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 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,400 We learned through church history and what the early 6 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:46,680 church did that we need to remember his death often, not 7 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:49,360 once a month or once a quarter or twice a year. 8 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,600 Jesus said as often as you drink the cup and you eat the spread, 9 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,880 you remember my death till I come again. 10 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,480 So it celebrates him. It thrills him when he looks at 11 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,360 the church as wow, they still remember what I did for them. 12 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,200 There are certain holidays we celebrate yearly to help us 13 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,920 remember important people and important points in our history. 14 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,040 There are days dedicated to individuals such as Martin 15 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,480 Luther King, Junior George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln. 16 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:23,240 There are national holidays like veteran's day and Memorial Day. 17 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:25,600 Don't forget the religious holidays like Christmas and 18 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,320 Easter. In his message today, Pastor 19 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:32,520 Clark urges you to remember often the sacrifice that Jesus 20 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:36,800 made for you on the cross. Now here's Pastor Clark in Acts 21 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,240 chapter 20 with today's edition of Living Waters of Grace. 22 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:42,960 Good to see everybody smiling faces. 23 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:45,080 Here we are in the book of Acts this morning. 24 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,400 If you have your Bibles, turn to Acts chapter 20. 25 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,080 We welcome all those who are here. 26 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:52,400 If you're new and visiting, we welcome you. 27 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,360 We're glad you're here. Also, those who are streaming 28 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,560 and watching on YouTube and Facebook, glad you're here as 29 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:00,920 well. So we look at the chapter 20 30 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:05,720 this morning and it says after the uproar had ceased, Paul 31 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,680 called the disciples to himself and embraced them and departed 32 00:02:09,759 --> 00:02:13,720 to go to Macedonia. I was finished up in Acts 19, 33 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:17,960 and that was when Paul was in Ephesus, and Ephesus was a 34 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,440 really Pagan city, a godless city, and yet there was a 35 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,840 revival going on there, a lot of people coming to know Jesus 36 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,640 because of the ministry and the teaching of the Word of God. 37 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:31,600 Paul spent about three years in this city teaching daily in the 38 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,480 school of Tyranus, about 6 hours a day, six days a week. 39 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,240 So anybody that had the opportunity to be there with 40 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,520 Paul had really gotten grounded in the Word and really impacted 41 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,880 a lot of the Jewish people as well as the Gentiles were coming 42 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,640 faith in Christ And the people that were selling trinkets and 43 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:55,920 various items of idolatry were losing their income because more 44 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:58,240 and more people were becoming believers and they weren't 45 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:01,520 buying this junk anymore. It didn't mean anything anymore. 46 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,200 And so they were upset and they were accusing Paul of anarchy 47 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:07,680 and the government and destroying the economy and all 48 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:11,120 kind of other things. Paul disallowed the process to 49 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:15,120 go on and he took the accusations and there was a 50 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,360 defense and someone unlikely stood up on behalf of Paul 51 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:21,080 saying he hasn't broken any laws. 52 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,000 If you guys have an issue, you need to deal with this in a a 53 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,200 legal way, not a riotous way. And so it it's sort of died of 54 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:32,080 its own energy. And then Paul was leaving the 55 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:35,320 city because it began to become dangerous there for him to 56 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:38,880 actually do ministry. And so after this all happened, 57 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,040 we're in verse 20 now, and this all went down. 58 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:47,000 Paul very much loved the people he ministered to and ministered 59 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,600 with and he called them to himself and, and he embraced 60 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,080 them. And I noticed when we get 61 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:55,560 together, a lot of us are huggers. 62 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,120 Some of us aren't. Some of us give each other fist 63 00:03:58,120 --> 00:03:59,840 bumps. Some of us say, don't touch me. 64 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:01,640 You know, we're all in different levels, right? 65 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,680 But this idea of embrace, usually embrace people you just 66 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,920 are really excited to be with or see or love or appreciate. 67 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,760 And that that happened. And Paul was definitely a guy 68 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:15,840 that loved to embrace people. He loved the people that he 69 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,440 served the Lord with. And so now he's going to go to 70 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:22,480 Macedonia. And Macedonia is a city in, in 71 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,880 Greece, outside of Greece, outside the confines of the 72 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:28,960 central city of Greece. When I was in Thessaloniki, 73 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,480 Macedonia was about an hour and a half away. 74 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:36,000 Northwest or northeast. I believe that's where a Phillip 75 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,800 and Lynn Jackson serve the Lord in Macedonia. 76 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,320 We support them as missionaries. They'll be back here to give us 77 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:44,160 an update sometime in May, I believe. 78 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:48,720 And, and that when he had gone over that region, he encouraged 79 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,200 them with many words. He came to Greece and stayed 80 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:54,640 three months. Paul was an encourager. 81 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,440 So all the churches that he had planted and been around and been 82 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:01,760 involved with, he always was praying for the people and 83 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:03,480 interested in how they were doing. 84 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,000 And so he wanted to go visit these churches and and bring 85 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,120 encouragement. Paul was a minister of 86 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:12,200 encouragement. And that's what we want to be 87 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,120 here for you guys to encourage you. 88 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,560 We all need to be encouraged in the things of God and he 89 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:19,480 encouraged it says with many words. 90 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,360 These these weren't short times when he was with him. 91 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:27,040 He spent some real quality time teaching and and encouraging him 92 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,400 in the in the Scriptures of the Old Testament scriptures and I'm 93 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:32,960 sure some of the letters he had already been in process of 94 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:37,600 writing and also the Gospels of the history. 95 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,680 They had certain fragments of the Bible at this time. 96 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,640 It wasn't completed like ours, but there was enough truth to 97 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,480 give to the people to help them in their walk with the Lord. 98 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,800 And so he's in this region of Greece now, and this is actually 99 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,720 the city of Corinth. It says he stayed here three 100 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:57,200 months. And Corinth is another city that 101 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,960 had a lot of unbelief and paganism and ungodliness in it. 102 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:04,000 There was churches there. Churches have been planted by 103 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,960 Paul, but there was many people that were still lost and 104 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:11,400 confused and even believers who got mixed up and some bad 105 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,400 teaching at time. Paul felt compelled that he 106 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:16,520 needed to be there for about 3 months. 107 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,960 This is actually the city where he wrote the book of Romans. 108 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,640 And Romans will be the next book I'll be teaching on when we get 109 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,520 through the book of the Acts. So you can feel free to read 110 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,480 ahead of an amazing, amazing book, the book of Romans. 111 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,600 And it says when the Jews, this is where the Jews hassled Paul, 112 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:37,520 they plotted against him. He was about to sail to Syria 113 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:42,600 and he decided to return through Macedonia and Sofitor Berea 114 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:48,040 accompanied him to Asia. Also aristocrats and Segundus of 115 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:53,320 the Thessalonians and Gaius and Derby of Derby and Timothy and 116 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:57,920 Ticchias and Trompheus of Asia. These men going ahead waited for 117 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:01,480 us at Troas. So these are men you might have 118 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,880 remembered Pastor Lewis mentioning in his teaching in 119 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:07,200 Second Timothy. These were servants of the Lord 120 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:09,960 in these various churches that Paul had planted. 121 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:13,280 And ministry is always team related. 122 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:16,480 It's not singular. It's not dependent on one 123 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:18,960 person. Ministry is dependent on all of 124 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:22,760 us, men, women, boys and girls that know the Lord Jesus, kids. 125 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:26,440 Everybody's involved in the ministry of the Lord, but Paul 126 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:31,680 understood the importance of working alongside men who were 127 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,840 called by God to be leaders in the local churches. 128 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:38,080 Paul didn't do this stuff himself. 129 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:42,320 It would be impossible to do it himself any more than Lewis Rye. 130 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:44,560 You know, we can't do this without you guys and your 131 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,720 ministries, your help, your prayers, your giving, your 132 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,760 service, whatever it is you do here does your encouragement 133 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:56,880 along with George and, and John as elders and, and Tom and Nick 134 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:01,480 and Brad as, as deacons and, and all the other teachers, men and 135 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:03,840 women in the body. It's just thrilling. 136 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,880 So when Paul is, is making this journey right now, there's two 137 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:11,160 issues going on. He's he's teaching the people 138 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,120 and encouraging them there. You never get done teaching and 139 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:15,800 encouraging. This is something that has to be 140 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,680 done basically daily. I don't know about you, but I 141 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,040 need to be encouraged in the Lord every day of my life. 142 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,120 I really do. And and I believe you do too. 143 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,880 And so this is the the focus. But they were also collecting an 144 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:29,400 offering in these various cities. 145 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,200 They were going because the church in Jerusalem was under a 146 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:35,640 lot of persecution at the time and poverty and they needed 147 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,000 help. So not anywhere they teaching, 148 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,120 but they were trying to find ways that they could help the 149 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,799 this is the brothers and sisters in in Jerusalem. 150 00:08:44,159 --> 00:08:47,880 And so all these guys that are mentioned here are, are leaders 151 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:52,200 in the various regions that they had been positioned in by Paul 152 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,680 when the churches were planted. After Paul planted the churches, 153 00:08:55,680 --> 00:08:59,640 the men who were put in charge then were responsible to ordain 154 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:02,680 and, and and raise up other leaders to help so the church 155 00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:06,400 would keep growing. And so he sent these guys out 156 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:08,400 and he told him they would catch up later. 157 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:12,240 Intro ass. But we sailed away from Philippi 158 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:14,160 after the Days of Unleavened Bread. 159 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:16,800 This was Passover. Paul wanted to get back to 160 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:19,560 Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, but it wasn't going to be 161 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:22,200 possible. And in five days he joined them 162 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,840 at trust where we stayed seven days. 163 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:29,360 So I'm sure it was a wonderful time to be with his fellow Co 164 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,000 laborers in the Lord. When I go to these pastors 165 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:35,600 conferences, I see guys I've known for 27 years. 166 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:39,720 We're all much older now than we were when we first started in 167 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:43,800 the ministry, but it's just neat to see brothers keep on keeping 168 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:46,120 on And you catch up. How's the work going? 169 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:47,880 How's the how's the believers doing? 170 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:51,160 And you share about the churches and what the Lord's doing and 171 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:54,520 how he's encouraging people. And it's just a wonderful 172 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:57,720 opportunity to fellowship. And this is this is what Paul 173 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:00,800 was doing with these folks at this particular time. 174 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:05,160 And then in verse 7, it tells us that he's ministering A Troas. 175 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:09,400 And Troas is a city in the region of of Greece and Turkey 176 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:13,320 on the Aegean Sea. Beautiful place still exists 177 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:15,960 there. And he's he's going to again 178 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:19,040 minister here. And it says now on the first day 179 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:22,240 of the week when the disciples came together to break bread. 180 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:24,040 Now the first day of the week was Sunday. 181 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:26,000 This was considered the Lord's day. 182 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,720 The Jews represented worship on the Sabbath, which is Saturday. 183 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:33,320 The Bible tells us in the Old Testament to remember the 184 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:37,080 Sabbath day and keep it holy. But we're, we're not Jewish 185 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:39,120 people, so we don't focus on Saturday. 186 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:41,880 But really every day you should be worshipping the Lord. 187 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:44,760 I mean, you know, it's a, you pick one day or the other. 188 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:47,520 I mean, I don't know about you, but I need to worship God Monday 189 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:49,760 through Sunday, right? But Sunday is when we've 190 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,920 gathered together and the early church began to move away from 191 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:57,000 the traditions of Judaism and they began to meet on Sunday, 192 00:10:57,000 --> 00:10:59,960 the 1st day of the week. And we're not under the old 193 00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:02,360 cover, nor are we under Jewish law. 194 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,000 But the Jewish people that worship on the Sabbath, praise 195 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,320 God. You know, there's a certain 196 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:11,400 church groups that believe that they need to continually worship 197 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:13,160 on the Sabbath. I'm not going to get in 198 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:15,320 arguments about that. I'm just glad they worship the 199 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:17,760 Lord, right? And they're meeting together, 200 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:20,480 worshiping the Lord. And so anyway, this is what 201 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:22,600 they're doing now. They're getting together, read 202 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:27,120 carefully to break bread. And that is translated from the 203 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:31,360 word Eucharisto, which is the Eucharist, the celebration of 204 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:35,800 the Lord's Supper. They took the supper every time 205 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:37,800 they gathered, and that's why we do it here. 206 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:40,880 We learn through church history and what the early church did 207 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:48,160 that we need to remember his death often, not once a month or 208 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:53,040 once a quarter or twice a year. Jesus said as often as you drink 209 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:58,560 the cup and you eat the spread, you remember my death till I 210 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:00,720 come again. So it celebrates him. 211 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:04,280 It thrills him when he looks at the church as wow, they still 212 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:07,720 remember what I did for them. They're not forgetting. 213 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:09,920 It still means something to them. 214 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:14,240 They know this has changed their life and it continually changes 215 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:17,440 their life. It's powerful to celebrate this 216 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,040 celebration of what the Lord's done through his death, burial 217 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,280 and resurrection. And then it says Paul, ready to 218 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,800 depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message 219 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,160 until midnight. So it reminds me what was going 220 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:31,040 on in Asbury. They didn't just worship for a 221 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:34,040 couple hours. They were going 24/7 down there. 222 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:36,040 It's interesting if you read about that. 223 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:39,160 It was so amazing. Thousands of people traveling 224 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:41,960 around the world to this be there and experience this 225 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,960 encounter with God like this. There was no idea like I got to 226 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:49,480 stop and eat or I got to stop and study. 227 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:53,120 It got to be so intense that the professor in the present college 228 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,480 finally had to shut it down. Not so you can't shut a move of 229 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:59,120 God down, but like they just said, like you guys got to get 230 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,800 back to school, you got to get your degree, you got to go to 231 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:05,600 classes, finals or next week. And so they, the last service 232 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:09,440 was Thursday night. But but whenever the Holy 233 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:11,960 Spirit's moving, you know, usually not looking at the clock 234 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:14,440 or worrying about what time it is or what you got to do later, 235 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:17,840 you're just so enthralled with the presence of God and what it 236 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:20,520 is you're receiving that you lose track of time. 237 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:24,720 And so this is interesting here, Paul's preaching and, and he's 238 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:28,720 going into until midnight and there were many lamps in the 239 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:30,560 upper room. Now, back in those days, the 240 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:33,480 church didn't meet in buildings like this. 241 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,960 They usually met in houses until later on when they were able to 242 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:39,360 get real estate and property and that kind of stuff. 243 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,160 And they congregated in larger groups. 244 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:44,600 But this was in an upper room of a house, and they had these oil 245 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,760 lamps burning. And oil lamps can put off sort 246 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,200 of like a noxious toxic smell and give you a headache if you 247 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:53,240 don't have a window open or something like that. 248 00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:56,080 And so there was a lot of lamps in there to have lights so the 249 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:58,160 people could read and see and that kind of stuff. 250 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:02,640 And, and in a window, said a certain young man named Uticus. 251 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:05,120 Now Uticus, a young man translated, was probably 252 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:10,080 anywhere from 7 to 14 years old who was sinking into a deep 253 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,200 sleep. So everybody was so focused on 254 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:14,480 Paul. I don't know whose parents this 255 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:17,720 young man belong to, but you think I would say get away from 256 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:20,000 that window. That's not safe to be sitting on 257 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,240 that window ledge. But he's sitting there and 258 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:26,320 people aren't paying attention and he's getting sleepy and 259 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:30,400 sleepier and sleepier until the until the point that he's 260 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,120 overcome by the sleep. And some of you sometimes are 261 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:36,760 sleeping in here, but at least you're sitting down, right? 262 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:38,560 And you're not going to fall anywhere. 263 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:42,520 That's a that's a good thing. But this guy, this young man, he 264 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:47,680 was overcome by this sleep and Paul kept speaking and he fell 265 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:51,160 down from the third story that's really high and was taken up 266 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:52,960 dead. So basically he fell and he 267 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,200 died, OK. But Paul went down and fell on 268 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:59,560 him and embrace him said do not trouble yourselves for his life 269 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:02,760 is in him. And now when he had come up, he 270 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:06,360 had broken bread and eaten and taken a long while, even till 271 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,840 Daybreak he departed and they brought the young man in alive 272 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:11,520 and they were not a little comforted. 273 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:15,480 So to remind you of back in Kings and Chronicles, when 274 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:20,680 Elijah and Elijah fell on the, the body of the young child and 275 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,120 different ways they did it and the child came to life. 276 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:26,840 You know, you wonder, you know, Paul knew the Old Testament. 277 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:28,560 Maybe he's thinking, well, I'll try this. 278 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:30,360 You never know what the Lord might do, right? 279 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,240 And I thought about all the times I might have had the 280 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:35,880 opportunity to do that. If I would have, people would 281 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,520 have thought I was crazy. But what if, what if the Lord? 282 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:39,840 I mean, the Lord can do anything. 283 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,720 Can he? Can he raise the dead? 284 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:45,600 I mean, he can. He'd surely raised us from the 285 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,760 dead spiritually. We were all dead in trespasses 286 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:51,400 and sins. The Bible says, and you hath he 287 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,400 quickened and made alive who were dead in Christ. 288 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:58,160 And so, you know, the move of the of the Spirit of God is 289 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:00,040 incredible. And I'm sure people were 290 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:01,200 shocked. They were probably saying, well, 291 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:02,640 he probably just had a concussion. 292 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:04,880 He really didn't die. No, this is this. 293 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:09,080 He was physically dead and and the Lord did a miracle here, but 294 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:12,680 it wasn't a lot of fanfare. Paul did it very humbly and he 295 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,200 went back up and they continued had a meal together. 296 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:18,000 They broke the bread. They had the Lord's Supper and 297 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,520 it says they talked along, wow, even till Daybreak. 298 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:24,480 So this was a real powerful spiritual time that they were 299 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,600 experiencing together. And then he went ahead in verse 300 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:33,400 13 to the ship and sailed the Assos they're intending to take 301 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,600 Paul on board for. So he had given orders intending 302 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:41,000 himself to go on foot. So Paul was apprehensive and he 303 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:42,640 was warned. Don't go on that boat. 304 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,080 There's a lot of Jewish people that don't like you. 305 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:48,080 And they wanted to take him out. They thought maybe he might be 306 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,320 murdered on that ship. And so he said he would walk and 307 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,960 catch them later on. And he, he, he walked down, they 308 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:57,560 went on the boat and he went and met them at Assos. 309 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:01,840 And then they got another boat and he took him on board there 310 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:05,400 and came to Methylene and we sailed from there. 311 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,520 And the next day came opposite chaos. 312 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:12,880 The following day we ride at Samos and stayed at Troglium. 313 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:15,920 The next day we came to Melita. So if you look on your map, 314 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:18,680 these are all regions around Greece and Turkey at the time, 315 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:21,760 actual cities that existed. Some of their names have 316 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:24,800 changed. Now Melitis is about 30 miles 317 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,680 South of Ephesus. And Paul has a desire to meet 318 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:32,680 his elders, the people who are leading the churches in in 319 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:34,640 Ephesus. And these are home churches. 320 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:38,760 So you had multiple elders, and Paul had decided to sail pass 321 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:40,160 Ephesus. He knew that if he would have 322 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:42,600 gone to Ephesus again, he had just been there for three years, 323 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,880 He wouldn't be able to have time to get back to Jerusalem for 324 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:48,520 Pentecost, which is 50 days after Passover. 325 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:52,600 He'd already missed Passover, and now his focus is to get back 326 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:55,920 to Jerusalem so that he would have not have to spend time in 327 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,280 Asia, for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, in 328 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:04,120 the day of Pentecost. These events of history, even 329 00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:10,000 back then of people remembering the significance of Passover and 330 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:14,040 also Pentecost, and it's something not to forget. 331 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:19,400 And so Paul's now going to exhort these elders. 332 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:24,280 Paul had the gift of prophecy and he prayed that we would have 333 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:27,440 the gift of prophecy as as pastors not for telling the 334 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:32,720 future per SE, but the ability to build the church up edify, 335 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:39,280 exhort Exhort is worn people and to comfort people and then the 336 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:40,960 ministry of the teaching of the word. 337 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:45,440 The most important thing is to have the gift of prophecy so 338 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:48,880 that these three things are occurring simultaneously. 339 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:53,080 Unaware to the speaker that the Holy Spirit is using the word to 340 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:57,640 build you up in your faith, to draw you closer to Jesus, to 341 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:00,600 warn you if you're in places in your life that you shouldn't be 342 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:03,840 spiritually and you would repent and get right with God. 343 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:08,080 And then to comfort you if you're struggling and you're 344 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:11,840 burdened and you're overwhelmed and you're really ready to throw 345 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:14,600 the towel. And that somehow the Holy Spirit 346 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:18,320 would remind you that the Lord is with you and you know he, 347 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:20,000 he'll never leave you or forsake you. 348 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:23,800 And so it says from elitist, he sent to Ephesus and called for 349 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:27,240 the elders of the church. So he asked them to travel down 350 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:31,440 and, and when they had come to him, he said to them, and this 351 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,400 is a very, very powerful section of the Bible here because you're 352 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,840 going to hear from Paul's own heart his commitment to the 353 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:42,600 ministry, the gospel, and to the people and to the servants of 354 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:44,720 the Lord. You know, from the first day 355 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:48,760 that I came to Asia and what manner I always lived among you. 356 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:53,240 So Paul was not a perfect man any more than any of us are, but 357 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:56,680 he had the call of God on him and his whole desire was to 358 00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:59,360 serve the Lord. And it says he served the Lord 359 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:03,840 with all humility, with many tears and trials, which happened 360 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:06,160 to me, but applauding of the Jews. 361 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:09,320 So Paul was a man who did ministry, but it wasn't without 362 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:11,160 conflict. There was difficulty. 363 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:14,480 There was arguments, there was attack, there was slander. 364 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:17,120 He went through all kind of things as a servant of God that 365 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:20,320 he just took and just kept kept on keeping on. 366 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:22,840 He didn't quit, He didn't get down on things. 367 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:25,600 He didn't say, well, this is getting too hard and this is 368 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:28,280 miserable because people they don't like me or they're always 369 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,360 plotting against me or whatever. That was just part of the call, 370 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:35,440 part of the ministry. And he hung in there and he was 371 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:37,520 a humble man. He depended on the Lord to 372 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:40,040 sustain him and everything He did. 373 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:44,040 And it says how I kept back nothing that was helpful. 374 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,680 In other words, there wasn't anything that there wasn't 375 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:50,360 anything that he he would say, well, boy, I don't know if I 376 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:54,360 should tell them this when the Lord laid on His heart for them 377 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,800 to hear something He never like parse the word and say, well, 378 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:02,360 this section of Scripture, I'll tell them, but this thing I'm 379 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,280 not going to tell them. No, he was straight up all the 380 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:10,560 time speaking the truth and love and giving them everything that 381 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,800 the Lord had given him. He shared all the riches of 382 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:17,200 Christ that the Lord had given him personally with all those he 383 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,680 ministered to. He said I kept back nothing that 384 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:24,200 was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly 385 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,040 and from house to house testifying to and also the 386 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:32,160 Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus 387 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:34,600 Christ. The message never changed. 388 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:39,240 He consistently went from place to place saying the same thing 389 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:42,560 the same way over and over and over again. 390 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:45,680 And you might say, well, why did he have to just keep talking 391 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,680 about repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus 392 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:51,320 Christ? Well, that's the gospel. 393 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:56,240 Everyone needs to hear the importance of needing to repent 394 00:21:56,560 --> 00:22:00,280 of their sin, and repentance means changing your mind. 395 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:03,440 You're used to going this way, which is a way toward hell. 396 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,520 The highway to hell, the road that leads to destruction, is 397 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:11,920 broad, and many are those on that road heading toward the 398 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:14,240 Cliff where they'll eventually end up in hell. 399 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:17,480 Repentance is I'm not wanting to go there. 400 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:21,880 I got to stop this behavior. I need a Savior. 401 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,520 I need someone to help me not do what I keep doing over and over 402 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:27,600 and over again. I need a new life. 403 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:30,400 I need to change. I need a fresh start and that's 404 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:33,280 repentance. Then you're turning to the road 405 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:36,720 that's narrow. The Bible says it leads to life 406 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,080 and few there are that find that road. 407 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,560 Most people are on the road, the broad road to destruction. 408 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:48,280 There's less people on the narrow Rd. that leads to life, 409 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:52,920 so Paul knew the importance. As any pastor or teacher or 410 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:56,000 Christian should know. We need to let people know they 411 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:57,520 need to repent. Amen. 412 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:05,600 They need to get right with God today, not tomorrow, not next 413 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:08,720 week. Paul also said today is a day of 414 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,400 salvation. If you hear his voice, his 415 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:15,200 Spirit speak in your heart, this is the time when you say, Lord, 416 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,080 you're right, you got me. I know I need you now. 417 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:21,440 I know I'm a Sinner. Lord, forgive me. 418 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:27,120 Come into my life and save me for my sin and get me on this 419 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:33,360 path that leads to life, repentance toward God. 420 00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:38,520 I've offended God of sinned against God and now my faith 421 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,320 needs to be and what Jesus Christ has done for me. 422 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:47,760 For Christ took your sin and my sin upon himself upon the cross, 423 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:52,680 and he took the punishment for my sin and your sin, so that I 424 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,320 don't have to take it, and you don't have to take it. 425 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:00,400 Thanks for joining us on today's edition of Living Waters of 426 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,520 Grace, a ministry of Calvary Chapel, Westmoreland. 427 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,240 Today, Pastor Clark is teaching about the book of Acts. 428 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:10,800 And as we learn more about Acts, it becomes clear that the early 429 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:14,760 church didn't miss a single opportunity to share the gospel. 430 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:18,840 In nearly every chapter, you see apostles like Peter and Paul 431 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:22,640 stepping into conversations, crowds, and crises with 432 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,160 boldness, ready to proclaim the name of Jesus. 433 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,280 Their example challenges us to consider how we might step into 434 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:35,040 gospel moments in our own lives. What doors might God open this 435 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,720 week for you to speak truth, offer hope, or live out your 436 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,000 faith in a way that points others to Him? 437 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:44,560 The story of Acts reminds us we are part of the same mission. 438 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:49,240 Today, let's live with eyes open and hearts ready to respond. 439 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:52,080 We hope you are challenged by today's message. 440 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,680 If you're in the Greensburg, PA area, we'd love to see you in 441 00:24:55,680 --> 00:25:01,400 person this Sunday at 10:30 AM at 400 E Pittsburgh St., Unit 442 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:04,120 6B. For more information, visit 443 00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:08,160 calvarychapelonline.com. You can also join our e-mail 444 00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:11,880 list, give online, or submit a prayer request right from the 445 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,120 site. 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