Sermon
Living Waters of Grace for May 15th, 2026
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark
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Waffer, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, County
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of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he
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continues teaching through God's Word.
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We need to rejoice when the current events discourage us.
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We need to be rejoicing people when things don't seem to be
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going the way we would hope. When you have loved ones and
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family that turn from the Lord, when you have people that just
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blow you off, when you have people you work with that think
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you're nuts, when you have immediate family members perhaps
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that just don't seem to care about their souls, it's
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heartbreaking. It's discouraging, but we're
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victorious people. We have won.
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Christ is conquered. When you give your life to
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Jesus, you want to share the love and freedom you feel with
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those whom you care about most. It can be extremely difficult to
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find the strength in sharing the good news with those who refuse
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to believe it. The best thing that we can do is
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to focus on loving through patience, prayer, and respect,
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trusting that God will move. Today, Pastor Clark teaches us
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to rejoice even when things don't seem to be going the way
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we want. Jesus is coming back soon, and
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he's already won. Now here's Pastor Clark in
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Revelation Chapter 19 with today's edition of Living Waters
Revelation 19 chapter mention
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of Grace. In the second coming, the Bible
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says every eye shall see him in the rapture of the tribulation
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begins right after we are taken out, and the millennial Kingdom
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begins at the second coming. There's enough information in
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the scriptures to make it clear that the raptures are quite
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different event than the second coming of Jesus Christ.
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And the reason I bring this up, there's a lot of confusion
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regarding these things in the body of Christ today.
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You have people who are pre Trib, mid trip, post Trib, all
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millennial, post millennial, all these different end time views,
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eschatological end time views. We Calvary Chapel are historic
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pre mill, pre Trib in the sense of our eschatology.
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And we're not alone. Good Bible teachers that you
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listen to in the radio like John MacArthur or Charles Swindoll,
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Charles Stanley, a lot of you guys listen.
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I know to some of these people there, they take the same
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position we do. So we're in good company with
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credible Bible scholars. However, I said this isn't
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anything to divide on with people who have different
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positions. The good news is whenever the
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Lord comes back to all realize we're right and they were wrong
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but if they're in Christ, we're all going to love each other
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anyway and it's not going to matter.
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But it is important in regard to how we're preparing for the
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Lord's return and how we live in light of that return.
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So let's look at the section that we're going to spend some
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time on Revelation chapter 19. As we see in verse 11, the
Revelation 19 chapter mention
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heaven is open and behold a White Horse, a physical animal,
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a horse. We're all going to be riding
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horses when we come back with the Lord at the second coming.
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Now I don't like riding horses. I'm afraid of getting on them
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because they can go out of control, you know, and unless
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you're really trained to tell it what to do, it just has a mind
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of its own. But the good news is when we
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come back with the Lord, don't worry about that.
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We're going to get on the horse. The horse is going to know
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exactly where it's going, what it's supposed to do.
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We're just going to have to hold on.
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That's all we're going to have to do.
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But Christ is going to come back on this beautiful White Horse
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and we're all going to ride with him.
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And it says he who sat on him was called faithful and true
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capital F, capital T in your Bibles and righteousness.
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He judges and makes war. Now, this is a time that I think
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everyone of us should be looking forward to.
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I was thinking about the world the way it is today and the
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complete ignorance that it has toward the things of God, this
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independence of a Creator. Sometimes you wish you had this
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power in you, and we do. We have the Holy Spirit's power
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in us, but we don't have the power to bring forth judgment,
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do we? Only Christ has that power and
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authority. Sometimes you just long for
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certain people you know that will realize that God is the
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Lord. Amen.
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People that scoff and ridicule and laugh at you and reject you
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and think you're nuts. You just can't wait for the day
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that they realize how real God is and how holy he is and how
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just and how glorious he is. But this is a day that we have
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to wait for when Christ comes and the liberal thought the day
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is I'm not a Sinner. Why would he be talking about
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sin? I'm a good person and how
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there's no such place as hell. I would not even acknowledge
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that a place like that exists, some might say.
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Someone told me recently that a relative went to a neighbor and
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was telling the neighbor boy about the importance of knowing
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Jesus Christ and accepting Him as your Savior.
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Because if you don't have him as your Savior and you're Lord,
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you'll suffer the consequences one day of eternal hell.
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And the mother came over very angry and very disturbed that
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this young man had told her son about hell.
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And she said, we don't believe in such a place.
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That's morbid. We would never accept anything
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like that. Well, her authority certainly
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isn't the word of God, is it? And sometimes it's difficult for
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us because if we are Christians, we have to proclaim everything
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that this Bible teaches, even when it makes people disturbed
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and when it makes them uncomfortable.
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And that's the difference between churches in these last
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days that are proclaiming the truth and churches that are
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proclaiming the lie. But there is this liberal
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thought today. There's no place in this world
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today for any idea of judgment. There's no consequences for sin.
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We make up God in our own image and and how we want to think
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about him. That's what's called
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universalism. This pretense and delusion today
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that people have will one day be very, very costly.
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If you look at Matthew Chapter 7 for a moment, the slip in your
Matthew 7 chapter mention
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Bible over to the left Matthew Chapter 7, it says in verse 21
Matthew 7 chapter mention
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of Matthew 7, not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord shall
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enter into the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will
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of my Father in heaven. You want to underline it in your
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Bible. It isn't enough this to say you
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believe in Christ, but you need to be doing his will like Jesus
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when he was on earth. He's perfect God, perfect man.
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He says my will is to do the will of the Father and if we're
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his offspring, then we should have the same desire in our
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hearts to do the will of the Father.
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He said, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
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not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name and
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done many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them,
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I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice
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lawlessness. And won't that be a shock to
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your whole life, thinking you're on the right track and you're
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doing the right things? But meanwhile your heart is just
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not pure because you haven't allowed Christ to save you.
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And so you're trying to be a religious person.
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I think of all the institutions on the face of the earth today,
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many churches are very religious.
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They have statues, they have crosses, they have icons, They
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have all kind of spiritual atmosphere.
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And yet Jesus would say many times he could say to us today,
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just because we have a dove that represents the Holy Spirit of
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the cross here. He could say these, these people
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worship me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
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And so the consequences of believing a lie.
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That's why the apostle Paul every time we take the Lord's
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Supper, he says to examine yourself, whether you're in the
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faith every time that supper goes around.
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Would the God, if any of us here are posers and we're not
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Christians that we would take that we would examine ourselves
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and we'd hear the Spirit of God say you're still lost, you're
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phony, you need to get saved. And if you hear that, be
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thankful that he's shown you that you are in delusion.
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But if we can take that supper and we allow the Spirit to
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examine us and we have that assurance, blessed assurance,
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Jesus is mine. Oh what a foretaste of glory
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define ere salvation purchased of blood born of his Spirit
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washed in his blood. We can know that for sure, can't
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we? We have that assurance in us or
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our heart does not condemn us. God, the Lord Jesus Christ comes
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with crowns of triumph and glory and deity as we see here in this
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section of Revelation. He's all knowing.
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He has flaming eyes. His eyes and verse 12 are like a
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flame of fire, a holy judgement. Christ, as He looks upon you and
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me. His Word, the Word of God, is
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the instrument of His righteous judgement.
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Look at Hebrews chapter 4. Just move over to the left there
Hebrews 4 chapter mention
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a little bit a few books. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 11
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through 13. It says.
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Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest lest anyone fall
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according to the same example of disobedience.
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For the word of God and the Bible declares Christ as the
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Word. In the beginning was the Word
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and the word was with God and the Word was God.
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John chapter one verse one. Not like the Jehovah witnesses
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would say in the beginning was the Word and the word was with
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God and the Word was a God. No, Jesus Christ is God, not a
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created being. He's the second person of the
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Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, self
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existent, always existing of 1 essence with the Father.
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It says the word of God is living and powerful and sharper
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than any 2 edged sword, piercing even the division of soul and
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spirit and of joints and marrow. And as a discerner of the
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thoughts and intents of the heart.
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You know, when we sit here and we examine ourselves in the
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Lord's Supper, I can just picture like the sword picking
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away at my heart, pulling stuff back.
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Clark, I want you to see this. I want you to acknowledge this.
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I want you to recognize this. I want you to let this go.
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Let me purify you, let me carterize these places of
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bankruptcy in your heart, and let my spirit make your heart
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dislike mine. He's a discerner.
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He knows every thought and intent of our heart.
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He knows every motive. And verse 13, it says there's no
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creature hidden from his sight. God sees the whole earth.
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He sees the whole world. He sees every human being, all
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things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we must
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give an account. There's nothing I can hide.
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I can hide things from you. You can hide things from me, but
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we can't hide anything from the Lord God.
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In verse 13, it says he was clothed with a robe dipped in
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blood and his name is called the Word of God.
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The judgment that confronts God's enemies in Isaiah chapter
Isaiah 63 chapter mention
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63. If you flip over there in the
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Old Testament, Isaiah chapter 63, this talks about this
Isaiah 63 chapter mention
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Armageddon, this final battle, one day that will come upon this
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earth and his second coming, the consequences of those who are
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going to fight against the Lord. Who is this?
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Who comes from Edom with dyed garments from Borzraw, This one
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who is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of
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his strength. And this is what we see depicted
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in Revelation 19. I who speak in righteousness,
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mighty to save. Why is your apparel read in your
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garments? Like one who treads in the
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winepress? Again, the same verbiage that's
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used in Revelation. I've trodden the winepress alone
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and from the people. No one was with me, for I've
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trodden them in my anger, and I trampled them in my fury.
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Their blood is sprinkled upon my garments.
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So what we see represented by Christ is this battle that will
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ensue when He comes back. For the day of vengeance is in
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my heart, and the year of my redeem has come.
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I look, but there was no one to help, and I wondered that there
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was no one to uphold. Therefore my arm brought
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salvation for me and my own fury.
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It sustained me. I've trodden down the people in
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my anger, made them drunk in my fury, and brought down their
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strength to the earth. His name is called the Word of
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God. Jesus is a visible word of the
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unseen God. I love it.
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It says in Hebrews regarding Christ himself and Hebrews
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chapter one verse 3. Hebrews chapter one verse 3.
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It says about Christ, who being the brightness of his glory in
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the express image of His person, on upholding all things by the
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word of his power. When he sat down by himself, He
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purged or cleanse us from our sins.
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He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, sat down on
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the right hand of the Father. He's the express image of his
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Father. And so as we look at this
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section of revelation, we understand that we're going to
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be with the Lord when he comes back.
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And as I described the difference between the rapture
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of the church and the second coming Christ, when he comes
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back and the second coming, his role will be absolute and
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authoritative. It'll be seen as an iron roll,
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invincible in this world. When he's rolling and reigning
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on this earth, there will be no more corrupt governments.
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There will be no immorality rolling and raging on the
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televisions and on the Internet, in the airwaves.
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It'll be a time of purity and righteousness, and nothing will
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be dealt with like it has been in that time compared to the way
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it is right now. Sometimes we wonder, why do the
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wicked rage, as the psalmist said, and the people imagine a
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vain thing? Why is it that people refuse to
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see their need of a Savior? Why is it that they refuse to
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repent? Christ has given Himself
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everything on behalf of the human race upon the lost, upon
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the Sinner, and the world keeps pushing their hands away from
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Him. During this time in the
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millennial Kingdom, when Christ rules with an iron hand for 1000
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years, there'll still be people born on the face of the earth.
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During that thousand years, there'll be sinners that will be
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born that will one day once again rise up at the end of that
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thousand years in anarchy, at the final battle of Gog and
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Magog. And that's right prior to the
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destruction of the earth, when the Bible says there will be a
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new heaven and a new earth that will be created.
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So his role will be unlike anything that we're experiencing
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today. Now, we have to keep in mind
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though, that God's hand is still on the universe.
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It never was off of it. Sometimes we wonder, though,
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don't we, God, how could you let this happen?
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Why did this go on? There's a purpose and a reason
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for everything that happens in human history.
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God's never sleeping. He's never ignoring the
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heartache and the pain of his people.
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Israel had to cry out for many hundreds of years before God
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sent a deliverer, didn't they? Before God sent Moses to pull
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them out of the bondage and horror of living under Pharaoh's
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regime? I think about the Jews and the
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Holocaust and those who cried out for help and for mercy.
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God was not silent in that time, for He had many Christians
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helping the Jews find a place of safety and to get out of the
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country. So they weren't killed in the
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ovens, but many were. But God was there, as He will be
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even during the tribulation when people were going through
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tremendous horror and heartache and heartbreak.
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And yet he'll have still on the earth a remnant, 144,000 people
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who will be going around sharing the good news of Jesus Christ,
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saying it isn't too late. Repent for the Kingdom of heaven
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is at hand. And Revelation chapter 14, if
Revelation 14 chapter mention
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you move there for a moment, it describes in detail.
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And we went through this months ago regardless, starting this
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final reaping of the earth's harvest.
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Verse 14, it says, I looked, and behold a white cloud.
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And on the cloud sat one like the Son of Man, having on his
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head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
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Another Angel came out of the temple crying with a loud voice
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to him who sat on the cloud. Thrust in your sickle and reap,
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for the time has come for you to reap, for the harvest of the
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earth is ripe. So he who sat on the cloud
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thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
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Then another Angel came out of the temple which is in heaven,
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he also having a sharp sickle. And another Angel came out from
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the altar who had power over fire.
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He cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle,
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saying, Thrust in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters
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of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.
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So the angels thrust in the sickle into the earth, and
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gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great
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winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled
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outside the city and blood came out of the winepress up to the
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horse's bridal for 1600 furlong. So we see how this picture of
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the blood of the people who are being destroyed at this time, it
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says in verse 13, he's clothed with a robe dipped in blood and
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his name is called the word of God.
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Joel chapter 313 says put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe,
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come go down for his winepress is full.
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The vats overflow for their wickedness is great.
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I'll tell you when the Lord comes back at the second coming
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with us, the evil on the face of the earth, the hatred, the
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anarchy will be at an all time high and it's going to be a very
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dramatic scene when these armies on this earth will come against
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the armies of God. Every eye, the Bible says we'll
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see him when he returns. When the rapture comes, the
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people are going to be surprised.
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They're going to wonder where did everybody go?
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You guys probably saw some of these movies, the Left Behind
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series. I think they they were done
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rather well in the sense of least giving you a picture of
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what these things are going to be like.
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You know, someone's driving in a car and all of a sudden they're
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not there anymore. You know, people are in a movie
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theater and half the theaters wiped out.
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I don't know about the movies a day.
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If you're in a movie theater, probably most of the people be
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left behind, you know, But that's pretty bad out there in
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the theaters. You got people in airplanes
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flying and maybe the pilots a Christian, he's gone.
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It's going to be staggering. And the world's not going to
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know what to do with that. They're going to probably say
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some alien invasion. They're going to come up with
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some kind of ridiculous story how to deal with this in the
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news. But when Christ comes back the
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second time in verse 7 of chapter 1, it says, behold, He's
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coming with cloud, and every eye will see Him, even they who
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pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because
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of him. Even so, Amen.
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I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end says the
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Lord who is and who was and who is to come the Almighty.
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What a glorious day that will be.
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Technology is here today. You can see events occurring
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live around the world on your Internet, right?
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Your computer. Many of you guys have cell phone
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capability with all kind of apps.
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I was thinking there should be an app for the Rapture and the
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second coming. We should market that stand, you
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know. But seriously, everybody's going
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to have the potential and capability of seeing all these
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things live as they come to pass.
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Will see him on the White Horse. They'll see him on the White
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Horse with His righteous armies following behind all of us
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throughout human history who are His elect.
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Will be following the King of kings and Lord of Lords on the
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horses. And the wicked on the earth at
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that time will look up in shock and horror to see millions upon
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millions of Christ's Kingdom. Converging on them from the sky,
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all riding on white horses. What a scene that's going to be
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verse 16 of chapter 19. And he has on his robe and on
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his thigh a name written King of kings and Lord of Lords, all who
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have denied the deity of Jesus Christ.
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And those who are currently denying, unless they repent,
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will see the error of their heresies.
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The Mormons, the race of Islam, the Jehovah Witnesses, they
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don't know who Jesus Christ is. They proclaim that they know
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him. Their literature looks like they
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know him. But they miss the most critical,
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important point. He is the King of kings and Lord
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of Lords. He comes in glory as God to this
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earth. We need to rejoice when the
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current events discourage us. We need to be rejoicing people
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when things don't seem to be going the way we would hope.
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When you have loved ones and family that turn from the Lord,
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when you have people that this blow you off, when you have
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people you work with that think you're nuts, when you have
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immediate family members, perhaps that this don't seem to
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care about their souls, It's heartbreaking.
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It's discouraging. But we're victorious people.
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We have one, Christ is conquered and we need to continually be
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reminded and we need to look at this section of Scripture and
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see the fulfillment of Christ's second coming again in power and
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glory to rule the earth as King of kings and Lord of Lords.
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You think I'm nuts? How many people think I'm nuts
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in here today? This, this is wild, man.
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This is like, this stuff is not of this world, this is
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futuristic, but it's all true. It's all going to come to pass
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just like it was from the prophets declaring the birth of
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Christ when he came the first time, right?
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Born in the Manger. Every detail of every prophecy
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was fulfilled 100% to the way that God said it would come to
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pass. And the same thing's going to
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happen when the rapture occurs, the fulfillment of prophecy, and
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the same thing's going to occur when Christ comes back with us
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at his second coming. Nothing's going to stop it.
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People can try to refute it today on The History Channel and
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say we're a bunch of nuts, we've drank the kool-aid or whatever.
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You know they're going to say this stuff.
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Don't worry about it. Just be strong in your faith,
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keep studying, know what you believe, why you believe it, and
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be able to share it in a rational and attractive and
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convincing way so that it'll make people think and it'll make
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people inquire. And I'll tell you, there's a lot
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of interest in the end of the world right now, isn't there?
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The Bible says no one knows a time or hour.
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You can't put any dates on it. Anytime someone sets a date, get
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away from their literature and their teachings, their heretics,
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you know, So we got like a lot of opportunity to talk to people
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because people are interested. So we're living in fantastic
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times, exciting times, glorious times.
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So let's all just keep heading in the right direction together
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as brothers and sisters in Christ and keep loving people
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and keep sharing your faith and ask God for patience because
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he's been patient with you and me, right?
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Still patient with us. So the love of God, that's what
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people need to hear about. We are digging into the Book of
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Revelation here on Living Waters of Grace.
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Pastor Clark is tackling this challenging book as we try to
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discern the messages that are within its pages.
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There's so much imagery and at times you're not always sure
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what's literal and what's metaphorical.
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At one point there's a reference to an adulterous woman riding on
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a beast. And as someone else mentioned,
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at one point it almost sounds like a rodeo from hell.
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And in actuality it kind of is. You learn about the downfall and
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demise of a sinful and rebellious world, falling down
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in worship to someone who is the anti hero, the enemy, Satan
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working his insidious ways into the minds of fallen people.
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It's sad and it's heartbreaking, but it's a classic story of good
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versus evil. Thankfully, we know how this
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story ends. Jesus wins, Jesus reigns, and
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evil is conquered once and for all.
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We pray and trust you've received Jesus as your Savior.
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But if you haven't, don't wait until the events in Revelation
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become what's happening on the streets.
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None of us wants you to be there at that time.
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Instead, we'd love for you to be with us in heaven as we
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celebrate the marriage supper with Jesus as his bridegroom.
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To get a better understanding of where we are in the Book of
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Revelation, to listen to any messages before or after this
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one, you can find them at our website,
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calvarychapelonline.com. That's it for today's edition,
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but we hope you'll want to hear Pastor Clark teach more from the
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Book of Revelation. It can be exciting to think
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about the future for believers, but it can feel a bit harrowing
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for those who don't believe. Come hear more next time on
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Living Waters of Grace.