Latest / Living Waters of Grace / Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland Sunday Services / Living Waters of Grace 10.20.25
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.
- 0:37The Lord doesn't want us to be criticizing each other.
- 0:41He wants us to be loving one another and forgiving one
- 0:44another and being patient with one another.
- 0:47And until we're willing to become less judgmental and less
- 0:52critical, we won't hear the voice of God.
- 0:55We'll quench the voice of God in my judgment or your judgment or
- 0:59my criticism or my control, whatever.
- 1:02God can't work. Wow, isn't that the truth?
- 1:06What we just heard from Pastor Clark is so apparent in our
- 1:10world today. Just turn on the news or start
- 1:12the doom scrolling on your phone and you'll see that criticism is
- 1:16the common language of all. We are so divided and sadly it's
- 1:22not much different for those of us who are in the church.
- 1:26God is calling us to be people of love and to stop the
- 1:30criticism, stop the bad mouthing, stop the division.
- 1:35What did Jesus say? Jesus said we would be known as
- 1:38his followers by our love for one another.
- 1:42Now here's Pastor Clark in the book of Acts Chapter 10 with
- 1:46today's edition of Living Waters of Grace.
- 1:49So Peter's wandering in verse 17 within himself, what this vision
- 1:54which he had seen meant he's rehearsing of.
- 1:57So what? What's this all about?
- 1:59Behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made
- 2:02inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the gate.
- 2:06So they have just arrived, and they called and asked whether
- 2:09Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there, living there.
- 2:14So while Peter's thinking about the vision of verse 19, the Holy
- 2:18Spirit says to him, Behold, three men are seeking you arise,
- 2:23therefore go down and go with them, doubting nothing for I've
- 2:27sent them. Now this is like really awesome
- 2:30because the Holy Spirit speaking specifically to Peter about
- 2:34someone who's already there. And you, if you're walking with
- 2:38the Lord and you're seeking God, I'm sure if I brought you up
- 2:41here today, you could tell all kind of stories of how the Lord
- 2:43set up certain situations ahead of time with you knowing about
- 2:47something before something even came to pass.
- 2:50And that's what makes living in Christ exciting.
- 2:53It doesn't happen all the time as much as maybe we would like
- 2:56to experience it. But if we're open to the
- 2:58direction of the Holy Spirit, he'll set up divine appointments
- 3:02or he'll set up situations that there's no way something could
- 3:05come to pass if it wasn't him doing it right.
- 3:08And it just gives you goosebumps at times.
- 3:10And you think about the the realness of God and how powerful
- 3:14he is and how he can show up and how he can maneuver and move
- 3:18situations. And, and the Bible talks about
- 3:20spiritual gifts, the words of knowledge, the words of wisdom.
- 3:23These are real spiritual, supernatural gifts.
- 3:27Some people have certain types of gifting, other people, other,
- 3:30we all have certain kind of spiritual gifts.
- 3:32But sometimes, like I told you a story about the man that gives
- 3:36away the Bibles and he came out of the the restroom and the
- 3:39young lady comes out of the bathroom and she had been
- 3:41drinking heavily and partying and, and he just the Lord put on
- 3:45his heart, it's her birthday today.
- 3:46And he said happy birthday and she's how do you know it's my
- 3:50birthday? That's the Lord.
- 3:51He does stuff like that. If we're open to the leading of
- 3:54God's Spirit, He works outside the dimensions of how our normal
- 4:00thought processes work. Without faith, it's impossible
- 4:04to please God. We need to be walking by faith
- 4:08and not by sight. So often, like Lord, I'll
- 4:10believe it if I can see it, and I'll trust you if you got all
- 4:13this A through Z all lined out. And I don't have to like, worry
- 4:17about making a mistake or going down the wrong path or
- 4:20something. When the Lord impresses
- 4:21something on your heart and you know it, and you've heard the
- 4:25voice of God, not literally out externally, but the voice of God
- 4:30speaks in terms that interact with our mind and our heart.
- 4:36And you and I should know the difference between hearing our
- 4:40own imagination and hearing the voice of God.
- 4:43And I think we begin to hear the voice of God when we're willing
- 4:46to be still in prayer. Both these guys heard the voice
- 4:51of God's working through their time in prayer.
- 4:55And you might say, well boy, I just never sense God's voice or
- 4:59his presence. I'm not sure.
- 5:00Well, spend some time in prayer, waiting on the Lord, fasting,
- 5:06whatever it is, giving God time to speak to you about what it is
- 5:10He wants you to do. Instead of this going off and
- 5:14doing it in your own strength. You're doing it on your own
- 5:16will. Lord, what would you have me to
- 5:18do? What would you want me to do?
- 5:22And Cornelius said, what is it, Lord?
- 5:24The question, what? You're talking to me now what,
- 5:26What do I do? I want to become more in tune,
- 5:30as I'm sure you do too, what with the voice of the Lord.
- 5:34How do I interact in this conversation or how do I respond
- 5:38to this crisis situation? Or, you know, what do I say to
- 5:42this lady that's very angry about Roe versus Wade being
- 5:47overturned and just beside herself dropping F bombs and
- 5:51she's telling me her frustration then telling me, but she's a
- 5:56Christian. You know, it was interesting.
- 6:00I was tempted to say, can I pray for you?
- 6:02But she would probably beat the crap out of me.
- 6:05There ought to be another conversation.
- 6:07Maybe down the road. I'll say, hey, by the way, we
- 6:09had that conversation. I want you to know I've been
- 6:11praying for, you know, and I am praying for, but hearing the
- 6:14voice of the Lord. So Peter, specifically this,
- 6:16this isn't what we're studying in the book of the Acts, folks.
- 6:19Is not like this an axe. This is like supposed to be part
- 6:23of everyday life for all of us. And when the book of the Acts
- 6:26becomes alive and the day that we live, then we begin to see
- 6:30God working within the realm of the supernatural in people's
- 6:33lives. And I think we've been so
- 6:35conditioned mentally. It's one thing to know the Word,
- 6:39to memorize the Scriptures, to know where to find us, find
- 6:41that. But how is God interacting with
- 6:44you and me in the midst of what it is we're reading and learning
- 6:47and anticipating that? Do we have a desire to hear God
- 6:52and to have him set up circumstances for us so we can
- 6:55be used by God? So Peter goes down to the men
- 7:00who had been sent to him from Cornelius and said, yes, I am he
- 7:04whom you seek. For what reason have you come?
- 7:08They said Cornelius, a Centaurian, a just man, one who
- 7:11fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation
- 7:14of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy Angel to
- 7:18summon you to his house and to hear words from you.
- 7:23And so then he invited them in and lodged them.
- 7:25And this is huge because probably a month before this,
- 7:29Peter would have never considered this.
- 7:31He's hanging out with the Tanner in an unclean place.
- 7:36He's already like compromised some of his kosher convictions.
- 7:41And now he has this vision of these animals in this blanket.
- 7:45And he's starting to see this isn't about this animals and
- 7:48eating. This is about relationships with
- 7:50people, with Gentiles that he would have never given the time
- 7:54of day to. And he invites them in.
- 7:57And not only does he invite them in, but he's hanging with him.
- 8:00He's he's entertaining them. He's the word lodging means that
- 8:04he's, he's spending time with him.
- 8:06He just doesn't say, well, you can sleep over there.
- 8:08I'll see you tomorrow when we head out.
- 8:09No, he, he fed them, he took care of them and he talked with
- 8:12them. That's a beautiful, beautiful
- 8:15story of, of the conversion that's going to come up for
- 8:18Cornelius. But Peter's being converted to
- 8:22real Christianity, not religion, not judgment, not criticism.
- 8:29The Lord doesn't want us to be criticizing each other.
- 8:33He wants us to be loving one another and forgiving one
- 8:36another and being patient with one another.
- 8:39And until we're willing to become less judgmental and less
- 8:44critical, we won't hear the voice of God.
- 8:47We'll quench the voice of God in my judgment or your judgment or
- 8:51my criticism or my control, whatever.
- 8:54God can't work. It's only as we're open to him
- 8:59to be like Jesus that God will begin to really show up and move
- 9:04and work in ways that we can't even comprehend.
- 9:09And so on the next day Peter went away with them, and some
- 9:13brethren from Joppa accompany him.
- 9:15So he took some guys with him because he knew there's going to
- 9:18be problems in Jerusalem when this gets around.
- 9:21Someone's going to say to the apostle, we heard you brought
- 9:25Gentiles into your house. You know, that's against the law
- 9:28of Moses. These people are unclean.
- 9:32They're just not worthy of our bloodline.
- 9:38Terrible, terrible discrimination.
- 9:41And this is the leaders of the church still had this stuff in
- 9:43on the Judaizers. So verse 24.
- 9:47So Peter goes with them. He gets there the following day.
- 9:50They enter Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for
- 9:54them and, well, how excited he was, I'm sure.
- 9:57And he had called together his relatives and close friends.
- 9:59Isn't that awesome? Like he knew God was up to
- 10:03something and he's like getting as many people in that house as
- 10:07he can to be able to hear the message.
- 10:12They were prepared to hear the message.
- 10:14They wanted to hear the message. As I was studying this, one
- 10:18commentator said, what are people like to come to the
- 10:21church on Sundays? Are they praying in their hearts
- 10:24to be prepared to hear something from God for themselves?
- 10:29That's something to think about. You know, that's not showing up
- 10:32at church. But am I prepared to hear the
- 10:34voice of God through the word of God, by the servant of God to
- 10:38cause me to become a stronger man or woman of God?
- 10:41That's something for us all to reflect on.
- 10:45So as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down
- 10:49at his feet and worshipped him. So Cornelius was overwhelmed at
- 10:53the anointing of God. I'm sure that he sensed the
- 10:55presence of God upon Peter's life.
- 10:58And so he he just had this tendency to pay homage or honor
- 11:01him. Obviously that isn't what we do.
- 11:04Peter lifted him up saying stand up.
- 11:06I myself, I'm also a man. And as he talked with him, he
- 11:11went in and found many who had come together.
- 11:14What a set up, what a perfect, perfect opportunity for
- 11:17evangelism. And then he said to them, you
- 11:21know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with
- 11:25or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I
- 11:30should not call any man common or unclean, and that so the
- 11:35significance of that trance he had with the sheet, with all the
- 11:40animals in now was dawning on him, that there is no issues
- 11:45here between Jew and Gentile. We're people that all need God.
- 11:50Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent
- 11:53for. I asked then, for what reason
- 11:55have you sent for me? So Cornelius said, four days ago
- 11:59I was fasting until this hour, and at the 9th hour I prayed in
- 12:04my house. And behold, a man stood before
- 12:06me in bright clothing and said, Cornelius, your prayer has been
- 12:09heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God.
- 12:12Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is
- 12:16Peter. He is lodging in the House of
- 12:18Simon, a Tanner by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to
- 12:22you. So I sent to you immediately and
- 12:24you have done well to come. Now.
- 12:27Therefore we are all present before God to hear all the
- 12:31things commanded you by God. So everybody that's there has
- 12:35got an open mind and an open heart to hear what's up.
- 12:41Then Peter opened his mouth and said, In truth, I perceive that
- 12:45God shows no partiality, but in every nation whoever fears him
- 12:50and works righteousness is accepted by him.
- 12:53The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching
- 12:57peace through Jesus Christ, He is Lord of all that word, you
- 13:02know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea and began
- 13:06from Galilee after the baptism which John preached.
- 13:11How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit
- 13:14with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were
- 13:19oppressed by the devil. For God was with him, and we are
- 13:23witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews
- 13:27and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree.
- 13:31Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not
- 13:36to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God,
- 13:40even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the
- 13:43dead. And He commanded us to preach to
- 13:46the people and to testify that it is he who was ordained by God
- 13:52to be judged of the living and the dead.
- 13:55So pointed on the man wants to die.
- 13:57And after this a judgment, we're all going to stand before God to
- 14:01be judged. Now, believers, we won't be
- 14:03judged for our sin. Thank the Lord.
- 14:05It's been poured out upon Jesus Christ, God's wrath and anger.
- 14:09And we are forgiven through Christ's death and has shed
- 14:12blood on behalf of us for our sin.
- 14:15But we will give an account for the stupid things that we've
- 14:19said and things that we've perhaps not been open to in
- 14:23regard to letting God use us. And that's for the judgment of
- 14:26our rewards, the wood, hay and stubble or the gold, silver and
- 14:31precious stone. And that's why we as believers
- 14:34are in the word of God conditions us and changes us to
- 14:37to make us want to live more for the things for eternity and less
- 14:40for the things of this world. To be more useful to God's will
- 14:45and his purposes for reaching the world, especially for such a
- 14:48time as this in a country and a culture that is so divided.
- 14:52And we have opportunities to love people and to be salt and
- 14:55to be light and to be gracious and to point people to Jesus.
- 14:59And it's so beautiful this this sermon that he's preaching here.
- 15:02You could cut and paste this, put in your Bible.
- 15:05And if you have a chance to witness, let's read this.
- 15:07It covers everything you need in order for the Lord to work and
- 15:11cause someone to realize they need to be saved.
- 15:14And this is what happens as a result of Him just preaching the
- 15:17short sermon He commanded us to preach to the people and to
- 15:21testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be the Judge
- 15:25of the living and the dead to Him.
- 15:27All the prophets witnessed that through His name.
- 15:30Highlight this, underline it, mark it the message from Christ
- 15:38that has been preached since the beginning of the time of
- 15:42creation, through the prophets, through his name.
- 15:47Whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins.
- 15:53Maybe you're here today and you find yourself believing.
- 15:57If you are believing right now, you are being saved.
- 16:03It's faith in Christ. Salvation is by grace alone,
- 16:08through faith alone in Christ alone.
- 16:12The devil say it can't be that easy.
- 16:15Don't listen to what the devil says.
- 16:18In the midst of our guilt and our regret today we can believe
- 16:27and whosoever believeth in him or receive remission means
- 16:34forgiveness of sins. So while Peter was still
- 16:37speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who
- 16:40heard the word. So what was happening was the
- 16:43word is going out, the Spirit is convicting, people are
- 16:48believing, and they're getting saved because the Holy Spirit
- 16:51doesn't come upon people who aren't believing, right?
- 16:55There was no altar call. There was no raise your hand,
- 16:58say this prayer. They just believe, right?
- 17:02So simple, Whoever believes in him and those of the
- 17:07circumcision who believe were astonished that these Jewish
- 17:10people are watching this. And this is very significant
- 17:13because at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out,
- 17:17there was this gift of the Holy Spirit in regard not only to the
- 17:20indwelling of the Spirit as new members of the body of Christ,
- 17:23but there was this gift that some people, all those people at
- 17:26that particular time, received the gift of speaking in tongues.
- 17:31And the Jews would have been sort of suspect of the Gentiles
- 17:34if they didn't receive the Holy Spirit the same way.
- 17:36So God in his wisdom duplicated what happened at Pentecost with
- 17:41them so that they could say, wow, you know, God loves these
- 17:45Gentiles as much as he loves these Jews.
- 17:48And so they received the Spirit of God and they had this
- 17:51experience. Now it's interesting, whenever
- 17:53Paul was filled with the Spirit, he didn't speak in tongues.
- 17:57And the Bible tells us in the book of Corinthians and
- 18:00spiritual gift do all speak in tongues.
- 18:02No, they don't. Some churches teach, well, you
- 18:05can't be saved unless you speak in tongues, it's not biblical.
- 18:08Or some people say you're not filled with the Holy Spirit
- 18:10unless you speak in tongues. That's not biblical.
- 18:13Now, tongues are a valid gift. Some people have it, some people
- 18:16don't. But the real evidence of the
- 18:19person who's controlled or filled with the Holy Spirit is
- 18:22the fruit of the Spirit, right? The love, the joy, the peace,
- 18:26the long sufferings, the gentleness, the goodness, the
- 18:28meekness. I've met people that brag about
- 18:31speaking in tongues and they're the most obnoxious people to be
- 18:33around. They're proud, you know, or
- 18:36they're arrogant or they're judgmental order, you know, I'm
- 18:39thinking like, well, whatever you have, I don't need it.
- 18:41Believe me, I don't want it, you know.
- 18:42But anyway, so this, this experience happens.
- 18:46And as many came with Peter because the gift of the Holy
- 18:49Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they
- 18:52heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
- 18:55Then Peter answered, can anyone forbid water that these should
- 18:59not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as
- 19:02we so right away after they become believers.
- 19:05Baptism is always the next event in the testimony that I've been
- 19:10saved. I want to follow Jesus.
- 19:12And so he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the
- 19:15Lord, and they asked him to stay for a few days.
- 19:19This is a great chapter to reflect on of the voice of God,
- 19:25hearing God, the Lord speaking and setting up supernatural
- 19:30experiences for people to connect, and the Lord showing
- 19:34His power and His reality by doing things that should be more
- 19:39common in our lives. The Lord directed me to do this
- 19:44and I think you got to be careful when you say, well, God
- 19:46showed me this or he told me this.
- 19:48I mean, that can be true or false many times, right?
- 19:51There's some things that God does tell you that are very real
- 19:54and very clear and you have no doubt about it.
- 19:57And maybe you tell the story after the whole thing unfolds
- 20:00and you can say, well, this what happened to me?
- 20:02I was, you know, and then the Lord spoke and he showed me
- 20:04this. And then this is what happens.
- 20:06The result of that? That's the voice of God, the
- 20:09fruit of what it is that you were praying about and
- 20:12experiencing as a result. Of hearing the voice of the
- 20:15Lord. I don't know.
- 20:16So often I think when we pray, we're seeking God about
- 20:20something specifically, how am I going to get this job?
- 20:23How am I going to find this husband or wife?
- 20:25Or how am I going to get over this illness or this
- 20:28relationship conflict or whatever it might be in life?
- 20:32And waiting on the Lord and praying and being calm.
- 20:36And then the Lord giving you the pieces of the puzzle, how He's
- 20:39going to put it together in His time as you trust and you wait
- 20:42for Him. I believe God is speaking all
- 20:45the time and speaking louder than any of us can comprehend,
- 20:50right? But it we're like busy life,
- 20:53business, family, financing, you know, all this stuff crowds out
- 20:58the voice of God in our lives. And Jesus says it's the cares of
- 21:02the world, the deceitfulness, the riches, the lust of other
- 21:05things to choke his word out, right?
- 21:08There's nothing wrong with you. Got to do your life and work and
- 21:11raise your family and, you know, save your resources.
- 21:14But but if that's all you're hearing and that's all you're
- 21:17thinking about, you have no time to be calm and to hear God's
- 21:21voice. And it's in the stillness that
- 21:24God speaks to us, isn't it? And we really need to figure out
- 21:28all of us, including myself, how to be more still before God.
- 21:32And the Scriptures say be still and know that I'm God father.
- 21:36We I don't know. I go through the chapters like
- 21:39this Lord, and I'm speechless because I just watch what it is
- 21:44you have done and are doing and this setup by you, your
- 21:50sovereign hand, working in two different people's lives at the
- 21:55same time for the same reason. Peter to bring the message and
- 22:01Cornelius to be ready to receive the message.
- 22:04And Lord, we believe that you're doing that today.
- 22:07You're doing it in our sphere of influence.
- 22:10We're the messengers. We're the ones you want to use
- 22:13to to share with someone who needs to know who you are.
- 22:17And Lord, we don't know where they are, but you have those
- 22:20people out there everywhere that are trying to find their way and
- 22:25they need someone to tell them about you.
- 22:28We pray Lord, you would give us divine appointments that we
- 22:32would sense you moving in the supernatural realm of you Holy
- 22:38Spirit, where we're being led by you.
- 22:40We're we're placed in circumstances that we know that
- 22:44we couldn't be there apart from your intervention.
- 22:48We pray to be used by you, Lord, as the book of the Acts is all
- 22:52about this people being witnesses unto You.
- 22:57We want to be witnesses, Lord. We don't want to force it.
- 23:00We don't want to push it. We don't want to strive.
- 23:02We just want it to be natural, Lord.
- 23:04And we pray, God that we would have more and more testimonies
- 23:07of this, the moving of your Spirit and how we ended up
- 23:12coming to know you, Lord, because of your word and because
- 23:15of your grace. Lord.
- 23:17We again pray for this week coming up that we'll probably be
- 23:22around some people that are uptight, agitated, frustrated
- 23:27people that will want to give us their opinion.
- 23:30Help us to listen. Help us to pray for wisdom and
- 23:33discernment and not judge or criticize, but to look to you,
- 23:38Lord, for a way to see people's hearts be softened.
- 23:42That Lord, you would just move powerfully in the land.
- 23:46We're excited, Lord, in the midst of the adversity and the
- 23:49challenges of of this world's exciting time, to be alive and
- 23:54to be able to be used by you. 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, it
- 24:09becomes 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 could also join our e-mail list, give online or submit a
- 25:10prayer request right from the site.
- 25:13If you can't make it in person, be sure to tune in on the
- 25:16Calvary Chapel Westmoreland YouTube channel.
- 25:18Subscribe so you never miss new teachings.
- 25:22If you were in the Greensburg area, you can listen to Grace FM
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- 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.