WEBVTT 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:05.820 Heights family, how we doing? Good, good. If 00:00:05.820 --> 00:00:07.799 we haven't met, my name's Ben. I'm the pastor 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:10.019 at our Park Collective Prescott Valley location. 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:12.500 I don't get to make it up here a lot yet. That 00:00:12.500 --> 00:00:16.579 one person likes it. I'm assuming everyone else 00:00:16.579 --> 00:00:19.660 is there right now that does like it and watching 00:00:19.660 --> 00:00:23.160 us online. But interesting fun fact. First of 00:00:23.160 --> 00:00:27.300 all, happy Palm Sunday. My last name is Palmer, 00:00:27.399 --> 00:00:31.129 and so... Our people, when we did the genealogy, 00:00:31.149 --> 00:00:35.329 used to sell palm leaves on the crusade. And 00:00:35.329 --> 00:00:38.070 so we were the day palmers. And then when we 00:00:38.070 --> 00:00:40.170 moved to America, they dropped the day and we're 00:00:40.170 --> 00:00:43.109 just the palmers. And so that's actually all 00:00:43.109 --> 00:00:46.810 I got for Palm Sunday. The message is on something 00:00:46.810 --> 00:00:49.090 different, but I thought I'd at least share that. 00:00:49.509 --> 00:00:51.310 As always, we just kind of want to slow down 00:00:51.310 --> 00:00:54.170 for a minute and welcome everyone online. Everyone 00:00:54.170 --> 00:00:56.649 in Paulding and Baghdad, we love you. You're 00:00:56.649 --> 00:00:59.619 a part of the family. We are so glad you are 00:00:59.619 --> 00:01:03.340 here. We're all one family. And as Kyle said, 00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:05.739 we've been looking at the last words of Jesus 00:01:05.739 --> 00:01:09.659 and it got me thinking, well, like what about 00:01:09.659 --> 00:01:12.260 other people's last words? And so anyone that 00:01:12.260 --> 00:01:14.900 knows me knows I like to have fun. I take God's 00:01:14.900 --> 00:01:17.540 words super serious. But one thing I love about 00:01:17.540 --> 00:01:19.879 Heights is like all the pastors really like to 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:23.340 cut up. I mean. Y 'all probably shouldn't know 00:01:23.340 --> 00:01:26.019 everything that we cut up about, but we like 00:01:26.019 --> 00:01:28.180 to have fun and cut loose. And so I found some 00:01:28.180 --> 00:01:30.159 fun ones I thought would be really good to share 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:32.840 with you guys. So the first one I found were 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:36.680 et tu, Brute? Okay, now this is Latin for you 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:39.719 too, Brutus. And this was said by... We'll have 00:01:39.719 --> 00:01:42.079 the name pop up, Julius Caesar. Now, the interesting 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:45.459 one about this is William Shakespeare coined 00:01:45.459 --> 00:01:49.299 this for his last words, okay? U2 Brutus is what 00:01:49.299 --> 00:01:52.200 it says. That's in Latin, was his best friend, 00:01:52.260 --> 00:01:54.420 and it was part of the group that murdered him. 00:01:54.859 --> 00:01:58.200 So there's a ton of debate on whether or not 00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:00.599 Julius Caesar ever said this, but I'm of the 00:02:00.599 --> 00:02:03.180 belief if William Shakespeare writes your last 00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:05.760 words, you let old Bill do what he does best. 00:02:06.569 --> 00:02:08.389 And so these are going to be Julius Caesar's 00:02:08.389 --> 00:02:11.289 last words for us, okay? All right, we got another 00:02:11.289 --> 00:02:17.909 one. I'm bored with it all. Who said this? Winston 00:02:17.909 --> 00:02:22.669 Churchill. So Winston Churchill, one of the top 00:02:22.669 --> 00:02:25.210 three public speakers in the last hundred years, 00:02:25.490 --> 00:02:28.629 said, I'm bored with it all before he died of 00:02:28.629 --> 00:02:32.330 a massive stroke. Okay, so maybe don't say that 00:02:32.330 --> 00:02:38.259 phrase. All right, next we have, you are going 00:02:38.259 --> 00:02:42.000 to burn a goose, but in 100 years you will have 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:45.699 a swan, which you can neither roast nor boil, 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:49.400 okay? John Huss said this. Anyone who knows their 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.879 church history, this might be familiar. The fascinating 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:55.879 thing about these last words is they were prophetic. 00:02:57.379 --> 00:03:01.270 John Huss was burned at the stake. So right before 00:03:01.270 --> 00:03:03.770 he caught on fire, he died a martyr for Jesus 00:03:03.770 --> 00:03:07.990 Christ. His last name is translated to goose. 00:03:08.490 --> 00:03:10.909 That's what husk means. So he says, you're going 00:03:10.909 --> 00:03:13.909 to burn this goose, but in 100 years, there's 00:03:13.909 --> 00:03:17.370 a swan you won't be able to kill. He was burned 00:03:17.370 --> 00:03:23.449 in 1415. In 1515, Martin Luther nailed his thesis 00:03:23.449 --> 00:03:27.330 to the door of the church, and it changed the 00:03:27.330 --> 00:03:32.240 landscape of the European church. That's a pretty 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:34.780 cool one. All right, I got another one for you. 00:03:34.939 --> 00:03:37.360 They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance. 00:03:38.979 --> 00:03:41.960 General John Sedgwick said this right before 00:03:41.960 --> 00:03:47.159 he was shot by a Confederate sniper. Did not 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:50.080 judge that one too well. Someone should have 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:53.439 used one of their words to say duck. All right, 00:03:53.460 --> 00:03:58.110 I got another one for you. Dictionary. It's an 00:03:58.110 --> 00:04:00.669 odd one, but it was said by Joseph Wright. He 00:04:00.669 --> 00:04:04.849 edited the English dialect dictionary. Funny, 00:04:05.050 --> 00:04:07.729 because there's a whole book of words, but he 00:04:07.729 --> 00:04:10.530 just chose the name of the book. So those were 00:04:10.530 --> 00:04:14.229 his last words. And I got one more for you. One 00:04:14.229 --> 00:04:19.189 last drink, please, said by Jack Daniels. It's 00:04:19.189 --> 00:04:23.170 true. And I'm not advocating for that. Mr. Daniels 00:04:23.170 --> 00:04:28.709 said that. I did not. But when we think of words 00:04:28.709 --> 00:04:33.069 in general, we will look at someone's life and 00:04:33.069 --> 00:04:35.350 we'll look at the words they say. And if they 00:04:35.350 --> 00:04:37.990 don't align up with their actions, they can be 00:04:37.990 --> 00:04:41.110 hollow and meaningless. We're not gonna stop 00:04:41.110 --> 00:04:43.389 and listen. We know that's not the case though 00:04:43.389 --> 00:04:46.769 with Jesus. We know all of Jesus, Jesus's words 00:04:46.769 --> 00:04:49.509 were truth and carried weight. And we can look 00:04:49.509 --> 00:04:54.069 at his last words and they hold up to everything 00:04:54.069 --> 00:04:57.629 he taught. They hold up to the way he treated 00:04:57.629 --> 00:05:01.110 people, the way he interacted with people. And 00:05:01.110 --> 00:05:04.350 so with Jesus' last words, you want to slow down. 00:05:04.930 --> 00:05:07.569 You want to see what God has for us within those. 00:05:07.670 --> 00:05:10.970 Jesus' last words to the thief on the cross were 00:05:10.970 --> 00:05:14.110 full of power, his personality, and his promises. 00:05:15.269 --> 00:05:19.149 But if I'm being honest, there are days where 00:05:19.149 --> 00:05:22.660 his last words to the thief on the cross mess 00:05:22.660 --> 00:05:25.839 with this theological neat little box I try to 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:30.079 put God in. I have a son named Jedediah. We call 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:33.339 Jed. He's three, almost three and a half, and 00:05:33.339 --> 00:05:35.920 I got a two -year -old baby girl named Israel 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:39.399 Rose we call Izzy, but Jed's a, he's all boy. 00:05:40.180 --> 00:05:44.439 He's mischievous. He's playful and energetic, 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:48.600 and he is always, always looking to push the 00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:52.269 boundary of what's okay. And we are always resetting 00:05:52.269 --> 00:05:54.149 that boundary. Which, you know, he's doing what 00:05:54.149 --> 00:05:56.009 he's supposed to. He's supposed to see what he 00:05:56.009 --> 00:05:58.610 can get away with. And we're supposed to tell 00:05:58.610 --> 00:06:01.110 him what he can't as parents. And so one of the 00:06:01.110 --> 00:06:03.470 things my wife Piper has been doing for some 00:06:03.470 --> 00:06:07.930 time is when Jetty is in a consequence or a discipline, 00:06:08.110 --> 00:06:12.230 she goes, I love you always. I love you always. 00:06:13.250 --> 00:06:16.569 And so last week he was getting in trouble. And 00:06:16.569 --> 00:06:19.329 during the consequence or right after, Piper 00:06:19.329 --> 00:06:22.170 goes, I love you always. And he goes, Mama, you 00:06:22.170 --> 00:06:25.029 love me always, even when I'm not being good? 00:06:25.230 --> 00:06:27.990 She was like, yes, son. He goes, Jesus loves 00:06:27.990 --> 00:06:30.810 me always, even when I'm bad? And she was like, 00:06:30.910 --> 00:06:34.009 yes, son. And he goes, Jesus loves me even when 00:06:34.009 --> 00:06:37.170 I'm fussy? And she goes, Jesus loves you even 00:06:37.170 --> 00:06:40.970 when you're fussy. And I was hearing this story 00:06:40.970 --> 00:06:44.250 from my wife, and man, I started just to think, 00:06:44.250 --> 00:06:47.230 like, man, I'm actually a lot like my three -year 00:06:47.230 --> 00:06:54.529 -old at times. And I'm your pastor. But there 00:06:54.529 --> 00:06:56.810 are, if I'm honest, if I want to be honest with 00:06:56.810 --> 00:07:01.029 myself, there are days that I look at God's love 00:07:01.029 --> 00:07:04.430 for me like a roller coaster that goes up and 00:07:04.430 --> 00:07:06.870 down, and it's dependent upon the track I've 00:07:06.870 --> 00:07:10.360 laid for the day. How much have I seeked them? 00:07:10.459 --> 00:07:12.579 How much have I read my Bible? How much have 00:07:12.579 --> 00:07:16.779 I prayed? How much sin have I had in my life 00:07:16.779 --> 00:07:21.019 that day? And dependent upon my actions, I can 00:07:21.019 --> 00:07:24.379 get off track and think that that determines 00:07:24.379 --> 00:07:27.139 how much God loves me. And it's just not farther 00:07:27.139 --> 00:07:29.980 from the truth. My hope is that we leave today 00:07:29.980 --> 00:07:33.759 and we see the thief on the cross is a mirror 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:38.579 image of our redemptive story. that we are all 00:07:38.579 --> 00:07:42.100 the thief on the cross and have all needed the 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:44.379 same amount of grace and love. And so we're going 00:07:44.379 --> 00:07:51.500 to be in Luke 23, verses 39 to 44. One of the 00:07:51.500 --> 00:07:54.259 criminals who hung there hurled insults at him. 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:58.720 Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us. 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:01.839 But the other criminal rebuked him. Don't you 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:04.540 fear God, he said, since you are under the same 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:08.300 sentence? We are punished justly for we are getting 00:08:08.300 --> 00:08:11.540 what our deeds deserve. But this man has done 00:08:11.540 --> 00:08:14.879 nothing wrong. Then he said, Jesus, remember 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:18.180 me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:22.800 him, truly I tell you, today you will be with 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:27.259 me in paradise. See, I think if we're being honest 00:08:27.259 --> 00:08:29.279 with ourselves, sometimes we look at this thief 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:34.120 and go, lucky fella. God was just a little bit 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:37.600 kinder to him than what we needed. He was a little 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:39.759 more forgiving than what we actually needed. 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:46.019 Yours is the clearest story of saving grace. 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:51.139 Mine is the biggest, clearest story of saving 00:08:51.139 --> 00:08:55.379 grace. We're all the thief on the cross. When 00:08:55.379 --> 00:08:57.820 I was a young teenager, I'd heard about this. 00:08:59.060 --> 00:09:01.559 and he died on his deathbed and gave his life 00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:04.059 to Jesus. And I don't remember exactly how I 00:09:04.059 --> 00:09:06.139 heard it. It was the 90s, so it was either a 00:09:06.139 --> 00:09:08.620 magazine or the TV. That was the only way we 00:09:08.620 --> 00:09:11.480 could get any information back then. But I remember 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:15.899 at a young age thinking out loud, that's the 00:09:15.899 --> 00:09:20.340 perfect way to go. You get to live this life 00:09:20.340 --> 00:09:22.940 that you want. You get to do whatever you want, 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:26.500 self -indulge, just live. to your heart's desire. 00:09:26.820 --> 00:09:29.360 And then at the very end, 12th hour, you can 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:32.580 give your life to Jesus. See, I was born and 00:09:32.580 --> 00:09:36.039 raised in a Christian home, so I understood the 00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:39.419 benefit of heaven, but I didn't step into a relationship, 00:09:39.700 --> 00:09:43.039 a personal relationship with Jesus until I was 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:46.879 32. See, I wasn't dumb. I understood everything 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:50.279 my parents had taught me. Was I ignorant? Sure. 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:56.399 Was I foolish? Absolutely. Broken without a doubt. 00:09:57.860 --> 00:10:01.519 But it got me thinking, how many of us right 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:06.139 now are saying, after today, I'm going to stop 00:10:06.139 --> 00:10:08.700 doing what I'm doing, and I'm going to surrender 00:10:08.700 --> 00:10:11.720 that to Jesus later. This is going to be the 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:15.340 last day I watch pornography. And then Monday, 00:10:15.580 --> 00:10:18.600 I'm done. I'm going to surrender it. This is 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:22.460 the last day I'm going to take a pill. After 00:10:22.460 --> 00:10:25.759 this, I'm gonna surrender it. Once this tough 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:29.080 season is over, I'm gonna stop drinking so much. 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:32.620 And I'm gonna surrender those things to Jesus. 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:37.240 After my kids get settled and they're on the 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:39.580 right path, I'm gonna stop worrying every day. 00:10:41.059 --> 00:10:43.919 And then I'm gonna give that to Jesus. I'll give 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:45.899 my kids to Jesus once they're on the right track. 00:10:46.059 --> 00:10:49.159 Once my retirement fund is trending in the right 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:52.159 way. I'm not going to be anxious about the future. 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:54.440 And I just got to get a couple things in the 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:56.840 places they need to be. And when those things 00:10:56.840 --> 00:11:00.539 happen, you know, Jesus, I'm going to give my 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:04.620 full life to you later. I'm here to tell you 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:09.539 that those things have been paid for. We have 00:11:09.539 --> 00:11:13.399 been healed and forgiven by the body and blood 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:16.399 of Jesus Christ. And on the other side of that 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:19.940 cross is an empty tomb. And death has been been 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:23.019 defeated. There is no bondage that holds you. 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:26.139 You are no longer a slave to sin, but a slave 00:11:26.139 --> 00:11:30.960 to righteousness. You can stop those things in 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:34.720 this moment in the name of Jesus. If we look 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:39.419 at Ephesians 2 in verses 6 through 8, it says, 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:42.419 and God raised us up with Christ and seated us 00:11:42.419 --> 00:11:44.759 with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. 00:11:45.620 --> 00:11:48.539 These are his last words to the thief on the 00:11:48.539 --> 00:11:53.750 cross. Jesus tells the thief, truly I tell you 00:11:53.750 --> 00:11:58.549 today you will be with me in paradise. We as 00:11:58.549 --> 00:12:01.190 believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as our 00:12:01.190 --> 00:12:03.450 Lord and Savior have been sealed with the Holy 00:12:03.450 --> 00:12:06.950 Spirit and we will be seated with Christ in the 00:12:06.950 --> 00:12:11.250 heavenly realms. This is a promise. In verse 00:12:11.250 --> 00:12:15.629 seven, it goes in order. That in the coming ages, 00:12:15.649 --> 00:12:18.169 he might show the incomparable riches of his 00:12:18.169 --> 00:12:21.450 grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ 00:12:21.450 --> 00:12:24.809 Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved 00:12:24.809 --> 00:12:27.429 through faith. And this is not from yourself. 00:12:27.509 --> 00:12:31.649 It is the gift of God, not by works, so that 00:12:31.649 --> 00:12:35.330 no one can boast. Verse eight and nine, they're 00:12:35.330 --> 00:12:38.509 super famous. These are memory verses that are 00:12:38.509 --> 00:12:43.899 on frames. For it is by grace you have been saved 00:12:43.899 --> 00:12:48.460 through faith. And this is not from yourself. 00:12:49.419 --> 00:12:54.659 It is the gift of God, not by works, so that 00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:58.659 no one can boast. So let's think about that thief. 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:02.980 I'm pretty sure that thief never went to growth 00:13:02.980 --> 00:13:08.990 track. He never went to a men's breakfast. He 00:13:08.990 --> 00:13:11.470 never served coffee on the weekend. He never 00:13:11.470 --> 00:13:16.570 attended church. He wasn't baptized. I know that 00:13:16.570 --> 00:13:18.730 messes with somebody's theological box in here. 00:13:21.509 --> 00:13:24.610 Never went to Bible studies. He couldn't explain 00:13:24.610 --> 00:13:28.990 the doctrine of ordinances and covenants. He 00:13:28.990 --> 00:13:32.490 couldn't list any of the Beatitudes from the 00:13:32.490 --> 00:13:36.789 Sermon on the Mount. And yet he was gonna be 00:13:36.789 --> 00:13:40.769 with Jesus in paradise that day because of his 00:13:40.769 --> 00:13:43.549 incomparable riches of his grace through Jesus 00:13:43.549 --> 00:13:49.210 Christ. God's word tells us, God demonstrated 00:13:49.210 --> 00:13:52.169 his love to us in this way that while we were 00:13:52.169 --> 00:13:55.110 still sinners, Christ died for us. While we were 00:13:55.110 --> 00:13:57.870 still his enemy, we were reconciled to him through 00:13:57.870 --> 00:14:01.169 the death of his son. What does that teach us? 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:05.320 God loved you and me before we ever knew him. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:10.200 God loved you and me before we ever surrendered 00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:13.980 to him. God loved you and me before we ever did 00:14:13.980 --> 00:14:18.740 anything of obedience in his name. God cannot 00:14:18.740 --> 00:14:22.840 love you any more or less. I heard a pastor once 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:25.720 say, without the preaching of the cross to ourselves 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:29.299 all day and every day, we will very quickly revert 00:14:29.299 --> 00:14:32.549 back to faith plus works. as the grounds of our 00:14:32.549 --> 00:14:36.110 salvation. See, it can never be about me. I'm 00:14:36.110 --> 00:14:38.830 not saved because I believe. I'm not saved because 00:14:38.830 --> 00:14:41.909 I held strong. I'm not saved because I'm a pastor. 00:14:42.149 --> 00:14:46.190 I'm saved because of what he did and who he is. 00:14:47.389 --> 00:14:51.269 I'm saved by what Christ achieved on the cross. 00:14:53.750 --> 00:14:56.909 Are we preaching the cross to ourself all day 00:14:56.909 --> 00:15:04.659 and every day? I don't. I remember a time several 00:15:04.659 --> 00:15:08.500 years ago where one of my favorite verses in 00:15:08.500 --> 00:15:11.200 the Bible was in Luke 6. And Jesus is doing a 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:13.179 teaching. He's talking about, hey, love your 00:15:13.179 --> 00:15:16.019 enemy. Lend to them without expecting anything 00:15:16.019 --> 00:15:17.919 back. He's like, because then you'll be sons 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:20.480 of the Most High. And he goes, and do this because 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:23.500 God is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:25.840 merciful, just as your Father is merciful to 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:29.159 you. But that phrase, be kind to the ungrateful 00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:32.509 and wicked, That just like hit me in this way. 00:15:32.590 --> 00:15:35.110 And I was like, man, that's awesome. I need to 00:15:35.110 --> 00:15:37.190 be kind to those who are ungrateful and wicked. 00:15:38.149 --> 00:15:41.789 And somehow, subconsciously, I wasn't aware of 00:15:41.789 --> 00:15:46.490 it at the time. I had elevated myself just one 00:15:46.490 --> 00:15:49.549 notch above the ungrateful and wicked. So this 00:15:49.549 --> 00:15:51.789 was my favorite verse for the wrong reason for 00:15:51.789 --> 00:15:55.129 a few years. And I'm at a Christmas dinner in 00:15:55.129 --> 00:15:57.669 Huntsville, Alabama with my whole family. Everyone's 00:15:57.669 --> 00:16:01.110 there. And I go, Dad, will you pray for the Christmas 00:16:01.110 --> 00:16:04.330 dinner? And he goes, Heavenly Father, thank you 00:16:04.330 --> 00:16:07.470 for being kind to those of us who are ungrateful 00:16:07.470 --> 00:16:10.769 and wicked. Amen. Quite the Christmas prayer. 00:16:13.169 --> 00:16:15.590 Wanting a whole lot about baby Jesus in there. 00:16:15.830 --> 00:16:20.649 But that was his prayer. And my little nephew 00:16:20.649 --> 00:16:25.549 is like, he's like, Pop, that don't sound right. 00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:31.480 And my dad goes, I assure you it is. And in that 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:34.639 moment, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that I 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:39.299 had stopped preaching the cross to myself. I 00:16:39.299 --> 00:16:42.059 had lost sight of the need of a savior every 00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:47.639 day, all day. That it was his goodness, his righteousness, 00:16:47.860 --> 00:16:52.019 that I was ungrateful and wicked. And I was in 00:16:52.019 --> 00:16:55.720 need of his mercies every day. When we don't 00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:58.379 preach the cross to ourselves, we become judgmental. 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:02.600 We start to compare our faiths to one another. 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:07.380 We hold people to a higher standard than we hold 00:17:07.380 --> 00:17:12.380 ourselves. We are quick to hold their lives under 00:17:12.380 --> 00:17:16.180 the magnifying glass of Scripture while we look 00:17:16.180 --> 00:17:20.819 at our sin and issues from a distance with binoculars. 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:23.000 And I don't mean those good ones. I mean like 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:25.839 those little kid broke ones. where we just kind 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:28.019 of imitate that we're looking for our issues. 00:17:28.779 --> 00:17:31.700 When we don't preach the cross to ourselves all 00:17:31.700 --> 00:17:34.980 day, every day, we become self -righteous and 00:17:34.980 --> 00:17:38.220 prideful while elevating ourselves and lowering 00:17:38.220 --> 00:17:41.019 Christ. We focus on the wickedness of the sin 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:46.779 rather than loving the sinner. We are more consumed 00:17:46.779 --> 00:17:50.380 with who is right and who is wrong, and proving 00:17:50.380 --> 00:17:55.289 it is the most important thing. When we do preach 00:17:55.289 --> 00:17:58.470 the cross to ourselves all day, every day, we 00:17:58.470 --> 00:18:02.410 can't not forgive because we're acutely aware 00:18:02.410 --> 00:18:06.670 of how much we've been forgiven. We can't not 00:18:06.670 --> 00:18:09.809 serve. We can't not give because we're aware 00:18:09.809 --> 00:18:12.890 of how much we have been served and how much 00:18:12.890 --> 00:18:19.490 we have been given. It is by his goodness. And 00:18:19.490 --> 00:18:22.970 so with this in mind, I want to repaint the scene 00:18:22.970 --> 00:18:28.509 in Luke. We have Jesus on the middle cross. We 00:18:28.509 --> 00:18:31.529 have a thief on the left and on the right of 00:18:31.529 --> 00:18:35.390 Jesus. Now we know the Romans used the crucifixion. 00:18:35.390 --> 00:18:39.069 It was a criminal's death. We know that this 00:18:39.069 --> 00:18:42.089 was for notorious criminals and they would placard 00:18:42.089 --> 00:18:45.150 these people against the sky for all to see. 00:18:45.309 --> 00:18:47.809 And it would be a deterrent, hopefully, that 00:18:47.809 --> 00:18:50.339 no one, would repeat what they had been accused 00:18:50.339 --> 00:18:54.359 of. We also see one of the thieves is mocking 00:18:54.359 --> 00:18:58.900 Jesus and the other thief is rebuking him. The 00:18:58.900 --> 00:19:01.900 other thief is like, we're justly being punished. 00:19:01.980 --> 00:19:07.119 We deserve this. This man is innocent. But that 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:10.440 wasn't always the case for both thieves. One 00:19:10.440 --> 00:19:13.420 of my favorite things to do, it's so much fun, 00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:16.160 is to pull out the same story out of all four 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:19.259 gospels. Pull them out and lay them on top of 00:19:19.259 --> 00:19:23.079 each other. And you will get a more rich, a more 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:27.519 full, a more life -breathing word from God. And 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:29.539 it will take you to deeper layers. And this is 00:19:29.539 --> 00:19:33.700 no different. And in Matthew 27, 44, it says, 00:19:33.740 --> 00:19:36.940 in the same way the robbers who were crucified 00:19:36.940 --> 00:19:40.880 with him also heaped insults on him. Just hours 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:46.519 ago, both thieves were mocking him. Both. Thieves 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:49.500 were insulting him, and now one has changed his 00:19:49.500 --> 00:19:52.559 thinking. And how this thief came to recognize 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:55.160 the innocence of Jesus, we're not told in this, 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:57.920 but you can look at Scripture as a whole, and 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:00.900 I think it's very clear. And first, we have to 00:20:00.900 --> 00:20:02.920 know that saving faith is understood through 00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:08.200 divine revelation. In Matthew 16, Jesus goes, 00:20:08.299 --> 00:20:10.730 Peter, who do you say I am? Peter goes, well, 00:20:10.769 --> 00:20:13.089 some say you're Elijah, some say you're a prophet. 00:20:13.210 --> 00:20:15.490 And Jesus is like, no, I know, but who do you 00:20:15.490 --> 00:20:18.289 say I am, Peter? And he goes, you're the Messiah, 00:20:18.650 --> 00:20:22.369 you're the King. And Jesus goes, blessed are 00:20:22.369 --> 00:20:24.849 you, because this was not revealed by flesh and 00:20:24.849 --> 00:20:27.509 blood, but by my Father in heaven. In Matthew 00:20:27.509 --> 00:20:29.809 11, no one knows the Father except the Son, and 00:20:29.809 --> 00:20:33.130 to those the Son chooses to reveal himself to. 00:20:33.829 --> 00:20:37.130 John 6, no one can come to me unless the Father 00:20:37.130 --> 00:20:42.690 who sent me draws them in. And the same thing 00:20:42.690 --> 00:20:45.710 happens within this divine revelation to every 00:20:45.710 --> 00:20:50.430 person, thief, you, me, everyone. One is we are 00:20:50.430 --> 00:20:55.269 aware of our brokenness and sin. We're aware 00:20:55.269 --> 00:20:58.210 that we need a savior and that savior cannot 00:20:58.210 --> 00:21:04.130 be us. We're also made aware of Jesus's sinlessness. 00:21:04.829 --> 00:21:07.210 and that he took on a punishment that he didn't 00:21:07.210 --> 00:21:10.650 deserve. We will recognize this kingship and 00:21:10.650 --> 00:21:14.549 that there is a paradise after this. Within this, 00:21:14.589 --> 00:21:18.490 there is repentance. Repentance gets a really 00:21:18.490 --> 00:21:22.049 bad reputation in today's age. This is a good 00:21:22.049 --> 00:21:25.589 word. This is a word we should celebrate. This 00:21:25.589 --> 00:21:30.849 is a word that should make someone smile. Repentance 00:21:30.849 --> 00:21:34.440 in the Greek is metanoeo. Meta means change, 00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:41.200 metamorphosis, change. Noeo is thinking. Change 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:44.839 your thinking. When Jesus came out of the desert 00:21:44.839 --> 00:21:47.799 after being tempted by Satan, his first words 00:21:47.799 --> 00:21:50.240 he preached were, repent for the kingdom of heaven 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:54.319 is near. Change your thinking for the kingdom 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:58.279 of heaven is near. As we're studying Jesus' last 00:21:58.279 --> 00:22:00.400 words on the cross, think about the thieves. 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:05.599 They're ones of repentance and they're etched 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:08.720 in history forever that we might never lose sight 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:12.440 of the incomparable riches of God's grace through 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:15.480 Jesus Christ and what he did on that cross and 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:22.019 the desperate need for a savior. I need to change 00:22:22.019 --> 00:22:23.980 my thinking every day. I don't know about you. 00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:29.160 In some area, some format, some way, equally 00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:32.940 true. Equally true is we are held responsible 00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:36.619 for the response to the invitation. In James, 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:38.740 it says, draw nearer to God and he'll draw nearer 00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:42.500 to you. In 2 Peter, it says that God is long 00:22:42.500 --> 00:22:45.839 suffering for us, not wishing that any should 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:49.279 perish, but that all should be saved and turn 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:52.599 to repentance. See, these are not mutually exclusive 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:57.720 ideas. These things are both true. And in Revelations 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:02.130 3 .20, it says, Here I am, I stand at the door 00:23:02.130 --> 00:23:05.549 and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens 00:23:05.549 --> 00:23:07.990 the door, I will come in and eat with him and 00:23:07.990 --> 00:23:11.430 he with me. So I wanted to share this illustration 00:23:11.430 --> 00:23:16.450 with you. It's a painting. And it's a famous 00:23:16.450 --> 00:23:18.329 painting. This is a rendition of it. It's not 00:23:18.329 --> 00:23:22.390 the original. It's not me. There it is. You see 00:23:22.390 --> 00:23:26.309 Jesus is at the door. You see Jesus is on the 00:23:26.309 --> 00:23:29.019 outside. And he's knocking at the door. And what 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:31.839 I want you to notice is there's no handle on 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:35.700 Jesus' side. He'll knock at the door, but the 00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:40.200 handle is on the inside. And we have to open 00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:44.160 it. And so let's think back to these two thieves 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:47.700 hanging next to Jesus. What did they experience? 00:23:48.220 --> 00:23:53.299 They experienced the last words of the Messiah. 00:23:54.170 --> 00:23:57.529 They heard Jesus say with full selflessness, 00:23:57.950 --> 00:24:01.910 here is my mom, make sure she's being taken care 00:24:01.910 --> 00:24:06.109 of. Make sure she's loved. Both these thieves 00:24:06.109 --> 00:24:10.470 hear it. That was Jesus knocking at their door. 00:24:10.890 --> 00:24:14.430 They're able to hear him pray, Father, forgive 00:24:14.430 --> 00:24:17.890 them for they know not what they do. That was 00:24:17.890 --> 00:24:25.140 Jesus knocking on the door to their heart. Jesus 00:24:25.140 --> 00:24:29.339 was mocked and spit on and beaten, and he did 00:24:29.339 --> 00:24:34.380 not retaliate. In all of his suffering, he made 00:24:34.380 --> 00:24:41.279 no threats. Jesus was knocking on the door, and 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:45.180 only one of those thieves opened it. Every time 00:24:45.180 --> 00:24:47.900 you hear a message, that is Jesus knocking on 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:51.450 the door to your heart. Every good and perfect 00:24:51.450 --> 00:24:54.329 gift, the word tells us, is from the Father. 00:24:54.750 --> 00:24:57.990 That's Jesus knocking. Even in times of desperation 00:24:57.990 --> 00:25:02.170 and loss, and there's a sense and a need that 00:25:02.170 --> 00:25:04.710 there's a need for something greater than ourselves, 00:25:05.269 --> 00:25:07.829 that's Jesus knocking on the door to your heart. 00:25:08.069 --> 00:25:11.210 It says even in Romans 1 that you can tell there's 00:25:11.210 --> 00:25:16.130 a creator in creation. So even within nature, 00:25:16.309 --> 00:25:21.240 sunrises, sunsets, beauty, Jesus is knocking 00:25:21.240 --> 00:25:26.660 on the door to our heart. I was able to go to 00:25:26.660 --> 00:25:30.319 Jordan a few weeks ago. Many of you know we did 00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:32.819 a missions trip, and we were able to visit a 00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:37.240 town called Azrak. Now, Azrak is two hours east 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:40.619 of Amman. Amman is over two million people. It's 00:25:40.619 --> 00:25:44.680 their capital. It's a big city. Azrak is the 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:47.819 exact opposite. It is this little itty -bitty 00:25:47.819 --> 00:25:50.789 town. of about 10 ,000 in the middle of nowhere. 00:25:52.029 --> 00:25:56.069 And I was able to meet a woman named Besma. And 00:25:56.069 --> 00:25:58.390 she was able to share with me how her husband 00:25:58.390 --> 00:26:02.730 and daughter came to Christ first. And she was 00:26:02.730 --> 00:26:05.470 the last one in the family to come and meet Jesus. 00:26:06.470 --> 00:26:09.630 But she also shared with me why. See, she practiced 00:26:09.630 --> 00:26:13.230 sorcery and witchcraft. And she used to tell 00:26:13.230 --> 00:26:16.829 people their fortunes and read their palms. And 00:26:16.829 --> 00:26:20.160 people would come, from Saudi Arabia and pay 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:25.339 $1 ,000 to $2 ,000 a day to hear what she had 00:26:25.339 --> 00:26:28.119 to say, which means she was pretty accurate at 00:26:28.119 --> 00:26:30.680 it, which also means there were some pretty demonic 00:26:30.680 --> 00:26:34.160 and evil spirits involved with that. But she 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:37.039 shared how she looked at this husband and daughter 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:40.380 and everything changed in them, the way they 00:26:40.380 --> 00:26:44.420 thought, the way they acted, the way they talked. 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:47.640 what they cared about, what they believed in. 00:26:47.819 --> 00:26:52.119 And Jesus used this husband and daughter to knock 00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:55.660 on Besma's heart. And she accepted Jesus Christ 00:26:55.660 --> 00:27:01.000 as her Lord and Savior and forsaked all, forsaked 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:04.819 all of that money and that fame from that. And 00:27:04.819 --> 00:27:08.660 now she preaches Jesus Christ unapologetically 00:27:08.660 --> 00:27:12.059 in a country you're not allowed to do that. Yeah, 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:19.579 that's worth celebrating. I was also able to 00:27:19.579 --> 00:27:23.500 visit a Christian preschool in Azraq. And so 00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:26.259 within the kids that visit this preschool, we 00:27:26.259 --> 00:27:30.279 did a bunch of home visits and met a bunch of 00:27:30.279 --> 00:27:32.720 parents, a bunch of them. And these parents told 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:36.180 me, you know, the truth is other organizations 00:27:36.180 --> 00:27:41.880 give us more resources, but there is an unexplainable 00:27:41.880 --> 00:27:45.599 love that our children. received from this Christian 00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:49.559 preschool. And so we send our kids there. God 00:27:49.559 --> 00:27:52.119 has used that preschool to bring over a hundred 00:27:52.119 --> 00:27:55.400 Druze to Christ in a town where there was zero. 00:27:58.039 --> 00:28:01.279 God is using the love of that preschool to reach 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:05.099 parents and change people's lives. There's an 00:28:05.099 --> 00:28:08.940 awakening in Azraq Jordan of people on fire for 00:28:08.940 --> 00:28:15.910 Christ. Can God use your life to knock on people's 00:28:15.910 --> 00:28:22.450 door? Can God use my life? Are we living our 00:28:22.450 --> 00:28:25.230 lives in such a way that the way we talk to people, 00:28:25.369 --> 00:28:28.170 the way we talk about people, the way we treat 00:28:28.170 --> 00:28:32.410 them, are we in such a personal place with Christ 00:28:32.410 --> 00:28:36.329 that as we're dependent solely on this, that 00:28:36.329 --> 00:28:39.849 it affects everything in this outward area? That 00:28:39.849 --> 00:28:43.069 our sphere of influence that God has handed us 00:28:43.069 --> 00:28:48.569 to oversee, that it can be used to knock on the 00:28:48.569 --> 00:28:53.190 door of people's hearts? If Christ is the only 00:28:53.190 --> 00:28:57.690 remedy for alienation from God, how can we not 00:28:57.690 --> 00:29:03.009 share the good news? If someone doesn't know 00:29:03.009 --> 00:29:05.690 their loss, why would they ever look to be found? 00:29:06.970 --> 00:29:10.400 You don't... Go to a doctor if you don't think 00:29:10.400 --> 00:29:14.720 you're sick. If we're going to the left and it's 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:18.539 the wrong way, and how am I going to know to 00:29:18.539 --> 00:29:23.559 change my thinking and turn right if I'm not 00:29:23.559 --> 00:29:31.539 sharing Christ? If we believe this, how can we 00:29:31.539 --> 00:29:34.839 not want someone to experience the incomparable 00:29:34.839 --> 00:29:42.940 riches of His grace? Easter's next weekend. It's 00:29:42.940 --> 00:29:45.940 the number one service. People that don't go 00:29:45.940 --> 00:29:51.819 to church will go to church. There's studies 00:29:51.819 --> 00:29:55.960 that say eight out of 10 non -believers, if asked, 00:29:56.359 --> 00:29:59.940 said, I'll go to Easter service. Christmas is 00:29:59.940 --> 00:30:05.119 a close second. Who are we gonna invite this 00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:11.849 week? How much time are we going to spend praying 00:30:11.849 --> 00:30:16.009 for God to lay a name on our heart and invite 00:30:16.009 --> 00:30:20.849 them to Easter? All the while preaching the cross 00:30:20.849 --> 00:30:25.210 to ourselves and being reminded of our need for 00:30:25.210 --> 00:30:30.990 the Savior. And praying for a divine revelation 00:30:30.990 --> 00:30:35.470 to that person's eyes and ears to be open. That 00:30:35.470 --> 00:30:39.029 is my prayer for this church this weekend. that 00:30:39.029 --> 00:30:41.849 we would spend time praying for God to lay a 00:30:41.849 --> 00:30:45.890 name on our heart and invite him to Easter so 00:30:45.890 --> 00:30:48.309 they can be a thief on the cross and be saved, 00:30:48.470 --> 00:30:53.690 just like you were and just like I was. Let's 00:30:53.690 --> 00:30:58.390 pray. Heavenly Father, I just come before you, 00:30:58.430 --> 00:31:02.130 Lord, Lord, that you would just light a fire 00:31:02.130 --> 00:31:04.970 inside of us, Lord, that, Lord, we are desperate 00:31:04.970 --> 00:31:07.630 for you, Lord. that we are desperate for you 00:31:07.630 --> 00:31:10.829 in every way, Father. Lord, that your presence 00:31:10.829 --> 00:31:13.309 is with us, your Holy Spirit is poured out on 00:31:13.309 --> 00:31:15.630 us, Father. I stand here in repentance for the 00:31:15.630 --> 00:31:18.549 times I have lived my life, not in desperation 00:31:18.549 --> 00:31:23.789 of you. Lord, I am in need of your goodness and 00:31:23.789 --> 00:31:27.089 your righteousness, Lord. Reveal areas in our 00:31:27.089 --> 00:31:29.730 lives that we need to repent and change our thinking, 00:31:29.869 --> 00:31:33.180 Lord. Lord, for those of us that our salvation 00:31:33.180 --> 00:31:35.859 is secure, Lord, but there's areas we're holding 00:31:35.859 --> 00:31:37.980 on to, Lord, bring those to the forefront of 00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:40.019 our mind that we might change our thinking and 00:31:40.019 --> 00:31:43.759 repent. Lord, and look to you, our Savior. Lord, 00:31:43.859 --> 00:31:46.000 for these sins have been paid for. We don't have 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:48.859 to be held in these chains anymore, Father. Lord, 00:31:48.940 --> 00:31:53.150 that you would make the names of those. Father, 00:31:53.210 --> 00:31:55.130 that you wish to be at Easter, just make them 00:31:55.130 --> 00:31:57.670 so prominent in our minds and hearts this week, 00:31:57.750 --> 00:31:59.809 Lord, and give us the courage and strength and 00:31:59.809 --> 00:32:02.430 self -control, Lord, to go and invite them, not 00:32:02.430 --> 00:32:04.670 to think about how it makes me feel or if it's 00:32:04.670 --> 00:32:07.650 awkward or not, Lord, but that we trust in your 00:32:07.650 --> 00:32:10.549 goodness and your power and your strength, Lord. 00:32:11.210 --> 00:32:13.670 Father, that the spotlight should be on the cross 00:32:13.670 --> 00:32:19.200 alone and not on us. Father, I thank you for 00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:21.940 your love. I thank you for your mercy. I thank 00:32:21.940 --> 00:32:25.640 you for your grace, Lord. I thank you for your 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:29.259 patience, Father, for your kindness leads us 00:32:29.259 --> 00:32:34.079 to repentance. You are a good God, Lord, and 00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:36.680 let us celebrate that in your name. Amen.