WEBVTT 00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:03.089 Who has believed our message and to whom has 00:00:03.089 --> 00:00:06.349 the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up 00:00:06.349 --> 00:00:08.429 before him like a tender shoot and like a root 00:00:08.429 --> 00:00:11.310 out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty 00:00:11.310 --> 00:00:14.390 to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance 00:00:14.390 --> 00:00:17.910 that we should desire him. He was despised and 00:00:17.910 --> 00:00:20.989 rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar 00:00:20.989 --> 00:00:24.030 with pain. Like one from whom people hide their 00:00:24.030 --> 00:00:27.230 faces, he was despised and we held him in low 00:00:27.230 --> 00:00:30.359 esteem. Surely He took up our pain and bore our 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:33.320 suffering, yet we considered Him punished by 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:36.859 God, stricken by Him and afflicted. But He was 00:00:36.859 --> 00:00:39.439 pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:41.859 for our iniquities. The punishment that brought 00:00:41.859 --> 00:00:44.920 us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are 00:00:44.920 --> 00:00:48.200 healed. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:50.640 of us has turned to our own way, and the Lord 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:54.759 has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was 00:00:54.759 --> 00:00:57.210 oppressed and afflicted. Yet he did not open 00:00:57.210 --> 00:01:00.490 his mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, 00:01:00.829 --> 00:01:02.829 and as a sheep before its shearers is silent. 00:01:02.909 --> 00:01:05.969 So he did not open his mouth. By oppression and 00:01:05.969 --> 00:01:09.650 judgment he was taken away. Yet who of this generation 00:01:09.650 --> 00:01:12.510 protested? He was cut off from the land of the 00:01:12.510 --> 00:01:15.290 living. For the transgressions of my people he 00:01:15.290 --> 00:01:17.810 was punished. He was assigned a grave with the 00:01:17.810 --> 00:01:21.170 wicked, and with the rich in his death. Though 00:01:21.170 --> 00:01:24.430 he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in 00:01:24.430 --> 00:01:29.560 his mouth. Yet it was the Lord's will to crush 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:32.079 him and cause him to suffer. And though the Lord 00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:34.939 makes his life an offering for sin, he will see 00:01:34.939 --> 00:01:37.280 his offspring and prolong his days, and the will 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:40.620 of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he 00:01:40.620 --> 00:01:43.019 has suffered, he will see the light of life and 00:01:43.019 --> 00:01:47.180 be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous 00:01:47.180 --> 00:01:50.000 servant will justify many, and he will bear their 00:01:50.000 --> 00:02:12.840 iniquities. Right, Luke chapter 23 verse 32 to 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:22.629 43. When they came to the place called the skull 00:02:22.629 --> 00:02:25.650 they crucified him there among with the crew 00:02:25.650 --> 00:02:28.409 Along with the criminals one on his right and 00:02:28.409 --> 00:02:32.150 the other on his left Jesus said Father forgive 00:02:32.150 --> 00:02:34.030 them for they do not know what they are doing 00:02:34.030 --> 00:02:37.069 and they divided up his clothes by casting lots 00:02:37.069 --> 00:02:39.710 The people stood watching and the rule is even 00:02:39.710 --> 00:02:42.930 sneered at him They said he saved others let 00:02:42.930 --> 00:02:45.509 him save himself if he is God's Messiah the chosen 00:02:45.509 --> 00:02:48.370 one The soldiers also came up and mocked him 00:02:48.569 --> 00:02:51.550 They offered him wine and vinegar and said, If 00:02:51.550 --> 00:02:53.650 you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. 00:02:54.349 --> 00:02:56.169 There was written notice above him which read, 00:02:56.590 --> 00:02:59.750 This is the king of the Jews. One of the criminals 00:02:59.750 --> 00:03:02.430 who hung there hurled insults at him. Aren't 00:03:02.430 --> 00:03:05.990 you the Messiah? Save yourself and us. But the 00:03:05.990 --> 00:03:10.250 other criminals rebuked him. Don't you fear God? 00:03:10.270 --> 00:03:13.229 He said. Since you are under the same sentence, 00:03:13.870 --> 00:03:16.270 we are punished justly, for we are getting what 00:03:16.270 --> 00:03:19.060 our deeds deserve. but this man has done nothing 00:03:19.060 --> 00:03:22.759 wrong. Then he said, Jesus remember me when you 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:26.159 come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, truly 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:30.500 I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:12.219 Morning everyone. Can everyone hear me? If you 00:04:12.219 --> 00:04:14.000 can't hear me during the service just tell me 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:18.959 to speak into the mic. Okay? Well Michael is 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:20.399 going to be preaching on Sunday. He's going to 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:22.959 be preaching I believe on 1 Corinthians 15. Is 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:26.699 that right Michael? And he says, Paul says, I'm 00:04:26.699 --> 00:04:28.839 here to remind you of the gospel because it's 00:04:28.839 --> 00:04:31.240 of first importance. Is that right? Yep. And 00:04:31.240 --> 00:04:32.660 that's what I'm here to do today. So you're going 00:04:32.660 --> 00:04:37.500 to get a double whammy of the gospel. Okay? And 00:04:37.500 --> 00:04:40.120 we need to preach the gospel to ourselves every 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:44.379 day, don't we? Let's be fair. So before we start, 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:47.040 let's pray. Let's ask God for help. And let's 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:49.839 ask him to open our hearts and be receptive to 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:52.860 his word. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your 00:04:52.860 --> 00:04:55.600 word. That's a lamp to our feet. We thank you 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:57.959 most of all for your glorious and indescribable 00:04:57.959 --> 00:05:01.300 gift of your son, Jesus Christ. Help us today 00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:04.040 to be lifted up and to be edified and built up. 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:08.379 by the wonderful promises that we find everything 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:16.899 in your son, Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, we gathered 00:05:16.899 --> 00:05:21.339 here today to remember Jesus' remarkable sacrifice 00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:24.779 for each and every one of us. He went through 00:05:24.779 --> 00:05:28.680 a mock of a trial. He was spat on. He was beaten, 00:05:29.220 --> 00:05:32.389 flogged. made to wear a crown of thorns and then 00:05:32.389 --> 00:05:36.389 executed as a criminal on a cross and rejected 00:05:36.389 --> 00:05:40.129 by his own people. This was no ordinary death. 00:05:40.850 --> 00:05:44.870 This was a remarkable and selfless act of pure 00:05:44.870 --> 00:05:49.769 love for his people. And we should never take 00:05:49.769 --> 00:05:53.149 this for granted. And if we're really honest, 00:05:53.750 --> 00:05:56.769 each one of us here today contributed to his 00:05:56.769 --> 00:06:01.920 death. Why? Because we're all sinful and so Jesus 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:06.180 had to endure such a painful death so our sins 00:06:06.180 --> 00:06:12.480 could be forgiven There if there is a famous 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:15.800 saying there are two things certainly life death 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:19.740 and taxes And we all know this is absolutely 00:06:19.740 --> 00:06:24.439 true Death is horrible. It's ugly and it separates 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:28.899 us from our loved ones and it's final Many people 00:06:28.899 --> 00:06:32.720 do many things to preserve their life, like going 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:35.620 on good health diets, going to the gym every 00:06:35.620 --> 00:06:39.339 day, taking all these recommended supplements 00:06:39.339 --> 00:06:43.639 that cost you a fortune. However, in the end, 00:06:44.220 --> 00:06:48.560 death is inevitable. I want you to come on a 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:51.040 journey with me. I want you to imagine it's just 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:53.339 coming up to your 21st birthday and you come 00:06:53.339 --> 00:06:57.649 down with a deadly virus. And there's a new vaccine 00:06:57.649 --> 00:07:00.069 that's just come out that will cure this deadly 00:07:00.069 --> 00:07:03.350 disease. The crunch of the matter is the vaccine 00:07:03.350 --> 00:07:07.790 is very expensive. It's $100 ,000. And you have 00:07:07.790 --> 00:07:10.529 a choice. You can use the $100 ,000 that's just 00:07:10.529 --> 00:07:13.290 matured in your trust account, or you can spend 00:07:13.290 --> 00:07:15.589 it up, the $100 ,000, living it up for a few 00:07:15.589 --> 00:07:19.490 days. Well, I take an educated guess and say 00:07:19.490 --> 00:07:21.790 that you would most likely use the $100 ,000 00:07:21.790 --> 00:07:24.170 to pay for the vaccine that will save your life. 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:28.040 So by taking the vaccine, you have managed to 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:32.500 prolong your life but not keep it. Ultimately, 00:07:32.540 --> 00:07:36.100 you will still die one day because death is certain. 00:07:37.939 --> 00:07:40.199 I don't know if any of you have watched any of 00:07:40.199 --> 00:07:44.259 the Final Destiny movies. The main theme of Final 00:07:44.259 --> 00:07:47.120 Destination is that death comes for everyone, 00:07:47.579 --> 00:07:52.079 anytime and anywhere, no matter what. No matter 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:54.879 how many chances you get, death will get you 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:58.160 in the end. You can cheat death, but you cannot 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:01.879 escape it. And this is true for everyone, is 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:06.600 it not? We see less graveyard in our towns because 00:08:06.600 --> 00:08:09.860 it's a reminder of death. No one likes talking 00:08:09.860 --> 00:08:12.300 about death, do they? It's not a great way of 00:08:12.300 --> 00:08:18.639 making friends. And why do we die? Well, most 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:21.670 of you will know that it's to do with sin. Sin 00:08:21.670 --> 00:08:24.970 and death go together. We're not meant to die. 00:08:25.050 --> 00:08:28.470 God gave Adam and Eve the tree of life. And so 00:08:28.470 --> 00:08:32.289 if they had not taken the forbidden fruit, they 00:08:32.289 --> 00:08:34.529 would still be enjoying life in the Garden of 00:08:34.529 --> 00:08:37.830 Eden. However, as you all know, they ignored 00:08:37.830 --> 00:08:41.090 God's command, took the forbidden fruit, and 00:08:41.090 --> 00:08:44.230 sin entered into the world, and death followed. 00:08:45.809 --> 00:08:48.210 Now sorry if this all seems a bit doom and gloom. 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:51.100 But it's really important that we accept that 00:08:51.100 --> 00:08:54.120 we're all going to die. And it's also important 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:57.659 that we know that Jesus has given us a lifeline. 00:08:58.700 --> 00:09:01.000 He has given us eternal life through the Son 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:04.879 Jesus Christ. But we have to ask the next question, 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:09.139 and that is, how are we to obtain this free gift 00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:13.679 of eternal life? Well, the answer to this question 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:16.440 is in our text, what was read out earlier by 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:20.240 Joel. about the short conversation between Jesus 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:23.659 and the thief on the cross. And we'll look at 00:09:23.659 --> 00:09:26.240 that a bit later, but first let's have a look 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:29.200 at the context so we can get a better understanding 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:35.320 of the passage that we're looking at. Now interesting, 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:38.220 the conversation between Jesus and the thief 00:09:38.220 --> 00:09:42.159 on the cross is only recorded in Luke. In all 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:44.460 of the three gospels, it just says that Jesus 00:09:44.460 --> 00:09:48.419 was crucified between two robbers and in John 00:09:48.419 --> 00:09:52.179 two others. Now crucifixion was a painful death 00:09:52.179 --> 00:09:55.820 and could take days to die. Normally you would 00:09:55.820 --> 00:09:59.559 die from asphyxiation or suffocation. That is 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:02.639 why they broke both the criminal legs next to 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:05.720 Jesus. Why? Because the Sabbath was the next 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:08.899 day and they did not want criminals hanging on 00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:11.440 a cross during the Sabbath, which was a religious 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:14.870 day. so they broke both the criminal legs, and 00:10:14.870 --> 00:10:17.929 consequently they would have both died by asphyxiation. 00:10:18.710 --> 00:10:21.169 But interestingly, Jesus did not have his legs 00:10:21.169 --> 00:10:24.450 broken, because he had already died, probably 00:10:24.450 --> 00:10:26.990 because of the severe flogging he'd just received. 00:10:27.990 --> 00:10:30.909 And this fulfilled scripture from Psalm 3420. 00:10:31.789 --> 00:10:34.450 He protects all his bones, not one of them will 00:10:34.450 --> 00:10:38.350 be broken. Now crucifixion was done as a deterrent 00:10:38.350 --> 00:10:41.679 to keep order. and serve as a warning for people 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:44.120 if they did not conform to the Roman government. 00:10:45.460 --> 00:10:47.980 And here we have Jesus and two thieves, either 00:10:47.980 --> 00:10:51.539 side being executed in Golgotha, which was probably 00:10:51.539 --> 00:10:54.820 on a hill in Jerusalem. Many people who were 00:10:54.820 --> 00:10:57.960 crucified in Jesus' day would be hung on a cross 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:01.080 at the side of the road. And you could have hundreds 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:04.000 of people being crucified at the same time for 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:06.879 all to see. And this, again, was to serve as 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:09.820 a deterrent. and to keep order in the Roman Empire. 00:11:11.500 --> 00:11:15.360 But why did Jesus have to die? I think Mark, 00:11:15.460 --> 00:11:17.639 me and Mark were having a conversation earlier 00:11:17.639 --> 00:11:20.879 about this. Why did Jesus have to die? And who 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:24.659 was responsible for Jesus' death? Was it Herod? 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:31.019 Yes. Was it Pontius Pilate? Yes. Was it the Jewish 00:11:31.019 --> 00:11:34.740 leaders of the day, the Sanedrin? Yes. Was it 00:11:34.740 --> 00:11:38.440 the Jewish people? Crying out, crucifying, crucifying, 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:44.080 yes. But let me get more personal. Were we responsible 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:49.220 for Jesus' death? Amen to that, sister. Absolutely. 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:52.279 Jesus' death was all to do with the atonement 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:56.159 of sin. It tells us in Romans 3 that God put 00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:58.820 Jesus forward as a propitiation by his blood 00:11:58.820 --> 00:12:03.200 to be received by faith. Propitiation is a fancy 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:06.730 word which means to take God's anger. upon himself 00:12:06.730 --> 00:12:11.389 to appease God's anger. God hates sin and the 00:12:11.389 --> 00:12:14.970 only way sin could be punished and appeased was 00:12:14.970 --> 00:12:18.830 the perfect sacrifice Jesus Christ who took on 00:12:18.830 --> 00:12:24.970 himself God's wrath and anger. So who was responsible 00:12:24.970 --> 00:12:28.809 for Jesus's death? All of the above. However, 00:12:28.850 --> 00:12:31.730 there is one other person I have not mentioned 00:12:31.730 --> 00:12:34.649 who was ultimately responsible for Jesus's death. 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:39.440 Can anyone tell me who that was? Who said God? 00:12:40.820 --> 00:12:44.980 Well done, Karen. You get a prize after the message. 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:49.539 Absolutely, God. If God is sovereign, ultimately 00:12:49.539 --> 00:12:53.000 God is responsible. Now how do I know this? Because 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:55.460 Joel read this out earlier. Have a look what 00:12:55.460 --> 00:13:07.639 it says in Isaiah. stricken by him and afflicted. 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:12.980 And he also says, yes, we consider him punished 00:13:12.980 --> 00:13:15.620 by God. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity 00:13:15.620 --> 00:13:19.399 of us all. So God is ultimately responsible for 00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:24.320 Jesus' death. Why is this truth important? Because 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:27.940 it shows us how much God loves us. God so loved 00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:31.200 us so much, he was willing to do what it takes 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:35.730 to sacrifice his one only son and Jesus was no 00:13:35.730 --> 00:13:40.169 bystander in all of this Jesus said to his father 00:13:40.169 --> 00:13:42.610 didn't he take this cup but your will be done 00:13:42.610 --> 00:13:46.250 sweating tears of blood Jesus could have called 00:13:46.250 --> 00:13:49.049 down a legion of angels to get him up down from 00:13:49.049 --> 00:13:52.129 the cross but he chose not to because if he did 00:13:52.129 --> 00:13:56.830 we would still be in our sins Jesus said I can 00:13:56.830 --> 00:14:01.570 give my life and I can take it up So what we 00:14:01.570 --> 00:14:04.409 have here is God and Jesus' love being demonstrated 00:14:04.409 --> 00:14:09.230 in harmony by what they both did. What a remarkable 00:14:09.230 --> 00:14:12.509 gospel. So we should never see our worth in our 00:14:12.509 --> 00:14:15.009 family or in our house or possessions, but in 00:14:15.009 --> 00:14:19.049 God alone for what he has done for us. See, love 00:14:19.049 --> 00:14:21.809 is a verb, isn't it? It's a doing word and we 00:14:21.809 --> 00:14:24.269 see this most clearly in what Jesus has done 00:14:24.269 --> 00:14:27.860 for us. Interestingly, the Jewish leaders and 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:30.259 his own people were mocking Jesus saying, if 00:14:30.259 --> 00:14:32.740 you're the son of God, come down from the cross, 00:14:32.820 --> 00:14:37.360 save yourself. However, what they didn't realize 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:41.480 is if he had have come down from the cross, which 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:43.519 would have been much easier option for Jesus, 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:47.700 we'd still be in our sins awaiting eternal punishment. 00:14:50.340 --> 00:14:53.360 So if we cannot escape death and death will come 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:56.029 to us all, Is there anything we can do about 00:14:56.029 --> 00:15:01.009 this awful predicament? And the answer is yes. 00:15:02.350 --> 00:15:05.330 There is Jesus Christ, he gives us a lifeline 00:15:05.330 --> 00:15:09.529 and a way out. He has conquered death once and 00:15:09.529 --> 00:15:11.690 for all and he has risen and he's at the right 00:15:11.690 --> 00:15:14.870 hand of God, interceding for us and he's offering 00:15:14.870 --> 00:15:19.350 each one of us eternal life. But how are we to 00:15:19.350 --> 00:15:24.350 obtain this free gift? Well, there's generally 00:15:24.350 --> 00:15:27.909 two ways that people seek God's forgiveness and 00:15:27.909 --> 00:15:30.169 the free gift of eternal life. There's the right 00:15:30.169 --> 00:15:34.149 way and there's the wrong way. So let's have 00:15:34.149 --> 00:15:35.850 a look at the wrong way first and then we'll 00:15:35.850 --> 00:15:39.149 look at the right way. You see we need to get 00:15:39.149 --> 00:15:41.649 this right because there's a lot at stake here. 00:15:43.710 --> 00:15:46.389 There's no mistake that the thief on the cross 00:15:46.389 --> 00:15:49.190 who threw himself on the mercy of Jesus had done 00:15:49.190 --> 00:15:54.190 nothing or very little good. in his life. Let's 00:15:54.190 --> 00:15:57.470 be fair, his time was running out and he didn't 00:15:57.470 --> 00:15:59.909 really have time to try and put things right. 00:16:00.789 --> 00:16:03.250 So this rules out a gospel of good works, doesn't 00:16:03.250 --> 00:16:06.990 it? If we think we can earn our way into heaven 00:16:06.990 --> 00:16:10.149 by good works, we're just deceiving ourselves. 00:16:11.230 --> 00:16:13.870 There are legalistic churches out there today 00:16:13.870 --> 00:16:17.950 that preach a gospel of works which gives you 00:16:17.950 --> 00:16:21.559 a set of rules to follow. such as you must attend 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:24.259 two Bible studies a week, you must attend church 00:16:24.259 --> 00:16:27.440 twice a week, you must recite and learn the Catechism 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:30.919 and so on. Now the problem with this is that 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:33.799 we all fall short. We can't keep all these rules 00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:38.519 and all this will do is lead you to despair and 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:43.320 want to give up. We do not follow a moral gospel 00:16:43.320 --> 00:16:46.580 as though Jesus came as an example of how we 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:49.820 should live. Yes, he did this, but much more. 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:53.980 He took our place on the cross. There's other 00:16:53.980 --> 00:16:56.100 churches who preach that if you do not speak 00:16:56.100 --> 00:17:00.059 in tongues, you cannot be saved. I had a charismatic 00:17:00.059 --> 00:17:02.720 person come to my door and ask me if I could 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:05.720 speak in tongues. I said to him, I can speak 00:17:05.720 --> 00:17:11.279 in Yorkshire. But seriously, I said no. I didn't 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:13.259 even know what he was talking about. And he said, 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:16.599 well, you can't be saved unless you speak in 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:21.539 tongues. Again, works based. There's other churches 00:17:21.539 --> 00:17:24.099 who teach the health and prosperity gospel. If 00:17:24.099 --> 00:17:26.420 you're a true believer, you'll be healthy and 00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:29.859 wealthy. But this just sets people up to fall, 00:17:29.980 --> 00:17:33.000 doesn't it? Because people get sick and when 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:35.680 they do, they either fall away from their faith 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:39.299 or believe it's a result of sin that leads to 00:17:39.299 --> 00:17:42.980 despair. You see, if we try and earn God's favour 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:48.289 by anything we try and do for God, we are subtracting 00:17:48.289 --> 00:17:51.650 from the work of Christ. If we could somehow 00:17:51.650 --> 00:17:56.049 please God by good works, what was the point 00:17:56.049 --> 00:18:00.750 of Jesus coming in the first place? And by trying 00:18:00.750 --> 00:18:03.930 to please God by good works, we're robbing Jesus 00:18:03.930 --> 00:18:09.769 from his glory. We should never get the root 00:18:09.769 --> 00:18:14.799 and the fruit of the gospel mixed up. The root 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:19.180 of the gospel is Jesus died for our sins because 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:21.900 he was perfect in every way and rose from the 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:26.039 dead on the third day. And he's now at the father's 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:29.000 side. The fruit of the gospel is how we live 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:32.819 knowing this truth. If we have a deep understanding 00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:35.859 of how much God loves us and what he has done 00:18:35.859 --> 00:18:40.799 for us by sacrificing his one and only son, then 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:44.140 we'll have a deeper appreciation. of what God 00:18:44.140 --> 00:18:47.720 has done for us which should lead us to want 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:51.259 to please God by doing good not because we have 00:18:51.259 --> 00:18:54.680 to but because we want to and this should be 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:59.799 true of every Christian. But if we think we can 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:02.880 please God in any other way we have got it completely 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:06.680 wrong and back to front. Now Michael preached 00:19:06.680 --> 00:19:10.019 the whole letter of Galatians which warned us 00:19:10.019 --> 00:19:14.250 about trying to please God by good works. So 00:19:14.250 --> 00:19:17.430 why am I bringing this up again? Because we're 00:19:17.430 --> 00:19:19.930 all prone to fall back in our old ways, are we 00:19:19.930 --> 00:19:25.210 not? And think this is this way because our old 00:19:25.210 --> 00:19:29.450 self is always at work. We need to be reminded 00:19:29.450 --> 00:19:32.650 constantly that there is no place in the Kingdom 00:19:32.650 --> 00:19:36.470 of God for righteous people. What did it say 00:19:36.470 --> 00:19:38.670 earlier? What did Joel say? That Jesus died for 00:19:38.670 --> 00:19:42.269 the ungodly, not for the righteous, for the ungodly. 00:19:45.950 --> 00:19:48.710 Have a look with me at a good illustration of 00:19:48.710 --> 00:19:55.410 this. It's in Luke. It's the parable of the Pharisee 00:19:55.410 --> 00:20:00.349 and the tax collector. To some who were confident 00:20:00.349 --> 00:20:02.410 of their own righteousness and looked down on 00:20:02.410 --> 00:20:06.180 everyone else, Jesus told his parable. Two men 00:20:06.180 --> 00:20:09.579 went to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and 00:20:09.579 --> 00:20:12.980 the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood 00:20:12.980 --> 00:20:16.220 by himself and prayed, God, I thank God that 00:20:16.220 --> 00:20:18.819 I'm not like other people, robbers, evildoers, 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:22.799 adulterers, or even like the tax collector. I 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:25.759 fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. 00:20:27.099 --> 00:20:29.460 But the tax collector stood at a distance. He 00:20:29.460 --> 00:20:31.819 would not even look up to heaven, but beat his 00:20:31.819 --> 00:20:38.569 breast and said, God, Have mercy on me, a sinner." 00:20:38.569 --> 00:20:41.470 I tell you, this man rather than the other went 00:20:41.470 --> 00:20:44.549 home justified before God. For all those who 00:20:44.549 --> 00:20:46.769 exalt themselves will be humbled and those who 00:20:46.769 --> 00:20:50.789 humble themselves will be exalted. So the question 00:20:50.789 --> 00:20:53.230 is, which one are you? Are you the tax collector 00:20:53.230 --> 00:20:58.089 or the Pharisee? So what is the right response 00:20:58.089 --> 00:21:01.569 to God? Well, we have a fabulous illustration 00:21:01.569 --> 00:21:04.660 of how we should approach God in the conversation 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:10.279 between the thief on the cross and Jesus. If 00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:13.599 you notice, the first thing the thief says to 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:18.559 the other thief is, do you not fear God? He tells 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:21.220 us in Proverbs that the beginning of wisdom is 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:24.099 the fear of God. In other words, we should have 00:21:24.099 --> 00:21:28.380 a deep reverence for who God is. Doesn't mean 00:21:28.380 --> 00:21:31.089 we should be terrified of God. but we should 00:21:31.089 --> 00:21:33.710 have a deep respect and a deep reverence for 00:21:33.710 --> 00:21:36.930 God. The second thing the thief says is, since 00:21:36.930 --> 00:21:40.269 you are under the same sentence, we are punished 00:21:40.269 --> 00:21:43.769 justly for what we are getting, so we are getting 00:21:43.769 --> 00:21:47.730 what our deeds deserve. But this man has done 00:21:47.730 --> 00:21:52.509 nothing wrong. You see, the thief on the cross 00:21:52.509 --> 00:21:55.710 now is confessing he's a sinner in need of God's 00:21:55.710 --> 00:21:58.789 grace. And at the same time, He's acknowledging 00:21:58.789 --> 00:22:02.269 Jesus's perfect life because he says this man 00:22:02.269 --> 00:22:06.670 has done nothing wrong. And this should be the 00:22:06.670 --> 00:22:12.289 same for all of us. If we cannot see our own 00:22:12.289 --> 00:22:17.589 sin and our need for a savior, we are completely 00:22:17.589 --> 00:22:23.309 lost. Can you say that you honestly deserve God's 00:22:23.309 --> 00:22:29.180 wrath and judgment? and condemnation because 00:22:29.180 --> 00:22:33.059 you fall completely short of God's standard. 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:37.740 If you can't, I do not believe you've understood 00:22:37.740 --> 00:22:42.500 the Gospel and you're on slippery ground. There 00:22:42.500 --> 00:22:48.519 is no place for pride in God's Kingdom. As Christians 00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:52.759 we have to be honest with God. I don't know if 00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:54.960 you remember Nick's sermon from Trinity a few 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:58.230 weeks ago. telling us that we need to be honest 00:22:58.230 --> 00:23:01.950 about our shortfalls with God. See, God doesn't 00:23:01.950 --> 00:23:06.470 want perfection. If he did, Jesus died for nothing. 00:23:06.569 --> 00:23:10.390 No, he wants our honesty. So we need to have 00:23:10.390 --> 00:23:13.730 a true understanding of ourselves. And if we're 00:23:13.730 --> 00:23:16.250 honest, we've all fallen short of God's standard. 00:23:16.710 --> 00:23:19.710 And we need to admit that to God and ask him 00:23:19.710 --> 00:23:22.549 for forgiveness. I mean, that's why we're a confessional 00:23:22.549 --> 00:23:25.009 church, isn't it? That's why we confess our sins 00:23:25.009 --> 00:23:27.910 every week. And in our personal world, we confess 00:23:27.910 --> 00:23:32.190 our sins every day, don't we? We are no different 00:23:32.190 --> 00:23:35.730 from the thief on the cross. You know, when I 00:23:35.730 --> 00:23:38.349 was in prison, I was in the middle of a service 00:23:38.349 --> 00:23:41.470 and a guy came up to me and said, Tony, we love 00:23:41.470 --> 00:23:44.809 you. You're just like one of us. I didn't know 00:23:44.809 --> 00:23:48.210 whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. 00:23:49.710 --> 00:23:51.049 And then when I thought about it, I thought, 00:23:51.089 --> 00:23:53.089 you know what? He's right. I am just like one 00:23:53.089 --> 00:23:55.910 of you. I'm a guilty sinner in need of God's 00:23:55.910 --> 00:23:59.630 grace. And we should all be able to say the same. 00:24:00.349 --> 00:24:03.089 Can you identify yourself with the thief on the 00:24:03.089 --> 00:24:05.630 cross? Or do you somehow think you're better 00:24:05.630 --> 00:24:09.069 than him? You see, it's easy for us to think, 00:24:09.089 --> 00:24:11.910 well, thank God I'm not like that thief on the 00:24:11.910 --> 00:24:14.710 cross. However, when we compare ourselves to 00:24:14.710 --> 00:24:16.750 Jesus, well, we're stuffed, aren't we? Let's 00:24:16.750 --> 00:24:22.799 be fair. We're just as bad. as the thief on the 00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:26.619 cross and deserve God's full wrath. Do you truly 00:24:26.619 --> 00:24:30.359 believe you're a sinner? And if the answer is 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:33.880 yes, that's great. If your answer is no, well, 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:40.539 you need to repent. We then need to see Jesus 00:24:40.539 --> 00:24:43.440 Christ as our perfect sacrifice because as the 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:46.160 thief said, he has done nothing wrong. He lived 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:51.920 a sinless life. perfect in every way. He kept 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:55.000 the holy law perfectly. He was the perfect sacrifice 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.900 for our sins. Do you believe Jesus is perfect 00:24:59.900 --> 00:25:03.400 in every way? Do you believe that he's God in 00:25:03.400 --> 00:25:07.180 the flesh? If Jesus isn't perfect, he could not 00:25:07.180 --> 00:25:10.339 be the perfect sacrifice, could he? And thirdly, 00:25:10.460 --> 00:25:13.160 the thief on the cross says to Jesus, Jesus, 00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:15.480 remember me when you come into your kingdom. 00:25:16.980 --> 00:25:21.119 This man throws himself on Jesus as mercy, and 00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:24.519 we need to do the same. He's nothing to lose, 00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:27.339 has he? Let's be fair, he's going to die. And 00:25:27.339 --> 00:25:31.980 yet he knows that Jesus can save him. He's done 00:25:31.980 --> 00:25:35.299 nothing good in his life, I would imagine. I 00:25:35.299 --> 00:25:37.660 would imagine he's never went to Bible study. 00:25:37.859 --> 00:25:40.119 If you asked him what justification by faith 00:25:40.119 --> 00:25:43.859 was, he'd probably look at you a bit funny. He 00:25:43.859 --> 00:25:47.589 had very little knowledge of Jesus. But you know 00:25:47.589 --> 00:25:51.289 what? He knew enough to put his complete trust 00:25:51.289 --> 00:25:54.349 in Jesus. I mean you could look at this man and 00:25:54.349 --> 00:25:56.789 think he's either the most unluckiest man that 00:25:56.789 --> 00:26:00.069 ever lived by being crucified or he was the luckiest 00:26:00.069 --> 00:26:01.970 man that ever lived because he was crucified 00:26:01.970 --> 00:26:06.950 right next to Jesus. But he had enough faith 00:26:06.950 --> 00:26:10.470 to put it in Jesus. Now it doesn't matter whether 00:26:10.470 --> 00:26:13.789 you have little faith or you have a lot of faith. 00:26:14.650 --> 00:26:17.730 What matters? is where you put your faith in. 00:26:18.269 --> 00:26:21.450 The thief on the cross, interestingly, was mocking 00:26:21.450 --> 00:26:26.250 Jesus prior to this, before he came to his senses, 00:26:26.369 --> 00:26:28.970 just like the other thief, and this is recorded 00:26:28.970 --> 00:26:31.950 in the other gospels. But he has had a light 00:26:31.950 --> 00:26:35.109 bulb moment and realizes he needs Jesus, and 00:26:35.109 --> 00:26:37.950 he repents from his former life and puts his 00:26:37.950 --> 00:26:42.250 faith in Jesus. Now, here repentance mentioned 00:26:42.250 --> 00:26:44.869 many times in sermons, but what does it mean? 00:26:45.650 --> 00:26:51.210 repentance, true repentance mean? We're not to 00:26:51.210 --> 00:26:55.670 get repentance and remorse mixed up. Remorse 00:26:55.670 --> 00:26:58.210 is when you're sorry for what you've done. So 00:26:58.210 --> 00:27:01.869 for example, I could be sorry for beating Linda 00:27:01.869 --> 00:27:06.369 up during an argument, feel deeply sorry for 00:27:06.369 --> 00:27:09.390 what I've done, but then the following week I 00:27:09.390 --> 00:27:13.450 do the same thing. This is not repentance, this 00:27:13.450 --> 00:27:18.529 is remorse. Another example is Judas, who betrayed 00:27:18.529 --> 00:27:23.589 Jesus for a few silver coins, and he was deeply 00:27:23.589 --> 00:27:26.750 sorry for what he had done. However, he then 00:27:26.750 --> 00:27:31.210 goes on and hangs himself. That's not repentance, 00:27:31.309 --> 00:27:35.309 that's remorse. Repentance is a change of art. 00:27:36.130 --> 00:27:40.089 For example, Peter denied Jesus three times. 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:43.759 But then later on Jesus approached Peter and 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:46.259 asked him three times. Do you love me Peter? 00:27:46.519 --> 00:27:49.339 Peter replied three times Yes, and then Jesus 00:27:49.339 --> 00:27:52.539 said well go and feed my sheep and that's exactly 00:27:52.539 --> 00:27:56.240 what Peter did You see repentance is a change 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:58.220 of heart. It's going in a different direction. 00:27:58.220 --> 00:28:02.000 I'm going in this one direction away from God 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:09.220 That is true repentance, which is a change of 00:28:09.220 --> 00:28:11.819 heart a change of living, a change of lifestyle? 00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:15.640 Have you truly pended? Are you following Jesus? 00:28:15.960 --> 00:28:18.700 Are you trusting in the work and the person of 00:28:18.700 --> 00:28:22.099 Jesus Christ? Or are you trying to please God 00:28:22.099 --> 00:28:27.640 by doing good works? Or are you doing good works 00:28:27.640 --> 00:28:30.079 because of your deep love and appreciation of 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:33.859 what God has done for you? They seem similar, 00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:38.230 but they are complete opposites. Now, some of 00:28:38.230 --> 00:28:39.890 you might be thinking, well, I've been a Christian 00:28:39.890 --> 00:28:42.509 all my life. Why should someone else like that 00:28:42.509 --> 00:28:45.450 thief on the cross come to Jesus on his deathbed 00:28:45.450 --> 00:28:51.750 and be saved? It's not fair. Well, the truth 00:28:51.750 --> 00:28:57.470 of it is why should God save any of us? If he 00:28:57.470 --> 00:29:00.009 decides to save some and not others, is he not 00:29:00.009 --> 00:29:03.970 just? Just like the workers in the vineyard where 00:29:03.970 --> 00:29:06.410 some had worked all day and the others only worked 00:29:06.410 --> 00:29:11.349 an hour. they both received the same wages. Is 00:29:11.349 --> 00:29:14.029 that farewell according to God? Yes, because 00:29:14.029 --> 00:29:18.390 they both agreed. We should be glad if someone 00:29:18.390 --> 00:29:22.009 has come to know Jesus on their deathbed. This 00:29:22.009 --> 00:29:23.990 should be a great encouragement to all of us. 00:29:25.230 --> 00:29:28.230 I'm sure some of you out there have loved ones 00:29:28.230 --> 00:29:32.549 who've died and you're not sure whether they 00:29:32.549 --> 00:29:36.640 were saved. I know I have. Well this passage 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:38.819 gives us confidence because it shows us that 00:29:38.819 --> 00:29:41.559 God can call you the last minute before you die 00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:45.299 because it's all to do with grace and not works. 00:29:46.859 --> 00:29:49.059 Now for those who are here today thinking, I'm 00:29:49.059 --> 00:29:51.660 never going to be good enough Tony, so why accept 00:29:51.660 --> 00:29:56.680 Jesus as my Lord and Saviour? My answer is yes, 00:29:56.799 --> 00:29:58.880 you'll never be good enough. That's the point. 00:29:59.519 --> 00:30:02.359 Why should you accept Jesus your Lord and Saviour? 00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:06.119 Because it's Him doing all the work. It's grace. 00:30:07.160 --> 00:30:09.279 You'll never be good enough, but Jesus was good 00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:13.319 enough. And if you put your trust in Jesus, who 00:30:13.319 --> 00:30:15.500 has lived the life you can't and died the death 00:30:15.500 --> 00:30:21.079 you can't, you'll be saved. Jesus will give you 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:24.220 his perfect life and credit it to you and meet 00:30:24.220 --> 00:30:28.799 you where you're at. Believe me, there's no one 00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:30.859 beyond God's forgiveness because it's all about 00:30:30.859 --> 00:30:33.720 God's free gift. For instance, at Christmas you 00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:35.640 receive gifts from family and friends, don't 00:30:35.640 --> 00:30:38.420 you? Did you buy those gifts? Did you get your 00:30:38.420 --> 00:30:40.359 hand in your pocket and buy them? No. Did you 00:30:40.359 --> 00:30:42.240 work for those gifts? No. They were given to 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:44.839 you. They were free. All you had to do is accept 00:30:44.839 --> 00:30:46.940 them. Well, that's the same as the gospel. You 00:30:46.940 --> 00:30:48.819 can't earn it. You can't work for it. You can't 00:30:48.819 --> 00:30:52.759 pay for it. It's free. And it's very humbling, 00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:57.460 isn't it? Now, this should be very humbling to 00:30:57.460 --> 00:30:59.099 each and every one of us because he gets rid 00:30:59.099 --> 00:31:02.150 of any pride. we may have and humbles us because 00:31:02.150 --> 00:31:04.369 there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. 00:31:05.369 --> 00:31:09.410 If our salvation rests on God's free gift and 00:31:09.410 --> 00:31:13.849 we can't do anything to contribute towards it, 00:31:13.849 --> 00:31:16.509 it should make us all the more appreciative of 00:31:16.509 --> 00:31:20.329 what God has done for us. And the last thing 00:31:20.329 --> 00:31:22.930 I want to look at is what does Jesus mean when 00:31:22.930 --> 00:31:26.410 he says to the thief on the cross, today you'll 00:31:26.410 --> 00:31:31.619 be with me in paradise. Well, I believe Jesus 00:31:31.619 --> 00:31:34.420 is alluding to heaven when he says paradise. 00:31:34.640 --> 00:31:37.299 The Garden of Eden was like a paradise, which 00:31:37.299 --> 00:31:42.119 was a typology of heaven. And here Jesus is talking 00:31:42.119 --> 00:31:45.900 about the real heaven. So what can we learn from 00:31:45.900 --> 00:31:50.339 this? Firstly, Jesus, when he died, he didn't 00:31:50.339 --> 00:31:53.619 go to hell for three days, as some may believe. 00:31:54.119 --> 00:31:58.650 No, his punishment was crucifixion on the cross 00:31:58.650 --> 00:32:01.589 and his father turning his face away he could 00:32:01.589 --> 00:32:04.130 have not gone to hell because he tells a thief 00:32:04.130 --> 00:32:08.950 on the cross today you will be with me in paradise 00:32:08.950 --> 00:32:13.529 not tomorrow but today why is this important 00:32:13.529 --> 00:32:16.990 for us to know well as we talked about earlier 00:32:16.990 --> 00:32:19.990 none of us can escape death it will come to us 00:32:19.990 --> 00:32:24.740 all that is physical death however If, like the 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:27.059 thief on the cross, you've repented and solely 00:32:27.059 --> 00:32:31.359 put your trust in Jesus, you will never, ever 00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:35.619 be separated from God and Jesus. The second you 00:32:35.619 --> 00:32:38.880 take your last breath, you will be with Jesus 00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:45.079 in paradise. How good is that? Remember what 00:32:45.079 --> 00:32:49.579 Paul says in Romans 8? Neither death nor life 00:32:49.579 --> 00:32:52.220 will ever separate us from the love of God that 00:32:52.220 --> 00:32:55.359 is in Christ Jesus. Nothing in this life and 00:32:55.359 --> 00:32:58.480 nothing in the life to come will separate us 00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:01.660 from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ. 00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:05.140 No, brothers and sisters, we will not be put 00:33:05.140 --> 00:33:09.160 in a hole and become a nothingness as some believe 00:33:09.160 --> 00:33:13.059 when we die. We will immediately be with Jesus 00:33:13.059 --> 00:33:18.160 in paradise. Wow, that should be a great motivation, 00:33:18.180 --> 00:33:21.319 shouldn't it, for all of us to follow Jesus and 00:33:21.319 --> 00:33:24.440 to do good. Not because God can love us more. 00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:27.240 How can he? How can he love us more when he allowed 00:33:27.240 --> 00:33:30.240 his son to die such a terrible death? Is that 00:33:30.240 --> 00:33:33.440 not enough? Not only that, but he has promised 00:33:33.440 --> 00:33:36.359 you and me eternal life. Your name, if you're 00:33:36.359 --> 00:33:39.339 a Christian, is written in the book of life. 00:33:41.140 --> 00:33:44.460 So please don't wait until you're on your dying 00:33:44.460 --> 00:33:47.400 deathbed like the thief on the cross. The offer 00:33:47.400 --> 00:33:53.369 of salvation is here and now. Your life will 00:33:53.369 --> 00:33:57.809 never be the same, but take that offer. So a 00:33:57.809 --> 00:34:01.450 quick recap, what have we learnt today? Well 00:34:01.450 --> 00:34:03.529 firstly, none of us can escape death, we all 00:34:03.529 --> 00:34:07.910 will die. Secondly is, Jesus is our lifeline 00:34:07.910 --> 00:34:11.130 and can reverse this awful predicament by giving 00:34:11.130 --> 00:34:14.349 us eternal life. Thirdly, for us to be right 00:34:14.349 --> 00:34:16.889 with God, we have to accept that we are sinful 00:34:16.889 --> 00:34:20.059 in every way and deserve God's wrath. Accept 00:34:20.059 --> 00:34:23.940 Jesus as our perfect sacrifice and trust that 00:34:23.940 --> 00:34:27.619 Jesus fully died for our sins and through ourselves 00:34:27.619 --> 00:34:37.920 at his mercy. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we, 00:34:38.260 --> 00:34:41.900 if we're truthful, each one of us, our thoughts 00:34:41.900 --> 00:34:46.440 condemn us. We do things wrong every day. We 00:34:46.440 --> 00:34:50.670 cannot keep your perfect standards. But Heavenly 00:34:50.670 --> 00:34:53.269 Father, we know someone who did. Your perfect 00:34:53.269 --> 00:34:56.650 Son, Jesus Christ. Help us always to keep our 00:34:56.650 --> 00:35:00.989 eyes upon him, the perfector of our faith, the 00:35:00.989 --> 00:35:03.829 one who came to do one thing, to die for us, 00:35:03.869 --> 00:35:07.829 to take our place and to give us his righteousness 00:35:07.829 --> 00:35:11.070 in all our sins and everything that we've done, 00:35:11.269 --> 00:35:13.949 all our lives, was thrown on him on the cross. 00:35:14.949 --> 00:35:17.590 Thank you so much for this indescribable gift, 00:35:17.630 --> 00:35:22.219 Heavenly Father. You're a wonderful God, a very 00:35:22.219 --> 00:35:26.880 generous God. I just pray today that we won't 00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:31.500 keep this wonderful, wonderful promise, the gospel, 00:35:32.179 --> 00:35:34.340 to ourselves, that we will be always willing 00:35:34.340 --> 00:35:37.119 to give an answer to what we believe, to our 00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:40.199 brothers, sisters, neighbors, anyone we come 00:35:40.199 --> 00:35:43.539 in contact with. And we ask all of this in the 00:35:43.539 --> 00:35:45.980 mighty name of Jesus. Amen.