposes. 148 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:06,720 And it's, and it's really hard to hear what his purposes are if 149 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:12,360 I'm not fearing him, if I'm not sitting at his feet and desiring 150 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:16,400 to listen and to have him have his way in my heart. 151 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:20,400 And it's as a result of what was happening here in this church, 152 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:24,240 these churches at the time, because of this experience of, 153 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:28,320 of the fear of the Lord and also the comfort of the Holy Spirit, 154 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:32,200 they were multiplied, they were growing, they were expanding. 155 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:36,200 The crowds were being drawn to the word of God. 156 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:41,560 And and that's what is encouraging because Jesus says 157 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:44,400 if I be lifted up, I'll draw all men to myself. 158 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:47,920 If Christ is being lifted up in your heart and your daily life 159 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:50,360 and your activities and your job and your home and your 160 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:53,440 neighborhood, your community, you will have divine encounters 161 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:55,720 with God. You will have opportunities to 162 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,440 tell people about the Lord. It's just going to happen 163 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:04,240 supernaturally because God works through vessels of clay like us 164 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:10,440 that are filled with his life. The the purpose of expansion of 165 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:13,560 the Kingdom. We have the Bibles that you guys 166 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:16,800 can grab if you're so inclined, or, or just the promise book. 167 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:19,800 Maybe the people have the Bible already that has never read it. 168 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:24,080 But the promise book is a neat little book and what's beautiful 169 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,440 and all the topics in this little book talk about the 170 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:31,160 struggles of of human life and the issues of life and, and the 171 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:33,360 verses are all there. You know about belief. 172 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:37,640 What does it mean to believe? He that believeth on him is not 173 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,280 condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, 174 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:44,280 because he's not believed in the name of the only begotten Son. 175 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:47,840 John 318. John 336. 176 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:51,920 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he 177 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,360 that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of 178 00:11:55,360 --> 00:12:00,560 God abides on him. Jesus says, I am come a light 179 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:03,920 into the world, that whoever believeth on me should not abide 180 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:08,960 in darkness. John 1246 Verily, verily, I say 181 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,480 unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life, just 182 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,920 the promises of God. And so someone who who doesn't 183 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:18,280 know the Lord, or maybe knows the Lord but never got into the 184 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:21,760 Word, has a chance to go through this, and all of a sudden, you 185 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:27,120 know, begin to see that the Lord is speaking to them through the 186 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:29,960 Word of God. Thou hast put gladness in my 187 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:33,120 heart more than in the time of their corn and their wine 188 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:34,280 increased. Psalm 4. 189 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:36,560 Seven. They that sow in tears shall 190 00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:39,160 reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepest, 191 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:42,120 bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with 192 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:44,560 rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. 193 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:51,040 Psalm 1/26, 5:00 and 6:00. So we want to expand the word of 194 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:55,880 God in our community and we can do it one-on-one through these 195 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,400 kind of tools that the Lord's given us. 196 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:05,240 Now we Segway into Peter. Peter shows up on the scene when 197 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:09,040 Paul went up to Jerusalem. It tells us in Galatians that he 198 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:11,680 spent 15 days with Peter at his house. 199 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:13,400 And boy, that must have been cool. 200 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:15,760 Can you imagine? Like hearing Peter and Paul talk 201 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,120 have been fascinating. And, and, and Paul's like, I 202 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:21,040 knew something about you. Weren't you the one that walked 203 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:23,480 on water and you got afraid and then you started going down? 204 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:27,560 Yeah, That was me. Weren't you the one that said 205 00:13:27,560 --> 00:13:32,080 that, you know, you didn't know Jesus after you were following? 206 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:35,080 What was that all about, You know, Well, you wimp. 207 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:37,000 Paul's all full of the Spirit now. 208 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,160 You're not thinking about, like, denying Christ. 209 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:41,640 But he probably had some interesting conversations with 210 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:43,560 Peter. And Peter and Paul were the 211 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:47,040 foundational guys, along with a few others that the Lord really 212 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:50,920 used in the early days. But Peter now is interesting. 213 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,520 He's going up to Joppa, up to Light. 214 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:57,080 I mean, Light is about 25 miles north of Jerusalem. 215 00:13:57,400 --> 00:13:58,920 So he's getting out of Jerusalem. 216 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:02,080 The Holy Spirit's moving these guys around now. 217 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:03,960 They're just not hanging in Jerusalem anymore. 218 00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:07,880 And so he comes to pass. Peter goes went through all 219 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,280 parts of the country that he also came down to the Saints who 220 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:13,720 dwelt at Lyda. Now on the map, you look at Lyda 221 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,400 as Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. 222 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,880 I remember when we flew in there, this would have been the 223 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:22,520 region that the Peter was was working at. 224 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:25,840 And so he came down to the Saints who dwelt at Lyda. 225 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:29,080 So there's believers there. So he's going to, I'm sure, do 226 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:31,240 some teaching, equipping, encouraging. 227 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:35,680 There he found a certain man named Ananias who had been 228 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:41,040 bedridden 8 years and was paralyzed and Peter said to him, 229 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:46,080 Ananias, Jesus of Christ heals you, arise and make your bed. 230 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:49,360 Now this is astounding. Peter didn't do any like laying 231 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:53,320 of hands on this situation here. He just had a word from the Holy 232 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:58,200 Spirit that Christ was going to heal this person supernaturally. 233 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:01,760 He had really nothing to do with it other than being there and 234 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,640 telling this man what the Lord was going to do for him. 235 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,640 This man was paralyzed for all these years and wasn't able to 236 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:10,600 move. I can't comprehend what that 237 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:14,440 might have been like. And Peter said to him, Jesus the 238 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:17,680 Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed. 239 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:22,840 Then he arose immediately. So all who dwelt at Lina and 240 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,120 Sharon saw him and turn to the Lord. 241 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,440 They immediately became believers because of the 242 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:34,480 experience of seeing the Lord supernaturally touch this person 243 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:39,160 who was not ever able to move before this miracle that 244 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:43,200 occurred. And then he goes down to Joppa. 245 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:46,160 Joppa's about 10 miles from Lyda. 246 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,400 That was one of the first places we saw when we were on the 247 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:54,200 pastor tour in, in Israel. And, and Joppa was the home of, 248 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,280 you know, Simon the Tanner and Joppa. 249 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:01,560 There was a certain disciple named Tabatha, which is 250 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,000 translated Dorcas, which means gazelle. 251 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,360 That's the Greek translation. This woman was full of good 252 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:10,800 works and charitable deeds which she did. 253 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,200 So the thought was that Philip, whenever he was taking the 254 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:18,600 gospel after the Ethiopian Union got saved, he was in this 255 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,400 general region and he was responsible as one of the people 256 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,440 who were set aside to take care of the orphans and the widows. 257 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:29,000 And so he had relationships with perhaps some of these people 258 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:33,680 here and and and believers. And so she had this life of this 259 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,840 being a blessing to people. But it happened in those days 260 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:41,120 that she became sick and she died, and when they had washed 261 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:43,120 her, they laid her in the upper room. 262 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,160 So she must have been a woman of some degree of wealth, because 263 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:48,840 usually when you died in those days, they put you right away. 264 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:51,720 The body would be decomposing and this kind of stuff. 265 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,760 But she was in this upper room, which would signify there was 266 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,360 some degree of financial, well, wherewithal. 267 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:02,520 And they washed her. And maybe they knew that Peter 268 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:05,400 was in the area. Maybe the word got done about 269 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,440 Ananias that was healed, that maybe he's going to come down 270 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:09,520 here. Who knows? 271 00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:11,440 You can't read too much between the lines. 272 00:17:11,839 --> 00:17:13,599 But they laid her in this upper room. 273 00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:17,200 And since Lada was near Joppa and the disciples had heard that 274 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:21,000 Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him, not 275 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,640 the delay and coming to them. So they wanted Peter to get down 276 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:25,640 there ASAP. It's about a day's journey, 277 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,440 about 10 miles. Then Peter arose and went with 278 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:30,080 them. And when he had come, they 279 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:33,800 brought him to the upper room and all the widows stood by him 280 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:35,600 weeping. So that the group of widows, 281 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:41,240 this, this woman was a real testimony of, of someone who did 282 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,280 many, many blessed works to help other people. 283 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,680 She's a real servant. So Peter's up there and on all 284 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:51,240 these widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics in 285 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:54,040 the garments which Dorcas had made while she was with him. 286 00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:57,960 So she was very gifted in, in sewing and and making things. 287 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:02,960 We know that Jesus was the one who trained Peter. 288 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,760 Peter was an understudy and he would be invited into these 289 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,680 places to see the Lord do miracles. 290 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:17,440 He was there in the room when Jesus healed the little girl, 291 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:21,480 Jairus's daughter and the things that Jesus said he he cleared 292 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:23,360 the room out. They had professional mourners 293 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:26,360 there people be paid the mourn, the screaming, yelling, the 294 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:28,400 crying. In this instance these are 295 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:32,240 genuine mourners that knew Dorcas and they were all broken 296 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:35,240 hearted as to what happened. So the first thing Jesus did 297 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:39,520 when he was with Jairus's daughter was he cleared the room 298 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:44,080 out of of all the confusion. And this is what Peter is doing 299 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:47,240 now. Peter puts them out and he 300 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,760 kneels down and he prays and turning to the body, he says, 301 00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:56,160 Tabatha arise. Jesus said to Jairus's daughter 302 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:01,600 Talithia arise, Tabatha Kume means to to rise and she opened 303 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:03,360 her eyes. Now this is a day after she 304 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:04,960 died. Her body would have been 305 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:07,880 starting to decompose. And we know Lazarus had talked 306 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,120 about the smell of the of the body. 307 00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:12,880 If he came out of the tomb, what was it going to be like after 308 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:17,320 being dead for a period of time? Already her organs are shutting 309 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:18,880 down and all these kind of things. 310 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:20,800 But that doesn't mean anything to the Lord. 311 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:23,480 When he's going to do a miracle. He does a miracle. 312 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,760 And it it completely defies anything that we would 313 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:28,760 understand scientifically or medically. 314 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:30,120 That's why it's called a miracle. 315 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:35,080 And she opens her eyes. And when she saw Peter, she sat 316 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:38,680 up, she wasn't groggy. I mean, she dislike immediately 317 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:41,840 resuscitated. Basically she was dead, but she 318 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:44,280 was brought back to life. This is not resurrection. 319 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,440 When you're resurrected, you know, you never die again. 320 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:51,080 Jesus said I am the resurrection of the life he that believeth in 321 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:52,720 me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. 322 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:54,760 And he that believeth to me shall never die. 323 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,360 So when when you're resurrected, you don't have to worry about 324 00:19:57,640 --> 00:19:59,360 dying again. You know, you're out of here, 325 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:02,440 man, it's it's over. But anyway, you know, she was 326 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,280 healed here. And of course, eventually she 327 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:06,680 would die. You know, just like anybody else 328 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,040 that had the experience of being raised from the dead. 329 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,600 And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. 330 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,600 And when he had called the Saints and widows, he presented 331 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,520 her alive. And it became known throughout 332 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:22,160 all Joppa and many believed on the Lord. 333 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:26,280 So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon a 334 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,720 Tanner. So we're not going to go into 335 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:30,120 chapter 10, but think about this. 336 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:36,040 Peter is a Jewish Christian, deeped in the history of 337 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:42,040 Judaism, understands the issues of kosher and uncleanness, and a 338 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:45,800 lot of this stuff is just religious stuff, had nothing to 339 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,200 do with real spirituality. But nonetheless, it took a while 340 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:53,600 to not be uptight about tradition and Jewish customs. 341 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:59,320 So for the fact that Peter is staying with a Tanner who would 342 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,600 be represented as someone who's in a industry that's very 343 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:06,080 unclean, and they said that you have to be so many miles outside 344 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:09,440 the city and you can't be around like uncleanness. 345 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:10,960 Well, he lived there with this guy. 346 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:14,880 So Simon would have been, I'm sure, a deep follower of Christ. 347 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:17,040 He opened his house up to hospitality. 348 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:19,960 He let Peter hang out there as a base of operation. 349 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,120 Maybe Peter was learning the trade. 350 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:24,240 He was a fisherman. Maybe he needed to make some 351 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:26,480 money too, to help for his livelihood. 352 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:30,720 So he's working with Simon the Tanner in Joppa. 353 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,920 I actually saw that place right on the coast of the 354 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,560 Mediterranean, quite a a view and very interesting thinking 355 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:40,800 about what who was in that that particular place that I got a 356 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,320 chance to stand in and think about South. 357 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:45,600 Exciting things in the book of the act. 358 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:49,760 The most exciting things I think that take away is that it's all 359 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:53,160 about the works of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy 360 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:56,600 Spirit is still occurring today in your life and mine. 361 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,520 And my prayer is that as we study more of the book of the 362 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:03,320 Acts, our faith is growing. It's being more dependent on the 363 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:06,640 Spirit of God and less dependent on our own abilities. 364 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,480 And we're trusting God for great things and with the gospel and 365 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:13,800 in our families, in our lives, in our ministries, and in the 366 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:17,360 communities that we're all from, and with the people we get to 367 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:21,960 minister to and get to serve, the Bible promises us we will 368 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,560 receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. 369 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:28,120 Amen. And may the Spirit of God be 370 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:32,880 poured afresh upon us today. God the Holy Spirit, Father God, 371 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:34,600 we thank you today for your word. 372 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:36,840 We thank you for the history that we can learn. 373 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:40,440 It builds our faith. It helps us to understand that 374 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:42,960 the Christian life is is not an easy life. 375 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,800 Many, many times we see what Paul went through in the 376 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:50,000 challenges in the beginning stages of his ministry. 377 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:53,200 And Lord, we'll continually read about the persecution against 378 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:54,400 the church in the book of the Acts. 379 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:58,320 But it it didn't stop your work. It didn't prevent your power 380 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:01,520 from being manifest and from you accomplishing your will. 381 00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:05,320 Remind us, Lord, in the days that we live, regardless of what 382 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:09,440 we hear on media, what we see on TV, what we read. 383 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:13,760 Lord, it has nothing to do with circumventing your power. 384 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:15,440 Because, Lord, you have all power. 385 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:18,240 And Lord, help us to trust in that. 386 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:23,000 Help our minds to be fueled with the possibilities of the work of 387 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:27,240 the Holy Spirit in situations that seem impossible. 388 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:31,160 Help us, Lord, to have the mind of Christ where you tell us in 389 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:34,240 Your Word that You have given us the mind of Christ, that we 390 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:38,200 might see this cosmos, this system, that we live in this 391 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:41,360 world, this universe as one that is controlled by you. 392 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:45,040 Father, we pray your blessing upon us and pray your blessing 393 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,160 upon your sheep here today. And that, Lord, we would all go 394 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:52,160 out looking for opportunities this week, somehow, somewhere, 395 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:55,360 to someone to share You Lord with. 396 00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:00,240 We're so glad you joined us today on this edition of Living 397 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,240 Waters of Grace. Pastor Clark is teaching through 398 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:06,560 the Book of Acts, which is the only book that chronicles the 399 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:10,400 history of the early church immediately after Jesus's 400 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:13,560 ascension. It gives us a front row seat to 401 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:16,800 how the Gospel began to move outwards, starting in Jerusalem 402 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:20,920 and reaching into the heart of the Roman Empire in just three 403 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,240 decades. A small group of frightened 404 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,600 ordinary believers became a bold, spirit empowered movement 405 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:29,760 that transformed the known world. 406 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,600 Acts is not just a history lesson. 407 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:35,880 It's a reminder of what God can do when His people are 408 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:39,680 surrendered, obedient and filled with the Holy Spirit. 409 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:43,440 Their perseverance still inspires us today. 410 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:47,920 May we follow their example and live faithfully for Christ in 411 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,280 our own time. We hope today's message 412 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:53,000 encouraged you. Living Waters of Grace is a 413 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,840 ministry of Calvary Chapel, Westmoreland. 414 00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:00,240 If you're in the Greensburg, PA area, we'd love to have you join 415 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,920 us in person. Our Sunday service begins at 416 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:08,400 10:30 AM at 400 E Pittsburgh St. Unit 6B. 417 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:12,040 Be sure to visit calvarychapelonline.com to 418 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,400 confirm times and learn more. If you are in the Greensburg 419 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:20,280 area, you can listen to Grace FM on the new 91.7 frequency. 420 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,320 Please pray about supporting this outreach. 421 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:31,240 Gifts can be sent to Grace FMPO Box 716, Greensburg, PA 15601. 422 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:35,840 Stay connected through Facebook, YouTube, or our Calvary Chapel 423 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,360 Westmoreland app. Join our e-mail list, submit 424 00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:45,600 prayer requests, and give online all at calvarychapelonline.com. 425 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:48,360 Thank you for tuning in and spending this time in God's 426 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:50,360 Word. Be sure to join us again for 427 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:52,000 Living Waters of Grace.