1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,860 Now, as we approach this holy week, we’re continuing our series looking at the seven 2 00:00:05,860 –> 00:00:12,020 words that Jesus Christ spoke during these hours in which he was hanging on the cross. 3 00:00:12,020 –> 00:00:18,980 And today we come to the second word which you will find in Luke’s Gospel chapter 23 4 00:00:18,980 –> 00:00:19,980 and verse 43. 5 00:00:19,980 –> 00:00:25,139 Luke 23 and verse 43 if you would like to turn to that chapter. 6 00:00:25,139 –> 00:00:30,040 The story I think will be familiar to most, if not all of us. 7 00:00:30,040 –> 00:00:37,900 Two criminals are crucified with Jesus, one on his right and the other on his left. 8 00:00:37,900 –> 00:00:44,639 And in Luke 23 and verse 39 we are told that one of the criminals who hung there huddled 9 00:00:44,639 –> 00:00:49,340 insults at Jesus, he huddled insults at him. 10 00:00:49,340 –> 00:00:55,400 He said, Aren’t you the Christ save yourself and us. 11 00:00:55,400 –> 00:00:59,820 Now here is a man who is in the last hours of his life on earth. 12 00:00:59,820 –> 00:01:08,639 He is completely lost, he is completely helpless and hopeless, but he is still angry with God 13 00:01:08,639 –> 00:01:15,559 and in his agony his resentment towards God and towards Jesus Christ just pours out on 14 00:01:15,559 –> 00:01:16,639 this man. 15 00:01:16,699 –> 00:01:22,040 By the way, suffering doesn’t always make us more tender. 16 00:01:22,040 –> 00:01:28,260 Pain can bring out the very worst inside of a man or a woman. 17 00:01:28,260 –> 00:01:33,720 And sometimes it just intensifies the anger and resentment towards God that has already 18 00:01:33,720 –> 00:01:36,040 been hidden in the human heart. 19 00:01:36,040 –> 00:01:37,860 You can feel the hostility here. 20 00:01:37,860 –> 00:01:39,559 Here he is in his pain. 21 00:01:39,559 –> 00:01:43,360 If you’re God, why don’t you do something about this, you know that? 22 00:01:43,379 –> 00:01:49,720 Don’t ever estimate how much the human heart hates God. 23 00:01:49,720 –> 00:01:54,099 The Book of Revelations tells us about the day when God’s judgment work be poured out 24 00:01:54,099 –> 00:01:57,800 and sinners are crying out. 25 00:01:57,800 –> 00:02:00,320 This is Revelation 6 verse 16. 26 00:02:00,320 –> 00:02:02,040 And what are they saying when they cry out? 27 00:02:02,040 –> 00:02:05,500 Are they saying, oh God we repent, have mercy? 28 00:02:05,500 –> 00:02:06,540 No. 29 00:02:06,540 –> 00:02:10,339 They are saying, let the rocks fall on us! 30 00:02:10,339 –> 00:02:11,339 Why? 31 00:02:11,339 –> 00:02:12,339 You see they’re saying. 32 00:02:12,339 –> 00:02:15,259 I’d rather die than bow before you God. 33 00:02:15,259 –> 00:02:18,300 Rather die than bow before you. 34 00:02:18,300 –> 00:02:21,020 And all of that is pouring out of this man. 35 00:02:21,020 –> 00:02:24,300 Sin is a mighty power in the human soul. 36 00:02:24,300 –> 00:02:30,220 And we would be locked in it forever, apart from the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 37 00:02:30,220 –> 00:02:34,199 So here is this man, he has lived a miserable life, he is now just a few hours away from 38 00:02:34,199 –> 00:02:35,199 eternity. 39 00:02:35,199 –> 00:02:39,179 He is already under the judgment of human law for the crimes he has committed against 40 00:02:39,179 –> 00:02:40,179 society. 41 00:02:40,179 –> 00:02:46,800 In very short time he’ll be subject to the judgment of God, and still he is raging against 42 00:02:46,800 –> 00:02:49,460 God. 43 00:02:49,460 –> 00:02:53,759 What’s been there in him all his life is now coming out into its full expression, as it’s 44 00:02:53,759 –> 00:02:59,479 exposed by the intensity of his pain. 45 00:02:59,479 –> 00:03:04,639 And his partner in crime is on another cross, the other side of the Lord Jesus, and he is 46 00:03:04,639 –> 00:03:08,380 in exactly the same position. 47 00:03:08,539 –> 00:03:14,500 Both Matthew and Mark, in their accounts of the story tell us that both criminals were 48 00:03:14,500 –> 00:03:16,740 hurling this abuse at Jesus. 49 00:03:16,740 –> 00:03:21,300 So here’s the second man, and he’s in exactly the same position as the first man. 50 00:03:21,300 –> 00:03:28,020 He’s full of this anger, and this resentment, and this cursing towards God. 51 00:03:28,020 –> 00:03:31,339 But then, in the second man, something changes. 52 00:03:31,339 –> 00:03:37,660 A silence comes over this man’s soul, and perhaps for the very first time in his life, 53 00:03:37,699 –> 00:03:41,779 he really thinks about his own position. 54 00:03:41,779 –> 00:03:46,679 He’s skimmed through life, he’s lived by his wits, he’s drifted from one thing to another, 55 00:03:46,679 –> 00:03:50,679 but now his life is slipping away. 56 00:03:50,679 –> 00:03:55,059 Earth is receding right there, and eternity is looming large. 57 00:03:55,080 –> 00:03:56,220 It’s right on the horizon. 58 00:03:56,240 –> 00:03:58,000 It’s getting nearer. 59 00:03:59,639 –> 00:04:02,779 And he had not planned for this. 60 00:04:02,800 –> 00:04:06,500 And he had not prepared for it either. 61 00:04:06,500 –> 00:04:10,240 As a Jew of course he had always believed in God, but it had never made any difference 62 00:04:10,240 –> 00:04:11,440 to his life. 63 00:04:11,440 –> 00:04:18,000 And now he sees with awesome clarity that before this day is done, he will stand in 64 00:04:18,000 –> 00:04:22,420 the presence of Almighty God, and he will be held accountable for the stewardship of 65 00:04:22,420 –> 00:04:24,739 his entire life. 66 00:04:25,899 –> 00:04:32,839 And as these thoughts run through his mind, in the pain that is wrecking his body, he 67 00:04:32,859 –> 00:04:37,779 turns towards his friend who is the other side of Jesus and he says, 68 00:04:37,779 –> 00:04:43,980 Don’t you fear God. 69 00:04:45,019 –> 00:04:51,299 Then he turns to Jesus, just a few feet away from him, and he says in verse 42, 70 00:04:51,299 –> 00:04:56,799 Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom. 71 00:04:56,799 –> 00:05:02,519 And then Jesus speaks this second word from the cross that is our focus today. 72 00:05:02,540 –> 00:05:12,320 Verse 43 Jesus says, I tell you the truth today you will be with me in Paradise. 73 00:05:12,320 –> 00:05:16,920 And friends, by any standards, this is an extraordinary story. 74 00:05:16,920 –> 00:05:23,200 A man who is destined from hell and he’s right on the brink of eternal destruction is in 75 00:05:23,200 –> 00:05:30,260 a moment given by Jesus Christ full access into all the joys of everlasting life which 76 00:05:30,260 –> 00:05:35,339 he will enter on that very day. 77 00:05:35,339 –> 00:05:40,119 And remember that in our series our aim is very clear, we want to see more of the extent 78 00:05:40,119 –> 00:05:45,940 of Christ’s love and that is what I want us to see in this story that will be familiar 79 00:05:45,940 –> 00:05:51,200 to most of us today, I want you to see the extent of Christ’s love right here. 80 00:05:51,200 –> 00:05:57,519 John Owen says, I think very perceptively, he says, many Christians sadly neglect loving 81 00:05:57,519 –> 00:05:59,660 fellowship with the Father. 82 00:05:59,660 –> 00:06:06,279 And for this reason John Owen says many Christians are sad when they could be rejoicing and many 83 00:06:06,279 –> 00:06:09,100 Christians are weak when they could be strong. 84 00:06:09,100 –> 00:06:15,579 Why, because so many of us neglect loving fellowship with the Father. 85 00:06:15,579 –> 00:06:20,380 So what he’s saying is this, that if you want to know more joy in your life, if you want 86 00:06:20,380 –> 00:06:26,380 to know more strength in your life, it comes from loving fellowship with the Father. 87 00:06:26,399 –> 00:06:30,959 And that is why we’re looking at the full extent of God’s love and we see it never more 88 00:06:30,959 –> 00:06:34,000 clearly than in the cross of Jesus Christ. 89 00:06:34,000 –> 00:06:39,859 That’s why our focus on these weeks is right here in the words of Jesus from the Cross. 90 00:06:39,859 –> 00:06:45,100 As you grasp more of the extent of Christ’s love, you will know more joy. 91 00:06:45,100 –> 00:06:50,359 You will have greater strength and you will know more love in your own heart towards the 92 00:06:50,359 –> 00:06:51,359 Lord himself. 93 00:06:51,359 –> 00:06:57,200 So very simply today I want to offer you from the second word of Jesus from the Cross, seven 94 00:06:57,200 –> 00:07:00,739 glimpses of the love of Jesus Christ. 95 00:07:00,739 –> 00:07:06,480 Seven glimpses of the love of Jesus Christ that can bring you joy, make you strong, and 96 00:07:06,480 –> 00:07:10,640 ignite within your own heart fresh love for God the Father. 97 00:07:10,640 –> 00:07:12,339 Here’s the first. 98 00:07:12,339 –> 00:07:19,019 Christ chooses the company of undeserving sinners. 99 00:07:19,519 –> 00:07:26,100 That’s the first glimpse of his love, the enemies of Jesus called Him the friend of 100 00:07:26,100 –> 00:07:27,100 sinners. 101 00:07:27,100 –> 00:07:28,100 They meant it as an insult. 102 00:07:28,100 –> 00:07:31,820 It is a glorious title of our Lord Jesus Christ. 103 00:07:31,820 –> 00:07:37,220 He chooses the company of undeserving sinners. 104 00:07:37,220 –> 00:07:39,140 You think about this man. 105 00:07:39,140 –> 00:07:46,619 Spurgeon describes the thief on the cross as Jesus’ last companion on earth and his 106 00:07:46,619 –> 00:07:48,260 first companion in heaven. 107 00:07:48,339 –> 00:07:49,920 Isn’t that good? 108 00:07:49,920 –> 00:07:55,140 The last companion on earth and the first companion in heaven. 109 00:07:55,140 –> 00:08:00,000 When you think about that it raises this question, why in all the world would Jesus choose this 110 00:08:00,000 –> 00:08:04,119 man to be his first companion in heaven? 111 00:08:04,119 –> 00:08:10,179 To be the very first one, this side of the cross, who is ushered into the glory of heaven. 112 00:08:10,179 –> 00:08:13,899 Spurgeon pictures Christ entering into the glory of heaven. 113 00:08:13,899 –> 00:08:16,220 Can you picture this with me? 114 00:08:16,220 –> 00:08:23,040 He has the angels asking this question, who is this that enters the pearly gates at the 115 00:08:23,040 –> 00:08:25,899 same moment as the king of glory? 116 00:08:25,899 –> 00:08:30,440 Who is this favored companion that the redeemer is bringing with him? 117 00:08:30,440 –> 00:08:32,580 Is this some honored martyr? 118 00:08:32,580 –> 00:08:34,539 Is this some faithful apostle? 119 00:08:34,539 –> 00:08:38,119 Is this some patriarch like Abraham or a prince like David? 120 00:08:38,119 –> 00:08:41,580 No, it is none of these. 121 00:08:41,580 –> 00:08:43,520 Look at who it is. 122 00:08:44,020 –> 00:08:49,840 This man has lived the most wretched life and died the most wretched death. 123 00:08:49,840 –> 00:08:54,219 Spurgeon says behold the sovereign grace of God. 124 00:08:55,919 –> 00:08:58,679 Do you see the love of Christ here? 125 00:08:58,700 –> 00:09:04,580 Do you see how this makes it especially clear that this man is a sample of what Jesus Christ 126 00:09:04,580 –> 00:09:06,880 has come to do? 127 00:09:06,880 –> 00:09:12,640 To save folks like us who have absolutely no hope of saving ourselves and to get glory 128 00:09:12,719 –> 00:09:19,159 to himself by making it supremely clear that our salvation only rests in him and not in 129 00:09:19,159 –> 00:09:20,679 any degree in us. 130 00:09:20,679 –> 00:09:22,739 It’s through Christ alone. 131 00:09:22,739 –> 00:09:27,739 Do you see how this man’s entrance into heaven opens up hope for every one of us? 132 00:09:27,739 –> 00:09:32,280 If this man can be the first man ushered into heaven by the Lord Jesus Christ, then why 133 00:09:32,280 –> 00:09:34,719 should you not be ushered into heaven by the Lord Jesus Christ? 134 00:09:34,719 –> 00:09:35,760 There is hope for you. 135 00:09:36,080 –> 00:09:41,919 There is hope for every person you will ever meet since there is hope for this man. 136 00:09:41,919 –> 00:09:50,080 You see the love of Christ here, which uses the company of undeserving sinners like you 137 00:09:50,080 –> 00:09:53,760 and me, he is not ashamed to call folks like us his friends. 138 00:09:53,760 –> 00:09:56,619 That’s the love of Christ. 139 00:09:56,619 –> 00:10:03,280 Second, I want you to see the love of Christ here, that Christ accepts the very simplest 140 00:10:03,280 –> 00:10:04,280 faith. 141 00:10:04,840 –> 00:10:12,739 Now, if you want the clearest possible presentation of what it means to have faith in the Lord 142 00:10:12,739 –> 00:10:17,200 Jesus Christ, you will never see it more clearly than here. 143 00:10:17,200 –> 00:10:22,479 Notice what happens to this man, in verse 40 he begins to fear God. 144 00:10:22,479 –> 00:10:26,840 He’s been pouring out all this hatred and all this spite and all this anger towards 145 00:10:26,840 –> 00:10:27,840 God. 146 00:10:27,840 –> 00:10:33,340 Suddenly over his soul, he begins to realize there’s an Eternal God and if I fight Him, 147 00:10:33,400 –> 00:10:39,440 I’m going to lose and he begins to fear God. 148 00:10:39,440 –> 00:10:45,159 Then he recognizes his own sinful condition, that’s verse 41, he says, we are being punished 149 00:10:45,159 –> 00:10:49,679 justly for we are getting what our deeds deserve. 150 00:10:49,679 –> 00:10:52,380 We’re getting what we deserve. 151 00:10:52,380 –> 00:10:58,020 Thirdly, he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, he says, Jesus remember me when you come into 152 00:10:58,020 –> 00:10:59,340 your kingdom, kingdom. 153 00:10:59,900 –> 00:11:04,299 So, he recognizes that Jesus is a king. 154 00:11:04,299 –> 00:11:05,900 How did he get that? 155 00:11:05,900 –> 00:11:10,760 I don’t know for sure, remember of course the above the cross at the head of the cross 156 00:11:10,760 –> 00:11:17,900 Pilate put that sign, this is the king of the Jews, so he would have seen that. 157 00:11:17,900 –> 00:11:22,479 Remember the crowds were mocking Jesus, they were saying he saved others, but he can’t 158 00:11:22,479 –> 00:11:23,479 save himself. 159 00:11:23,479 –> 00:11:26,760 Maybe this man said he saved others. 160 00:11:27,200 –> 00:11:28,940 Did he? 161 00:11:28,940 –> 00:11:30,580 Have he saved others? 162 00:11:30,580 –> 00:11:34,580 Maybe he can save me, that’s good logic, isn’t it? 163 00:11:34,580 –> 00:11:41,400 For sure, when the cross was raised just a few feet from this man, he had heard the words 164 00:11:41,400 –> 00:11:48,380 of the Lord Jesus, father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. 165 00:11:48,380 –> 00:11:55,260 He did not have much knowledge of Jesus but he had enough to feel that he could trust 166 00:11:55,260 –> 00:11:56,260 this Jesus. 167 00:11:57,140 –> 00:12:02,159 And so believing in this Jesus with a very limited revelation that he had, not much at 168 00:12:02,159 –> 00:12:06,700 all, he asks Jesus to save him. 169 00:12:06,700 –> 00:12:11,359 Remember me when you come into your kingdom. 170 00:12:11,359 –> 00:12:17,280 Now folks look at that, you really cannot get a simpler faith than that. 171 00:12:17,280 –> 00:12:19,039 A child can understand this. 172 00:12:19,039 –> 00:12:23,020 So wonderful to have so many children who are with us here this morning. 173 00:12:23,320 –> 00:12:27,380 A child can understand this. 174 00:12:27,380 –> 00:12:31,799 And the Lord Jesus Christ saves this man on the spot. 175 00:12:31,799 –> 00:12:35,020 Today, you will be with me in paradise. 176 00:12:35,020 –> 00:12:39,419 Listen there may be a thousand question that you feel that you have not resolved in your 177 00:12:39,419 –> 00:12:45,539 own mind, but if you come to realize that there’s almighty God and if fight him I lose, 178 00:12:45,539 –> 00:12:51,880 and that I am a sinner and that that is the truth about me and that this Lord Jesus Christ 179 00:12:51,940 –> 00:12:56,219 is one in whom I can believe, and I can ask him to save me, then the Lord Jesus Christ 180 00:12:56,219 –> 00:12:58,020 will save you on the spot, too. 181 00:12:58,020 –> 00:13:02,599 It can’t get simpler than that. 182 00:13:02,599 –> 00:13:06,700 We live in a skeptical age. 183 00:13:06,700 –> 00:13:14,539 And in a skeptical age the culture develops in such a way that when people are asking 184 00:13:14,539 –> 00:13:19,559 questions all the time they are thought to be sophisticated. 185 00:13:19,559 –> 00:13:26,080 And anyone who has clarity, that kind of suggests that you must be naive. 186 00:13:26,080 –> 00:13:31,580 And so in that environment, faith becomes presented as, oh, it’s a long journey, oh 187 00:13:31,580 –> 00:13:35,960 it’s a long search, oh yes, well, it will take a lifetime, listen to what Jesus says. 188 00:13:35,960 –> 00:13:40,520 He says, Father, I praise you because you have hidden these things from the wise and 189 00:13:40,520 –> 00:13:45,640 from the learned and you have revealed them to little children. 190 00:13:45,640 –> 00:13:51,359 I tell you today, you can pursue spirituality all your life and you will never come to know 191 00:13:51,359 –> 00:13:54,340 God without Jesus Christ. 192 00:13:54,340 –> 00:13:58,219 And that is why the Lord Jesus Christ, because everything has been trusted by the Father 193 00:13:58,219 –> 00:14:02,840 to him, he does not say to you, go on a long spiritual search. 194 00:14:02,840 –> 00:14:06,059 What he says to you is, come to me. 195 00:14:06,059 –> 00:14:07,059 Come to me. 196 00:14:07,059 –> 00:14:12,239 You come to me and I will give you rest. 197 00:14:12,239 –> 00:14:20,119 And I am so grateful that you do not have to have a PHD in order to be saved. 198 00:14:20,119 –> 00:14:26,020 You do not have to have a brilliant intellect in order to work out your way to heaven and 199 00:14:26,020 –> 00:14:29,539 resolve all the questions about God. 200 00:14:29,539 –> 00:14:35,320 You have withheld it from the wise, but you have revealed it to those who will come with 201 00:14:35,320 –> 00:14:36,559 childlike faith. 202 00:14:37,520 –> 00:14:44,200 He feared God, recognized that He is a sinner, believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He 203 00:14:44,200 –> 00:14:45,840 asked Jesus to save him. 204 00:14:45,840 –> 00:14:46,880 Are you not grateful? 205 00:14:46,880 –> 00:14:51,559 Do you see the love of Christ in this, that He accepts the simplest faith? 206 00:14:51,559 –> 00:14:54,000 So he has not made it difficult for us to come to Him. 207 00:14:54,000 –> 00:14:57,280 He has not put up all kinds of intellectual barriers. 208 00:14:57,280 –> 00:15:03,419 He does not send us on a long search, He says, come to me. 209 00:15:03,559 –> 00:15:08,760 Now here’s the third thing and it is very important for us to grasp. 210 00:15:08,780 –> 00:15:13,219 And it’s simply this, that in this story we see—I think more clearly than anywhere 211 00:15:13,219 –> 00:15:19,179 else in the Bible—that Jesus Christ saves by grace, through faith, and without works. 212 00:15:19,179 –> 00:15:22,280 I really want us to get this into our minds, would you say that with me, please? 213 00:15:22,280 –> 00:15:26,539 Christ saves by grace, through faith, without works. 214 00:15:26,539 –> 00:15:33,200 One more time, Christ saves by grace, through faith, and without works. 215 00:15:33,219 –> 00:15:38,880 Now, that is never made clearer than in the story of the thief on the cross, because this 216 00:15:38,880 –> 00:15:45,080 man has no works to offer God, either before his conversion—because he was a thief—or 217 00:15:45,080 –> 00:15:48,159 after his conversion—because he was dead, right? 218 00:15:48,159 –> 00:15:52,719 So neither before nor after his conversion does he have any works whatsoever to offer 219 00:15:52,719 –> 00:15:53,719 to God. 220 00:15:53,719 –> 00:15:56,840 A. W. Pink puts this, I think quite brilliantly. 221 00:15:56,840 –> 00:15:59,880 He says, what could this man do? 222 00:15:59,919 –> 00:16:05,440 He could not walk in the paths of righteousness because there was a nail through either foot. 223 00:16:05,440 –> 00:16:10,020 He could not perform any good works because there was a nail through either hand. 224 00:16:10,020 –> 00:16:14,840 He could not turn over a new leaf and live a better life because he was dying. 225 00:16:14,840 –> 00:16:21,440 So, this man has no way of offering anything to God—either before his conversion or after 226 00:16:21,440 –> 00:16:22,440 his conversion. 227 00:16:22,440 –> 00:16:28,940 That’s a uniqueness and, therefore, the vividness of what we’re taught in this story—that 228 00:16:28,940 –> 00:16:32,780 Christ saves him by grace and through faith and without works. 229 00:16:32,780 –> 00:16:39,260 Now, I know that, of course, a perverse mind can always make mischief out of any truth. 230 00:16:39,260 –> 00:16:44,099 There’ll always be people who will say, well, my goodness, if that’s the case, then we 231 00:16:44,099 –> 00:16:46,760 just continue in sin so that grace may abound. 232 00:16:46,760 –> 00:16:50,440 That’s the question that Paul answers in Romans and chapter six verse two. 233 00:16:50,440 –> 00:16:53,119 A perverse mind will always come up with that. 234 00:16:53,780 –> 00:16:59,799 But a redeemed heart loves Christ and a forgiven person wants to live for the glory of the 235 00:16:59,799 –> 00:17:05,500 one who, at immeasurable cost, has given his life and then risen from the dead for our 236 00:17:05,500 –> 00:17:09,060 forgiveness and our salvation. 237 00:17:09,060 –> 00:17:14,579 To be clear, if the thief had somehow been rescued from the cross and then recovering 238 00:17:14,579 –> 00:17:19,560 from his dreadful wounds had gone on to live for another 30 years, he would have lived 239 00:17:19,560 –> 00:17:21,859 a new and different life. 240 00:17:22,099 –> 00:17:27,619 Because to be sure, where faith is birthed, works always follow. 241 00:17:27,619 –> 00:17:31,979 But the uniqueness of this story, and the power for it in helping us understand our 242 00:17:31,979 –> 00:17:37,439 salvation, is that clearly, this man did not have opportunity for living the Christian 243 00:17:37,439 –> 00:17:38,439 life. 244 00:17:38,439 –> 00:17:45,619 He enters into paradise on the same day, and that shows us with great clarity where our 245 00:17:45,619 –> 00:17:47,920 salvation lies. 246 00:17:48,739 –> 00:17:53,160 Now folks, the next two minutes for some of us can be life transforming. 247 00:17:53,160 –> 00:17:57,839 So I want you to listen carefully because if you get this, for many of us it will be 248 00:17:57,839 –> 00:18:02,239 absolutely liberating. 249 00:18:02,239 –> 00:18:09,500 Your salvation in Jesus Christ involves three marvelous gifts. 250 00:18:09,500 –> 00:18:13,400 Justification by which your sins are forgiven. 251 00:18:14,079 –> 00:18:21,040 Sanctification by which progressively over time you grow in the likeness to Jesus Christ. 252 00:18:21,040 –> 00:18:28,359 And glorification by which eventually you will enter into the everlasting joy of heaven. 253 00:18:28,359 –> 00:18:30,900 There it is. 254 00:18:30,900 –> 00:18:36,380 That’s the whole of our salvation in Jesus Christ in just three words. 255 00:18:36,380 –> 00:18:42,339 Justification, sanctification, glorification, that is your salvation in Jesus Christ. 256 00:18:42,400 –> 00:18:44,859 Now think about this man. 257 00:18:44,859 –> 00:18:50,780 He was justified and he was glorified on the same day, so what did he miss? 258 00:18:50,780 –> 00:18:54,020 Sanctification. 259 00:18:54,020 –> 00:18:58,680 He missed out on the entirety of the Christian life. 260 00:18:59,160 –> 00:19:01,640 Never had a chance to live it. 261 00:19:01,780 –> 00:19:04,160 Completely bypassed it. 262 00:19:04,160 –> 00:19:08,699 So everything that you and I experienced brothers and sisters as Christian believers, he never 263 00:19:08,699 –> 00:19:09,699 knew any of it. 264 00:19:09,699 –> 00:19:13,819 Through battles with sin and temptation and fighting against these things with the power 265 00:19:13,819 –> 00:19:16,140 and help of the Holy Spirit, struggles with prayer. 266 00:19:16,140 –> 00:19:17,140 He wasn’t baptized. 267 00:19:17,140 –> 00:19:18,680 Never received communion all the rest of it. 268 00:19:18,680 –> 00:19:20,699 Here is what that tells us. 269 00:19:20,699 –> 00:19:27,400 Entrance into heaven, glorification comes through justification not through sanctification. 270 00:19:27,400 –> 00:19:30,459 This man completely bypassed it. 271 00:19:30,459 –> 00:19:34,160 Your glorification rests on your justification not on your sanctification. 272 00:19:34,160 –> 00:19:39,660 You enter heaven not by your progress in the Christian life. 273 00:19:39,739 –> 00:19:44,359 You enter heaven by forgiveness and through the righteousness that Jesus Christ gives 274 00:19:44,359 –> 00:19:45,359 you. 275 00:19:45,359 –> 00:19:50,660 It does not depend on your performance in the Christian life. 276 00:19:50,660 –> 00:19:55,540 And so many of us have been brought up with this idea that you get into heaven by living 277 00:19:55,540 –> 00:19:56,739 a good Christian life. 278 00:19:56,739 –> 00:19:58,180 That’s not true. 279 00:19:58,180 –> 00:20:02,040 This man never lived a day of the Christian life and he is in heaven. 280 00:20:02,040 –> 00:20:05,219 So that tells you how a person enters heaven. 281 00:20:05,219 –> 00:20:07,180 It’s not through sanctification. 282 00:20:07,280 –> 00:20:12,420 It is through justification, through forgiveness and through the righteousness of Jesus Christ 283 00:20:12,420 –> 00:20:14,300 that becomes yours by faith. 284 00:20:14,300 –> 00:20:15,439 He’s saved on the spot. 285 00:20:15,439 –> 00:20:16,439 He enters into heaven. 286 00:20:16,439 –> 00:20:19,859 See how clear that is? 287 00:20:19,859 –> 00:20:25,619 Now, the New Testament hammers away on this truth because it is so important for us to 288 00:20:25,619 –> 00:20:27,680 grasp it. 289 00:20:27,680 –> 00:20:34,300 So let me just give you some examples, Galatians chapter 2 verse 16, a man is not justified 290 00:20:34,300 –> 00:20:41,219 by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. 291 00:20:41,219 –> 00:20:46,099 Titus chapter 3 and verse 5, Christ saved us how? 292 00:20:46,099 –> 00:20:51,219 Not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. 293 00:20:51,219 –> 00:20:52,560 Not because of the righteous things. 294 00:20:52,560 –> 00:20:53,859 Notice the negative. 295 00:20:53,859 –> 00:20:58,699 It keeps coming in there because there’s this natural tendency in our minds to keep going 296 00:20:58,699 –> 00:21:03,579 back to heaven will somewhat depend on how well I do in the Christian life. 297 00:21:03,579 –> 00:21:06,160 Most clearly of all, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. 298 00:21:06,160 –> 00:21:13,680 It is by grace that you have been saved through faith, see, grace, faith, and not by works—not 299 00:21:13,680 –> 00:21:20,180 by works—so that no one can boast. 300 00:21:20,180 –> 00:21:25,439 Now it is always true, I say again, that where faith is present works will follow, but it 301 00:21:25,439 –> 00:21:32,260 remains clear in the scripture that salvation is by grace alone, and it is by faith alone, 302 00:21:32,260 –> 00:21:36,300 and it is in Christ alone, and it is not by works. 303 00:21:36,300 –> 00:21:42,239 That means that your acceptance with God does not depend on your performance in the Christian 304 00:21:42,239 –> 00:21:47,319 life, and when you see that, I promise you, it will be absolutely liberating for you. 305 00:21:47,319 –> 00:21:50,680 It is good news! 306 00:21:50,680 –> 00:21:56,699 Where would you be, friend, if Jesus Christ said to you, now I forgive you, but I will 307 00:21:56,699 –> 00:22:01,219 be watching very carefully to see how you do from here on. 308 00:22:01,260 –> 00:22:02,540 Where would you be? 309 00:22:02,540 –> 00:22:06,640 And what kind of love would it be for you if Christ said, I forgive you, but you’d better 310 00:22:06,640 –> 00:22:11,339 make sure you don’t mess up this time? 311 00:22:11,339 –> 00:22:14,459 When you read these words, not by works. 312 00:22:14,459 –> 00:22:16,540 Give thanks. 313 00:22:16,540 –> 00:22:18,979 Rejoice. 314 00:22:18,979 –> 00:22:21,300 This is the love of Christ to you. 315 00:22:21,300 –> 00:22:25,420 He does not put you on probation. 316 00:22:25,859 –> 00:22:32,380 He saves this man on the spot, on the spot. 317 00:22:32,380 –> 00:22:36,060 And here’s the fourth glimpse of Christ’s love that follows directly from what we’ve 318 00:22:36,060 –> 00:22:41,239 just seen, that Jesus Christ gives to this man complete assurance. 319 00:22:41,239 –> 00:22:44,239 Notice what he says in the simple verse, it’s so rich. 320 00:22:44,239 –> 00:22:48,199 Today, you will be with me in paradise. 321 00:22:48,199 –> 00:22:51,160 You will be, not you might be. 322 00:22:51,160 –> 00:22:54,880 Don’t you hate that business of waiting for exam results? 323 00:22:55,359 –> 00:22:57,479 You remember that wretched business? 324 00:22:57,479 –> 00:23:01,619 You feel sorry for the kids when they have to do these wretched exams. 325 00:23:01,619 –> 00:23:02,619 And there you are. 326 00:23:02,619 –> 00:23:05,739 You sit there and you do this paper for two hours or whatever it is and you hand it in. 327 00:23:05,739 –> 00:23:07,180 What do you have to do? 328 00:23:07,180 –> 00:23:08,380 Wait. 329 00:23:08,380 –> 00:23:14,520 Wait and see if what I did was any good, good enough. 330 00:23:14,520 –> 00:23:19,099 Imagine living your whole life waiting for the outcome, imagine serving Jesus Christ 331 00:23:19,099 –> 00:23:25,160 every week, every day and saying, I wonder if I will make it into heaven? 332 00:23:25,160 –> 00:23:29,619 Or I wonder if I will spend eternity after all this in hell. 333 00:23:29,619 –> 00:23:32,660 Oh, do you see the love of Christ in this? 334 00:23:32,660 –> 00:23:36,979 When this man says, O Jesus, will you remember me when you come into your kingdom? 335 00:23:36,979 –> 00:23:40,900 Jesus does not look to him and say, well, we’ll need to wait and see. 336 00:23:40,900 –> 00:23:47,780 My friend, here is something wonderful especially for those who are older today. 337 00:23:48,040 –> 00:23:52,260 I have felt in my heart in this service, I may be speaking to someone older. 338 00:23:52,260 –> 00:23:58,140 And you know that you have pushed Jesus Christ away for many, many years, and you have delayed 339 00:23:58,140 –> 00:24:02,020 coming to him, and you’ve delayed it so long that you’re no longer sure that there can 340 00:24:02,020 –> 00:24:05,260 be any meaningful way in which you can come to Jesus Christ. 341 00:24:05,260 –> 00:24:08,180 You’re older. 342 00:24:08,180 –> 00:24:13,180 And I am so glad that when this man turns to Jesus and says remember me when you come 343 00:24:13,180 –> 00:24:17,380 into your kingdom, Jesus does not turn to him and say, well, don’t you think it’s rather 344 00:24:17,420 –> 00:24:19,979 late in the day to be thinking about this? 345 00:24:19,979 –> 00:24:24,020 He says, today, you will be with me in Paradise. 346 00:24:24,020 –> 00:24:25,560 That’s good news. 347 00:24:25,560 –> 00:24:33,359 The declaration of the last day justified, brought forward, for those who have faith 348 00:24:33,359 –> 00:24:35,540 in Jesus. 349 00:24:35,540 –> 00:24:38,300 Now, you will be with me in Paradise. 350 00:24:38,300 –> 00:24:44,579 Do you see how this gift of assurance flows from what we were just seeing, that Christ 351 00:24:45,359 –> 00:24:52,560 grace through faith and without works, because if our works were involved in any degree, 352 00:24:52,560 –> 00:24:58,300 assurance would be impossible, because we could never know if we had done them. 353 00:24:58,300 –> 00:25:04,540 And if salvation were to rest on our works in any degree, and someone were to say, Well, 354 00:25:04,540 –> 00:25:08,819 I have assurance, that actually would be the height of arrogance, because what it would 355 00:25:09,339 –> 00:25:14,619 be saying, I have done the works that contribute my part to entering heaven. 356 00:25:14,619 –> 00:25:16,660 Who in all the world could say that? 357 00:25:16,660 –> 00:25:20,439 That’s unbearably arrogant, so that’s impossible. 358 00:25:20,439 –> 00:25:27,339 But the good news, as we’ve been seeing, is that your salvation depends not on your works 359 00:25:27,339 –> 00:25:31,099 for Christ, but on Christ’s work for you. 360 00:25:31,099 –> 00:25:35,140 And Christ’s work is a finished work, it is a complete work, it is a perfect work, it 361 00:25:35,140 –> 00:25:36,959 is rock solid. 362 00:25:36,959 –> 00:25:41,619 That’s why you can have assurance, because it’s not depending on your partial bitsee 363 00:25:41,619 –> 00:25:46,400 sort of works for him, it’s dependent on his completed work for you. 364 00:25:46,400 –> 00:25:54,339 And therefore he’s able to say, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. 365 00:25:54,339 –> 00:26:00,380 Here’s this from the Lord of paradise, and when Christ opens the door, no one can shut 366 00:26:00,380 –> 00:26:02,140 a person out. 367 00:26:02,140 –> 00:26:06,280 So you do not need to spend the rest of your Christian life worrying about whether you’re 368 00:26:06,280 –> 00:26:08,000 going to make it. 369 00:26:08,000 –> 00:26:11,780 You put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you can begin rejoicing already. 370 00:26:11,780 –> 00:26:16,800 That’s why John Owens says, so many Christians are sad when they could be rejoicing and they’re 371 00:26:16,800 –> 00:26:21,140 weak when they could be strong, because they don’t really grasp the full extent of the 372 00:26:21,140 –> 00:26:30,339 love of our Father in Heaven flowing to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. 373 00:26:30,339 –> 00:26:38,060 Fourth glimpse of this marvelous love of Jesus Christ is simply this that Jesus has great 374 00:26:38,060 –> 00:26:43,420 joy in redeeming sinners. 375 00:26:43,420 –> 00:26:47,099 Look again at this marvelous verse it is packed full. 376 00:26:47,099 –> 00:26:52,739 Jesus says, I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in Paradise. 377 00:26:52,739 –> 00:26:58,380 Now, the word that is translated in English, I tell you the truth is actually just one 378 00:26:58,380 –> 00:27:01,339 word which we also use in English. 379 00:27:01,339 –> 00:27:07,619 It is the same word across multiple languages it is the word Amen. 380 00:27:07,619 –> 00:27:08,619 Amen. 381 00:27:08,619 –> 00:27:12,420 If you look at the Greek it says Amen. 382 00:27:12,420 –> 00:27:13,459 So think of this. 383 00:27:13,459 –> 00:27:21,920 Here is this man and he says, Jesus remember me when you come into your Kingdom, and what 384 00:27:21,920 –> 00:27:27,079 does the Lord Jesus Christ say what is his first word, Amen. 385 00:27:27,079 –> 00:27:28,599 Today you will be with me in Paradise. 386 00:27:28,599 –> 00:27:29,739 Isn’t that marvelous. 387 00:27:29,739 –> 00:27:33,959 Do you see the joy of that. 388 00:27:33,959 –> 00:27:37,359 Jesus Christ says Amen to the simplest faith. 389 00:27:37,359 –> 00:27:42,680 You come to the Lord Jesus Christ today, you say Jesus, I see my own sinfulness, I am putting 390 00:27:42,680 –> 00:27:50,199 my faith in you, will you save me and the Lord Jesus says Amen, Amen, so shall it be. 391 00:27:50,199 –> 00:27:55,060 I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise. 392 00:27:55,060 –> 00:27:56,780 Feel the joy here folks. 393 00:27:57,140 –> 00:28:00,839 This is why Jesus is suffering, to bring sinners into Heaven. 394 00:28:00,839 –> 00:28:04,300 There is joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents. 395 00:28:04,300 –> 00:28:09,739 The Father runs out to embrace and love the prodigal son who comes back. 396 00:28:09,739 –> 00:28:12,719 Listen, Jesus didn’t die to keep you out of Heaven. 397 00:28:12,719 –> 00:28:15,079 He dies to bring you in. 398 00:28:15,079 –> 00:28:19,959 So of course when someone in whatever stumbling way we may come, comes with the simplest faith 399 00:28:19,979 –> 00:28:25,300 to Jesus Christ, there’s joy in his heart Amen. 400 00:28:25,300 –> 00:28:27,839 Today you will be with me in paradise. 401 00:28:27,839 –> 00:28:30,479 See the love of Christ there? 402 00:28:30,479 –> 00:28:35,859 You don’t know the half of how much his heart beats for you. 403 00:28:35,859 –> 00:28:44,819 Number six, Christ promises a life of indescribable joy. 404 00:28:44,819 –> 00:28:47,260 Indescribable joy. 405 00:28:47,260 –> 00:28:51,579 Today you will be with me in paradise. 406 00:28:51,579 –> 00:28:53,219 Paradise. 407 00:28:53,219 –> 00:29:00,459 All the joys of life in the immediate presence of God. 408 00:29:00,459 –> 00:29:03,280 That’s what’s conveyed there. 409 00:29:03,280 –> 00:29:08,239 Now, can you imagine what this must have meant to this man? 410 00:29:08,239 –> 00:29:20,560 I mean, here he is on a cross and he must have felt he was in hell already. 411 00:29:20,560 –> 00:29:24,339 And he fears that worse is to come. 412 00:29:24,339 –> 00:29:28,339 And he is absolutely hopeless, and he is powerless, and he is in the middle of all this pain, 413 00:29:28,339 –> 00:29:31,479 and he is aware of his own guilt. 414 00:29:31,479 –> 00:29:33,800 We’re getting what we deserve. 415 00:29:33,880 –> 00:29:45,739 And Christ says, “‘You, paradise, today with me.’” 416 00:29:45,739 –> 00:29:47,219 Paradise? 417 00:29:47,219 –> 00:29:50,000 Today, of all days? 418 00:29:50,000 –> 00:30:00,839 To paraphrase Spurgeon, this man had breakfast with the Devil, but he met Christ before noon 419 00:30:01,119 –> 00:30:02,900 and had supper in heaven. 420 00:30:02,900 –> 00:30:04,520 You like that? 421 00:30:04,520 –> 00:30:10,959 He had breakfast with the Devil, but he met Christ before noon and he had supper in heaven. 422 00:30:10,959 –> 00:30:12,640 What a day. 423 00:30:12,640 –> 00:30:15,619 What a day. 424 00:30:15,619 –> 00:30:22,280 I think the thief had the idea that this kingdom of Christ’s would be in some distant future 425 00:30:22,280 –> 00:30:26,459 somehow, because he says, “‘Remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” 426 00:30:26,459 –> 00:30:29,739 He seems to have thought of it as quite remote, but Jesus says to him, no, today. 427 00:30:29,900 –> 00:30:32,479 You don’t need to worry about me remembering you, friend. 428 00:30:32,479 –> 00:30:37,439 We’re going to be right there in the presence of the Father today, you will savor all the 429 00:30:37,439 –> 00:30:42,819 joys that are at the right hand of God before this wretched day is done. 430 00:30:42,819 –> 00:30:49,060 Friend, here’s what we learn from that, death for a Christian believer does not lead into 431 00:30:49,060 –> 00:30:56,540 a long period of unconsciousness, nor does death for a Christian believer lead into a 432 00:30:57,079 –> 00:31:03,439 long process of being prepared for Heaven for a Christian believer, death is an immediate 433 00:31:03,439 –> 00:31:09,560 translation into the joys of life at the right hand of God to be absent from the body is 434 00:31:09,560 –> 00:31:12,119 to be present with the Lord. 435 00:3112,119 –> 00:31:15,839 Today you will be with me in paradise. 436 00:31:15,839 –> 00:31:19,459 So, Heaven is much nearer than you think. 437 00:31:19,459 –> 00:31:23,760 I just love CS Lewis’ Narnia novels. 438 00:31:23,780 –> 00:31:28,260 Don’t you love that when the kids go into the wardrobe and just the other side of the 439 00:31:28,260 –> 00:31:34,640 wardrobe there’s this marvelous glorious world that people cannot see? 440 00:31:34,640 –> 00:31:39,520 Lewis by that device I think conveys something of the nearness of Heaven, much, much nearer 441 00:31:39,520 –> 00:31:41,439 than you think. 442 00:31:41,439 –> 00:31:46,640 James says in chapter 4 and verse 14 of his letter, your life is just like a mist, it’s 443 00:31:46,640 –> 00:31:48,199 like a vapor. 444 00:31:48,199 –> 00:31:51,420 Listen, everything that is weighing on your mind and your heart today. 445 00:31:52,300 –> 00:31:54,579 Here’s what it’s like the Bible says. 446 00:31:54,579 –> 00:32:03,819 It’s like when you breathe on a window on a cold morning and then that mist is in a 447 00:32:03,819 –> 00:32:06,819 few minutes gone. 448 00:32:06,819 –> 00:32:14,780 And I tell you when you have been in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ for a hundred million 449 00:32:14,819 –> 00:32:26,640 years of ever-increasing joy you will perhaps be able to look back in some way on this life 450 00:32:26,640 –> 00:32:30,660 and you’ll say, what in all the world was I so worried about then? 451 00:32:30,660 –> 00:32:33,819 Why was I so consumed with it? 452 00:32:33,819 –> 00:32:38,660 It’s like a mist, like a shadow. 453 00:32:39,180 –> 00:32:46,339 And here I am in the eternity of God with unsurpassed and unimaginable joy. 454 00:32:46,339 –> 00:32:52,079 Do you see the love of Christ in opening heaven to you? 455 00:32:52,079 –> 00:32:53,819 For ever. 456 00:32:53,819 –> 00:32:57,859 And here’s the very last thing. 457 00:32:57,859 –> 00:33:03,819 Christ is with his people now and always, now and always. 458 00:33:04,739 –> 00:33:05,760 I don’t want you to miss this 459 00:33:05,760 –> 00:33:08,020 right in the heart of these great words of Jesus. 460 00:33:08,020 –> 00:33:12,680 He says, today you will be with me. 461 00:33:12,680 –> 00:33:14,040 With me! 462 00:33:14,040 –> 00:33:16,119 With me! 463 00:33:16,119 –> 00:33:18,359 With me in paradise. 464 00:33:18,359 –> 00:33:21,260 The greatest joy of heaven of course for a Christian believer 465 00:33:21,260 –> 00:33:24,020 is the presence of Jesus who we love, 466 00:33:24,020 –> 00:33:25,880 the lamb at the center of the throne, 467 00:33:25,880 –> 00:33:27,239 the book of Revelation says, 468 00:33:27,239 –> 00:33:28,560 will be our shepherd, 469 00:33:28,560 –> 00:33:33,719 and he’s the one who’s going to lead us into the springs of living water. 470 00:33:33,800 –> 00:33:37,180 Christ himself will lead you into all the joys of heaven, 471 00:33:37,180 –> 00:33:40,079 and he is the very center of heaven’s joy. 472 00:33:40,079 –> 00:33:43,160 He is the heaven of heavens. 473 00:33:43,160 –> 00:33:45,599 Now think about this with me in this last moment. 474 00:33:45,599 –> 00:33:47,280 This thief on the cross, 475 00:33:47,300 –> 00:33:48,819 he went from nature to grace, 476 00:33:48,819 –> 00:33:53,439 and from grace to glory all in a single day. 477 00:33:53,599 –> 00:34:00,400 He bypasses the Christian life in its entirety and enters into heaven. 478 00:34:00,400 –> 00:34:02,479 Now, that is what God did for him, 479 00:34:02,560 –> 00:34:05,859 and friends God could do that for you too. 480 00:34:05,859 –> 00:34:08,580 So, why doesn’t he? 481 00:34:08,580 –> 00:34:10,899 What do you think of that by the way? 482 00:34:10,899 –> 00:34:16,879 Immediate translation into heaven on the moment of your conversion. 483 00:34:16,879 –> 00:34:19,179 Would you like that? 484 00:34:19,179 –> 00:34:22,020 You are not too sure? 485 00:34:22,020 –> 00:34:25,520 I am just trying to imagine it you know? 486 00:34:25,520 –> 00:34:28,219 Every time there is a conversion on a Sunday, 487 00:34:28,219 –> 00:34:31,439 there is a funeral on a Monday. 488 00:34:31,879 –> 00:34:34,040 You come out at the end of the service, 489 00:34:34,040 –> 00:34:35,379 you pray with one of the Pastors, 490 00:34:35,379 –> 00:34:37,719 you put your faith in Jesus Christ and everyone says to you 491 00:34:37,719 –> 00:34:41,500 have a nice dinner and be your last. 492 00:34:41,500 –> 00:34:44,679 This is not a great strategy for church growth folks. 493 00:34:44,679 –> 00:34:48,719 It really is not a good strategy for church growth. 494 00:34:48,719 –> 00:34:51,919 So, I am just asking you this simple question. 495 00:34:51,919 –> 00:34:56,419 Why does Jesus not do that? 496 00:34:56,419 –> 00:34:59,260 Why doesn’t he take us all? 497 00:34:59,260 –> 00:35:01,219 Straight away like the thief on the cross 498 00:35:01,219 –> 00:35:06,120 was taken straight away on the day of his conversion 499 00:35:06,120 –> 00:35:09,100 into the immediate glory of Christ’s presence? 500 00:35:09,100 –> 00:35:12,239 And I’m taking a guess 501 00:35:12,239 –> 00:35:14,000 and I might revise it because a few people 502 00:35:14,000 –> 00:35:16,679 have been commenting to me after the previous services. 503 00:35:16,679 –> 00:35:20,419 But my guess is, four out of five people 504 00:35:20,419 –> 00:35:24,520 will probably say the reason Christ leaves me here 505 00:35:24,520 –> 00:35:28,199 is to get me better prepared for heaven. 506 00:35:28,540 –> 00:35:29,800 My sanctification. 507 00:35:31,199 –> 00:35:32,040 Really? 508 00:35:34,040 –> 00:35:36,239 I don’t often say this but I’ll say this as flat as I can. 509 00:35:36,239 –> 00:35:40,479 That’s the wrong answer and if you were following earlier, 510 00:35:40,479 –> 00:35:43,560 you’d understand why it’s the wrong answer. 511 00:35:44,600 –> 00:35:47,479 When you trusted Christ, you were as prepared 512 00:35:47,479 –> 00:35:50,020 in that moment for heaven as you will ever be 513 00:35:50,020 –> 00:35:51,280 because your entrance into heaven 514 00:35:51,280 –> 00:35:52,800 doesn’t depend on your sanctification, 515 00:35:52,800 –> 00:35:54,080 it depends on your justification, 516 00:35:54,080 –> 00:35:56,300 it depends on your forgiveness and the righteousness 517 00:35:56,459 –> 00:35:58,620 that Jesus Christ gave to you in its entirety 518 00:35:58,620 –> 00:35:59,679 there and then. 519 00:35:59,679 –> 00:36:01,459 You cannot be more prepared for heaven 520 00:36:01,459 –> 00:36:02,540 than you were at that moment 521 00:36:02,540 –> 00:36:04,260 and you cannot be less prepared for heaven 522 00:36:04,260 –> 00:36:05,679 than you were at that moment. 523 00:36:07,419 –> 00:36:09,459 So it is completely wrong to think 524 00:36:09,459 –> 00:36:11,959 that the reason the Lord Jesus Christ has you here 525 00:36:11,959 –> 00:36:14,360 is something to do with getting you prepared for heaven. 526 00:36:14,360 –> 00:36:16,739 You cannot be more prepared for heaven 527 00:36:16,739 –> 00:36:19,340 than you were in the moment that you were converted. 528 00:36:21,139 –> 00:36:22,600 So why does he have you here? 529 00:36:24,060 –> 00:36:25,419 There can only be one answer to that. 530 00:36:25,520 –> 00:36:26,820 He has work for you to do. 531 00:36:28,179 –> 00:36:31,780 That is why I am here. 532 00:36:31,780 –> 00:36:33,040 That’s why you are here. 533 00:36:33,040 –> 00:36:36,459 It’s the only possible reason for you being here. 534 00:36:37,659 –> 00:36:42,439 That he has work for you to do. 535 00:36:44,419 –> 00:36:45,639 So think of it this way. 536 00:36:45,639 –> 00:36:48,580 To those who die, he says, Christ says, 537 00:36:48,580 –> 00:36:49,879 as He said to the thief, 538 00:36:50,060 –> 00:36:52,340 you will be with me. 539 00:36:53,840 –> 00:36:57,360 But to us who live, he says, I will be with you. 540 00:36:59,300 –> 00:37:01,560 I will never leave you and I will never forsake you 541 00:37:01,560 –> 00:37:03,379 and here’s what I want you to do. 542 00:37:03,379 –> 00:37:04,879 I want you to go into all the world. 543 00:37:04,879 –> 00:37:06,879 I want you to make disciples of all nations 544 00:37:06,879 –> 00:37:11,060 and I will be with you always. 545 00:37:12,179 –> 00:37:15,879 I will be with you until the work 546 00:37:15,879 –> 00:37:17,080 that I want you to do is done 547 00:37:17,100 –> 00:37:20,560 and then you will be with me in paradise. 548 00:37:22,280 –> 00:37:23,719 You see the love of Christ here. 549 00:37:23,719 –> 00:37:28,000 It is life-transforming to grasp 550 00:37:28,000 –> 00:37:30,560 why it is that Christ has you here. 551 00:37:30,560 –> 00:37:32,040 I hope you see that today. 552 00:37:33,520 –> 00:37:37,639 The only reason I’m here as a person in Christ 553 00:37:39,000 –> 00:37:40,959 is he’s got work for me to do. 554 00:37:40,959 –> 00:37:43,239 The only reason why you’re here now. 555 00:37:43,239 –> 00:37:46,500 The only reason he’s got work for you to do. 556 00:37:47,800 –> 00:37:50,919 So, I hope you see the love of Christ in this story. 557 00:37:52,159 –> 00:37:54,340 I want today and through this series 558 00:37:54,340 –> 00:37:56,580 for you to gaze, and gaze, and gaze, 559 00:37:56,580 –> 00:37:58,439 and gaze at the love of Christ 560 00:37:58,439 –> 00:38:01,179 until it becomes irresistible to you. 561 00:38:02,760 –> 00:38:05,239 If you have not yet given yourself to Christ 562 00:38:05,239 –> 00:38:08,080 and if he is not yet the Lord and Savior of your life, 563 00:38:08,080 –> 00:38:10,000 I want you to look, and look, and look 564 00:38:10,000 –> 00:38:13,820 at the love of Christ until you come to the place of saying 565 00:38:13,979 –> 00:38:17,399 Why in the world am I holding back from this Savior? 566 00:38:18,639 –> 00:38:21,040 What now is all the point of all my objections 567 00:38:21,040 –> 00:38:23,280 and all my arguments and all my sophistication 568 00:38:23,280 –> 00:38:26,760 and all my complaints and all my holding back? 569 00:38:26,760 –> 00:38:28,179 What is the value of this? 570 00:38:28,179 –> 00:38:29,459 This Savior 571 00:38:30,699 –> 00:38:33,800 must have me and I must have him. 572 00:38:34,800 –> 00:38:36,300 Let’s pray together, shall we? 573 00:38:37,580 –> 00:38:39,479 Father, your love is so vast 574 00:38:39,479 –> 00:38:42,100 poured out in Jesus Christ that it is 575 00:38:42,100 –> 00:38:44,399 we only take in the beginning of it, 576 00:38:46,080 –> 00:38:49,899 but we lift our hearts in thanksgiving to you right now 577 00:38:49,899 –> 00:38:54,239 that you would choose people like me, us, 578 00:38:54,239 –> 00:38:55,679 for your friends. 579 00:38:55,679 –> 00:38:57,760 Amazing, you gain nothing out of that. 580 00:38:57,760 –> 00:38:58,899 It’s all our gain. 581 00:39:02,120 –> 00:39:04,360 That you would have us here 582 00:39:04,360 –> 00:39:06,280 because you’ve got a purpose for us. 583 00:39:08,139 –> 00:39:09,540 But that our entrance into heaven 584 00:39:09,600 –> 00:39:12,379 wouldn’t depend on how we do in that work, 585 00:39:12,379 –> 00:39:15,679 but that it rests on the solid rock 586 00:39:15,679 –> 00:39:17,540 of Christ crucified and risen, 587 00:39:17,540 –> 00:39:20,540 justification, his perfect righteousness, 588 00:39:20,540 –> 00:39:23,040 and total forgiveness mined through faith. 589 00:39:25,020 –> 00:39:26,260 Lord, open our hearts 590 00:39:26,260 –> 00:39:29,340 that we may be filled up 591 00:39:29,340 –> 00:39:31,260 with the greater knowledge of your love, 592 00:39:31,260 –> 00:39:35,699 and therefore have more joy where there is sadness 593 00:39:35,699 –> 00:39:38,040 and more strength where there is weakness, 594 00:39:38,080 –> 00:39:40,800 and come, because we see your love for us, 595 00:39:40,800 –> 00:39:42,979 to grow in our love for you, 596 00:39:42,979 –> 00:39:45,219 and all these things we ask in the savior’s name, 597 00:39:45,219 –> 00:39:47,320 and everyone said, amen.