Living Waters of Grace May 22nd, 2026

This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark

Wofford, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland,

County of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he

continues teaching through God's Word.

Anything in your life or mine that causes us to love whatever

it is more than we love. God is appealing to the lust of

the eye, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life.

It's called worldliness. Anything that moves you away

from God's will is worldliness. Anything that causes you to not

pursue God with all your heart is worldliness.

Anything that causes you to spend your money on things that

are going to perish, as opposed to investing them in things that

are going to last for eternity, is worldliness.

It's far easier to live worldly lives than we realize.

The smallest things that we've been conditioned to believe and

perceive as normal hold us back from seeing Jesus daily.

Allowing our hearts and minds to be filled with self love and

money continues to blind us from the sin that we've become numb

to today. Pastor Clark teaches us that

giving our time, energy, and love to things of this world

hinders us from setting our affections on the things above

where Christ resides now. Here's Pastor Clark in the Book

of Revelation chapter 20 with today's edition of Living Waters

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

of Grace. Revelation chapter 20, verse 4.

Revelation 20:4

And I saw Thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was

committed to them. And then I saw the souls of

those who had been beheaded for the witnesses to Jesus and for

the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his

image, and had not received His mark on their foreheads or in

their on their hands. And they lived and reigned with

Christ for 1000 years. But the rest of the dead did not

live again until the thousand years were finished.

This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has

part in the first resurrection over such the second death has

no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and

shall reign with him 1000 years. Now as we're studying the

millennial Kingdom, the beginning of of God's 1000 year

reign when He rules with authority and power on the face

of the earth, when the devil is bound for that 1000 years.

We're told some wonderful things regarding this future House of

God when Christ comes and rules in Jerusalem from his throne and

temple. And it says in chapter 2 of

Isaiah, the word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah

and Jerusalem now shall come to pass in the latter days, that

the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on top of

the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all

nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say,

Come, and let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the

House of God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and

we shall walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth

the law and the word of the Lord.

From Jerusalem He shall judge between the nations and rebuke

many people. They shall beat their swords

into plowshares and their Spears into pruning hooks.

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall

they learn war anymore. O House of Jacob, come and let

us walk, and the light of the Lord.

And then in Isaiah chapter 35 says, The wilderness and the

Isaiah 35 · chapter mention

wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall

rejoice and blossom as a rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and

rejoice even with joy in singing the glory of Lebanon.

Shall I give to it the excellence of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord, the Excellency of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who are fearful hearted, Be strong, do not fear.

Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with a recompense of

of God, and He will come and save you.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the

deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a

deer in the tongue of the dumb, saying, For water shall burst

forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.

The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land

springs of water, and the habitation of jackals.

Where each lay. There shall be grass with reeds

and rushes. A highway shall be there in a

road, and it shall be called the highway of holiness.

The unclean shall not Passover it, but it shall be for others.

Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray.

No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beasts go up

on it. It shall not be found there, but

the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransom of the Lord shall

return and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy in

their heads. They shall obtain joy and

gladness and sorrow, and sign shall flee away.

How awesome is that going to be, huh?

1000 year reign. No more politics, no more world

rollers trying to take control of the earth.

We'll be under the authority of Jesus Christ and him alone.

There'll be perfect peace on that earth.

At that time, everybody, the New Age people are thinking they're

going to push Nirvana into place and have the world come together

in the concentric circles and bring in a peace.

But there will be no peace until Jesus Christ comes.

He is the Prince of Peace and we need to be praying for the peace

of Jerusalem in these days because as that peace comes upon

Jerusalem, the peace will come upon the whole world.

And so this is what we look forward to at the end of the

tribulation period. But what we see in verse 4 here,

it says I saw Thrones and they that sat on them and judgment

was committed to them. The picture of the privilege

that we will have, the position that we will have and enjoy

during this millennial Kingdom. It says in verse four that it'll

be granted to them authority to judge under Jesus Christ.

In first Corinthians chapter 6, verse two and three, it says, do

1 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

you not know that the Saints will judge the world and if the

world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge in the

smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall

judge angels? How much more things that

pertain to this life? So you're going to be a judge

one day under the authority of Jesus Christ, sitting on a

throne and judging under his leadership.

We have no idea in our small minds, our finite minds, the

great things that God hath prepared for those who love him.

It says in Luke chapter 19. And he said to him, well done

Luke 19 · chapter mention

good servant because you were faithful and a very little have

authority over 10 cities. And the second came saying,

master, you're 1 minor or money equivalent to three months wages

has earned 5 Minas. Likewise he said to him, you

also will be over 5 cities. As we live our lives, all of us,

everything we're doing right now will have an effect on what

we'll be doing in the millennial Kingdom.

If you're faithful in the small things in this life, God has a

plan for you in that thousand year reign, a very specific

honorable plan that he's going to give to you to lead and to

serve in that millennial Kingdom.

Some of us might think, well, boy, I don't really have much of

an influence and impact in this life, in this world.

I guarantee if you're faithful in the smallest of things in

this life, God will blow your mind and what He's going to give

you the privilege to do in the millennial Kingdom under His

authority. Some of you might be mayors and

governors. Some of you might be running

different types of business enterprises.

And in this life, it seems like you never get a shot or you

never have the privilege to do maybe what you really would like

to do or what you think you're capable of doing.

I love it. What it says in First

Corinthians 1558. Be steadfast, immovable, always

abounding in the work for the Lord, for as much as you know

your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

And then that day in that millennial Kingdom, when God

calls your name and says, this is what I have for you to do for

me during this millennial Kingdom, you'll turn around and

think, He can't be talking to me.

But yes, He will be talking to you because everything you do in

this life, no matter how small it might seem, is being written

and recorded by Him in the book of remembrance, and He'll have a

very, very special job for you in that Kingdom.

And the Scriptures tell us that in this time of judgment,

there's souls of those who have been beheaded for their witness

to Jesus and for the Word of God.

Why? Because they did not worship the

beast or his image. It had not received his marker

on their foreheads or on their hands.

This world is very alluring. It's very tempting, isn't it?

It's very easy for us to be drawn into things that we

shouldn't be drawn into as Christians.

Every day we have to fight against the temptations of our

fallen nature that still tries to raise its ugly head up.

We have to be on guard continually against the Wiles of

the devil. The devil is insidious in how he

approaches us and how he wants to trap us into things that

would cause problems for us in this life.

James tells us in chapter 4 verse four, he refers to those

who have an affinity or a love for this present evil world as

adulterers and adulteresses. It says, do you not know that

friendship with the world is enmity with God?

Meaning, if you're a friend with the world, you're an enemy of

God. Whoever therefore wants to be a

friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

You can't serve 2 masters. The Bible says you'll love the

one and you'll hate the other. It tells us in first John

1 John 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2. If you flip over there for a

minute regarding this world system, First John chapter 2

1 John 2:15

verse 15, it says do not love the world or the things in the

world. If anyone loves the world, the

love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world, the lusts of the flesh, the

lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father,

but is of the world, and the world is passing away in the

lust of it. But he who does the will of God

abides forever. All of us are struggling and

fighting against this power of this world every day.

The lust of the eye, the things that we see that seems pleasant,

as we've studied in the book of Genesis, the woman looked at the

tree and it was pleasant to her eyes.

The eye is is a gateway to the mind.

That's why it tells us don't stand in the counsel of the

ungodly, nor sit in the seat of the scornful.

The enemy would try to draw us into evil through the things

that we see with our eyes, the lust of the flesh, that is where

she saw the tree, that it was good for food.

And this appeals to our lower appetites, the old nature, the

things that are vain in our lives.

The Scriptures say, Pray that the Lord would take my eyes from

beholding vain things. And then the pride of life.

It's a tree, she said, to be desired.

And the the devil said it's a tree to be desired, to make one

wise. And the pride of life manifests

itself in flaunting our materialism and affluence, to

try to make impressions upon other people by perhaps the car

we drive or the house we live in, or the things that we own.

And Jesus says that man's life does not consist in the

abundance of the things he possesses, but everything in

this world will be to appeal to the lust of the eye, the lust of

the flesh, and the pride of life.

The marketers spend big money to make you feel that your life

isn't fulfilled or satisfied unless you acquire whatever the

advertisers are going to put on. I mean, the amount of money that

they spend in the Super Bowl to advertise their product.

You know why? Because they know it works.

They know there's going to be countless millions of people all

over the world watching that football game and they'll do all

they can to appeal to the lust of the eye, the lust of the

flesh and the pride of life. Now, worldliness is a matter of

the heart. And I struggle myself with this

aspect of worldliness that I have to constantly be on guard

about. And worldliness is defined as

having an allegiance or a loyalty to anything that you

would love more than you would love God.

Jesus said to these people that ask them the questions, what's

the most important commandment? And Jesus says to love the Lord

your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all

your soul, with all your strength, and to love your

neighbor is yourself. If you do these two things,

you'll fulfill the entire law. Anything in your life or mine

that causes us to love whatever it is more than we love.

God is appealing to the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh,

the pride of life. It's called worldliness.

Anything that moves you away from God's will is worldliness.

Anything that causes you to not pursue God with all your heart

is worldliness. Anything that causes you to

spend your money on things that are going to perish as opposed

to investing them in things that are going to last for eternity

is worldliness. Anything that is profane and

lustful and focused on your own self will is worldliness.

That's why the apostle Paul said in Colossians chapter 3 verse 2,

Colossians 3:2

set your affections on things above, not on things on earth.

Set your affection on things that are above, not on things

that are on the earth. And you have to ask yourself

this morning, where is my affections?

Are they upon the things above, where Christ resides, where my

life is hid with Christ and God, Where I'll spend all eternity

someday? Definitely during the millennial

Kingdom serving Him. And then at that final battle of

Gog and Magog at the end of the Millennium, I'll spend all

eternity with Him in the heavens.

Or are my affections on the things of the earth?

Am I wasting my life? You know, the one servant that

was given the money to invest in the Lord's Kingdom, he hid it in

the ground because he was fearful of the master, that the

master came back and if there was nothing left, then he would

be in big trouble. Well, the Lord is looking for

fruitfulness in all of our lives.

So He gives you and me one life, one shot, one chance in this

life that we're going to either blow or we're going to used for

his purposes and for his Kingdom.

And so the picture of that servant, he hid the money in the

ground. And when the master came back,

he said, well, what do you have to show for what I entrusted you

with? And he said, well, master, I was

afraid you. I thought you were a harsh

servant. So I hid it in the ground and

here it is. And the master was livid in the

sense that I gave you this and I entrusted you this with this to

multiply and to grow and to increase and, and you didn't do

that. In all of our lives, Christ is

looking for a harvest, a fruitful existence, so that at

the end, when we stand and give an account of ourselves before

the Lord and our lives are put through that judgment seat of

Christ where everything is revealed as to what our

priorities were in this life and what we were living for.

That it won't burn up and just have nothing.

It says some will be saved as oh by fire.

God in his mercy will save and is saving those who come to Him

and trust in Him. But salvation is more than this.

Asking Christ that came into our life and forgive us of our sins

so that we can have eternal life.

Salvation is the beginning of a new destiny for all of us to

live for purposes that will last for all eternity.

That our life no longer is benefiting ourselves, but it's

benefiting and prospering other people.

Jim Elliott, the famous missionary who was struggling to

go to South America to work with the the tribal Indians, just

like us, a normal guy. But everybody eulogizes and puts

Jim Elliott on a pedestal because he was an amazing man.

He was martyred for his faith in Christ.

But Jim was challenging himself whenever he had the call to go

and be a missionary. The couple weeks before he left,

he was saying, am I nuts? Selling all my stuff, giving it

away, going to a group of people that you know could care less

maybe or what's the consequences of going there and he's

struggling back and forth just like we all do.

Whenever God begins to work by his spirit and challenge us and

say, I want to draw you into a deeper relationship with me.

I want you to know my heart for your existence.

I want to live my life through you and for my glory.

And all of us when we start hearing God that way, we have

several attitudes. Wow, this is awesome.

And yes, Lord, I want what you want.

And then we also have the the fear at times, well, what will

this cost me? What will this require of me?

And Jesus says if you want to find your life, you have to lose

it. If you want to save your life,

you have to lose it for my sake. And that's a paradox.

If we really want to find real life, we have to actually lose

it, lose what we think is important so he can show us what

really is important. Well, Jim Elliott, he said that

famous phrase that he's known for after his martyrdom.

He is no fool to lose what he cannot keep to gain what he

cannot lose. He is no fool to lose what he

cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Going back to Sodom and we're studying in Genesis.

We haven't gotten to this section yet, but a lot is in

this horrible place, Sodom and Gomorrah, and it's a picture of

the world as it is back then, as it is today.

The world is full of evil and wickedness and ungodliness and

impurity. The majority of the human race

detests. The Lord Jesus Christ does not

want to have anything to do with Him, and if He was here on earth

again, they would crucify Him. This as they crucified Him last

time. So Lot is told to get out of

that city. And as he's being basically

dragged out of the city by the angels, it says he lingered for

a while. And lingered means it's like

sort of slowing down. And like, yeah, I know I'm

supposed to go this way, but I'm just, you know, I'm just not

like really wanting perhaps to go with all my heart.

I'm just sort of still have a longing to be back here.

But it says in the Bible that God's grace pulled them out of

that city. Lot, his wife and his daughters.

They were told not to look back behind them.

But his wife, unfortunately, as she was walking away from Sodom,

her heart still long for the world and they were warned not

to look back. And when she looked back, she

turned into a pillar of salt. Her life was destroyed, Jesus

says in Luke Chapter 9 verse 62. But Jesus said to him, no one

Luke 9:62

having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the

Kingdom of God. I don't know where you are

today, but as we're studying this Book of Revelation, some of

us are here and we unfortunately, if Christ tarries

or some of us are taken out at what is called the rapture, the

catching away. And those who are left behind

that never committed themselves truly and fully to Jesus Christ,

because of them lingering and missing that return of Christ,

and because of their love for the present world system, they

will be deceived into taking the mark of the beast, the mark of

the Antichrist. And some of you here today will

perhaps end up taking that. That is not my prayer.

It's not the Lord's Prayer. He's not willing that any should

perish, but all that come, come to repentance.

But things are going to get so bad during that tribulation that

if you're left here with without faith in Christ, you will be

tempted and most likely moved to say, well, this doesn't make

sense not to take this because if I don't get this

identification code, I don't have any ability to access my

bank accounts. I can't work at my job anymore.

I can't buy food for my family. I'm I'm going to get that mark

and the mark is the ultimate betrayal of, of your soul to the

devil. And once you take that mark of

the beast, you'll never be able to withdraw from that

commitment. Hebrews tells us about the

subject of what we call the perseverance of the Saints.

And if you're really gods today, if you really belong to him, if

you've really been saved and your life has been radically

transformed, you don't have to worry about being left behind

and you don't have to worry about any kind of mark on your

body that will represent your allegiance to Antichrist.

It says therefore in verse 35 of Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

Therefore do not castaway your confidence, which has great

reward, for you have need of endurance, so that after you

have done the will of God, you may receive the promise for yet

a little while, and he who is coming will come and will not

tarry. Now the just shall live by

faith, but if anyone draws back, my soul shall have no pleasure

in Him. But we are not of those who draw

back to perdition or hell, but are those who believe to the

saving of the soul. So we use this term sometimes

backsliding. And we've all been there where

we've been walking with the Lord and we've been following Him.

And then some events, some crisis, some temptation, some

trial, some failing our life causes us to move away from the

Lord. In other words, we were like a

lot. We're lingering in an area that

we shouldn't be hanging out in. Or perhaps some of us are, are

like Lot's wife that we're falling the Lord and and the

devil's whispering in our ear. Well, you're missing out on this

and you don't do this anymore. And wasn't this good?

And, and all of a sudden you look back and Jesus is saying,

if you're truly called to follow me in the Kingdom, you put your

hand to the plow and you just keep going forward.

You keep going forward. You're not going to look back

anymore. And I've looked back different

times in my life and I suffered the consequences of looking back

when I was in Bible college as a young man.

And I, I'm dealing with the emotions of a young man and the

instability and the weaknesses of my own will and the

immaturity of my own walk with the Lord.

And I'm in Bible college and I'm hearing about unreached people

group. People have never once heard the

gospel. And I had this compulsion in my

heart that wanted to be involved in going to reach people have

never heard. But you know, when I go out on

weekends to visit families from the church, we're attending nice

houses, nice cars, nice careers. I'm thinking of Lord, why can't

I be like one of those people? They love you, but they have,

they sort of have the best of both worlds.

In the Book of Revelation, Pastor Clark is taking us

through all kinds of events and happenings that are predicted

for the future. But for those who believe and

follow Jesus, there's much to look forward to in heaven with

Jesus. However, for those who are here

on earth during the Tribulation, there's all kinds of chaos that

will unfold. The Bible talks about an

Antichrist, false prophet, and of course that evil enemy Satan.

Do you see how there are such clever attempts for the enemy to

disguise himself as God and even the Trinity?

The true Savior of the world is God and how he comes to rescue

through his triune nature God the Father, Jesus the Son, and

God the Holy Spirit. Just like Satan tried to take

over for God in heaven was cast out, Satan will try to convince

people on earth that he is the triune God to be worshipped

instead of the legitimate God in heaven.

It's an attempt, and although he will capture plenty in his

schemes, he will not win. The true God wins, and

Revelation unpacks how that will all happen in detail.

Be encouraged because there's a way out for all of this madness

that will ensue on this earth. But you don't want to wait

indefinitely to make that decision about Jesus.

We don't know when the church will be raptured, and you want

to be ready to be with Jesus. To learn more about this, head

over to calvarychapelonline.com. We're so glad you've been with

us today. And if you'd like to connect

further with this ministry, find us on Facebook or YouTube.

You can also download our mobile app at calvarychapelonline.com.

Be sure to join us for weekly services at 400 E Pittsburgh St.

Ste. 6B in Greensburg, PA 15601. This has been living waters of

grace.