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 --> 00:00:40,880 John says in the 2nd chapter of first John first one he says 6 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:45,800 however, if any man sin, which we all still do, we have an 7 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,840 advocate with the Father, our attorney, our defense attorney 8 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:54,000 is Jesus Christ the righteous 1 and he declares you and me 9 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,480 justified and innocent before the throne of God and the 10 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,560 devil's thrown all those railing accusations and lies. 11 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:06,160 Jesus is there is our advocate against the accuser of the 12 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:08,560 brethren. If you've been accused of a 13 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,880 horrible crime, you need a lawyer, an advocate. 14 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,160 You need someone to help you deal with the accusation. 15 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,800 Without an advocate, you'll be at the mercy of the court and 16 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,400 subject to the power of the prosecutor. 17 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:26,200 As we just heard from Pastor Clark, Jesus is our advocate. 18 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:30,080 His death and resurrection are the payment for our sins. 19 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,320 Without that atonement, you are without hope. 20 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,880 You'll learn today just how much of A blessing this advocacy that 21 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,320 Jesus provides truly is now. Here's Pastor Clark in 22 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:46,640 Revelation chapter 12 with today's edition of Living Waters 23 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,400 of Grace. The cross is a place of the 24 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,480 enemy actually having all his powers spoiled. 25 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:57,520 It says in our Colossians that Christ spoiled and disconnected, 26 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:02,360 so to speak, the satanic dominion of the enemy on the 27 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:04,200 hearts and souls of human beings. 28 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,360 Because once Christ rose again from the dead, he said it's 29 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:08,840 finished. He conquered all these 30 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,960 influences, and so it isn't the same now. 31 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,560 And you need to remember that. I think sometimes people get 32 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:19,280 very paranoid about the devil. Some churches have more focus on 33 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:21,960 the devil than they do the Lord. They're always talking about 34 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,760 rebuking the devil or casting the demons out or doing this and 35 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:27,640 that. And Paul never said that. 36 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:30,200 He said, what do we do? Look unto Jesus, the author and 37 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,440 finisher of our faith, right? For the joy that was set down 38 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:35,880 before him. Despise the cross, yet endured 39 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:38,240 the shame. You know we're more than 40 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:42,360 conquerors right in Christ Jesus so we don't have to worry about 41 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:46,920 the evil 1 The Bible says resist the devil and he will what flee 42 00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:49,360 from you. I don't have to do battle with 43 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:51,280 him. It's it's interesting that the 44 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:57,160 Archangel Michael and and Jude verse nine said whenever a lot 45 00:02:57,160 --> 00:02:59,160 of things were going on, they were disputing about the 46 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,240 whereabouts of Moses body and all the false teachings that 47 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:05,280 Jude talks about. He said he would not bring a 48 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,680 railing accusation against the devil right himself. 49 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,880 And he's in charge of the angelic host in the sense of 50 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:14,920 under the authority of Jesus Christ, Michael the Archangel, 51 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,560 he said, the Lord rebuke you. And I, I'm very fearful when I 52 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:22,760 hear people standing out there and shaking their hand at the 53 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:28,400 devil and thinking that they somehow have the influence to in 54 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,360 their own power, in their own name and by their own faith, 55 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:33,840 make the devil run. And the devil, you know, he'll 56 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,560 laugh, he'll say, like you said in the book of the Acts, you 57 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:38,680 know Peter, I know, Paul, I know. 58 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,800 But who are you? You don't want to mess with that 59 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,840 stuff, right? You want to pray and resist the 60 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:47,800 devil. And the Bible's clear that 61 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:52,080 that's our responsibility and the evil one will flee from us. 62 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:57,720 So we see in verse 5 that this male child who was to rule all 63 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:01,400 nations, as I said earlier, is the one who will rule with a rod 64 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:03,120 of iron during the millennial Kingdom. 65 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:06,360 And this is interesting. And her child was caught up to 66 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:10,480 to God and his throne. So again, the parenthetical time 67 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:14,360 period of of the future and at the same time the past when 68 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,800 Christ ascended and the book of the Acts is sit at the right 69 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,680 hand of the father where he ever lives to make intercession for 70 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:23,160 us before the throne of God night and day. 71 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,760 In verse 6 it talks about the the woman fleeing into the 72 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:30,280 wilderness. You know in Matthew chapter 25. 73 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:34,120 It gives the warning when this time comes to pass, it says, you 74 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:37,320 know, don't be with child. I trust your journey won't be in 75 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:41,840 the winter because this will be the worst time that any kind of 76 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:46,040 event has ever occurred against the nation of Israel to destroy 77 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:49,760 them. And so we see this group spoken 78 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,040 about in verse 6 is the remnant of Israel. 79 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,520 These are the ones that are elect by God's grace that don't 80 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:58,320 even know at this particular point in time. 81 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:01,280 Many of them that they'll be part of the body of the bride of 82 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:03,000 Christ. They don't understand the 83 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:04,880 concept yet. They still don't know who 84 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,160 Messiah is. Many of these people, but God's 85 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:11,080 going to spare many people and also those who come to Christ 86 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:13,360 during that time and and Gentiles as well. 87 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:18,600 And so God will protect this, this remnant of people, and he 88 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:20,320 has a place that's prepared for them. 89 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:26,160 I like this word prepared. She has a place prepared by God. 90 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,200 Jesus says in my Father's house are many mansions. 91 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:31,240 If it were not so, I would have told you. 92 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:35,680 And that I told you, I go to prepare a place for you, that 93 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,480 where I am, you may be also. So every one of us have a place 94 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:43,960 in heaven prepared by the Lord awaiting for us. 95 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:45,640 And that should give you tremendous comfort. 96 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,280 You might not have the mansion you were hoping you'd get in 97 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:52,440 this earth, but in my Father's house are many mansions. 98 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,920 And the Bible says I have not seen nor ear heard, nor entered 99 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:59,480 into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those 100 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:01,560 who love Him. I mean, it's going to blow our 101 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:05,600 minds when we see what God has prepared for us, but we see that 102 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:10,040 He's also preparing a place for His remnant of those He's set 103 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:12,360 aside. And even though they're being 104 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:15,360 persecuted by the Antichrist during this time, you know, 105 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:20,400 during the Holocaust, 6 out of 10 Jews were were martyred. 106 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,720 The Scriptures define this period of time of a great loss 107 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:29,720 of life. And it's pretty much going to be 108 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:33,000 one out of three that survived this terrible time of 109 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,840 tribulation. But God will spare approximately 110 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:40,680 1/3 of this race that will not take the mark of the beast. 111 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:46,000 They will run and flee from the hand of the Antichrist and God 112 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:51,640 will protect them for 1260 days. That's basically 30 day months 113 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,080 which equate from the Jewish perspective of looking at times 114 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:59,480 in the ancient days of 3 1/2 years, which is the last part of 115 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,000 the tribulation. And we see in verse 5 that 116 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,640 Christ has ascended. And as I said, though, the 117 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,400 parenthetical section here between 5:00 and 6:00 six is yet 118 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,600 to occur events. So we see we right now we're in 119 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:14,800 between two of these events. Christ is ascended. 120 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:20,000 We're waiting for his return. He hasn't come back yet. 121 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,880 And so we're in this age, what we call the church age, the 122 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:28,200 period of time where God is bringing new believers into his 123 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,760 Kingdom since the crucifixion and the descending of the Holy 124 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:34,760 Spirit in the book of the Acts, which is the beginning of the 125 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:38,600 church age up until the time of the rapture of the church. 126 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,400 And that is the conclusion of the Church age and and the 127 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:44,600 beginning of the seven-year tribulation. 128 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,400 Of course as I said before, a different people have different 129 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,360 views on end time summer pre Trib. 130 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:52,360 The church is taken out before the Trib. 131 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:54,880 Some are mid Trib in the middle, some are post Trib. 132 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:57,720 Some are all millennial believing that the next major 133 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:01,320 event is the second coming of Christ and no literal rapture. 134 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,120 I'm not concerned about too many of these things personally. 135 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,400 I know that Christ said he's coming back and that's good 136 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:10,280 enough for me. You know how all the details 137 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:12,760 work out. I'm not up here trying to give 138 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:14,680 you any kind of mathematical formulas. 139 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:18,200 You know, times and seasons. Jesus says only the Father 140 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:19,960 knows. But there's enough insight in 141 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:23,320 the Scriptures if we do, I believe, interpret things in 142 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,120 light of, you know, good hermeneutics. 143 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,240 Hermeneutics is a word that when the plain Scriptures make common 144 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:32,960 sense, don't seek any other sense but take every word. 145 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:36,440 It's normal literal meaning unless studied in the light of 146 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:38,880 related passages. It indicates something 147 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:40,960 otherwise. And the danger of jumping around 148 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,559 the Bible like some people do. There you'll go, a little couple 149 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:45,120 of verses here and then I'll go over there. 150 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:47,320 And they never teach things in context. 151 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,640 So the benefit of going through the chapters verse by verse, 152 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:55,200 expositionally is that myself as well as you can be tied into 153 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:57,920 what the intention of the writer was the apostle, right? 154 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:00,560 And not like my thoughts or your thoughts. 155 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:03,640 I mean, my thoughts aren't really of any value or yours. 156 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:05,880 I mean, I can appreciate insights that people might have 157 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:09,200 about things, but I'm interested in what the scriptures teach, 158 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:13,080 right? Not what someone has suspected 159 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:16,520 or conjecture or whatever. So we go into the conflict in 160 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,760 verse 7 and 8 and this is when the war between Michael and the 161 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:23,160 dragon begins to develop. And this is at the midpoint in 162 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,960 the tribulation where God begins to turn judgment against Satan 163 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:30,120 no longer having access to the heaven. 164 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:32,880 So verse 7 it says and a war broke out in heaven. 165 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:36,280 Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and the dragon 166 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,920 and his angels fought, but they did not prevail nor was a place 167 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:42,640 found for them in heaven any longer. 168 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:47,200 And so we see the faithfulness of God and his authority that 169 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:52,960 the devil has its day and his his dominion is, is going to be 170 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:55,600 destroyed. And eventually one day it'll be 171 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,960 completely finished when he's cast into the lake of fire at 172 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:02,560 the end of Book of Revelation forever and ever at the final 173 00:10:02,560 --> 00:10:05,200 judgment. And we see this battle going on 174 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,720 between the godly angels and the evil angels. 175 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,520 And as I said in Ephesians 6, it says we're not wrestling against 176 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,800 flesh and blood sometimes like Cindy and I are, you know, 177 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:19,600 married 39 years. And sometimes we'll have some 178 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,160 arguments, you know, and different perspectives on 179 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:25,040 things. I'm always right. 180 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:29,000 She doesn't realize that. But pray for her. 181 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:32,680 She's usually right. That's the humiliating thing. 182 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:37,360 But sometimes though we're caught up in the energy of the 183 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:42,320 opinion, she cops an attitude and and I'm like trying to get 184 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:44,120 her to open her heart. What's your problem? 185 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:45,440 You know, what did I do this time? 186 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,480 What don't you like? You know, she has a tendency 187 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,360 sometimes to generalize like I think we all do. 188 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:53,960 Well, you always do this right? Always. 189 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,880 I mean, like, come on, give me a break, you know, So I try to get 190 00:10:57,880 --> 00:10:59,920 some good points in there to get some kind of credit. 191 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:01,360 You know, I hate getting a complete F. 192 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:05,240 Can I get AC here or maybe AB plus or something? 193 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:08,840 But anyway, we'll be going at it sometimes about like something. 194 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:11,320 Usually the most stupidest things right there are, there 195 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:13,480 really are. It's always like pride or ego, 196 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:17,120 you know. And so we'll sit there and then 197 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:19,720 I'll say, honey, you know, I said we got to step back from 198 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,800 this for a couple minutes here. We got to realize that we're 199 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:24,600 servants to the Lord as you guys are. 200 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:27,560 We all are. And as we desire to press into 201 00:11:27,560 --> 00:11:30,800 the Lord in our lives and really walk with Him and obey Him and 202 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:36,000 serve him, conflict will begin to be worked up by the evil 1. 203 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:38,680 And I'll think my problem is her. 204 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:42,720 She'll think her problem's me. And you got three enemies, the 205 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:45,840 world, the flesh and the devil. So sometimes it is our own 206 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:47,760 problem. It's because our own sin, our 207 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:51,880 pride or whatever are the forces of this, the fallen nature of 208 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,240 mankind. That just gets you in some kind 209 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:57,880 of ire. But then also the evil 1. 210 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,040 And we have to be sensitive. When does spiritual warfare 211 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:05,640 begin to actually be in place? Instead of us fighting about 212 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,840 stupid things, we need to step back and say we're not wrestling 213 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,160 against flesh and blood. It isn't her, it's my problem or 214 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:13,280 me. That's her problem. 215 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,880 But sometimes as God gives us discernment, we have to know 216 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:20,280 it's an attack by the evil one that cause discouragement in our 217 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:24,080 lives to cause us to get our eyes off of Christ to begin to 218 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:28,280 be hopeless or to begin to be bitter or unbelieving, whatever 219 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:31,400 it might be. And so we then we pray and we 220 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:33,440 open our hearts to the Lord and to each other. 221 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,640 And if I've offended her, I ask for forgiveness or vice versa. 222 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:39,760 And we, we make sure that we're dealing with that so that 223 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:44,640 there's no sin in our lives that can be used as a vice to 224 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:46,920 separate our relationship. And I'll tell you, it's a 225 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:51,120 marvelous one when we pray and we see things that way, The 226 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:53,280 strongholds are broken down immediately. 227 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:56,040 There's a sense of peace. And you just step back and say, 228 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:59,000 wow, you know, and I just encourage you to have your 229 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:00,680 antenna up. Sometimes when you're having a 230 00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:03,640 bad day at work or you're getting a ticket when you're 231 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:06,880 driving or so, you know, all kind of crazy things happen all 232 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:08,800 at one time. Just don't think it's 233 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,000 coincidental or this is just life or you're having bad luck 234 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:13,920 today. Step back and pray and say, 235 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,160 Lord, this is a little bit over the top today. 236 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:19,880 I'm under some kind of spiritual attack and I'm going to get 237 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,560 covered by you. And that's why Paul says in 238 00:13:22,560 --> 00:13:26,440 Ephesians 6 to put on the armor of God, that you may be able to 239 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,840 stand against the Wiles of the devil and you're familiar with 240 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:33,320 all those different types of body armor that we're supposed 241 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:36,800 to put on. But this, this war is going on 242 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:41,280 between these angelic beings and it's going to be a quite an 243 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:43,280 interesting battle when it occurs. 244 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,120 I don't know literally if people on earth at that time are going 245 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,760 to be able to sense what's going on in the heavenlies to any 246 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:53,800 great extent, but it's nonetheless this is going to be 247 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,240 accomplished. And and in verse 9, it says the 248 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:01,320 great dragon was cast out, the serpent of old called the devil 249 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,120 and Satan who deceives the whole world and he was cast to the 250 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:06,880 earth and his angels were cast out with him. 251 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,680 So that's that event that is yet to come. 252 00:14:09,680 --> 00:14:11,880 They won't have that dominion and that ability. 253 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:15,160 Everything will be earthbound. They'll be be no more accusing 254 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:17,440 of the brethren before the throne, because Satan won't have 255 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:21,560 access anymore and everything will be much more tangible and 256 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:25,560 clear as to the devices of the evil. 1 And then I heard a loud 257 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:29,640 voice saying in heaven, verse 10 Now salvation and strength in 258 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,560 the Kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come 259 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:35,880 for the accuser of our brethren, whose accusing before our God 260 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:38,080 day and night has been cast down. 261 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:43,320 Hallelujah, huh? It's no fun being condemned are 262 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:47,920 accused right our own temperament at times we we give 263 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,760 ourselves more trouble sometimes and the devil doesn't have to 264 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:54,480 worry about maybe accusing you because you're accusing yourself 265 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:56,240 all the time. You're you're living in guilt or 266 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:59,080 self condemnation. He's thinking, man, they're like 267 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:03,560 really wrapped up in their own whatever, I'll go find someone 268 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:06,840 that is understanding the grace of God and the victory that 269 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,360 there's no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. 270 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,600 That's who I'm going to try to target to get them to be second 271 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,600 guessing themselves. Or am I really saved or, you 272 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:17,960 know, I feel condemned. You know, I think about 273 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:20,960 something in the past and I can't get by it because you know 274 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:24,520 what the Bible clearly says, there's no condemnation to those 275 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:28,080 who are in Christ Jesus. Right before Christ died on the 276 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:30,240 cross for our sins, we were all condemned, right? 277 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:35,160 We were all guilty. We had no atonement, no blood to 278 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:38,720 cover our sins, no forgiveness. Yet we were looking for that in 279 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:40,640 the future, as the Old Testament Saints did. 280 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:45,040 And so until that finished work of Christ was accomplished, it 281 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:48,040 was a real difficult thing to deal with everyday sin. 282 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,120 That's why the Jews had, on the Day of Atonement, once a year, 283 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:54,200 the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies to put the 284 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:59,040 blood on the altar to make temporal covering of the sins of 285 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:02,840 the nation of Israel. But it wasn't sufficient to get 286 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:04,600 rid of the guilt and the condemnation. 287 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:07,920 It wasn't until the blood of Christ was shed that we were 288 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:11,200 free from our guilt and from our condemnation. 289 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,920 And so because of what Christ has done, I don't have to be 290 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:17,400 condemned now. And you don't either if you're a 291 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,160 believer. I when I stand before God, there 292 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:22,160 is no judgment. That's on me. 293 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:26,160 It was placed on Christ. And that's something that's 294 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:31,960 really awesome to consider because before Christ did that, 295 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,160 you were guilty. You would stand without a 296 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:36,520 Savior. And if you're here today and you 297 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:39,960 don't have a Savior, you are under God's anger. 298 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:42,120 In His wrath. You are condemned to stand 299 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:44,560 before Him in judgment. If you don't receive His Son, 300 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,480 His Son is the only sacrifice for sin. 301 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,600 His Son is the only one that can cover your sin and forgive you 302 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,200 and cleanse you from your unrighteousness. 303 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:59,560 And so the good news is, is that Christ has accomplished this on 304 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:03,360 behalf of all those who will believe in and trust in Him. 305 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:10,400 But the evil that is in this world that is continually being 306 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:14,200 thwarted toward the world, the lost, and also toward the bride 307 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:18,160 of Christ will one day be be finished. 308 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:21,960 And the Bible describes 4 different falls of Satan. 309 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:25,280 We covered one of them several weeks ago when he initially 310 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:27,359 fell. When Jesus said I saw Satan fall 311 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:30,600 from heaven, you know, the disciples were all excited that 312 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:33,080 they could cast demons out and do different miracles. 313 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:37,360 And Jesus said, don't rejoice that you have power over the 314 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:40,080 devil, but rejoice that your name is written in the Lamb's 315 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,000 book of life, right? And then he said I saw Satan 316 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:47,240 fall from heaven. So we know in Ezekiel chapter 28 317 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:51,000 verses 14 through 16, that was when he fought fell initially 318 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:55,080 from his glorified position to the earth to be the serpent in 319 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:59,000 the garden. And then the next fall we see 320 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,800 him having access to heaven, as I said earlier. 321 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:07,640 And Job when he went before the the Lord God and and asked to be 322 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:13,720 able to hassle Job. This is the time of His work on 323 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:19,320 earth and then the 3rd fall from earth to the bondage of the 324 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,320 bottomless pit for the 1000 years in Revelation 20. 325 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:25,720 What a day that will be when He will be cast into that pit and 326 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,560 Christ will roll and reign for 1000 years and then the final 327 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:31,600 fall of Satan will be from that pit to the lake of fire as I 328 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:36,760 said earlier in Revelation 20. Then I heard a loud voice saying 329 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:38,760 in heaven now salvation and strength. 330 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,480 Verse 10 in the Kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ 331 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,960 has come for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before 332 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:47,280 God day and night has been cast down. 333 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,320 I mean, if that doesn't make you want to shout Hallelujah, I 334 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:52,320 don't know. You're, you're pretty, you're 335 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:53,920 pretty dead. You know, I mean that that's 336 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:56,560 just phenomenal. And they overcame him by the 337 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:58,920 blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. 338 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:01,360 And they did not love their lives to death. 339 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:04,520 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. 340 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:07,680 Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil 341 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:10,840 has come down to you having great wrath because he knows 342 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:14,440 that he has a short time. So this joyful declaration in 343 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:21,320 verses 10 through 12 is, is, is being read clearly this morning 344 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:24,840 to make us understand the magnificence and the greatness 345 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,960 of the glory of our great King and Savior Jesus Christ. 346 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:36,760 I love the promise in first John that if we say we have no sin, 347 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:39,520 we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in US. 348 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,360 And it says if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and 349 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:47,280 just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all 350 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,160 unrighteousness. Hold on to that verse guys, when 351 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:52,560 the devil's lying and making you feel guilty. 352 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:57,440 And this hold on to the truth of that verse, that He is faithful 353 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:01,560 and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all 354 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:04,720 unrighteousness. Jesus says as far as the East is 355 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:06,920 from the West. That separate you from your 356 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:09,080 sins. I cast them to the bottom of the 357 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:13,920 sea never to see them again. So we have to continually have 358 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:18,040 that word near to our heart. But I love what John says in the 359 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:20,360 2nd chapter of first John first one. 360 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:24,680 He says, however, if any man sin, which we all still do. 361 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:28,600 We have an advocate with the Father, our attorney, our 362 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:32,920 defense attorney is Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 And he declares 363 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:37,400 you and me justified and innocent before the throne of 364 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:39,080 God. When the devil's thrown all 365 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:43,200 those railing accusations and lies, Jesus is there as our 366 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:46,200 advocate against the accuser of the brethren. 367 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,840 And it says that these people who are alive at this time are 368 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:53,720 overcoming in their life by the blood of the Lamb, in other 369 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,240 words, their faith in what Christ has done. 370 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:00,760 And many of them will stand and have to give a defense of why 371 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:04,120 they're following Christ. And that defense will cost many 372 00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:06,280 of them their lives. Many of them will be martyred. 373 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:10,040 Many of them will be killed during this time. 374 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:15,760 And yet the Lord says about these people, they did not love 375 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:19,440 their life to the end. In other words, their life, the 376 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:23,800 short life that God gives us all, is seen from the 377 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:29,960 perspective of understanding that my life has value because 378 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,120 of what Christ has done for you and for me. 379 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:37,480 And my life is not based upon what's in this body which will 380 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,720 one day end. Our lives are based upon the 381 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:44,800 eternal state that God has given to you and me as believers, the 382 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:49,360 promise of, of everlasting life. And I think about all those in 383 00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:53,120 the concentration camps and, and the times of the Holocaust. 384 00:21:53,120 --> 00:21:57,520 I think of people in Russia in the prior time to Lenin that 385 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:01,280 were dragged out of their homes, the pastors and all the people 386 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:06,080 that were taken to the, to the gulag and destroyed, You know, 387 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,760 the, the, the regime of, of that nation at different times. 388 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:13,200 I wanted to stamp out the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ 389 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,160 and Christianity. And So what they would do, they 390 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:21,000 would kill and martyr anybody that had belief in Jesus of 391 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:23,200 Christ. And many of these people were 392 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,520 put in terrible, terrible prison camps. 393 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:30,480 I got a video recently I just ordered on the horror of the 394 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:34,200 Romanian Christians and what they went through for the stand 395 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,320 in Christ. And as they would stand there 396 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:40,040 and defend their faith and speak about their faith in Jesus 397 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:44,240 Christ, they would be beaten unmercifully and just many of 398 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:48,000 them believed to death. And to this day, we have people 399 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,640 like this in the world that are going through these things. 400 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,880 We forget that at times we don't pray enough for the persecuted 401 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:56,320 church, those who are in foreign lands. 402 00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:59,720 A day that tomorrow will not see the light of this world because 403 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:03,960 their lives will be a given for their faith in Jesus Christ. 404 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:08,640 They'll be martyred. And in the Sudan and Indonesia 405 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:15,200 and Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, the the the horror of what's 406 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:20,720 going on because of Islam regime and influence that we're 407 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:24,280 considered infidels and infidels need to be destroyed. 408 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:29,520 And we need to pray for our brothers and sisters that have 409 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:33,600 are going through these things and, and pray for our country 410 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:36,600 that the Lord will spare us as a nation that will still have 411 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,160 freedom, right of religion, what freedom of speech that we'll be 412 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,160 able to continually give the good news of Jesus Christ out to 413 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,840 a a lost and dying world. And and many people in the US 414 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:50,240 are still without a Savior. So we, we need to, you know, 415 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,880 take advantage of the time that the Lord's given us in these in 416 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:59,240 these last days. This has been Living Waters of 417 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:01,840 Grace with Pastor Clark. We're going through the 418 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:05,280 challenging and also intriguing Book of Revelation. 419 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,520 Whether you're a fan of reading ahead in books of fiction, 420 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,840 there's such a benefit to reading ahead in the Bible to 421 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,680 read about how it all ends. But in an interesting turn of 422 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:20,320 events, the Book of Revelation is not really the end, but 423 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,840 rather the beginning. It's the end of life as we know 424 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:28,320 it here on earth, but there's so much to look forward to for what 425 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:31,680 comes after all the judgement of the earth and those who reject 426 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,640 God. There's a lot to work through, 427 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:38,160 and it can be heartbreaking to read through the intense 428 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:42,040 judgements and wrath that will come on those who hate God with 429 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:45,400 all their might. The thing is, God has given 430 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:47,480 chance upon chance to these people. 431 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:51,120 They don't want it. So the outcome is that there are 432 00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:55,360 judgements and consequences for those who've rejected the good 433 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:59,560 news and the gift of salvation that's offered through Jesus's 434 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:03,640 death and resurrection. Are you one who has heard about 435 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:07,520 these things but doesn't really want it because you want to live 436 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:13,000 life on your terms? Trust me, living for Jesus is so 437 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,560 much better. That doesn't mean it will be 438 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:19,440 easy, but as you listen and read through Revelation with us, 439 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,800 you'll come to a stark realization that you don't want 440 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:25,720 to be on earth when the apocalypse happens. 441 00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:30,480 So check out Calvary Chapel online.com to learn how to come 442 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:34,840 to a saving grace through faith that will allow you to be with 443 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,480 Jesus for eternity. We'd also love to meet you in 444 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:40,920 person at Calvary Chapel Westmoreland. 445 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:44,360 Come join us at 400 E Pittsburgh St. 446 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:52,880 Ste. 6B in Greensburg, PA 15601. This has been living waters of 447 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:53,440 grace.