Latest / Living Waters of Grace / Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland Sunday Services / Living Waters of Grace 09.22.25
Transcript
- 0:03This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark
- 0:08Wofford, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland,
- 0:12County of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he
- 0:16continues teaching through God's Word.
- 0:37They had a unity. There was no division and
- 0:39complaining, I don't want to do it this way, We're going to do
- 0:43it this way. No, this is my ministry.
- 0:45This is my vision. This, there was none of that
- 0:47stuff. There was one vision and it was
- 0:49Christ in his glory. And anything that we had an
- 0:53opportunity to do back then as well as now is a privilege.
- 0:57It's not a right, it's a privilege to serve the Lord.
- 1:00And we, we serve him together. We don't serve him independently
- 1:04of one another. We endeavour to try to do things
- 1:06as a team. Unity in Christ is like a choir
- 1:10singing one perfect song, each voice blending for His glory.
- 1:16In today's message, Pastor Clark conveys how the early believers
- 1:19shared a single vision, free from complaints or personal
- 1:23agendas. You see no one claiming this is
- 1:26my ministry, my way. Their focus was Christ alone,
- 1:31shining in His glory. Serving him is a privilege, not
- 1:35a right. And you're called to do it
- 1:37together, not solo teamwork. And faith reflects his heart.
- 1:42Are you serving Christ in unity with others and embracing it
- 1:47now? Here's Pastor Clark in the book
- 1:49of Acts Chapter 2 with today's edition of Living Waters of
- 1:53Grace. Jesus said by this people will
- 1:55know you're my disciples by the love you have for one another.
- 2:00Nope, your criticism or judgmentalism or holier and thou
- 2:04thank God we're not going down those paths here.
- 2:07None of us are better than each other.
- 2:12Well, the purpose of the church, the fellowship is that right?
- 2:17Helping one another. And sometimes you might not want
- 2:19to be helped because you think you can do it yourself.
- 2:21Well, you, you need help. That's what it is.
- 2:25It's a blessing to serve people. It's not an inconvenience, is
- 2:28it? That's what we do as Christians.
- 2:30We care for one another. We love one another.
- 2:32We want to help each other. We want to be there for one
- 2:34another. That's the fellowship.
- 2:37You know, being together. Some of you make a practice of
- 2:40getting together with different people, whether it's dinner, you
- 2:43have them in your home, you have a coffee or you go to a Bible
- 2:47study or you know, doing life together, fellowshipping.
- 2:50That's what they did in the early church.
- 2:52They were in the word and they fellowship like we do.
- 2:56And then it says in the breaking of bread and that is the Lord's
- 3:00Supper. Some people say, well, why do
- 3:02you guys have the Lord's Supper every week?
- 3:04I'm used to only having it once every six months.
- 3:07Well, the early church had it every time they gathered.
- 3:10So I'm not going to, like, try to reinvent anything, are you?
- 3:13Let's just do what they did. We won't go wrong if we follow
- 3:17what the ingredients are in the beginning stages of the New
- 3:20Testament church. The farther we get away from the
- 3:23principles of the New Testament church, the weaker the church
- 3:26becomes. And so they broke bread together
- 3:30and they had this remembrance of what the Lord has done for them
- 3:35and the death of Christ and his burial in his resurrection.
- 3:39And then it says in prayers and in prayers, as the church was
- 3:43Jewish, they had certain times of the day of of prayer.
- 3:48And so they followed their tradition of the times of prayer
- 3:52during the day. And so there were certain
- 3:55prayers that they remembered from their upbringing as Jewish
- 3:59people. In regard to worshipping the
- 4:02Lord God Jehovah, prayer is the foundation of the power of God
- 4:09in the church. Without prayer, there is no
- 4:11power. Pastor Lewis, every Sunday he
- 4:14comes, he says, has anybody prayed for you yet?
- 4:17I said no. He says, I feel bad for you, let
- 4:19me pray for you. No, you guys are all praying for
- 4:22me. Before you come, you pray for
- 4:23me. While I'm preaching, you pray
- 4:25for, you know, we're so grateful for your prayers.
- 4:27But you know, Ted prays for me in the hallway every Sunday.
- 4:31He meets here early to pray and hold up the church and you guys
- 4:35and me and everything that happens in the ministry.
- 4:38Lewis, Pastor Lewis lays hands on me and prays for me.
- 4:42Without prayer, I can't do anything.
- 4:45And without prayer in the church, God is quenched.
- 4:49His Spirit is quenched. I can't emphasize it enough.
- 4:53All all week long, we get text 2020 of us on the prayer line.
- 4:57This person needs prayer. This happened, this crisis, this
- 5:00praise, this answer. It's just wonderful to see this
- 5:04church being a place of prayer and the people let us know how
- 5:07they're doing because of the prayer.
- 5:09The prayers that have been answered, the miracles that have
- 5:12occurred, the healings that the Lord has done, the people who
- 5:16have gotten saved, the people who have turned away from wicked
- 5:19ways because of prayer. I mean this answers and answers
- 5:23and answers prayer and then it says in verse 43, then fear came
- 5:28upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done through the
- 5:33apostles. The apostles had special power
- 5:36from God. I'm not an apostle, I'm a pastor
- 5:40teacher. I believe God does miracles and
- 5:44I've seen him do miracles and I've received miracles, but I am
- 5:48not the agent of miracles for you.
- 5:50So only Christ can do a miracle, but he chooses to do miracles
- 5:55through each of us. That's not a pastor or a teacher
- 5:59through the body of Christ. You praying for someone?
- 6:01Some of the pastor. Can you pray for me?
- 6:03Yeah, But you can get anybody in this church to pray for you.
- 6:06Their prayers are just as effectual as mine.
- 6:08So we don't have apostles today. Some people claim to be
- 6:12apostles, but they're not false Apostles everywhere trying to
- 6:17RIP people off of their resources.
- 6:20But these men in the early church, these 11 plus Matthias,
- 6:25who they had voted on, were involved in this foundation of
- 6:30the church. And the church is built upon
- 6:34Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone, right?
- 6:38He's the one that holds it all together.
- 6:40And upon that cornerstone, that foundation is the apostles and
- 6:45prophets. And it says there's no other
- 6:47foundation that can be laid then this foundation, which is the
- 6:52Church of Jesus Christ Christ, the chief cornerstone and the
- 6:56foundation of the apostles and prophets.
- 6:58So as corporately as believers in New Testament churches, we're
- 7:03not reinventing the wheel. We're not changing the the, the
- 7:06system. We're not saying, well, we need
- 7:08a different cornerstone, let's get Allah in there or let's get
- 7:12Buddha or Muhammad or whatever. No, Jesus is the only one that
- 7:16can make this work. It's his.
- 7:18And we're not looking for new apostles and new prophets to, to
- 7:22tell us how to do this. No, we're depending on the
- 7:25apostles that are written in the Bible and the prophets that are
- 7:28written in the Bible, period. Anybody that thinks they have
- 7:31new revelation or new information.
- 7:33I completely say that there's a door head on on.
- 7:37We don't need anything else but what we have here right Sola
- 7:40script or so the the Holy Spirit was moving in the church.
- 7:44Miracles are happening because of what's being done in the
- 7:48church is brand new. The Lord, if you may advertise
- 7:52his power through these signs and wonders, where people were
- 7:56all the sudden overwhelmed and in fear of this holy God that
- 8:00showed up in these meetings and did wondrous things.
- 8:04And then it says in verse 44. Now all who believe were
- 8:09together and had all things in common and sold their
- 8:13possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone
- 8:17had need. Now this was not something that
- 8:20was being advocated by the Lord per SE, that every generation
- 8:26does this until Christ comes again.
- 8:29But they were in Jerusalem at the time, unemployed, the
- 8:32majority of them, and they needed help from one another to
- 8:36get by. So the way they got the eye is
- 8:39that they pulled their resources together and they helped each
- 8:42other and they shared, and they had all things in common.
- 8:45This didn't continue very long after this because the church
- 8:48was spread out through the persecution and they went all
- 8:52over the place. But they had such a heart in the
- 8:55early stages of the church that whatever was mine was yours and
- 8:59whatever was yours was mine. And we would figure it out so
- 9:02that there was no one that was without and everyone had food
- 9:05and everyone had shelter and everyone was being taken care of
- 9:09and they distributed it out as anyone had need.
- 9:12Now, the way it works, people give offerings in the church and
- 9:15the offerings are budgeted by the man who handles the finances
- 9:19in the church. And there's finances that are
- 9:22set up for the radio station. There's finances that are set up
- 9:25for paying the salaries of the church.
- 9:27There's finances that are set up for paying the utilities and the
- 9:31rent. There's finances that are set up
- 9:33for the benevolent need of people who are in the church,
- 9:36who are in crisis, that need help for a period of time.
- 9:39So we do the same thing, but it's done independently of us
- 9:43doing it all together. We're throwing all our stuff in
- 9:45one pot. We give what we're able to give
- 9:48to the work of the ministry, and we put it in the offering
- 9:50bucket. Should we mail it in or however
- 9:52we do it online. This is how the church works now
- 9:56in regard to sharing the needs financially that may arise
- 10:00within the community. The church and verse 46 it says
- 10:04so continuing daily with 1 accord in the temple.
- 10:08They had a unity. There was no division and
- 10:11complaining. I don't want to do it this way
- 10:13We're going to do it this way. No, this is my ministry.
- 10:16This is my vision. This there was none of that
- 10:18stuff. There was one vision and it was
- 10:20Christ in his glory and anything that we had in our opportunity
- 10:24to do back then as well as now is a privilege.
- 10:28It's not a right, it's a privilege to serve the Lord and
- 10:31we we serve him together. We don't serve him independently
- 10:34of one another. We endeavour to try to do things
- 10:37as a team, as a, as a body of believers, that we have oneness,
- 10:42that we have unity of, of the Spirit, doing things according
- 10:46to the word of God, by the instruction and teaching of the
- 10:50Spirit of God. And they broke bread from house
- 10:53to house. They had meals together, they
- 10:55gathered together, they took the Lord's Supper together in each
- 10:58other's homes. They ate their food with
- 11:00gladness and simplicity of heart.
- 11:03Boy, isn't that a beautiful simple vision?
- 11:06Ate their meals with simplicity and gladness of heart.
- 11:10We can learn something from how these people live their lives in
- 11:13simplicity, not complexity. Do you ever feel like life gets
- 11:17way too complicated? Yeah, well, we're, we're really
- 11:20good at doing that, unfortunately.
- 11:22But just to get back to some simple basics of this, being
- 11:25grateful for the daily bread that the Lord provides for us
- 11:29and not take it for granted. When you look at the people in
- 11:32Ukraine right now that are being dispersed everywhere and they
- 11:35have a backpack of a few belongings on their back and the
- 11:39communities are devastated and the infrastructures are
- 11:42destroyed. You know, the the food issue is,
- 11:45is in crisis, man. It doesn't take too long after
- 11:48watching some of those news feeds that you are grateful you
- 11:52don't live in Ukraine. And then they were praising God,
- 11:56which is what we desire to do here.
- 11:58Praise God and having favor with all the people.
- 12:04And that's what we want to have. We want to have God's favor and
- 12:07we want to have favor one another in this church as we do
- 12:10his work together. Because when we have favor from
- 12:14God, then wonderful things occur in our lives and in our
- 12:19families. To live life without God's favor
- 12:22is a disaster. But they had favor with all the
- 12:27people. And because of all this, we're
- 12:28reading here, it says, and the Lord added to the church daily
- 12:33those who were being saved. It wasn't man that added to the
- 12:37church. It was the Lord who added to the
- 12:40church. I had nothing to do with you
- 12:43being here today. The Lord drew you here today.
- 12:46The Lord's the one that grows the church.
- 12:49And a church that's growing is rooted in the teachings of the
- 12:55principles that we're looking at here today.
- 13:00It's not the number of people that come to the church that
- 13:03make the church powerful. It's the kind of people that
- 13:07come to the church that make the church powerful.
- 13:11People who are filled with God's Spirit, people who love God and
- 13:16love other people, people who are humble, people who have a
- 13:20desire and a thirst for the Word of God and the things of God in
- 13:24each one of your lives are being impacted by one another.
- 13:30And as you go out into your world and your life and your
- 13:33community, you and the Lord go together and you have an impact
- 13:38on other people's lives, your neighbors, your relatives, the
- 13:43coworkers. Some of them then ask you, well,
- 13:46what is different about you? What makes you different?
- 13:52And you tell them about Jesus, right?
- 13:56What he's done for you. And then sometimes they're
- 13:59curious. Would you go to church?
- 14:02Yeah. Where's it at?
- 14:03Can I go with you? What's the address?
- 14:05When do they meet? How do I have to address or
- 14:09whatever? They want to know a little bit
- 14:11about where you hang out and where you learn about God.
- 14:15And the Lord then adds to the church daily those who were
- 14:18being saved. You know, I don't save anybody,
- 14:22and you don't either. Only God can save people.
- 14:25We can point people to the message of the gospel and
- 14:30salvation, but it's God that does the work of salvation.
- 14:33It's not any of us who led you to the Lord, the Holy Spirit.
- 14:39He's the only one that can lead us to the truth.
- 14:42Now Peter and John in chapter 3, they went up together to the
- 14:46temple at the hour of prayer, the 9th hour, 3:00 in the
- 14:49afternoon. So they're still following a
- 14:52little bit of the tradition of of being Jewish people.
- 14:55The Gentiles really hadn't come on the scene yet in a dominant
- 14:58way. And a certain man, lame from his
- 15:01mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of
- 15:04the temple, which is called beautiful, to ask alms for those
- 15:07who entered the temple. So this man, about 40 years old,
- 15:10was always lifted up and taken up.
- 15:13This was one of the gates at the temple.
- 15:15They say it was about 75 feet high, double doors, brass, just
- 15:19beautiful. The sun glistened off of it.
- 15:22It was the best place to sit if you were a beggar because most
- 15:25of the people came through this gate into the temple and he
- 15:29would ask alms from those who entered the temple.
- 15:31Alms were something that Jewish people did because it was part
- 15:34of their ritual and part of their way of worship.
- 15:37So you wouldn't walk by a beggar and ignore them.
- 15:40You would be compelled to give them something.
- 15:42So I'm sure the guy was taken care of from the graciousness of
- 15:46the people that entered into the temple.
- 15:48And fixing his eyes on him with John, Peter said, look at us.
- 15:53And so the man's used to just someone dropping something in
- 15:56there, clinging the cup. And Peter looks at him and says,
- 16:00look at us. Just don't look at the hands
- 16:03that are going by throwing money into the basket or whatever.
- 16:07He had to collect his offerings. They were compelling this man to
- 16:13look at them, Peter and John, and so he gave them his
- 16:18attention, expecting to receive something from them.
- 16:21Then Peter said silver and gold I do not have.
- 16:25So this guy's probably hearing that.
- 16:27Why you want me to look at you? The only reason I'm here is that
- 16:30I need money, and you're telling me you don't have any.
- 16:33So what's in it for me? But they didn't stop there, they
- 16:36said. But what I do have I give you in
- 16:40the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.
- 16:44And he took him by the right hand and lifting him up, and
- 16:46immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength.
- 16:51Only a doctor could communicate what's happening here.
- 16:54Specifically something with the ankles, something with the feet
- 16:58were out of whack. And Luke is telling us, Doctor
- 17:02Luke here, who wrote the book of the act, that this was a miracle
- 17:07physiologically. That also could be explained
- 17:11medically here, that this guy's feet and ankle weren't hooked
- 17:14up, right? It's a miracle.
- 17:16It says in verse 8, he leaps up, stood and walked and entered the
- 17:20temple with them. They didn't give him crutches or
- 17:24a Walker. I mean, this guy was fully
- 17:26healed instantaneously walking, leaping and praising God.
- 17:31And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
- 17:35Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the
- 17:38beautiful gate of the temple. And they were filled with wonder
- 17:42and amazement at what had happened to him.
- 17:45Think about all these people, all these years that were going
- 17:49into the temple, seeing this guy day, day in and out, week in and
- 17:54week out, year in and year out, nothing changing.
- 17:56The poor guy just can't move. He can't walk, he's lame.
- 18:01And now they all recognize him as the one who was lame.
- 18:05It's no longer lame. The power of God moving by the
- 18:09Spirit of God and the lives of the people of God.
- 18:14People don't follow the Lord because of miracles.
- 18:17Many times Jesus did miracles and they would forget about Him
- 18:21and never go back and praise Him for what He had done.
- 18:25But one thing about a miracle, when it occurs in your life,
- 18:28there there comes a testimony out of a miracle.
- 18:31And whenever you can tell someone something that God has
- 18:34done for you that was unexpected, it gets people's
- 18:39attention. The Bible says that they're
- 18:42redeemed to the Lord. Say so, whom He's delivered out
- 18:45of the hand of the enemy. And I could, I don't have the
- 18:48time, but I could tell you times that God has touched me
- 18:51supernaturally, physically, by His grace.
- 18:55And sometimes I wanted a touch and I didn't get a touch.
- 18:58But God does all things after the counsel of his own will, not
- 19:02my will. And we always have to have that
- 19:03humility. We can ask God for the miracle
- 19:06and if it comes praise Him, but if it doesn't praise Him too
- 19:10because we have to be like Jesus and say not our will but your
- 19:13will be done right and be OK with that knowing that He knows
- 19:18what's best for us and he loves us.
- 19:21He's our ABBA father. I've been studying lately about
- 19:25this father heart of God and how much he loves us, how much he
- 19:30loves you. He doesn't love you for what he
- 19:34wants you to become. He loves you right now for who
- 19:37you are right now. God won't love you anymore
- 19:42tomorrow than he does today. And he doesn't love you any more
- 19:47than when you become more holy than you are tomorrow than you
- 19:50are today. And that's hard for us to grasp,
- 19:53isn't it? Because we're all used to
- 19:55measuring things in life, and more must be better.
- 20:00But no one can really wrap their mind and their hands around this
- 20:06love of God, because it's. It surpasses human
- 20:10understanding, the love of God. So you're here, and God doesn't
- 20:14want you to be ashamed. He doesn't want you to feel
- 20:17unloved or rejected or not good enough.
- 20:21He wants you to know that He loves you right where you are,
- 20:25right with what you're dealing with right now.
- 20:28You may be in a bad place and you know it, but God isn't
- 20:31turning His face from you. His face is pointed right at
- 20:36you, waiting for you to come to Him.
- 20:38He's wanting to draw you closer to himself.
- 20:41He's a merciful God, and He's a God who's patient, and He's a
- 20:46God who's gracious. There's not one of us in here
- 20:50today, including myself. That's exactly where I should be
- 20:55all the time with God. We're all works in process,
- 20:59aren't we? We're all growing in the grace
- 21:02and the knowledge of God. None of us are perfect, right?
- 21:06He's perfect and he loves us with a perfect love, an
- 21:11unconditional love. His love is never based upon
- 21:16what I've done or I've not done. The Bible just simply says God
- 21:21is love, doesn't it? And we have a hard time handling
- 21:24that because somehow we think we got to pay him back somehow and
- 21:29we could never pay him back enough, right?
- 21:32He just simply wants us to have our arms open to him and say,
- 21:35Lord, have your way in my life. Fix what you know needs to be
- 21:41fixed. Change what you know needs to be
- 21:43changed. I'm willing, Lord, I just want
- 21:46to be close to you. I want to worship you.
- 21:49I want to magnify you. I want to honor you, Lord.
- 21:53And I'm so thankful, Lord, for what you've done for me.
- 21:58If you're here today and you're without Christ today, you can
- 22:01just say, Lord, forgive me for everything I've done in this
- 22:08life that I know has been wrong. Forgive me and cleanse me and
- 22:14Lord save my soul and he will. Faith in the Lord.
- 22:20Repentance is a change of mind, a change of direction, a
- 22:25willingness to go God's way and not your way.
- 22:30Lord, when we come before you now, we just want to thank you
- 22:34today for what it is you've done for us.
- 22:38We want to thank you, Lord, that there's never been a time that
- 22:41you haven't forgiven us. There's never been a time where
- 22:45you've given up on us. There's never been a time when
- 22:50you've spoken evil about us. Lord, we're your kids.
- 22:55Lord, we're tender, tenderly loved by you, our heavenly
- 23:00Father. I pray, O God, that you would
- 23:03help us as a church, to be a church, Lord, that understands
- 23:09the greatness of your love. And because of that love that
- 23:14we've received, that we would show that love to one another,
- 23:18that we would love, Lord, our enemies, that we would love
- 23:23those who hate us and say, O manner of evil about us for your
- 23:26namesake, Lord, that your love would so overcome your bride,
- 23:30your church, that it would the shine with hope to a world that
- 23:36is hopeless, Lord and people who desperately need hope and
- 23:40Savior, protect us from dead religion.
- 23:44Lord, protect us from ritual. Protect us from things that
- 23:49don't bring life. Lord, fill us afresh today with
- 23:54your Holy Spirit. Thanks for joining us on today's
- 23:58edition of Living Waters of Grace, a ministry of Calvary
- 24:02Chapel, Westmoreland. Today, Pastor Clark is teaching
- 24:05about the book of Acts. And as we learn more about Acts,
- 24:09it becomes clear that the early church didn't miss a single
- 24:12opportunity to share the gospel. In nearly every chapter, you see
- 24:16apostles like Peter and Paul stepping into conversations,
- 24:20crowds, and crises with boldness, ready to proclaim the
- 24:25name of Jesus. Their example challenges us to
- 24:28consider how we might step into gospel moments in our own lives.
- 24:33What doors might God open this week for you to speak truth,
- 24:36offer hope, or live out your faith in a way that points
- 24:40others to Him? The story of Acts reminds us we
- 24:43are part of the same mission. Today, let's live with eyes open
- 24:47and hearts ready to respond. We hope you are challenged by
- 24:51today's message. If you're in the Greensburg, PA
- 24:54area, we'd love to see you in person this Sunday at 10:30 AM
- 24:58at 400 E Pittsburgh St. Unit 6B.
- 25:02For more information, visit calvarychapelonline.com.
- 25:06You can also join our e-mail list, give online, or submit a
- 25:10prayer request right from the site.
- 25:12If you can't make it in person, be sure to tune in on the
- 25:16Calvary Chapel Westmoreland YouTube channel.
- 25:19Subscribe so you never miss new teachings.
- 25:22If you were in the Greensburg area, you can listen to Grace FM
- 25:25on the new 91.7 frequency. Pray about helping financially
- 25:31support the new station that will reach thousands more
- 25:34listeners. Send financial gifts to Grace
- 25:37FMPO Box 716, Greensburg, PA 15601.
- 25:44Once again, we're so grateful you joined us today to be
- 25:46inspired by God's Word. Please tune in again for more
- 25:50Living Waters of Grace.