Living Waters of Grace 10.08.25

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

Wofford, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland,

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

continues teaching through God's Word.

Some people stop reading their Bible because their heart isn't

right with God. Some people stop praying because

their heart isn't right with God.

Have you ever tried to pray when your heart isn't right with God?

Have you ever tried to open your Bible when your heart isn't

right with God? Nothing going to happen, right?

You just don't want to do it. You know, down deep inside you

should, but there's something blocking you from doing what it

is that the Lord wants. And then all we simply need to

do is say, Lord, my heart isn't right with you.

Forgive me, I repent. Soften my heart.

A healthy relationship with God is 1 where you constantly grow

in Him. The old sins that you used to

commit shouldn't have a place in your life anymore.

It should look different today. You'll get to see with Pastor

Clark that your life should stand out as a Christian.

People should notice something different about you.

One of those differences is that you now should be telling others

about the good news of salvation that you've received.

That's how others can hear and receive salvation too.

Now here's Pastor Clark in the book of Acts Chapter 8 with

Acts 8 · chapter mention

today's edition of Living Waters of Grace.

Philip, he's another one of the men who were chosen to take care

of the widows and the orphans we studied earlier.

Stephen was one of those guys. And Philip, he's going down to

the city of Samaria and preaching Christ to them.

Now Samaria was a place of half breeds.

If, if you understand 1/2 breed someone maybe who has this

ethnic background. They marry someone of another

ethnic background. They're not pure bred Jewish

people, right? But it doesn't matter because

God came for the whole world. He's not looking at these things

the way we do as people. But they were disrespected by

the Hebrew Jews and they were intermarrying during the

Assyrian captivity. When they were taken up into the

north, they met Pagan Gentiles and and some of these people got

married. And so they had these families

that were mixed in the sense of religious background.

So he goes into Samaria and he preaches Christ to them and the

multitudes with 1 accord. He did the things spoken by

Philip. So in other words, there's a lot

of people. He's not in a building like

this. He's on the streets.

There's a big crowd collecting every time these guys would go

around and preach the word and all these people are listening

to what he's saying and they're believing what it is he's

saying. And they hear and they see

miracles, which he did for unclean spirits.

Crying with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed,

and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.

And there was great joy in the city.

So whenever God does miracles and whenever he changes a life

or he, he takes someone out of the burden of sin and gives them

a brand new start, a brand new heart.

I mean, that's a joyous experience.

This is what was happening as a result of the word being

preached that there would be joy in the hearts of the people and

there was great joy in that city.

And then in verse 9, it says, but there was a certain man

called Simon who previously practiced sorcery.

In other words, he was into occult, witchcraft, all kind of

weird New age kind of stuff even before we even knew what new Age

stuff was. It existed way back then and

astonished the people of Samaria.

In other words, he he did counterfeit miracles, claiming

that he was someone great to whom they all gave heed.

In other words, all these people at the time thought this guy was

a man of God from the least to the greatest, saying this man is

the great is the great power of God.

So when they looked at Simon the sorcerer, because of his magic

incantations, they sensed that he had some kind of power, but

it wasn't of God, it was really of the devil.

And so they heeded him because he had astonished them with his

sorceries for a long time. So these magic arts that this

guy did, he had had a big business and people followed him

around because of his ability to do really amazing things.

But when they believed Philip, as he preached the things

concerning the Kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, both

men and women were baptized. So in other words, there's this

revival going on, Philip's preaching.

People are believing and they are getting baptized pretty much

immediately after their profession of faith in Jesus

Christ. He's preaching to them

concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.

Both men and women were baptized, so there's a

difference between bringing a message with Christ and without

Christ. The sorcerer brought

incantations and magic arts without any emphasis on Jesus

Christ as people do today. It's false teaching and false

doctrine, and people can't get saved by following magic arts or

occult or witchcraft or casting spells, all this stuff.

It's a big deal out there in the culture now.

People get demonically oppressed and possessed by messing around

with this kind of stuff that's out there.

If you are involved in any of these kind of things, New Age

stuff, trying to have seances through Ouija boards to talk to

the dead, or you're trying to get involved in all this dark

side of what they call mysticism, you're opening your

yourself up to demonic activity and you're not even aware of it.

And so these people are going to get set free now because they're

no longer going to follow Simon the sorcerer.

They're going to follow Jesus Christ as savior.

And there's a big difference in truth, right?

There's only one truth, one way, one life, and that's in Jesus

Christ, not in this other kind of crazy stuff that's out there.

So Simon himself also believes that this guy was convicted,

obviously, and he appears to have put his faith in Christ and

he was baptized. He continued with Philip.

He he kept going around with Philip and was amazed seeing the

miracles and signs which were done.

He just blown away. He had miracle power in himself,

but nothing like what he was seeing happening through

Philip's life. Because what was happening in

Philip's life is being done by Christ, by the Holy Spirit

through this man's life. Now when the apostles who were

at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God,

they sent Peter and John to them.

So the apostles go down to meet these new believers who when

they came down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy

Spirit. For as yet he had fallen upon

none of them. They had only been baptized in

the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on

them and they received the Holy Spirit.

So when you look at Acts chapter 1 to Acts chapter 10, it's a

Acts 1 · chapter mention Acts 10 · chapter mention

transitionary period. You can't pull a doctrine out of

something you read in Acts. It's mentioned one time and say

that's how the church performs the empowerment of the Holy

Spirit. In other words, you need a

special person to lay hands on you to pray for you to receive

the Holy Spirit. That's not taught in the rest of

the Bible. But in the beginning stages,

because everything was new in different people groups, you had

the Jews that were baptized by the Spirit at Pentecost.

No one really had to lay hands on them.

The power of the Spirit came out at Pentecost and filled the

people in the upper room, 120 people at that time.

And then when people believed, they were baptized by the Holy

Spirit, by God the Holy Spirit supernaturally and placed in the

body of Christ in the church as Christians.

But as time moved on in the initial stages, these different

people groups were beginning to hear the gospel.

And so God chose to use this method initially to bring the

power of the Holy Spirit through the hands of the apostles on top

of the heads of the people who had thus become believers.

And so this is what happened. And they laid hands on them and

they received the Holy Spirit. Now in the New Testament,

though, we see that the Holy Spirit, this idea of being

filled with the Spirit of God happens all the time.

We need to be constantly asking God to fill us with the Spirit

because we get empty, we get weak, we, we drain, we get upset

or we get, you know, whatever we're going through.

And whenever you're going through stuff that is making you

weak and, and tired and cast down, that's when you need by

faith to say, Lord, I need a fresh infilling of your Holy

Spirit. I need you to fill me again.

Refresh me and he will. It's by faith we pray and God

fills us with the Spirit. Sometimes we have someone to

pray for us and, and we know someone's hurting and they're

wounded. So we can lay our hands on

someone and there's no special power in our hands, but there's

power in prayer. And so when we lay our hands to

pray for someone who's broken or hurting or or physically

infirmed or whatever the issue might be, it isn't the hands

that does anything, but it's the power of God's Spirit in the

midst of the prayer that can change and transform

circumstances in people's lives. You know, you can get your

husband to pray for you. You can get your wife to pray

for you. You can pray for your kids, you

can get your kids to pray for you.

And God works. He's not limited by Sunday

morning in the front of the church.

And prayer. I encourage you if you need

prayer to come, we have people here to pray for you.

But if you're intimidated and you don't feel like you want

people to know what you're up to, what's going on, you can get

in the car with your husband and say, can you lay hands on me and

pray for me that I might have a fresh infilling of the Holy

Spirit? It's that simple.

You might be upset or bummed out about something in life.

You, you sort of lost your way with God.

Your heart's become cold. You become indifferent to the

ways of the Spirit. And you just say to someone you

trust you love, hey, can you pray for me?

I got to get right with God. I got to have a new beginning

with God again. I want to be refreshed with the

Lord again. I want to sense his presence in

my life as I did when I first met Jesus.

Amen. And God can do that.

He's the God of new beginnings, a new beginning every day, an

opportunity community to have the Lord cause our hearts to be

alive again in our faith and our relationship with the Lord.

And so when Simon saw that through the laying on of the

apostles hands the Holy Spirit was given, He offered him money.

Isn't that crazy saying give me this power also that anyone on

whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit?

So this guy's used to having a sorcery business.

This is a whole new like development of building his

business. I never had this kind of angle.

So I'll give you guys some money to show me how to do this.

Well, first of all, you can't show anybody how to do it.

It's the work of the spirit of, of this work of supernatural

gifting. So this guy's clueless, you

know, he just doesn't get it. But of course, new believer is

what he's thinking. Peter says to him, your money

perish with you because you thought that the gift of God

could be purchased with money. You have neither part nor

portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight

of God. Boy, that's a calling out, huh?

What a rebuke, man, You're messed up.

You got it all wrong here. You know your attitude, your

your methodology, your way of wanting to to be used by God is,

is manipulative. It's not coming from the Spirit

and your heart isn't right in the sight of God.

You know, sometimes you, you don't realize about your heart

how it cannot at times always be right with God.

The Holy Spirit's given to us is speak to us when our heart isn't

right with God. He speaks to me all the time and

I'm sure he does to you. That's an attitude of pride,

that's an attitude of hardness of heart.

That's an attitude of unforgiveness or that's an

attitude of lack of faith, right?

He talks to you about all kind of stuff and when he talks to

you, He wants you to have your heart right again, right?

And maybe today God wants to get some hearts right with him.

I don't know what you're thinking or what's happening in

your life, your family. Are you impeding the move of God

in your family because your heart isn't right with God?

Some people stop going to church because their heart isn't right

with God. Some people stop reading their

Bible because their heart isn't right with God.

Some people stop praying because their heart isn't right with

God. Have you ever tried to pray when

your heart isn't right with God? Have you ever tried to open your

Bible when your heart isn't right with God?

Nothing going to happen, right? You just don't want to do it.

You know, down deep inside you should, but there's something

blocking you from doing what it is that the Lord wants.

And then all we simply need to do is say, Lord, my heart isn't

right with you. Forgive me.

I repent, soften my heart. I like David's prayer.

Lord, search me, O God, and know my heart.

Try me and know my thoughts. Give God a chance and see if

there's any wicked way in and leave me in the way everlasting.

Then he says in another Psalm, Let the words of my mouth and

the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O

Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

I mean, I don't want my heart to be like ugly before my Savior.

I mean that that's bad because it, it quenches the Holy Spirit,

it grieves the Holy Spirit. And our lives are designed by

God after we become Christians to be a blessing to one another,

not a curse to one another, not a heartache to one another, not

a hurting of one another, not being so caught up in the world

and the things that the world has to offer that we have put

Christ on the back shelf and we're just living our lives for

our own selfish ambition. Lord help us all right.

And the Bible teaches us and God's the one that creates in us

a clean heart. David's heart was messed up

after he committed adultery with Bathsheba.

After he had Uriah killed in battle.

He went through a real dry period for a little over a year

until he was confronted with his sin.

In Psalm 51 he writes, God created me a clean heart.

This is after his sin, getting right with God.

Renew a steadfast spirit within me, a stable spirit.

Then I'll teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall be

converted unto you. We can't even begin to do any

kind of ministry in each other's lives, let alone the lost, if

our hearts aren't right with God.

And I really believe in these days that we live God's calling

us to get our hearts right with Him.

Our problem in our world today isn't the left.

It isn't all these movements that have been raised up

recently to create havoc in the streets.

What God's interested in the Bible says, God's looking to and

fro throughout the whole earth to find one whose heart is

perfect toward Him. If he can find one person whose

heart is right with him, he can use that person to turn the

world upside down. He can use you wherever you are

and the group you're with, the family you're with, the kids,

you have the jobs. You have to be a light in the

midst of Pagan darkness, not a holier than thou kind of

attitude. This looks like a compassion.

You need Jesus and he's the only answer.

He's the only one we can save your life and save your soul.

So Peter's exhorting him. You have neither part nor

portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight

of God. Repent therefore of this your

wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of your

heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned

by bitterness and bound by iniquity.

Have you ever been poisoned by bitterness?

Do you have an unforgiveness towards someone?

You have a judgement every time you see someone, you just like

hate him down deep inside. You don't respect him, you don't

like him, you don't love him. You just have attitude about

them all the time. That's bitterness.

That's the root of bitterness and that's not what God wants in

our lives. It poisons us and then we're

controlled by the sin that that bitterness will begin to

develop. Simon answered and said, Pray to

the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken

may come upon me. So he's looking to Peter as an

apostle, a man used by God. Peter, can you pray for me?

But probably more importantly, he needed to pray for himself,

right? You don't need to go through an

intercessor other than Jesus to get your heart right with God or

to have your sins forgiven. The Bible never teaches that.

The only way you and I can get right with God is if we go to

someone else and get them to pray for us.

I mean, it's nice to have people pray for us and we need it, but

you need to go to God personally.

I need to go to God personally and say, Lord, this attitude is

ungodly and it's got to stop. And I ask you to forgive me

Lord, and to change my attitude, to change my vision, change my

heart. And isn't awesome.

He does. And husband and wife

relationships. We can have conflict and we do

all the time. The only way marriages stay

together is by humility and forgiveness and praying for each

other. No marriage can stand the test

of time if there's bitterness. A matter of fact, bitterness in

a life destroys many. The Bible says no.

Be careful with this in the church setting.

If a root of bitterness springs up among one person in the body,

it can be like a cancer and then begin to defile many and stumble

and 'cause people to become self-righteous and judgmental

and critical of each other. I love the the portion of

scripture where the public and went into the temple with the

Pharisee, the Pharisees, the self-righteous religious person

thinks he does everything right, goes in and he's condescending

to the to the center beside him. He's thinking like, why are you

even in this building, this temple, the synagogue, you, you,

you don't have any right to be in here.

You're unclean or whatever. He's like, you know, just

putting this guy down in his heart.

He's bragging about how he gives and how he does this and does

that and and he's proud. He's standing there before a

gracious holy God who is merciful and he's trying to

impress God by what he says. Meanwhile, his heart is really

not what God would require or desire.

And yet the Sinner beside him, he didn't even have the ability

to look his head up and gaze up into the heavens.

He just struck his chest and he said, Lord, be merciful to me,

Sinner. You know what Jesus said, That

man went out forgiven. The other one didn't.

So we need to be constantly aware of the fact that we're

fallen. None of us are perfect.

We're all works in process. We're learning to follow the

Lord deeper. We're learning to obey Him more

seriously. This just doesn't happen

overnight. It's a process of growing in the

grace and the knowledge of God. I've been a pastor now 26 years

and sometimes I feel like I'm just starting, you know, and

keep learning the same things over and over and over again.

The basic foundations, the fundamentals, being filled with

the spirit. That's, that's a good thing

right now. How much in life do we try to do

life on our own strength? Think about it.

Maybe you have a tape recorder. Well, Lord has a tape recorder.

He knows every thought, every word.

You know, we're going to give an account of a someday the Bible

says. But you know, Lord, how many

times did I ask you to fill me with your spirit last month?

Wouldn't it be shocking if he said, well, like I think I can

see there was 3 * 3 times in a month that you physically,

emotionally, mentally, psychologically ask God to fill

you with His spirit. That's like the epitome of

arrogance. I can live life by myself and I

don't really need the Spirit unless I'm really in a jam where

Jesus says. Without me, you can do nothing.

So we're supposed to abide in the vine.

He we're the branches. He's a vine and constantly have

that life flow that comes from Jesus.

But it only comes perpetually and continually by this ever

flowing fountain of living water that dwells in US, Jesus that

can flow through us. But if I'm not asking to be

filled with the Spirit, guess who I'm filled with me, right?

And the world doesn't need me, it needs Jesus, right?

You guys don't need me, you need Jesus, you need his word.

My wife, Cindy, she doesn't need more Clark.

She needs less Clark and more Jesus, right?

My kids, my grandkids, my son-in-law is everybody I'm

connected with. You know, they need Jesus in and

through my life, and I need it in and through their lives to

me, right? It's like living water.

And boy, when that fountain's flowing and it's growing and

it's spreading and it's being poured out, we're all wonderful,

blessed recipients of what it is that the Lord has done for us.

So Simon, you know, he's, he's, he's thinking about what's

happening here and he knows that he's not in a good place.

And Scripture doesn't give a whole lot more information about

this guy, but we just trust that the Lord did deal with him and

that he got out of that background and began to learn

how to live and follow the Lord. And it ends in verse 25 and it

says, and so when they had testified and preached the word

of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem preaching the gospel

in many villages of the Samaritans.

So I, I think of the city of Greensburg.

I, I went down, walked down to that fair yesterday and I was

amazed at the police presence. I really was.

And it was glad to see him down there.

I've been to that fair. I might see one security guard

walking around, but the police in our nation and and the

schools now I hope there's a wake up call that there's

really, and I don't want to scare anybody, but where is

there a place to go that you're completely safe anymore?

If we don't have law enforcement presence, we don't have people

watching, keeping their eyes out.

We have security in the church. We have armed security in the

church. No one's going to get in here,

God willing to cause any harm on you or me or anybody else,

right. You got it's unfortunate we have

to be that way now, but it's it's wisdom right from the Lord.

But, you know, you think about the the fear and the anxiety

that's on the planet right now and what's happening, you know,

to understand how do we get the school secured now?

One point of entry, police presence.

No way you're going to get in a door unless you are checkpoint

and metal detectors, all that kind of stuff.

I mean, this is where things are going.

I don't see it getting any better personally.

It's probably going to get more challenging.

But more than ever, we need to be people that have an outward

vision toward a world that is completely inward and doesn't

even know anything about what it is we're talking about today.

Young people that are here today, majority of your friends

that go to public school or high school or wherever you go, they

don't know anything about what it is we're talking about today.

People you work with never heard any of this stuff before.

And so we're supposed to be salt and white in the world.

And your life has an influence upon me and my life has an

influence upon you for either good or evil.

So we really need to pray. And we need to understand as a

church the importance of prayer. We have prayer Zoom.

We have prayer meetings that people want to pray.

And also the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, right?

We need fresh and filling of God's Holy Spirit.

All of us thank. You thanks for joining us on

today's edition of Living Waters of Grace, a ministry of Calvary

Chapel, Westmoreland. Today, Pastor Clark is teaching

about the book of Acts. And as we learn more about Acts,

it becomes clear that the early church didn't miss a single

opportunity to share the gospel. In nearly every chapter, you see

apostles like Peter and Paul stepping into conversations,

crowds, and crises with boldness, ready to proclaim the

name of Jesus. Their example challenges us to

consider how we might step into gospel moments in our own lives.

What doors might God open this week for you to speak truth,

offer hope, or live out your faith in a way that points

others to Him? The story of Acts reminds us we

are part of the same mission. Today, let's live with eyes open

and hearts ready to respond. We hope you are challenged by

today's message. If you're in the Greensburg, PA

area, we'd love to see you in person this Sunday at 10:30 AM

at 400 E Pittsburgh St. Unit 6B.

For more information, visit calvarychapelonline.com.

You can also join our e-mail list, give online, or submit a

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Living Waters of Grace.