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Living Waters of Grace 12.02.25 · 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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Many commentators as you study these teachings believe that you
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know Paul missed the Lord on this situation, as did the
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leadership. If he wasn't there, would God
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still be able to work without Paul being in Jerusalem?
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Of course there was all kind of other believers there.
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The movement of God was never completely dependent on one man.
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It never has been and never will be.
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God uses people for specific times and periods in history,
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but eventually we move on. With the 90s Chicago Bulls
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completely dependent on Michael Jordan or was it a team effort?
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Would Dale Earnhardt senior have won seven NASCAR championships
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without his pit crew? You never know how history could
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have unfolded if the players had been different.
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In today's message, Pastor Clark teaches you that God doesn't
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need any one man to accomplish His will, but he works through
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those who are available. Are you available to be used by
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God? Are you looking for His will to
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be done in your life now? Here's Pastor Clark in Acts
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Chapter 8 with today's edition of Living Waters of Grace.
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Philip was translated and This is why he was able to go from
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1:00 point in time and space and he was taken to another place
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approximately 3035 miles away without having to take any kind
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of human transportation. The Holy Spirit got him there.
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He ends up in Caesarea where he's eventually going to spend
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most of his life in that area to become a servant of the Lord.
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And so this is where he ended many years ago, about 2520 years
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ago. Of course, didn't wouldn't have
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known Paul at that time. Paul was in the process of
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persecuting Christians. So now this man had four virgin
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daughters who prophesized. Interesting that this man had
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godly young daughters or middle-aged daughters.
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I don't know how old they were, but these women don't appear.
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Doesn't give any history that they had family or marriage or
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kids or anything. They were called by God to speak
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the truth of God at the time because the Bible wasn't
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completely written yet like it is now.
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So different people had giftings to talk about spiritual things
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and truth. And so they were very anointed
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women of God. And it notes this here in in the
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Bible and verse 10, as we stayed many days, a certain prophet
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named Agabus came down from Judea.
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Now, Agabus was the prophet that warned the believers at the time
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there was going to be great world famine, predominantly
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dealing with the area of Jerusalem.
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And that's when Paul had this desire to get an offering
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together, to be able to take the money to the church in Jerusalem
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to help the people who were struggling with famine.
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So Agabus is a gifted prophet. He warned them of the famine.
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It came to pass. Here he is showing up again.
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When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands
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and feet, and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, That's pretty
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dramatic. So shall the Jews at Jerusalem
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bind this man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands
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of the Gentiles. That's the second warning that
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the apostle Paul got that he shouldn't go to Jerusalem.
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Now when he heard these things, both we and those in verse 12
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from that place pleaded with him not to go to Jerusalem.
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So not only did he hear 2 voices speak the same thing it says in
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the mouth the two or three witnesses.
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Let something be accomplished or approved or justified.
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Paul answers. What do you mean by weeping and
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breaking my heart? For I'm ready not only to be
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bound, but also to die. Jerusalem for the name of the
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Lord Jesus. Now is he have a martyr complex?
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I don't know. You got to remember when we
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study the Bible, there's only one true, perfect holy person.
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His name is Jesus Christ. He's without sin, without air,
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without mistakes. Now, we honor the apostles and
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prophets, but they're human beings.
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They made mistakes. We read about these things at
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different times. Peter messed up, you know, and
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Paul, you know, he had his own issues with Barnabas and the
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falling out with John. Mark wasn't, you know, really a
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biblically or a Christian like approach, but here he is right
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now. He is so compelled personally
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that it's almost like he doesn't want to hear anything anybody
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has to say but what he believes the Lord's telling him to do.
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What's dangerous about these kind of things in any of our
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lives is like, if I as a pastor, decide I'm going to do stuff
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independent of my fellow elders, and I say, well, I don't care
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what you guys say or think, I believe the Lord wants us to do
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this and we're going to do this. I'm in big trouble, right?
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We need to have everything checked and the multitude of
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counselors. The Bible says there's safety.
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And so when we have something we sense God wanting us to do, if
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we're not in unison or an agreement, we just don't do it.
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No matter how strong I feel or some other leader feels, we got
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to have the mind of the Lord and that's how God protects his
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church. He has a plurality of
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leadership. He doesn't have one person
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running the church. Jesus is the head of the church
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and then there's a body of believers and then there's
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people who ordained to help lead and oversee the flock of God.
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But Paul, for some reason here is not standing reason.
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He's willing, he says, to go up and go through whatever he feels
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he needs to go through. It'd be like me telling you
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guys, well, I'm really compelled, you know, by the
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Lord. And there's people in North
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Korea that need the gospel and I'm going to go over there and
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I'm going to go preach in North Korea.
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What would you say to me? You're crazy, right?
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We just read the documentation here.
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As soon as I get off the plane, I don't even have a chance to
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talk to anybody. They're taking me to one of
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those camps, you know, and probably put a gag on my mouth
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or kill me or whatever. I mean, you have to have wisdom
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to know where to go and where not to go.
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Our country, thank God, understands some of these
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nations that they're on the travel advisory.
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They're red alert. Don't go to this country because
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you're going to risk your life. It's not safe.
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And if you just blow by that and say, well, the Lord's going to
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protect me, well, maybe he will and maybe you'll get through it.
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Maybe you'll be martyred immediately the first day you're
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there. It's not good to test the Lord
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and put him to foolish test. But anyway, so Paul's, you know,
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being emotional here. And so it says in verse 414.
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So when he would not be persuaded, we cease saying.
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In other words, he didn't listen to the first two people.
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He didn't listen to the crowd of people exhorting him, please
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don't go. So finally the people say, OK,
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the will of the Lord be done and it will be done.
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So in verse 15 we continue. And after these days we packed
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and went up to Jerusalem. Also some of the disciples from
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Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain
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Masson of Cyprus, an early disciple with whom we were to
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lodge. So they're up there hanging out
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with another brother who's giving them lodging facility
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there and helping them. And when he had come to
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Jerusalem, Paul, the brethren received us gladly.
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On the following day Paul went in with us to James and James
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was the overseer of the first among evils, if you may have
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that first church in Jerusalem, but he was also with the elders
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and he was accountable to. So they had a group of leaders
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there. They were present and when he
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had greeted them, he told in detail the things which God had
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done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
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The Paul was primarily A preacher to the lost Gentiles.
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That'd be people like us. We're not Jewish, and he would
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spend a majority of his time ministering to them and wouldn't
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bring in Jewish tradition or culture or any of that kind of
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stuff. These issues of Judaism are
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presenting a real problem here, and this is what Paul's going to
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have to deal with. When he had greeted them, he
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told in detail all the things that the Lord had done among the
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Gentiles through his ministry. Wasn't Paul was the Lord through
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the ministry that the Lord had given Paul?
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Verse 20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and
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they said to him, You see, brother, how many myriads of
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Jews there are who have believed, and they are zealous
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for the law, that they have been informed about you, that you
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teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles who forsake Moses,
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saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, nor
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walk according to the customs. What then, Question Mark?
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Paul never once told any Jewish family that they couldn't
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circumcise their kids. Never did he tell them that the
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teachings of Moses were obsolete.
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What Paul did say though is that they were shadows of things to
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come, that circumcision was a picture of baptism and the
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teachings of Moses was only pointing toward the ultimate
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teacher of the gospel and the real sacrifice for sin that
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would come through Jesus Christ and him alone.
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So Paul always used his own background as a Jew and
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understanding the beauty of some of the tradition that helped
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them to understand the new covenant.
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The Old covenant wasn't bad. It was a covenant that God
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instituted until the new covenant came.
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When Jesus Christ died on the cross and said it was finished.
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You know, there was no more need for ritual law and sacrifices of
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animals to pay for people's sins.
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Jesus Christ himself, the Lamb of God, was the only one that
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could ultimately pay for our sin and die for our sin.
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So he's being accused of things that aren't really legitimate.
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And so they're asking him about some of these issues because
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he's Judaizers are really causing a problem here and
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slandering Paul's ministry and saying that he's telling them to
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forget everything about their own heritage.
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So what then? Verse 22?
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The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that
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you have come. Therefore do what we tell you.
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So they're giving him some direction here as to how to calm
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everything down. They say we have 4 men who have
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taken a vow. There's a Nazarite vow.
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These four guys are going to commit themselves totally to
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being under God's authority, to serve Him all the days of their
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life, and to commit themselves 100% to being servants of the
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Lord. This is a big issue and this is
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not something to be taken lightly.
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Paul even took a Nazz right vow a while back as a part of a
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symbolism of his commitment as a Jewish person to the one true
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and living God. And so take them and be purified
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with them and pay their expenses so that they may shave their
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heads. And that all may know that those
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things of which they were informed concerning you are
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nothing but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the
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law. So these were traditions of
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Jewish people that were still valued and honored by the Jewish
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believers. And Paul wasn't trying to
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eradicate every part of any kind of worship or symbolism that
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Jewish people had because they were brought up differently.
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They were brought up through the Old Testament and they
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understood the law and the prophets much better than the
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Gentiles would have ever understood these things because
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they, the law and the prophets were done by Jewish people.
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So historically, the majority of the movement of worshipping the
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God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was a Jewish focus.
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It wasn't a Gentile focus or a Pagan focus.
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And so as a result, this is what's happening here.
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So they're giving Paul this information as to how to deal
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with this at the time and they're hoping this will calm
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down the waters there of these Jewish people that are all
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upset. So he said, the elders did say
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in verse 25 though. But concerning the Gentiles who
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believe, we have written and decided, and they had decided
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this already at the Jerusalem Council.
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We studied that a good while back, that they should observe
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no such thing. This isn't something for
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Gentiles. This is for Jewish believers.
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This is their custom. To this day, many Jewish
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Christians still are real strong on kosher.
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You know, they eat kosher foods. That's what they do.
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They don't eat a lot of stuff that we would eat.
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And there's nothing wrong with that as long as they don't say
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that, well, we're doing this and we're closer to God than you are
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because we do this and you don't.
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That's where the downfall is. OK, But you respect the
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traditions of people for whatever reason they do it, as
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long as it's not circumventing the truth of the gospel.
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So this was what they told them. This is what they observed.
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They don't have to observe this kind of vow kind of system,
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except that they should keep themselves from things offered
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to idols, from blood and things strangled, and from sexual
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immorality. So that was basically all that
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was told to us as gentile believers in regard to all these
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ritualistic backgrounds of of the Jewish people, that we
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wouldn't be intentionally eating anything that would be offered
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to an idol. We wouldn't be eating certain
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things that were not dealt with properly in regard to the blood
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of the animal, and from things strangled in the key from sexual
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immorality. So then Paul took the men, and
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the next day, having been purified with them, he entered
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the temple to announce their expiration of the days of
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purification. It was a week at which time an
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offering should be made for each of them.
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Now when the seven days were almost ended, verse 27 the Jews
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from Asia seeing him in a temple stirred up the whole crowd and
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laid hands on him crying out men of Israel help.
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This is a man who teaches all men everywhere against the
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people, the law and this place. And furthermore, he's also
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brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled the holy place.
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For they had previous seen seen Trumpius the Ephesian with him
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in the city whom they suppose that Paul had brought into the
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temple. Well, Paul didn't bring any non
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Jewish person into the temple. There was no reason really for a
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non Jewish person to want to go into the temple.
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I mean, it wouldn't relate to us.
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And so they had a wall of separation that would be there
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to prevent people from entering the temple that weren't fully
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Jewish. And Paul didn't stumble anybody.
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He didn't bring anybody in there.
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But this is what he's being accused of.
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So this whole deal, this whole ceremony that the elders and
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James recommended Paul do, thinking it would pacify these
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people didn't work out. It became a disaster.
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And so this again shows us that man at his best point in regard
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to leading or thinking they're being LED of the Lord, James and
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the elders, it didn't work. And Paul's now being accosted
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and arrested, warned not to go to Jerusalem because of this
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very thing that he's going to begin to encounter and have to
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deal with. Now, many commentators as you
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study these teachings believe that, you know, Paul missed the
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Lord on this situation, as did the leadership.
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If he wasn't there, would God still be able to work without
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Paul being in Jerusalem? Of course there was all kind of
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other believers there. The movement of God was never
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completely dependent on one man. It never has been and never will
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be. God uses people for specific
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times and periods in history, but eventually we move on and
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most of us won't even be remembered a year after we're
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gone. Some of the great men that we
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have commentaries from in the past that lived solid lives for
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the Lord, that helps us stay on course with the truth of the
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word of God. They're remembered for their
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names and their testimony and their lives, but they're not
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here anymore. You know, any way we can hear
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from them is through radio broadcasts or books that we
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have. Whatever.
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And thank God for that. But Paul in this situation was
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in a bind, and it was going to create a lot of problem.
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He was going to be in prison for two years in Jerusalem and three
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years in Rome because of this. Now, in retrospect, what could
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he have done? He could have listened to the
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people when they warned him and there was enough evidence why he
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shouldn't go there. And he could have gone to some
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other region and been free to minister, right?
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I mean, but now he's got to spend the all these years in
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prison. And that wasn't a pleasant
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experience. Now, God worked it out.
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He wrote the prison epistles. And, you know, he did witness
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while he was in prison. But it's much better to be free,
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to be able to move around than to be isolated.
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And so that's something you can, you know, consider and think
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about in regard to, you know, how God works in your life.
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You know, this city is all uptight.
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It's disturbed. Now in verse 30, the people run
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together, they seize Paul, they drag him out of the temple.
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Immediately the doors are shut. Now they're seeking to kill him.
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News came to the commander of the Garrison that all Jerusalem
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was in an uproar. He immediately took soldiers and
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centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander
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and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
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Then the commander came near and took him and commanded him to be
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bound with two chains. Prophecy came fulfilled from
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Agamus. Now he's being chained.
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His hands were locked together, and he asked who he was and what
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he had done. And some among the multitude
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cried one thing and some another.
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So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult,
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he commanded him to be taken into the barracks.
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When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the
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soldiers because of the violence of the mob, for the multitude of
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the people followed after crying out away with him.
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And then as Paul was about to be LED into the barracks, he said
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to the commander, May I speak to you?
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He replied, Can you speak Greek? Are you not the Egyptian who
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some time ago stirred up a rebellion and LED the 4000
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assassins out into the wilderness?
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They're mixing Paul up with some other false guy.
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But Paul said, I am a Jew from Tarsus and Cilicia, a citizen of
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no means city, and I implore you permit me to speak to the
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people. So when he had given his
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permission, Paul stood up in the chair on the stairs and tension
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with his hand to the people. And when there was a great
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silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language saying, and
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we'll pick that up in chapter 22, where he's going to give his
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testimony of how at one time he was one who persecuted the
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church, hated Christians. Obviously he was responsible for
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the martyrdom of Stephen. He endorsed that held the coats
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of those who threw the stones at Stephen, the first martyr in the
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New Testament. So whenever you're in a
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situation that is perhaps misunderstood, you have family,
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you have a wife, you have a husband, you have children, you
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have brothers and sisters and that kind of thing, and you're
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very convinced about something, but they aren't.
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That doesn't mean that God isn't at work directing you, but at
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the same time in humility, you need to hear people out and you
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need to consider what people say because God puts people in your
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life to help you and that help you have wisdom and make right
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kind of decisions, right? And then you pray and you say,
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OK Lord, please clarify to me what is your will?
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There's a proverb that says how can two walk together except
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they'd be agreed. It's nothing more beneficial, I
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found out in my own life than to be able to have the unity of my
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wife and any decisions I make whenever I don't have unity with
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her. It's not a good thing.
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Never worked out. She's never come to me.
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So we, I think maybe one time she said, yeah, you were right
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that time, one time. So most of the time you were
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totally off base, right. So, you know, even though the
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husband's supposed to be the head of the house, that doesn't
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mean he's a dictator. He's someone who facilitates,
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hopefully, the leadership of the family toward the things of God,
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that the wife is in the family as well.
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We're heirs together, the grace of life, Peter says, and we're
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to submit to one another and the fear of the Lord.
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It tells us in Ephesians that we might find the will of God
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together. So Cindy and I, when we are up
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against things and we're not real sure about what to do or
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how to handle something, we talk about it, we pray about it.
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Sometimes we argue about it. You know, we fight about it.
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And then we come back and humble ourselves and pray and, and we
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listen. And it's always good to have
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unity in the decision making process, especially in a
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marriage and in the home, but also in the church.
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And I just want to assure you guys, when you come here, I'm
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not running this Church of the Lord's running the church.
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And I lead it with other guys who are also responsible to help
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lead it so that we do the best we can with what God has given
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to us to do for your benefit and for the glory of God.
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So please pray for us, you know, and if you guys are ever dealing
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with something, you need some encouragement with her, her
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counsel. We're always here to not to tell
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you what to do, but at least give you another opinion, right?
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It's good to have another opinion sometimes.
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Sometimes, you know, the doctor gives you a diagnosis and what
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are you going to do to say, OK, I guess you know, he knows, you
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know, I got a second opinion, maybe a third opinion, you know,
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So it's, it's always good to do that to make sure you're making
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the right decision. Amen.
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Let's pray. Father God, we thank you, Lord,
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for this time now that we can celebrate you and remember what
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you've done for us on the cross. Lord, your precious death and
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how you died for our sins according to the Scriptures, how
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you were buried, how you rose again the third day according to
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the Scriptures. And that Lord, you were seen by
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over 500 witnesses after your resurrection and even revealed
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yourself physically to Paul as one of the apostles.
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And Lord, there's much for us to learn in these scriptures in
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regard to hearing your voice and knowing your will and not
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arbitrarily just doing what we think we should do, but getting
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godly counsel, especially when it has to do with things that
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could cause danger or cause problem, unnecessary conflict.
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Well, we're thankful that you wrote the scriptures in such a
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way that we could see the humanists and the leaders.
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We could see the fallenness at times.
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We could see the sin even, and some of the greatest people that
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have walked the face of the earth.
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For you, Lord, all of us have feet of clay and only you alone.
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Our God, our trust is in you. Lord, we're not to trust a man.
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You tell us to trust in You with all of our heart and not lean
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into our understanding and all our ways.
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Acknowledge You and you'll direct our paths.
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We're thankful, Lord, that you give us wisdom.
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You tell us if any of us lack wisdom, we can ask of You and
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you'll give it to us. You won't hold it back.
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You tell us, Lord, the multitude of counselors there is safety.
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Thank you, Lord, for writing these things down for us to read
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and to obey and to listen to so we don't have to be fools, Lord,
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trying to run our lives based upon our own opinions.
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We're going to follow your leading Holy Spirit.
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We're going to be LED of You, and we want to have that godly
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support and council of others you surround us with, especially
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in our homes, Lord, with our spouses.
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Amen. Thank you for listening to this
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edition of Living Waters of Grace.
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Pastor Clark is teaching us about the book of Acts in this
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series. Acts is a powerful and unique
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part of Scripture, not just because it records the spread of
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the Gospel geographically from Jerusalem to the ends of the
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earth, but also culturally. Acts shows us how the message of
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Jesus moved beyond its Jewish roots and began to reach the
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Gentile world. What started with Peter leading
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a small group in the Upper Room became a global movement with
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Paul taking the gospel to cities, synagogues, and
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marketplaces across the Roman Empire.
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Acts captures this vital transition and reminds us that
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the good news of Jesus is for all people in every place.
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May we be inspired to carry that same gospel boldly into our
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world today. Living Waters of Grace comes to
24:51
you from Calvary Chapel, Westmoreland.
24:54
If you're in the Greensburg, PA area, you can listen to Grace FM
24:58
on the new 91.7 frequency. Pray about helping support the
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new station that will reach thousands more listeners.
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Send gifts to Grace FMPO, Box 716, Greensburg, PA 15601 also
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invite you to join us in person this Sunday at 10:30 AM at 400 E
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Pittsburgh St., Unit 6B. To stay up to date, visit
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calvarychapelonline.com where you can find our teaching
25:30
archive, submit prayer requests, join our e-mail list, or give
25:34
online. If you're outside the area,
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don't worry, you can still worship with us through the
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Calvary Chapel Westmoreland YouTube channel.
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Be sure to subscribe so you won't miss new content.
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You're so thankful that you joined us today.
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Be sure to tune in to the next edition of Living Waters of
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Grace.