Sermon
Living Waters of Grace, March 18th, 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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I remember Clark, man, he used to get drunk all the time.
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He was fun. He used to get stoned.
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It was so cool being around him. We had a good day.
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I can't stand being around him now because he doesn't do it
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anymore. Why doesn't he do it?
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They think it's strange that I don't run in the same
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dissipation of the way I used to live with them.
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And I'm sure that's the case with many of you.
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But it says they will give an account to him who is ready to
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judge the living and the dead. It's important to be an
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influencing factor in this day that you live.
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What Pastor Clark just shared might come as a surprise to you.
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Having heard all the wonderful Bible teaching from Pastor
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Clark, it's sort of hard to imagine him drunk or doing
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drugs. And yet, we know that everyone
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has some sort of past before they came to Christ.
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Pastor Clark reminds you today that your past can be used to
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minister to others. In fact, that's the reason that
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God allowed you to go through what you went through.
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Again, our lives on earth are for the sake of others.
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Your story can and will bring God glory if you choose to let
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Him now. Here's Pastor Clark in
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Revelation Chapter 6 with today's edition of Living Waters
Revelation 6 chapter mention
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of Grace. This book, this chapter today is
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a difficult chapter. I probably struggled more with
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preparing this message than most messages I've worked on down
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through the years and different reasons.
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Because number one, what this chapter discusses is something
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that you don't want anybody to have to deal with, that you
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love, that would be left behind #1 #2 is that there's a lot of
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imagery in this chapter that would cause perhaps some
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difficulty and understanding, or people would have different
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positions about how these things transpire.
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And it's important to realize when we study the end times,
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there's never anything in the end times that we argue about
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because these are all futuristic things.
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And we will know these things clearly when they truly come to
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pass. But we're still looking ahead.
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Now, some things are very, very clearly revealed and we can
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grasp and comprehend. And some things, quite frankly,
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we read them and they, they perplex us.
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So what does that really mean? And how's that going to work
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out? So I'd like to just give you a
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little bit of foundation so that as we study this book going
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forward, you'll understand more about the great tribulation that
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is soon to come upon this world. This is where it begins in
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chapter 6. So I'm going to give you a
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little bit of background first before we get into the actual
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text of the Scripture. Now, when we think of prophecy,
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prophecy is given for the purpose of helping us to see
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into the days ahead. The apostle Paul said that he
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desires that we would prophecy more than anything else, and
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that's just not this ability to communicate something that
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hasn't occurred yet, but in the sense of what prophecy means.
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It's the ability to edify, exhort, and comfort the church.
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So today I trust that when we study this, that you will be
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built up in your faith with the Lord Jesus, that you'll be also
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worn in regard to perhaps some things that maybe are in your
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life today that need to be cleaned up by the grace of God
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and repentance. And, and then comfort that as
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you think about loved ones who left this world, who died in
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Christ, you have the hope, as Paul said, that we don't sorrow
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as those who have no hope. So those three important issues
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of prophecy are to be revealed to each of us today.
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But the events of the end time will follow the rapture of the
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church, which is the next major event that we believe is
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evangelical Christians that are on, that's on the horizon, that
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we will be removed from this planet prior to God pouring out
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his wrath upon the earth. And we have a lot of proof texts
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for that. I was thinking this morning as
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my mom was going through this message that, you know, I have
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children, I have grandchildren. I can't think of any time in my
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life that I put them through a test, a difficult test that I
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knew they wouldn't be able to pass, to prove that they love
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me. I just knew that my kids love
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me. Even when they were rebellious
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and said all kind of mean things to me, I always knew my kids
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down deep inside love me. And I know my my grandchildren
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are like that too. And I, as a, as a grandfather
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and a father, would never intentionally do anything to put
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them into a circumstance that would potentially destroy them.
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And God, our Father, is the same way.
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He would never do that to any of us.
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He loves us and we're his children.
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And so this time period that occurs after the rapture is
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called the period of preparation.
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During this period, and it's actually occurring right now,
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there's been discussions as to this world government that will
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eventually arise on the political horizon.
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Some people for years thought it was made-up of countries such as
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Russia and Germany. And but as time goes on, we've
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shifted a lot of us in our thoughts because none of us
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understood the influence and the power of Islam like we do today.
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When I was growing up, I didn't even know what Islam was, let
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alone what a Muslim was or who Mohammed was.
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I, I knew nothing about that. Today it is the most influential
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apart from Christian Christianity, most powerful by
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most dynamic force upon the face of the earth.
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It's the fastest growing religion right now, whether you
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know it or not. Some of the cities in America
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are being inundated with the growth of Islamic people and our
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country, our nation, a wonderful country.
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We invite everybody in and this is a home for a lot of different
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people groups, and we don't want to discriminate or look down
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upon anybody, any group of people.
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But we need to understand that the agenda of the Islam nation
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is to destroy the infidels, which is who we are.
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So if there was ever a movement on the face of the earth that
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was designed by the Evil 1 to wipe out Christianity, it is the
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empire of Islam. If we study back in church
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history, some of the most horrendous atrocities that
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occurred on Christian people was by the Islamic nation.
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And so as we think about the potential countries that will
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form this political alliance in the Middle East, the Middle East
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is where everything's happening. It's the hotbed as we think
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about this Islamic Arab nation state where the Antichrist will
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raise up and be a ruler. These are the nations that we
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believe will be involved in that Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan,
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Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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If you think about those nations today, they are heavily
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dominated by Islamic rule, so much so that if you're a
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Christian in these countries and your vocal and outspoken about
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your faith, you have the potential of being imprisoned
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and being martyred. And, and as we speak right now,
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our brothers and sisters in Christ in these countries are
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being martyred and they are in prison awaiting martyrdom.
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So what we're studying about sometimes in Revelation is sort
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of outside the realm of where we live every day.
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But if you live in these countries, you understand the
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horrendous events of being under a rule of Antichrist movement.
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But this leader is going to emerge from this 10 nation
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confederacy, and he's going to be in charge of everything.
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And Daniel 724 and 25 gets into that.
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You can check that out on your own.
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But this evil one who raises up the Antichrist, he's going to
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have the power to enter into a covenant with Israel to bring a
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form of peace. Now we know every president that
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has been in office has worked to try to bring peace in Israel
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between the Arab nations and the Jewish people.
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No one succeeded. Some people will get peace for a
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couple months, maybe six months, but eventually it falls apart.
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But this particular individual will have so much charisma and
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so much intellectual promise that he'll be able to develop
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this covenant. And this peace treaty will
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actually look like it's working for about 3 1/2 years.
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The world at that time, they're going to be amazed and
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mesmerized by this leader. And they're going to say, hey,
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this is finally someone that'll get things straightened out.
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The economic situation will improve, prosperity, peace, all
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that kind of stuff. And he's the one that'll
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eventually bring rest to the relationship between Israel and
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their Arab enemies. This person is defined as an
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intellectual genius. He has extraordinary power.
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He will work to destroy the nation of Israel.
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He'll be very shrewd in how he goes about things.
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He'll let the nations rest in a sense of false security for
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those first 3 1/2 years, and then he'll move to destroy them.
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He'll magnify himself above everything that's called God,
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doesn't matter what religion, including Christianity.
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He'll set himself up in the temple actually when it's
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rebuilt, and he'll declare himself to be God, and that's
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called the abomination of desolation.
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He'll be able to control all the nations in human life and he'll
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be worshipped as God and he will be the the strength of the
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nations at that time because of the prosperity he brings.
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As I said, for half of this seven-year period, this peace
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treaty will be in place and it'll look like it's working at
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the midpoint of this 7 1/2 year of this seven-year period.
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The treaty will be broken about 3 1/2 years and the Antichrist
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will then rise up and he'll proclaim his position as ruler
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of the entire world and then persecution will then begin.
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The final 3 1/2 years will end at the rain when Jesus Christ
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comes and the second coming. That's the only thing that will
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bring this horrendous cataclysmic time on earth to a
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conclusion. And that will be preceded by a
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Great War prior to Christ's return called the Battle of
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Armageddon. So as we begin to move through
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Revelation 6 through 18, this will begin to revealed to us
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this period that is called the Great Tribulation.
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And more specifically as we study we'll we'll really see
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clearly the last 3 1/2 years before Jesus begins his descent
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to roll and reign for the millennial Kingdom on the face
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of the earth. So let's pick it up in verse 9
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of chapter 5 before we jump into 6.
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There's groups that believe that the church will be in the
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tribulation or part of the tribulation amid tribulation
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people or post tribulation folks.
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We don't believe that's an accurate assumption of what's
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going to happen in verse 9 of chapter 5.
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This is a scene in heaven prior to the seals being open.
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In chapter 6, the beginning of the tribulation, it says, and
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they sang a new song saying, you are worthy to take the scroll
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and to open its seals. For you were slain and have
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redeemed us. And you might want to underline
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us in your Bible to God by your blood out of every tribe and
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tongue and people of a nation. And it made us kings and priests
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to our God. And we shall reign on the earth.
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So this is spoken of prior to the establishment of the
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millennial Kingdom, the thousand year reign in the face of the
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earth. So we're not going to be in the
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scene in chapter 6. So that is a very, very
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important verse to be reminding yourself of because you know,
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when things start to unravel and and they're on the verge of
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unraveling any day now, no one knows the time or the season.
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The Bible says only the Father in heaven.
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But we don't want our faith to be shaken because of some
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adversity that comes upon us wondering, was God true to His
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word or is he going to be faithful to what He promised?
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If you were living in Sudan today and you're a believer, you
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would have a hard time thinking you weren't in the tribulation
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right now because of what you're having to deal with presently.
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But believe me, as bad as things are in Sudan and some of the
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other places, the world, it doesn't come close to what it's
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going to be like during this great tribulation period.
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So the tribulation doesn't really actually begin until
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these seals are broken in chapter 6.
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And so as I said, the throngs that we just read about in
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Revelation 59, that's us. We're not going to be there with
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what's going to begin to happen in chapter 6.
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So let's start in chapter 6, verse one.
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Now I saw when the Lord opened one of the seals, and I heard
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one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like
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Thunder, come and see. And I looked and behold, a White
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Horse, he who sat on it had a bow and a crown was given to him
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and he went out conquering and to conquer.
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Now a lot of people think, well, White Horse, this, this is a,
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this is Jesus. He's he's coming back and he's
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going to, you know, establish his Kingdom and he's going to
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rule and reign. But this is a, a deception here.
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This is truly not Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords,
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because when he comes, he conquers with the sword.
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There's no sword in the hand of this rider.
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In this White Horse. He has a bow, but he has no
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arrow. The crown he has isn't the crown
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that's defined in the Greek diadem.
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When Christ comes, he will have a crown on that'll be declaring
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him as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
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So this person on this horse represents the Antichrist, the
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false Messiah. And he's coming at this time to
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conquer the earth, to begin to control the forces and the
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circumstances of of the human race.
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He's going to set up his authority and he's going to have
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this power, and his emergence as a world roller will begin at the
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beginning of this first seal being opened up.
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And it tells us in Second Thessalonians, it's important to
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realize that what's going to happen, the only thing that's
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preventing it from happening right now is the church, the
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body of Christ. We're still on earth, we're
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still having influence, we're still having salt and
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influencing ungodly people. But it says in Second
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Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 7, For that which hinders shall
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hinder until it is taken out of the way, and then the son of
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perdition will be revealed. Now the church is always seen in
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the Scriptures as a preserving influence, a purifying entity.
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And if you flip over to Matthew 513 for a minute, Jesus talks
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about the the ability of salt. He says in verse 13, You are the
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salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its
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flavor, how shall it be seasoned?
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It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled
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under foot by men. Now salt in the early days was
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used as a preservative to keep meat from developing surface
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bacteria. It kept it edible for people to
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eat. It kept it from rotting.
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And what what's happening here right now, today is that you and
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I are the influence in the world.
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And I, I pray you grasp that today.
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I need to grasp that more that your word and your testimony and
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your walk and your faithfulness to Christ is having a pushback
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influence on an unbelieving world.
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You don't think sometimes, well, what does my little life do or
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how does it affect anybody? People are watching you.
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They are many times going to go do something or get involved in
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something or say something. You being there makes them
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uncomfortable. So they're not inclined to maybe
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tell the filthy stories or do the deceptive evil deed.
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Your influence is, is preserving and and protecting them in a
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sense to keep them aware of pressing into things that are
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evil. That's why the Bible tells us
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that we're not to forsake the assembling of ourselves
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together. The most important thing for you
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and me as Christians is to be with believers to keep us on
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track. Because I'll tell you, if you're
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not in the body and you're not plugged into the Word, and
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you're not worshipping God and you're not letting the Word of
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God influence you and affect you, you will drift.
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You will drift and you will begin to lose your influence on
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others. You'll begin at times to find
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yourself doing the very things that those people that are lost
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are doing. I speak from experience.
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I know what it means to drift. And we're all bound and
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potentially capable of any sin, aren't we?
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Of any crime? It's only the grace of God, the
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power of the Holy Spirit, that keeps us in the place that we
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need to be as pure instruments of salt.
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But when the salt has been silenced, in other words, when
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we are taken out of this world, the unbelieving world's going to
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party. Hey, those people are gone.
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Basically. Literally all hell will break
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loose. Well, anyway, that's what it's
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going to be like. I mean, people are going to be
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going wow. Then they're just going to be so
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excited that goody 2 shoes isn't around anymore.
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That that prude or that the bigot or that fanatic is no
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longer here to challenge me about my lifestyle and to warn
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me about the wrath of God to come.
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If you flip over to 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 for a
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moment. And my heart, when I teach this
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guys, isn't this a teach history, Future history?
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That can be interesting, but it can also be really boring.
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The importance of these truths in the Book of Revelation is to
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cause you and me to in a practical sense, live
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differently. I, I trust when you hear these
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things that you're thinking, I got to change my life's got to
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become more influenced by the things of God and less
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influenced by the things of this world because this chapter and
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what we're studying, guys, this isn't where our minds are every
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day. Our minds are working, creating,
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you know, building, developing, experiencing, buying, selling,
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having fun. I mean, you know, and God does
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allow us to have fun, obviously, but it's so easy to get outside
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the realm of what Christ is wanting to fulfill in these last
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days, isn't it? And what happens for me today,
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teaching this and I trust for you being here is that it
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energizes your mind again to think about as Jesus said, look
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up your redemption draws an eye. And so as we look in 2nd
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Corinthians 214, this is what's happening when you're out there
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in the world every day. It says thanks be to God who
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always leads us to triumph in Christ and through US diffuses
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the fragrance of his knowledge to every place I pray in my life
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today is diffusing the fragrance of the Kingdom of God and the
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Lord Jesus Christ into your lives today and you to me for we
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are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being
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saved. This being together.
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It's good to be. With the brothers and sisters,
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isn't it? It's good to dwell with brothers
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and sisters who dwell together in unity in Jesus Christ.
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It's a smell that is unlike the smell that I smell when I go
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into the world every day, because the world doesn't care
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about what we're talking about today.
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They're not interested. They're ignorant of it, and
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they, quite frankly, most of the time don't want to even talk
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about it. But I can come here and you guys
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can come here with a group of people that actually are
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anticipating the return of the Lord.
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That's rare, it's precious and it's vital.
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And so we should smell that fragrance in one another's
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lives. Soon as we see each other, we
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know we're part of the same family and and among those who
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are perishing, it's a different fragrance to the one we are.
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The aroma of death leading to death, and the other, the aroma
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of life leading to life. And so when you're out there in
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your influence of being salt, you remind people of their
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mortality. You remind people of the
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impending judgment and that one day they will stand and give an
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account of themselves to God because you've probably told
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them that. And so every time they see you,
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there's that person again that's making me feel guilty or they're
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making me feel uncomfortable. And that's not our intention.
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We're just like being who we are.
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We're in a sense no better, but we're changed, right?
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We have the light of Christ in us.
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We have the Holy Spirit dealing with us and purifying us and
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cleansing us and that we're filled with God's Spirit.
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So when we're around people, we are different.
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We're, we should be radically different at this as much as
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when we're around each other. Like last night we had the
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worship night. It was awesome just sitting here
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worshiping the Lord and listening to different people's
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skills and talent. You know, if you were lost and
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you didn't know Christ, you'd sit here and say, these people
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are nuts. You know, what are they doing?
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You know, what's this mean? But we were singing about our
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love for Christ. We were worshiping him and those
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of us who were here, we're connecting.
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We were feeding off that in each other's lives.
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It was just a blessed time. First Peter chapter 4, verse
1 Peter 4 chapter mention
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one. Therefore, since Christ suffered
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for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same
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mind. For he who suffered in the flesh
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has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of
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his time in the flesh for the lust of men, but for the will of
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God. It's time for all of us guys no
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longer to live after the lust of this world, but live for the
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will of God. For we spent enough of our past
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lifetime, Amen. We spent enough of our life
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wasting it and doing the will of the gentiles or the lost when we
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walked in, lewdness and lust and drunkenness and reverently
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drinking parties and a bomb on our idolatries.
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In regard to these, they think it's strange that you don't run
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with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of
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you. In other words.
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Again, salt. I remember Clark, man, he used
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to get drunk all the time. He was fun.
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He used to get stoned. It was so cool being around and
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we had a good time. I can't stand being around him
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now because he doesn't do it anymore.
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Why doesn't he do it? They think it's strange that I
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don't run in the same dissipation of the way I used to
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live with them, and I'm sure that's the case with many of
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you. But it says they will give an
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account to him who is ready to judge the living in the dead.
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It's important to be an influencing factor in this day
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that you live. In the Book of Revelation,
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Pastor Clark is taking us through all kinds of events and
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happenings that are predicted for the future.
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But for those who believe and follow Jesus, there's much to
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look forward to in heaven with Jesus.
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However, for those who are here on earth during the Tribulation,
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there's all kinds of chaos that will unfold.
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The Bible talks about an Antichrist, a false prophet, and
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of course, that evil enemy, Satan.
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Do you see how there are such clever attempts for the enemy to
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disguise himself as God and even the Trinity?
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The true Savior of the world is God and how He comes to rescue
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through his triune nature God the Father, Jesus the Son, and
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God the Holy Spirit? Just like Satan tried to take
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over for God in heaven and was cast out, Satan will try to
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convince people on earth that he is the Triune God to be
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worshipped instead of the legitimate God in heaven.
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It's an attempt, and although he will capture plenty in his
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schemes, he will not win. The true God wins, and
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Revelation unpacks how that will all happen in detail.
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Be encouraged because there's a way out for all of this madness
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that will ensue on this earth. But you don't want to wait
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indefinitely to make that decision about Jesus.
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We don't know when the church will be raptured, and you want
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to be ready to be with Jesus. To learn more about this, head
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over to calvarychapelonline.com. We're so glad you've been with
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us today. And if you'd like to connect
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further with this ministry, find us on Facebook or YouTube.
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You can also download our mobile app at calvarychapelonline.com.
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Be sure to join us for weekly services at 400 E Pittsburgh St.
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Ste. 6B in Greensburg, PA 15601. This has been Living Waters of
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Grace.