1 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:08,119 This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:12,240 Wofford, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,400 County of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,720 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,960 Sometimes we read all these poor people, they refuse to repent of 6 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,160 their sin, they won't acknowledge the Creator, they 7 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:47,920 blasphemy of the Creator. And many times I look and I look 8 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,640 at the image of the Church of Jesus Christ today and I say, do 9 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,160 we look any different than those who will have to face that 10 00:00:55,640 --> 00:01:00,960 eternity of hell? Are we the kind of people that 11 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:03,440 are refusing to repent of our sins? 12 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,000 Are we walking around in self righteousness saying I have no 13 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:09,400 sin? Isn't it better to take a look 14 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,600 at ourselves before we point out the fault of others? 15 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,400 Have you ever gone to point out to a friend the spinach in his 16 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:17,920 teeth only to have it pointed out that you had some toilet 17 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:20,120 paper on your shoe or something worse? 18 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:23,520 It's pretty embarrassing, right? It is. 19 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:26,120 Message. Today, Pastor Clark expresses to 20 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:29,360 you the importance of examining your own life. 21 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,720 Of course the world is going to act like, well, the world. 22 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,960 But what is your life like? What do you see when you look 23 00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:41,680 into the mirror of God's Word? Now here's Pastor Clark, 24 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,720 beginning in the book of Exodus chapter 10. 25 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,720 He'll continue into Revelation 16 on this edition of Living 26 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,960 Waters of Grace. It reminds us of what happened 27 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:56,640 in Exodus chapter 1021 and 22. The darkness was so thick, it 28 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:00,560 says that God extended that through the hands of Moses so 29 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,960 that the darkness would be felt. Sometimes you've been in a 30 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,400 situation where you've just felt darkness. 31 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,240 Maybe you felt the darkness of the evil 1, the oppression, the 32 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:12,960 attacks of the evil 1 I have. It is so thick, it is so dark. 33 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:14,840 It is so real. You almost feel you can touch 34 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,320 it. Or maybe you've been out in the 35 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,560 woods some night and the stars are overcast. 36 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,160 You can't see the the moon and and you're trying to find your 37 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:25,560 way in a path and it is so dark that you know you better not go 38 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:26,920 anywhere. You'll really get lost. 39 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:29,480 So you just stay in the place that you are. 40 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:31,840 It was such a thick darkness in Exodus. 41 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,480 It lasted for three days and it says it was so dark that the 42 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:40,280 people had not the ability to see one another, neither anyone 43 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:42,200 rose from the place that they were in. 44 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,760 It also says that they nod their tongues in verse 10 because of 45 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,720 the pain of the sores and the heat from the sun. 46 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,760 And it reminds us of what it says in Matthew 2530. 47 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,120 And he casts the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. 48 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,440 And there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 49 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,720 This is a preview of hell. Hell is a literal place. 50 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:08,320 It is a place designed by God for the devil and his angels. 51 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,600 God never intended that man, his creation, would have to be in 52 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,160 hell. But because of our own hardness, 53 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,920 the own wickedness of our own hearts and our refusal to repent 54 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:22,120 and submit to God, we we'll have to enter into that place. 55 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:26,880 If we don't have Christ, it's not any our Savior, but our 56 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:30,440 Lord. And so he says in verse 11 that 57 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,720 they did not repent of their deed. 58 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:34,520 I'd like to read something to you. 59 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,440 This is something that's just been on my conscience the last 60 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:39,800 couple weeks. It's from a devotional I've been 61 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,560 looking at, and it says my brother and deem it all joy. 62 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,440 Whenever you fall into diverse temptations or trials, knowing 63 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:49,080 that the testing of your faith works out patience. 64 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:52,280 God has a purpose for trials and adversity. 65 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,720 It's to cause us to be humbled and to be broken and to repent 66 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,400 and to turn toward him. With these words from his 67 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,600 general epistle, James, the brother of the Lord, reminds us 68 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,200 that the various afflictions we encounter in our daily lives can 69 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,800 be of great benefit. And we know, as Paul reminds us, 70 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:14,240 that those who love God, all things work together for good in 71 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,440 Romans 828. Now listen to this and see if 72 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,440 this applies to you. I know it does to me. 73 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:25,280 The demands of today's secular, humanistic, ego worshipping 74 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:30,000 society, where personal comfort and pleasure reign supreme, have 75 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,960 often caused many, if not most of us to take our focus off of 76 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,000 striving to live the Gospel of Christ. 77 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:37,640 Does that affect any of you guys? 78 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,600 However, unlike Peter, who, having taken his eyes off of his 79 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:46,840 Lord and having begun to sink into the sea, immediately cried 80 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:51,640 out to Jesus to save him, we seem to be either unaware of or 81 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:56,240 indifferent to the fact that we are focusing upon and sinking 82 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,600 within the toward sea of this temporal life. 83 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:04,320 And thus we become bait for the many demonic passions lurking 84 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:06,680 therein, seeking to devour our souls. 85 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:10,240 This is why God and His limitless love for us will 86 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:14,840 permit us to experience various tribulations so that we will 87 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:20,520 wake up and cry out to him for help, so that we can again fix 88 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:26,280 the eyes of our souls upon Him. I believe we have to wake up in 89 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:29,400 these days. The church is dead everywhere, 90 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,200 the Church of Jesus Christ in these last days. 91 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:34,960 The Bible says there's a great falling away. 92 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:38,520 Men will be lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God. 93 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,440 And we're living in those days and we're fighting against those 94 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,640 days, all of us, for our families, for our marriages, for 95 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,840 our children. And as I said earlier when we 96 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:53,240 prepared for the Supper, the apostle John who wrote the Book 97 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:57,440 of Revelation also says that if we say we have no sin, we 98 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:00,160 deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 99 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:02,840 So we're studying about all these poor people in the Book of 100 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:06,040 Revelation today. Sometimes we read all these poor 101 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,400 people. They refuse to repent of their 102 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:10,360 sin. They won't acknowledge the 103 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:12,840 Creator. They blasphemy the Creator. 104 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,600 And many times I look and I look at the image of the Church of 105 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:20,400 Jesus Christ today and I say, do we look any different than those 106 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,960 who will have to face that eternity of hell? 107 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:29,640 Are we the kind of people that are refusing to repent of our 108 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,240 sins? Are we walking around in self 109 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:36,400 righteousness saying I have no sin, I'm judging other people's 110 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:38,680 sins, but I'm not judging my own sins. 111 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,440 It says if we hate, say that we have not sinned, we make him a 112 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:47,080 liar and His word is not in US. The purpose, one of the roles of 113 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,440 the Holy Spirit, God, the Holy Spirit, is to convict you and me 114 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:54,800 of sin. He does that perfectly well. 115 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,960 He makes it very clear to my conscience and yours whenever 116 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:02,000 we're behaving in an inappropriate way, when we're 117 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,000 thinking things we shouldn't, when we're doing things we know 118 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:08,680 we shouldn't. He makes it very clear about 119 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,880 where we're at in our lives in regard to sin. 120 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:16,720 First, Peter chapter 4 says for the time has come for judgment 121 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:18,160 to begin. Where? 122 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:20,960 At the House of God. Now we're studying about the 123 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:24,480 judgment and revelation, right? Well, revelation hasn't 124 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:28,160 fulfilled yet in the sense of the prophetical vision of John 125 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:31,080 in the days ahead. It's going to come to pass, but 126 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,320 I have to live right now. And so I'm thinking about 127 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:38,080 judgment and revelation, but I first of all have to realize 128 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:43,160 that judgment has to 1st begin with me and with this House of 129 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,000 God. And if it begins with us first, 130 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:49,560 what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of 131 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:50,880 God? And that's what we read about in 132 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:54,000 Revelation. What will be the end of those in 133 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,120 that book who will not obey the gospel of God? 134 00:07:57,640 --> 00:07:59,960 It says there will be 9 of teeth. 135 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:05,640 Now if the righteous 1 is scarcely saved, where will the 136 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:09,240 ungodly in the Sinner appear? Peter asked that question. 137 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:13,400 James tells us that we're to draw near to God and he will 138 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,240 draw near to you. That's repentance. 139 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:21,720 Repentance is turning away from walking away from God in my own 140 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:27,480 path of destruction and selfish and foolishness and delusion and 141 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:31,800 turning to the Lord, drawing near to Him. 142 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:36,559 And if I turn from my sin and repent and draw near to God, God 143 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,320 doesn't run the other way. I'm the one that's running the 144 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:41,120 other way. Am I rebellious sin? 145 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:42,880 Right? I'm the one that's running away 146 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:44,360 from God. And I've been there and you've 147 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:45,680 been there. And we got loved ones that are 148 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:48,600 running from God. But whenever we come to our 149 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,120 senses like the prodigal, and we turn and we know we want to go 150 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:56,760 to the House of the Father, we turn towards God and he runs 151 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:00,720 toward us. He comes to us and embraces US. 152 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:03,720 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. 153 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,480 And as we're drawing near to God, the responsibility that we 154 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,400 have, James says we're to cleanse our hands. 155 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:14,840 He says cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts. 156 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:17,640 You double minded. The double minded person is 157 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:20,800 going this way and going this way and going this way and going 158 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:23,920 this way and going this way and going this way and we don't know 159 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:26,240 which way we're going. We get nowhere. 160 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:28,520 God's calling us. We know our conscience is 161 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:32,120 affected, but the sin in us, we love that sometimes more. 162 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:35,560 And we're going this way and, and, and we're like spiritual 163 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:39,000 schizophrenics where we have no rest, we have no peace because 164 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:44,920 we have this constant tension of holiness in our own desire for 165 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:47,640 what we think we want and what's best for us. 166 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:53,480 James also tells us that we're confess our trespasses, our sins 167 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:57,520 to one another, and to pray for one another that you may be 168 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:01,800 healed. The sin causes siritual 169 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:04,040 sickness. It causes death. 170 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:09,360 You know, sometimes we know what it's like to be obviously 171 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:12,400 physically I'll. We get flu shots to protect 172 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:15,280 ourselves from the flu. We get different inoculations. 173 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:17,920 We take vitamins to protect ourselves from disease and 174 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:20,080 illness. We try to eat properly so we 175 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:22,920 have the proper nutrition so that we stay healthy. 176 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:25,720 Not realizing, though, that that's all in vain if we're 177 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,680 living a life of habitual sin. Because no matter how many 178 00:10:28,680 --> 00:10:31,640 inoculations you get and how many vaccinations you get, how 179 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:35,120 many flu shots you get, how many vitamins you get intake and how 180 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,760 so you try to eat and work out, the wages of sin is death. 181 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:41,200 You're going to die. You can't stop that. 182 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,280 You can't prevent it. You can't help yourself and you 183 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,480 can't help anybody else from the process of physical death. 184 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:52,160 The wages of sin is death. And so he calls the church, he 185 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:56,200 calls Christians together and James that we get together and 186 00:10:56,200 --> 00:11:00,160 we pray for one another and confess our sins to one another 187 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:02,640 that we might get the help that we need. 188 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,160 There's nothing more tragic than a church that listens to a 189 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:08,480 message and goes home and there's no confession, there's 190 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,280 no repentance, there's no praying for one another. 191 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:13,200 It's, it's, it's not even a church. 192 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:16,000 It's an institution, it's a business. 193 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,200 It's just, I don't know what you would call it. 194 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:19,680 It's, it's nothing. It's dead. 195 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:23,640 And if we go out without repentance, if we go out without 196 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:27,320 confession, if we go out without praying for one another, we are 197 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,280 walking out sick and we are walking out dead. 198 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:34,320 James says sin causes spiritual sickness and death. 199 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,000 This past Wednesday we had a wonderful Bible study and I 200 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:40,200 encourage you if you can come on Wednesday's, occasionally come. 201 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,840 It's different than Sunday's we, we gather together and there's 202 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,240 different men that teach the word here that are gifted to 203 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:49,640 teach the word. And at the end, we, we, we this 204 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,200 last Wednesday, everybody came up and we we gathered together 205 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,400 and we asked if anybody was afflicted because Steve was 206 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:59,360 teaching us on the purpose of afflictions from Psalm 119 and 207 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:03,880 Job, we shared with our struggles and different people 208 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:06,600 stood up and crying out to God about what would they were they 209 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:11,440 were struggling with, whether it was fears or broken heartedness 210 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:16,360 or whatever. And, and, and as they asked for 211 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:19,440 help, different people prayed for one another. 212 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,040 And what was wonderful was is the people prayed for one 213 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,520 another. The people were forgiven, the 214 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,960 burdens were lifted and they were healed. 215 00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:32,720 One person told me today I said, how you doing? 216 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:34,600 Because I knew Wendy was a rough night. 217 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,040 She said to me today, I'm doing great. 218 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,640 The Lord works through repentance and through humility 219 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:44,520 and through prayer, and we got to get over our egos and our 220 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,400 pride, acting like we have it all together and we don't need 221 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:49,280 prayer. We all need prayer. 222 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:52,600 And I need prayer more than anybody because I'm the pastor 223 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:56,920 and I, God help me if I don't ask for prayer, if I don't get 224 00:12:56,920 --> 00:12:59,280 prayer, I have nothing to give to you. 225 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:03,680 If I don't humble myself before the Lord and realize my own 226 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:07,360 spiritual sickness and how I need God's grace to continually 227 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:11,640 bring healing to my soul. So the purpose of the supper is 228 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:16,120 a healing move of God's Spirit. We just don't take it as a 229 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:20,080 ritual, the cup and the bread, and OK, we move on to the next 230 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:22,000 thing. If we take an understanding what 231 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:25,480 it is, Jesus said this is my body which is broken for you. 232 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,960 The apostle Paul said this is the blood that was shed for you. 233 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,960 If we take it examining ourselves and not taking in an 234 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:37,560 unworthy manner, then we're not going to be weak spiritually. 235 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,000 We're not going to be sick spiritually. 236 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:42,520 We're going to have the strength of God in US. 237 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:47,760 Repentance transforms us from living in sin to living in 238 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:50,360 purity and holiness. John Morris taught us an immense 239 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:54,520 study this morning the importance of living in a holy 240 00:13:54,520 --> 00:14:00,480 way, being holy as he is holy. Repentance changes us from 241 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:05,120 having a propensity to be unholy, to be pure and to be 242 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:07,640 holy. The Bible says without holiness, 243 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,160 no man shall see the Lord. And so I'm going to say why pray 244 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:12,920 to prayer? I asked Jesus that came into my 245 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:17,320 heart and be my savior. Well, it it doesn't work that 246 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,040 way. If we aren't following Christ, 247 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:23,800 not only his Savior, but his Lord will be terribly 248 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:27,080 disappointed at the judgment when he says to me, depart from 249 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:29,640 you cursed and I never knew you and we'll say, well, why? 250 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:31,880 I prayed a prayer. I asked you to come into my 251 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:34,680 heart and save me. But Jesus said, why do you call 252 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,160 me Lord Lord and do not do the things that I say? 253 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:41,760 He says, if you love me, you will keep my word. 254 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,560 Repentance is unending until we die. 255 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:47,800 Some people think, well, I just repent when I get saved. 256 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,200 Well, that's the beginning of repentance. 257 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:53,480 I mean, once you come to know Christ and he's in your life, 258 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:57,560 you become very aware of your inadequacy spiritually. 259 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:03,200 You become very clearly aware of your weaknesses and you realize 260 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:05,040 your need of God's strength and His help. 261 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:09,280 And so you are sensitive if you've offended someone, if you 262 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:11,640 judge someone, or if you've been critical, if you've been 263 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:14,280 lustful, you've been bitter, you've been angry, you've been 264 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:16,480 greedy. You can't disallow that, that 265 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:20,840 cesspool sin to circulate in your heart without being very, 266 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,440 very disturbed and bothered. And you don't have rest and you 267 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:26,560 don't have peace until you repent and say, Lord, that was 268 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:28,680 wrong. Forgive me and cleanse me. 269 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:31,880 And if you have to, you go make the amends with the people that 270 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:36,320 you've hurt and offended. Each time we see our thoughts 271 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:41,440 and our hearts, they convict us many times of some sin. 272 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,960 And it's not to condemn us that the Lord does that. 273 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:48,720 It's that we might take the medicine to repentance seriously 274 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,120 and be restored to communion and fellowship with God. 275 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:57,560 First, John 19 tells us that we might be cleansed from all 276 00:15:57,560 --> 00:15:59,880 unrighteousness if we confess our sins. 277 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:04,080 James 48 says cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify 278 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:06,880 your hearts. That's the purpose of 279 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:10,760 repentance. I'm so grateful for repentance. 280 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:12,680 I don't know what I would do without repentance. 281 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,440 I remember there was a time in my life I didn't think I needed 282 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:16,400 to repent. I don't know. 283 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:19,600 I was under some bad teaching and I thought, well, I got saved 284 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:22,640 and, and you know, I'm on my way to heaven and this is good as it 285 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:25,000 gets in. And I never thought about my 286 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,960 offenses toward God. And I would live day in and day 287 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:30,560 out, week in and week out, month in and month out, year in and 288 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:35,760 year out in delusion, living in perpetual sin, thinking I was OK 289 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,880 and meanwhile having an unrest in my heart, having a sense of 290 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:43,800 impurity, knowing something was wrong. 291 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,120 But I'm with my brothers and sisters and all of us are in the 292 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,400 same boat, trying to make each other feel good in our sin, 293 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:52,720 trying to make each other feel OK. 294 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,560 That it's a weakness in man's nature to be drawn to 295 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:01,600 pornography. It's a weakness in everyone's 296 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:06,200 heart. Sin is a sickness and it isn't 297 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:10,400 OK for men to be in pornography. And just because two other 298 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:14,319 brothers tell you they struggle with it doesn't mean that that's 299 00:17:14,319 --> 00:17:16,280 OK. Someone there has to be a 300 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,359 brother saying I used to struggle with pornography, but 301 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:21,200 by the grace of God I don't anymore. 302 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:22,760 And this is what the Lord did for me. 303 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,319 This is how he changed my heart and this is how he set me free. 304 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,880 Purity of heart. And we look at Psalm 122 two, it 305 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:33,800 says my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. 306 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:38,400 The Lord is our helper. But we all are affected by this 307 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:41,880 law of sin. It exists within all of us. 308 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:45,280 If you're a Christian here today, you are not sinless. 309 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:48,760 You still battle with sin in your life. 310 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,840 And it's a law, it's a principle, and it affects every 311 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,320 one of us. And apart from the blood of 312 00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:56,680 Jesus Christ, every one of us are doomed. 313 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,160 Amen. If it wasn't for the blood of 314 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,920 Christ, there would be no remission of sins. 315 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,120 And the word of God is what our weapon is against the sin. 316 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:11,480 It's still within our hearts. That's why the psalmist said thy 317 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:16,520 word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee? 318 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,320 We don't memorize scripture to impress people of our great 319 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:24,000 knowledge of the Scripture. If you memorize Scripture for 320 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,520 no, no other reason, I pray This is why you memorize it, so that 321 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:32,440 you are protected from sin. And that's a good enough reason 322 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:36,080 to memorize it. Without the word of God, the 323 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:41,240 enemy will Vanquish and capture you as a spiritual struggler. 324 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:44,480 And some of you today, I'm sure, are being vanquished by the 325 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:46,520 enemy. You're being beat down. 326 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,400 You're struggling in your sin. You don't have the ability to 327 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:52,520 overcome it because you don't. It's been so long since you've 328 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:55,800 drawn near to God. You've been running from God. 329 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:57,960 And it's been so long since you've drawn near to God, you've 330 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:02,320 forgotten that if you draw near to him, he'll draw near to you. 331 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:06,200 And without the word of God, the enemy will mess you up. 332 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:09,520 He'll strip you of the divine weapons that God's given you. 333 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:14,600 He'll drag your life into a horrible pit of sin, of sorrow, 334 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:16,600 of heartache, of bondage and destruction. 335 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,320 And as a pastor, that's what breaks my heart because I see 336 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:22,760 people that come and go here that refuse to repent and they 337 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:25,680 want to have life their own way and they don't realize that. 338 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:28,240 They think they can get away with it, but eventually their 339 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:32,760 life will tragically be destroyed by sorrow and 340 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:33,960 heartache. The heartache that they'll 341 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,480 receive themselves and the heartache that they're going to 342 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:40,840 cause other people because of their bondage to sin and the 343 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:42,720 destruction it has occurred in their life. 344 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:47,520 I think sometimes Cindy and I, we pray for loved ones and 345 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,960 people we care about, brothers and sisters and, and I and I'm 346 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,480 learning to be patient and gone upon God. 347 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:58,360 It might not be today that someone gets busted. 348 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,880 It might not be next week, next month, next year, but they'll 349 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:04,960 come a time when someone's going to call you up and say I need 350 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:08,680 help. I got a bad medical report. 351 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:14,360 My wife left me, my kids on drugs, I lost my job. 352 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:18,600 I'm in the pits of despair and despondency. 353 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:22,600 I don't know which way to turn. There'll come a time of crushing 354 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:27,040 and breaking by the mercy of God that that person will then begin 355 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:30,600 to say I'm waking up. There's got to be more to life. 356 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,160 I want to get my house in order because the consequences of my 357 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:38,760 life to this point, if I die today, I'm not real sure I would 358 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:42,880 be with the Lord because of the way I've lived my life. 359 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:47,160 All the distressing events and consequences that are occurring 360 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:51,280 in this world today, in this human life, are the result of 361 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:54,160 one purpose, one reason, and that's sin. 362 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:57,600 When tragedy happens and adversity happens in people's 363 00:20:57,600 --> 00:20:59,480 lives, what's the first thing they do? 364 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:02,400 They complain. God, why? 365 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:05,480 They blasphemed, just like the people in Revelation. 366 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,880 The sun's too hot, the sores are too painful. 367 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:11,360 Why are you doing this? I hate you. 368 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:13,160 Why don't you just get out of my life? 369 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,440 Why don't you leave me alone? Why don't you leave all of us 370 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:18,360 alone? Not understanding that the God 371 00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:21,920 of creation created us to be in communion, to have a life of 372 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,960 peace and love and grace and joy with the Lord. 373 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:28,880 Yet in the midst of these adversities of life, God will 374 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:33,080 work everything out for good for those who love God and are 375 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:36,160 called according to His purpose. I don't care what adversity you 376 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:39,880 have today, what trial, what tribulation, what you're facing. 377 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:45,240 God promises everything will work for good to those who love 378 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:49,320 Him and are called according to His purpose in Romans 828. 379 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:54,240 I think today as I look at this message and I say to myself, 380 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:58,360 does God find repentance in US today as He looks over this 381 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:01,560 congregation? Does he find repentance here 382 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:05,160 today? Have you said or do you say or 383 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:08,560 even as you're listening to this message, are you saying I have 384 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:11,800 sinned against heaven and against you, Lord? 385 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:16,440 Do you hate the sin that's working to destroy your own 386 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:18,480 life? Are you getting to the point 387 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,160 that you hate sin? Because when you start hating 388 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,720 sin, you'll start to flee sin. When you start to hate sin as 389 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:28,680 God hates it, you'll begin to draw near to Him and draw away 390 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:32,720 from the sin. Are you willing to turn deeper 391 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:36,920 into the ways of God, forsaking the path that you might be on 392 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:38,880 now? There has to come a time in all 393 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:41,640 of our lives that we say enough's enough. 394 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:46,120 I've wasted too many days, too many hours, too much money, too 395 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:48,880 much heartache because I wanted it my way. 396 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:53,640 And now I want to turn to the Lord and forsake the foolish 397 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,680 path I'm on and go deeper in His ways. 398 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:02,240 I've been a pastor now for 14 years, and it's been 14 years 399 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,280 that I've decided by the grace of God, to walk in a path that 400 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:09,040 is deeper. But there was a time of my life 401 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,400 that I was asleep. I was not awake. 402 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,840 I thought I was OK. The nominal Christian life is 403 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,480 hey, show up for church once in a while, put a few bucks on your 404 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,200 offering plate, say a few prayers, and then live your life 405 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:23,360 the way you want. That's not what Christ came to 406 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:26,240 give us. He came to give us a vital, 407 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:30,440 intimate, deep relationship with the living God, so that once you 408 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:33,760 get a taste of that relationship, everything else is 409 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:37,800 secondary, that you begin to lay your head down the pillow at 410 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:41,760 night and you say, Lord, I want life, your life more than my 411 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:44,440 life. I want you, Lord, more than life 412 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:46,880 itself. That's what his desire is for 413 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:50,520 all of us. In the Book of Revelation, 414 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,760 Pastor Clark is taking us through all kinds of events and 415 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:57,720 happenings that are predicted for the future, but for those 416 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,400 who believe and follow Jesus, there's much to look forward to 417 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:05,480 in heaven with Jesus. However, for those who are here 418 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:09,720 on earth during the Tribulation, there's all kinds of chaos that 419 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,720 will unfold. The Bible talks about an 420 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:18,040 Antichrist, a false prophet, and of course that evil enemy Satan. 421 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,880 Do you see how there are such clever attempts for the enemy to 422 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,080 disguise himself as God and even the Trinity? 423 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:29,560 The true Savior of the world is God and how He comes to rescue 424 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:34,880 through his triune nature God the Father, Jesus the Son, and 425 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:39,120 God the Holy Spirit. Just like Satan tried to take 426 00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:43,080 over for God in heaven and was cast out, Satan will try to 427 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:47,040 convince people on earth that he is the triune God to be 428 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:50,280 worshipped instead of the legitimate God in heaven. 429 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:54,440 It's an attempt, and although he will capture plenty in his 430 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:59,400 schemes, he will not win. The true God wins, and 431 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,200 Revelation unpacks how that will all happen in detail. 432 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:07,640 Be encouraged because there's a way out for all of this madness 433 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:11,320 that will ensue on this earth. But you don't want to wait 434 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:14,600 indefinitely to make that decision about Jesus. 435 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:18,880 We don't know when the church will be raptured, and you want 436 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,960 to be ready to be with Jesus. To learn more about this, head 437 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:28,200 over to calvarychapelonline.com. We're so glad you've been with 438 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:30,320 us today. And if you'd like to connect 439 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,640 further with this ministry, find us on Facebook or YouTube. 440 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:38,840 You can also download our mobile app at calvarychapelonline.com. 441 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:44,480 Be sure to join us for weekly services at 400 E Pittsburgh St. 442 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:53,040 Ste. 6B in Greensburg, PA 15601. This has been living waters of 443 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:53,600 grace.