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Living Waters of Grace March 5, 2026 · Living Waters of Grace / Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland Sunday Services

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This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark
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Wofford, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland,
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County of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he
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continues teaching through God's Word.
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How in the world can I be a blessing to you?
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How can you be a blessing to me if corruption is in the heart?
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How can we have fellowship with the Father if we regard iniquity
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in our heart? How can we minister to our kids
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and our grandkids? If we are defiled, we're we're
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bringing judgement toward one another and toward the body of
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Christ whenever we compromise. The great theologian CS Lewis
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penned these words in his book The Screw Tape Letters.
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Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual 1, the gentle
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slope, soft under foot, without sudden turnings, without
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milestones, without signposts. It's not the flashing sign, but
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the small pivot towards sin in the body of Christ.
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We are called to hold firmly to God's command, to remain
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steadfast. Pastor Clark reminds us in
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today's sermon that compromise will lead to sinful behavior and
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our destruction. Now here's Pastor Clark in
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Galatians Chapter 5 with today's edition of Living Waters of
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Grace. I'm not interested in compromise
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anymore. One time I was.
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I thought that was just the way it was.
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Everybody compromises. Yeah, you believe, but you
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really don't live like you believe sometimes.
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Because we're all human, you know?
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We all cut each other's slack. You know, I got drunk last
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night, you might say. And the other person.
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Yeah, I was drunk two weeks ago. I know I shouldn't have done it,
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but I did it. That's not the gospel.
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That's not salvation. It tells us in Galatians 5, it
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gives a list of the sins of compromise, and this is written
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to believers. Galatians chapter 5.
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He says the works of the flesh in verse 19 are evident,
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adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry.
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And this church was full of idolatry and thyrotyra, sorcery,
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hatred, contentions, jealousies, outspursts of wrath, selfish
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ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,
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drunkenness, revelries and the like of which I tell you
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beforehand. Just as I also told you in time
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past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the
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Kingdom of God. God has called us for holiness
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and purity. People many times Ask me, do you
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believe in eternal security? Do you believe once saved,
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always saved? You believe you can be saved and
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not be saved? That's not the that's not the
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question we should be asking. Am I living in light of what the
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Bible says is true salvation? Or am I kidding myself?
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Did someone just make me feel good?
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You know, I get a kick out of these people that sometimes
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these churches, they get them to come up front and they'll come
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up front. If you want to accept Jesus a
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day and you don't want to go to hell, and who in the world wants
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to go to hell so everybody comes up.
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I mean, that sounds like a good deal.
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Jesus died for my sins. If you ask Him to come in your
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heart and save you, you won't go to hell.
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You'll go to heaven, man. Who wouldn't want that?
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But there's no message of death to self.
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If any man will follow me, let him deny himself.
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He who finds his life for my sake must first lose it.
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There's a cost, the right to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
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If any man will follow me, let him deny himself and take up his
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cross daily and follow me. So the people come down, and so
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the pastor's. I pray this prayer after me.
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Lord Jesus, I'm a Sinner, please forgive me of my sins came into
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my heart and save me so I don't have to go to hell and I can be
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in heaven with you forever. So the person prays it.
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Then the pastor goes, praise God, you're a Christian, you're
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saved. And the person's like I am.
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Sometimes I don't feel different.
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I don't sense anything's happened to me or but I guess if
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that's what you're saying, I guess that's what I am.
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And so they come to church week in and week out, month in and
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month out and year in and year out thinking that they're
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Christians because they prayed a prayer.
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But down deep inside, their heart is still doing the same
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things, thinking the same things.
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You and I, we can't save ourself.
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It's the mercy of God. It's his grace.
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And when God changes a life, folks, he changes a life.
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We don't have to pretend it. We don't have to fake it.
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We don't have to have power, positive thinking.
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Well, yeah, I prayed this prayer, even though I'm still
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acting this way, you know, I'm saved because I prayed a prayer.
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No, we're saved if we are living like Jesus Christ.
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We're saved if we love the things that he loves and hates,
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the things that he hates. We're saved if we're new
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creations, right? If any man is in Christ, he's a
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new creation. Old things are passed away,
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right? My old desire is to do the
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things I used to want to do are passed away.
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I don't want to do them anymore because my heart's been changed.
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All things have become new. So if we're here today and we're
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still struggling with old things and things haven't become new,
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we're still without Christ. And the good news is, is that
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Christ is still here and able to save.
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And so he's speaking to this church.
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He's talking about judgment. He's talking about the need for
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repentance. Repentance is critical to
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conversion or salvation or change or purity in the church.
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The church is a place that repentance should be the most
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intense, guys, not the world, It's US.
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Judgment, the Bible says, must first begin with us, and with
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us, the House of God. What is it that we are
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compromising with secretly? What is it that we're thinking
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or watching or seeing or doing that only God sees and no one
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else sees? What is it that we're turned on
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by? What is it that we're turned off
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by? What is it that comes on the TV
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that the Spirit of God is just crying out?
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You turn that filth off. I don't want you to be defiled.
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I don't want you to become impure.
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I don't want your thoughts to be corrupt.
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I don't want you to be defiled as we're studying in the Old
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Testament right now about the purifications systems and all
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that and the, and the roles that God gave to Moses regarding the
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ministry of the sacrifice and touching what's clean and, and
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not touching what's unclean. I'll tell you, God was so clear
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on his displeasure for the slightest thing that would
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defile or make one impure or unholy.
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And do you realize a thought that comes into your heart that
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is not sent there by God is designed to defile you and
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corrupt you? It says that we're to cast down
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imaginations and every thought that exalts itself against the
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knowledge of God. How many thoughts did you have
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this week that came to try to exalt themselves against God's
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knowledge in your life, recognizing where they're coming
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from, why they're being sent, what the source is.
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It says to bring every thought into captivity, into the
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obedience of Christ. Every thought.
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I mean, are we like David? The words of my mouth and the
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meditations of my heart be acceptable to you.
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Every second, every moment is my thought pleasing God.
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If it isn't and I'm embellishing, or I'm embracing,
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or I'm allowing the thought to begin to become part of my life,
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I'm becoming defiled. And so I communicate to you as a
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brother and my mind's been defiled, how in the world can I
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be a blessing to you? How can you be a blessing to me
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if corruption is in the heart? How can we have fellowship with
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the Father if we regard iniquity in our heart?
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How can we minister to our kids and our grandkids if we are
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defiled? We're we're bringing judgment
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toward one another and toward the body of Christ whenever we
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compromise. Jezebel, we think as we study
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this book, the word Jezebel is not so much a person, but a
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movement of false religion in the church.
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Jezebel had an influence in the Old Testament upon Israel and
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got Israel to worship Pagan deity and worship Baal Bear
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worship and temple service. Let's let's bring a little bit
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of the world into the church. Let's bring a little bit of the
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world into the home and in the car and in the movie theater so
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we can be culturally relevant to the masses.
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I mean, because if we were too pure, how in the world can we
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impact anybody else? Well, the Bible talks about salt
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losing its savour. What good is salt to flavor if
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it's lost its ability to impact the meat to make the sacrifice
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pleasing? It's your life and my life.
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What good is our lives if they're compromised the world
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today and the church in the culture is lost its influence.
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It's entertainment, it's social, but it's far from holy.
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And as we study these churches, you know, we don't look back and
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say, boy, that church was messed up.
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I'm glad we're not like this or like that.
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No, we, we read in here and we say, Lord, what is our church
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like? What are we known by?
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Why do people come here? What is it that interests them?
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What keeps people away from this church and what draws people to
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it? What is it, Lord, that this
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church is known for the spirit of Jezebel idolatrous practices?
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They're OK. Do whatever you need to do to
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keep your job. Don't get too serious about your
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faith because you'd be looked upon as a fanatic.
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Everybody sleeps around. Single people in the church
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here, who knows what's going on in their lives.
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Who knows what's going on in married couples lives unless
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there's accountability and faithfulness to the body and the
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church in the home and prayer and the husband and wife
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relationship. She's a teacher.
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The movement, the false teaching is saying hey I do this stuff
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and let's let me do it along with members of the church.
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There's been churches here in Greensburg that fell because of
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sexual immorality in the pastors lives.
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There used to be a very large church in Greensburg years ago
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when I was in my 20s. There was 3 pastors there.
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They all condoned behind the scenes a sexually immoral
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ministry and it was like a poison.
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It came through the church, the crowds were there, everybody's
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worshiping, praising, thanking God, but no one knew except for
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God what was going on in the hearts of those who were leading
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that church. And KP Johannon came through
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Gospel for Asia. He preaches at our Calvary
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pastors conferences talking about the unreached people in
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India and he spoke a word of prophecy in that church.
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He said I sense and declare that God is going to write Ichabod on
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this church. No one knew what he was talking
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about. It means the glory.
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The Lord hath departed from this place.
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The place now is an office complex, and the sheep have been
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scattered and are still scattered.
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The deceptions of what goes on in ministries nowadays, people
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talk about deep things of God, superior enlightenment.
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There's certain truths that only certain people can understand
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because they're there for those who are deep.
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And they make Christianity into something that never was meant
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to be. Christianity from Christ's
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perspective is to be simple enough for a child to
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understand, right? And whenever someone tries to
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make it more complicated than it is, man run.
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That's the antinomian or the Gnostic spirit.
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Antinomian means to live as though there is no law, that
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we're under grace. So it doesn't matter what we do
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or how we live, we're under grace.
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And Paul says, what then shall we send?
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Because we are not under the law, but under grace.
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He says, God forbid Jesus sees everything, Hebrews 413 it says,
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and there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things
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are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give an
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account. That means this morning there's
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nothing in your heart or mine that is hidden from his sight.
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All things are naked. Everything I did this week,
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everything I thought is open to the eyes of him to whom I must
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give an account. I think sometimes a delusion in
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the church today is, well, I die and I'll just be with Jesus.
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That's great. Well, it's going to be great to
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be with Jesus, but I guarantee that giving of an account is
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going to be a very, very painful thing if we don't deal with this
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now. It says it's a fearful thing to
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fall into the hands of the living God.
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You know John the Apostle, the beloved of Christ, Whenever he
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saw Christ, what did he do? That's what we need to do, guys,
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get on our face before God. It's a fearful thing to fall
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into the hands of the living God.
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John was the buddy of Christ. He laid his head on the breast
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of Jesus. He bragged at times saying, I'm
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more loved by Jesus than anybody else.
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I'm the beloved John. How different it is though, when
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you see Christ in his exalted state and his glory and his
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purity and His Holiness, and those eyes like a flame of fire,
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when you stand before him in the judgment, they shine through
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you. And you say, woe is me, huh?
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And we don't want to wait till we get there to fear God.
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We need to fear God now, right? And respect Him and honor him
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and love Him. And when he says something is
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sin, we say, yes, Sir, forgive me, I repent.
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And then he says, that's OK, go and sin no more.
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Not this glibly saying, well, yeah, the Lord forgives me, I'll
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just do it again. Yeah, he forgives me, I'll just
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do it again. That's not repentance.
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And then he talks about the feet of brass in Isaiah chapter 63.
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This is a reference to this. Who is this who comes from Edom
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with dyed garments from Borza? The one who is glorious in his
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apparel, traveling in his greatness, traveling in the
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greatness of his strength. I who speak in righteousness,
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mighty to save. Why is your apparel read in your
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garments? Like one who treads in the wine
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press? I've trodden the wine press
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alone and from the people. No one was with me, for I've
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trodden them in my anger and trampled them in my fury.
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Their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I've stained all
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my robes. For the day of vengeance is in
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my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come.
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He will come to judge the wicked in the church, and no one will
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be able to stop or resist that judgment.
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Now, what's ironic about this church in Thyatira is that this
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was going on at the same time that the church actually was
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doing some good things. There was no shortage of works
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in this church or love of service, faith, practice.
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It seemed like the church is getting stronger in a sense of
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ministry, not colder. And Jesus says their works were
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increasing, their last works were more than their first,
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meaning that the church seemed to be more intense and there
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seemed to be no defection in their love for one another.
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Yet like unlike Ephesus, who lost the purity of the love for
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God, and yet we're really focused on the importance of
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sound doctrine. This church was very, very
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loving, but wasn't focused on the importance of sound
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doctrine. And whenever you have a church
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that preaches the truth, that's unloving.
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And whenever you have a church that is loving but doesn't teach
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sound doctrine, they're both hated by God.
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In other words, they're churches that don't represent the truth.
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And this spirit of Jezebel has been a problem for a long time,
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way back in the Old Testament. It's not a recent origin, but
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God in his mercy. And I find this astounding, as
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God is a merciful God, He's given her in verse 21 time to
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repent of the sexual immorality. And she did not repent.
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God always gives us time to repent.
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How much time, I don't know. For me, He gave me more time
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than I deserve. I marvel that I wasn't taken out
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a long time ago. But God's always given folks
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time to repent. He's not willing that any should
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perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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But it says she didn't repent. So what's God's, what's his
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choice? I'll cast her into the sick bed.
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That doesn't mean every time you're sick it's because of sin,
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but sometimes people are sick because of sin.
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That's why it says in James Five that if someone's sick among
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you, you call the elders of the church to anoint with oil and to
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pray for the sick, and the person confesses their sin.
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The Bible says publicly before the elders, and it says the
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prayer of faith will save the sick and God will forgive their
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sins. I don't know about you, but
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whenever I go through a trial, I'm searching my heart.
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You do that, Lord, I'm just checking.
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Is this because of something's going on in my life right now
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that shouldn't be? And if he reveals to me
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something that shouldn't be, I want to repent of it and deal
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with it. And if there's nothing, then I
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say, OK, Lord, teach me in the midst of this trial and the
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struggle right now, the sickness or adversity to depend upon you,
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to be closer to you. But God loves us so much, guys.
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And I can see some of you just don't want to hear this message
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today. That's OK.
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It's not mine. It's from the scriptures you
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press, you push God away. How long are you going to push
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him away for? Today's the day of salvation.
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Today's the day to get right with God.
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Today's the day to say, Lord, I'm not going to live
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superficially. I'm not going to live
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continually compromising. I want my life to be totally
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surrendered and given to you. I don't want to have to be
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thrown into some kind of adversity in order for me to
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realize that I'm not God, only you are God.
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It's perplexing at times why some of us seem to get away with
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so much for so long and others don't get away with much of
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anything. And sometimes people they.
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Realize God's all over their case and he's saying enough's
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enough because he loves us. And for some wonderful, glorious
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reason, we're hearing what He's saying and we're saying, I
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understand, Lord, yes, enough's enough and I want to surrender.
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I don't want to be hard anymore. I don't want to be distant.
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I don't want to be like pushing you away from what you want for
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me anymore. I want what you want from me,
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Lord. I don't want to play church.
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I don't want to this go through the emotions.
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I just don't want to show up Sunday after Sunday and
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nothing's changing in my heart. I want you to take over my life,
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Lord. He says I'll kill her children.
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And we believe as we study in the commentaries that this is
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referring to the followers of this false teaching.
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He says I will bring death, and he says he'll do this so that
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all the churches shall know that I am he who searches the minds
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and hearts, and I will give to each one of you according to
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your works. He says, Now to you I say, and
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to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine.
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And he's, he's speaking out to those in the church that aren't
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following this false teaching, who have not known the depths of
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Satan. As they say, I will put on you
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no other burden. In other words, the Lord is not
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interested in putting guilt trips on us or pressure.
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If we're doing what we're supposed to be doing, we're
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free. There's nothing to get hung up
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about. But if we are following
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wickedness in our lives and we're doing things that we
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shouldn't be doing, then we need to repent.
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He says, hold fast what you have till I come.
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So the faithful, the remnant, those in the church that are
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refusing to compromise, those folks in the church who are
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worshipping God in the secret place of their own lives, you
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alone with God on your face at your home in the morning or
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night, this you and the Lord, the Lord sees it.
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No one else does. And you're endeavoring to live
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only for Him. He says He who overcomes and
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keeps my works until the end, to Him will I give power over the
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nation's. You know Christ is going to come
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back in the rapture and take the bride out of the world.
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And we're going to be given the privilege and the opportunity to
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roll and reign with Him when He comes back during the millennial
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Kingdom. And we'll roll and reign with
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him. It says I will give them power
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over the nation's. We'll serve with him.
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It says He shall roll them with the rod of iron.
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That's referring to Christ. They shall be dashed to pieces
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like Potter's vessels. And I also receive from my
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Father, and I will give him the Morning Star.
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That's referring to who Jesus is later on in the Book of
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Revelation. He says he's the Rose of Cherim,
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Cherim and the bright and Morning Star.
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He says he who has an ear. As we begin to conclude, do you
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have an ear today, guys? He says he who has an ear, let
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him hear. How can you hear if you're
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downstairs, right? He who has an ear, let him hear
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what the Spirit says to the churches.
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Has a spirit spoken today? Has he spoken?
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And may we be as a church, ready to serve and to help those who
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are broken. We are digging into the Book of
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Revelation here on Living Waters of Grace.
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Pastor Clark is tackling this challenging book as we try to
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discern the messages that are within its pages.
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There's so much imagery, and at times you're not always sure
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what's literal and what's metaphorical.
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At one point, there's a reference to an adulterous woman
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riding on a beast. And as someone else mentioned,
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at one point it almost sounds like a rodeo from hell.
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And in actuality it kind of is. You learn about the downfall and
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demise of a sinful and rebellious world, falling down
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in worship to someone who is the anti hero, the enemy, Satan
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working his insidious ways into the minds of fallen people.
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It's sad and it's heartbreaking, but it's a classic story of good
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versus evil. Thankfully, we know how this
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story ends. Jesus wins, Jesus reigns, and
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evil is conquered once and for all.
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We pray and trust you've received Jesus as your Savior.
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But if you haven't, don't wait until the events and revelation
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become what's happening on the streets.
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None of us wants you to be there at that time.
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Instead, we'd love for you to be with us in heaven as we
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celebrate the marriage supper with Jesus as his bridegroom.
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To get a better understanding of where we are in the Book of
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Revelation, to listen to any messages before or after this
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one, you can find them at our website,
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calvarychapelonline.com. That's it for today's edition,
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but we hope you'll want to hear Pastor Clark teach more from the
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Book of Revelation. It can be exciting to think
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about the future for believers, but it can feel a bit harrowing
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for those who don't believe. Come here more next time on
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Living Waters of Grace.