1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,200 Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. 2 00:00:06,200 –> 00:00:10,120 All this week we are bringing you the dramatic reading of 3 00:00:10,120 –> 00:00:11,560 Pastor Colin’s book, Heaven How I Got Here? 4 00:00:11,560 –> 00:00:15,240 Colin, as we were talking about in our previous broadcast, 5 00:00:15,240 –> 00:00:18,760 this story the thief on the cross might be the clearest 6 00:00:18,760 –> 00:00:21,879 presentation of the Gospel. Yes, it really does blow 7 00:00:21,879 –> 00:00:25,020 away the myth that so many people believe, which 8 00:00:25,020 –> 00:00:28,799 is that if you were to get into heaven it would be by living 9 00:00:28,799 –> 00:00:32,060 a good life. This guy had not done that and he was not in 10 00:00:32,060 –> 00:00:35,480 the position to do that and yet Jesus says to him, 11 00:00:35,480 –> 00:00:38,639 You will be with me in paradise. So how did he get there. 12 00:00:38,639 –> 00:00:41,919 He got there through Jesus Christ and this story more and 13 00:00:41,919 –> 00:00:45,919 any other in the New Testament makes it clear how a person 14 00:00:45,919 –> 00:00:47,500 can get to heaven. I can not think of anything 15 00:00:47,500 –> 00:00:51,040 more important than this. Absolutely not and if you happened 16 00:00:51,040 –> 00:00:53,880 to miss yesterday’s broadcast I do hope you will come to 17 00:00:53,880 –> 00:00:57,439 our website and listen. You can come to openthe bibli.org 18 00:00:57,459 –> 00:01:00,320 and stream the program or download the MP3 for free. 19 00:01:00,320 –> 00:01:04,000 Again our website is openthebible.org. 20 00:01:04,000 –> 00:01:07,839 When we left the thief he was absolutely filled with hatred 21 00:01:07,839 –> 00:01:11,080 toward God. But today we begin to see the thief make 22 00:01:11,080 –> 00:01:14,459 a turn. The book Heaven how I Got Here is read by 23 00:01:14,459 –> 00:01:16,680 actor Stephen Baldwin and we continue with chapter 24 00:01:17,519 –> 00:01:24,519 Third, faith. Chapter 3, faith 11.14 am. 25 00:01:25,580 –> 00:01:30,360 I don’t really know how to explain what happened next. 26 00:01:30,360 –> 00:01:34,260 All I can tell you is that a strange stillness came over 27 00:01:34,260 –> 00:01:38,480 my soul and for the first time I began to consider 28 00:01:38,480 –> 00:01:44,120 what lay ahead. My life was slipping away. 29 00:01:44,519 –> 00:01:50,419 Earth was receding and eternity was looming large on the horizon. 30 00:01:50,820 –> 00:01:56,639 I had not planned on this, and I had not prepared for it, either. 31 00:01:58,400 –> 00:02:01,120 My mind went back to my childhood, 32 00:02:01,120 –> 00:02:05,320 and I heard my mother’s voice, quoting the scriptures, 33 00:02:05,320 –> 00:02:08,720 the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 34 00:02:08,720 –> 00:02:11,580 I had always believed in God, of course. 35 00:02:11,580 –> 00:02:14,080 That came with my Jewish blood. 36 00:02:14,080 –> 00:02:19,880 But there is a big difference between believing in God and fearing Him. 37 00:02:19,880 –> 00:02:24,820 People who say they believe in God often give a little or no place to Him in their lives, 38 00:02:24,820 –> 00:02:31,080 but fearing God means you give weight to Him in your decisions and your priorities. 39 00:02:31,580 –> 00:02:37,880 Pleasing Him becomes your first consideration and your greatest joy. 40 00:02:38,880 –> 00:02:42,679 I thought back to my first theft at the temple and realized that 41 00:02:42,679 –> 00:02:47,960 the fear of God had been largely absent from my life since that time. 42 00:02:47,960 –> 00:02:51,679 I had chosen my own path and pursued my own way. 43 00:02:51,679 –> 00:02:55,179 I had lived at a distance from God and now… 44 00:02:55,179 –> 00:02:57,759 I was dying far from Him too. 45 00:02:57,759 –> 00:03:00,839 What would lie beyond? I didn’t know. 46 00:03:00,839 –> 00:03:03,679 And over the years I really hadn’t cared. 47 00:03:03,679 –> 00:03:08,220 But as life was slipping away from me nothing mattered more. 48 00:03:13,820 –> 00:03:19,440 The second victim launched into a tirade of cursing and blasphemy. 49 00:03:19,440 –> 00:03:22,759 A short time before I had joined in with him 50 00:03:22,759 –> 00:03:25,259 hurling abuse at Jesus. 51 00:03:25,259 –> 00:03:30,259 But now his antagonism toward God seemed to me like the height of folly. 52 00:03:30,660 –> 00:03:36,199 I pushed myself up and called out to rebuke him. 53 00:03:36,199 –> 00:03:41,199 Don’t you fear God. 54 00:03:43,199 –> 00:03:47,860 the second victim became quiet and so I continued. 55 00:03:47,860 –> 00:03:51,860 We are punished justly. 56 00:03:51,860 –> 00:03:56,360 For we are getting what our deeds deserve,I said. 57 00:03:56,580 –> 00:04:00,880 But this man has done nothing wrong. 58 00:04:00,880 –> 00:04:05,639 My words came as a surprise to me, 59 00:04:05,639 –> 00:04:09,860 as they must have to him too. 60 00:04:09,860 –> 00:04:14,399 Throughout my life, I always had a defense for everything I did. 61 00:04:14,399 –> 00:04:18,399 When I rejected the Temple, it was because the Temple had failed me. 62 00:04:18,399 –> 00:04:22,660 When I stole from Rome, it was because Rome had stolen from me. 63 00:04:22,660 –> 00:04:25,579 As I saw it, 64 00:04:25,579 –> 00:04:27,739 I felt someone on my side. 65 00:04:27,739 –> 00:04:31,459 Someone else was always in the wrong. 66 00:04:31,459 –> 00:04:33,440 But in the strange calm 67 00:04:33,440 –> 00:04:36,220 that came over my soul in those moments, 68 00:04:36,220 –> 00:04:37,160 things 69 00:04:37,160 –> 00:04:39,339 looked very different. 70 00:04:39,339 –> 00:04:44,540 I began to see that my greatest theft laid not in stealing from Rome, 71 00:04:44,540 –> 00:04:46,260 but in robbing God. 72 00:04:46,260 –> 00:04:48,880 I had thought about this life as mine 73 00:04:48,880 –> 00:04:50,679 rather than His, 74 00:04:50,679 –> 00:04:52,959 and had given Him no place in it. 75 00:04:52,959 –> 00:04:56,559 I had measured my life by what satisfied me 76 00:04:56,559 –> 00:05:02,079 and on the basis had considered that my good outweighed my bad. 77 00:05:02,079 –> 00:05:06,739 But, as my life was slowly bleeding out to a miserable end, 78 00:05:06,739 –> 00:05:09,059 I knew that I was far from good 79 00:05:09,059 –> 00:05:11,959 and far from God. 80 00:05:11,959 –> 00:05:14,660 I looked again toward Jesus, 81 00:05:14,660 –> 00:05:19,799 who, despite the relentless taunting, had remained silent. 82 00:05:19,799 –> 00:05:23,399 The crowd was outraged because He claimed to be the Christ. 83 00:05:23,399 –> 00:05:24,760 What if He was? 84 00:05:24,760 –> 00:05:28,760 They hated Him because He said He was the Son of God. 85 00:05:28,760 –> 00:05:30,119 If that were true, 86 00:05:30,119 –> 00:05:34,459 there would be some evidence and apparently there was. 87 00:05:34,459 –> 00:05:39,160 The crowd had said He saved others. I thought about that. 88 00:05:39,160 –> 00:05:41,260 If He saved others, 89 00:05:41,260 –> 00:05:44,779 was there any chance He could save me? 90 00:05:44,779 –> 00:05:48,600 The sign above His head just a few feet away from me read, 91 00:05:48,600 –> 00:05:50,500 This is Jesus, 92 00:05:50,500 –> 00:05:52,880 the King of the Jews. 93 00:05:52,880 –> 00:05:55,160 If He was a King, 94 00:05:55,160 –> 00:05:57,660 He must have a Kingdom. 95 00:05:57,660 –> 00:06:00,279 But as I watched Him moving toward His death 96 00:06:00,279 –> 00:06:02,440 I realized that his Kingdom 97 00:06:02,440 –> 00:06:04,859 did not belong to this world. 98 00:06:04,859 –> 00:06:06,519 It was odd. 99 00:06:06,519 –> 00:06:08,279 They say that as you get 100 00:06:08,279 –> 00:06:13,559 closer to death on the cross your brain struggles for oxygen. 101 00:06:13,559 –> 00:06:16,320 You would think that my brain would have been slowing down 102 00:06:16,519 –> 00:06:19,500 and yet it was the exact opposite. 103 00:06:19,500 –> 00:06:23,859 My growing fear of God kept driving my thoughts 104 00:06:23,859 –> 00:06:26,420 and the thoughts were becoming clearer 105 00:06:26,420 –> 00:06:27,980 and clearer. 106 00:06:27,980 –> 00:06:30,440 If Jesus was God in the flesh 107 00:06:30,440 –> 00:06:33,279 He would indeed be the Christ. 108 00:06:33,279 –> 00:06:35,700 If He was the Christ 109 00:06:35,700 –> 00:06:39,200 He would be in the business of saving people. 110 00:06:39,200 –> 00:06:41,179 And if he saved people 111 00:06:41,179 –> 00:06:43,679 he could bring them into His Kingdom. 112 00:06:43,679 –> 00:06:47,000 Within a few hours Jesus would be leaving this world 113 00:06:47,000 –> 00:06:49,100 and so would I. 114 00:06:49,100 –> 00:06:52,059 His Kingdom would be on the other side of death. 115 00:06:52,059 –> 00:06:56,480 Perhaps he could do something to help me. 116 00:06:56,480 –> 00:06:57,760 Jesus, 117 00:06:57,760 –> 00:07:01,260 I said, 118 00:07:01,260 –> 00:07:07,679 remember me when you come into your Kingdom. 119 00:07:07,679 –> 00:07:10,500 It was an audacious request. 120 00:07:10,500 –> 00:07:13,380 A few moments before I had been in a league 121 00:07:13,579 –> 00:07:18,339 with the crowd and the second victim pouring out curses on Jesus. 122 00:07:18,339 –> 00:07:22,220 If he remembered this when he came into his Kingdom, 123 00:07:22,220 –> 00:07:26,000 I would be done for. 124 00:07:26,000 –> 00:07:30,079 In truth I suspected that I may be done for already. 125 00:07:30,079 –> 00:07:36,179 My mind kept going back to my mother teaching us the Ten Commandments. 126 00:07:36,179 –> 00:07:37,760 You shall not steal, 127 00:07:37,760 –> 00:07:40,200 you shall not covet. 128 00:07:40,200 –> 00:07:43,100 But you have no other God before me. 129 00:07:43,100 –> 00:07:46,179 I could hear voice and picture her 130 00:07:46,179 –> 00:07:51,540 slighty bent finger pointing at me. God is watching you, 131 00:07:51,540 –> 00:07:55,540 He sees everything and He never forgets. 132 00:07:55,540 –> 00:07:58,179 You always reap 133 00:07:58,179 –> 00:08:00,579 what you sow. 134 00:08:00,579 –> 00:08:04,320 If she was right there was no hope for me. 135 00:08:04,320 –> 00:08:06,940 I had made my choices 136 00:08:06,940 –> 00:08:10,100 and was facing the consequence. 137 00:08:10,100 –> 00:08:16,140 I had sown my seed and was moving inexorably toward the harvest. 138 00:08:16,140 –> 00:08:19,359 There was no going back. 139 00:08:19,359 –> 00:08:26,359 With all my heart I hoped that my mother was wrong. 140 00:08:26,579 –> 00:08:30,980 Hope began for me in the strange words of Jesus that at first 141 00:08:30,980 –> 00:08:34,000 had filled me with hate. 142 00:08:34,000 –> 00:08:35,859 Father forgive them, 143 00:08:35,859 –> 00:08:40,739 but they do not know what they are doing. 144 00:08:40,739 –> 00:08:43,340 Forgiveness. 145 00:08:43,340 –> 00:08:48,659 If Jesus could offer forgiveness to His torturers 146 00:08:48,659 –> 00:08:52,400 perhaps He would offer forgiveness to me. 147 00:08:52,400 –> 00:08:56,900 At first this had sounded like the very weakness I despised, but at that 148 00:08:56,900 –> 00:08:58,020 moment 149 00:08:58,020 –> 00:09:01,080 it seemed to open a glorious and 150 00:09:01,080 –> 00:09:04,840 unexpected window of hope. 151 00:09:04,840 –> 00:09:11,599 I thought forgiveness was scarce in the legalistic moral world my mother spoke of so often. 152 00:09:11,599 –> 00:09:16,640 To her, the universe was an unbreakable system of cause and effect 153 00:09:16,640 –> 00:09:20,099 regulated by a rules-oriented God. 154 00:09:20,099 –> 00:09:21,700 Do good 155 00:09:21,700 –> 00:09:23,380 and all will be well. 156 00:09:23,380 –> 00:09:25,219 Do bad 157 00:09:25,219 –> 00:09:28,159 and you had better watch out. 158 00:09:28,159 –> 00:09:32,479 There was no hope for a person like me in that. 159 00:09:32,659 –> 00:09:36,760 If you honestly measure your life by the commandments of God 160 00:09:36,760 –> 00:09:40,679 I suspect you will come to the same conclusion. 161 00:09:40,679 –> 00:09:45,340 Reaping what you sow is not good news for any of us. 162 00:09:45,340 –> 00:09:48,080 Forgiveness is. 163 00:09:48,080 –> 00:09:52,539 If Jesus remembered me when he came into his kingdom 164 00:09:52,539 –> 00:09:56,179 there might be some hope for me. 165 00:09:56,179 –> 00:09:58,659 But what would be in it for him? 166 00:09:58,659 –> 00:10:01,419 I couldn’t think of anything. 167 00:10:01,419 –> 00:10:03,359 If he took an interest in me 168 00:10:03,359 –> 00:10:08,419 it would not be because of anything I had done or anything I could offer. 169 00:10:08,419 –> 00:10:11,320 If he remembered me at all 170 00:10:11,320 –> 00:10:18,320 it would be an act of undeserved mercy and kindness. 171 00:10:19,020 –> 00:10:23,539 But that was exactly what he offered to the soldiers who crucified him. 172 00:10:23,539 –> 00:10:25,239 He showed them mercy 173 00:10:25,239 –> 00:10:27,859 and kindness. 174 00:10:27,919 –> 00:10:32,299 He tried to do the same for me. 175 00:10:32,299 –> 00:10:37,239 Asking him to remember me was deceptively simple. 176 00:10:37,239 –> 00:10:40,119 I began to fear God 177 00:10:40,119 –> 00:10:44,299 I recognized my sinful condition. 178 00:10:44,299 –> 00:10:48,419 I believed that Jesus was who he said he was 179 00:10:48,419 –> 00:10:50,200 the Christ 180 00:10:50,200 –> 00:10:52,219 the Messiah 181 00:10:52,219 –> 00:10:55,039 and I asked him to save me. 182 00:10:55,059 –> 00:11:01,179 That is something you can do, too. 183 00:11:01,179 –> 00:11:05,000 In doing this I gave up all the hostility in my heart and I abandoned 184 00:11:05,000 –> 00:11:11,140 my illusion of having a life that would somehow be impressive to God. 185 00:11:11,140 –> 00:11:16,900 I placed my life as it was with all I had done into the hands of Jesus. 186 00:11:16,900 –> 00:11:20,299 My hands outstretched to his hands outstretched 187 00:11:20,299 –> 00:11:21,539 I believed in him 188 00:11:21,539 –> 00:11:24,960 as the Christ and the Son of God and the Savior 189 00:11:25,000 –> 00:11:27,200 that came 190 00:11:28,200 –> 00:11:30,239 and left the rest up to him 191 00:11:30,239 –> 00:11:33,179 clinging to life by a slender thread 192 00:11:33,179 –> 00:11:37,739 I gasped for breath 193 00:11:37,739 –> 00:11:46,340 and waited for him to respond 194 00:11:46,340 –> 00:11:50,039 What a compelling place to have to pause here for just a moment you’re listening 195 00:11:50,039 –> 00:11:53,539 to a special edition of open the Bible with Pastor Cullen Smith. The audio 196 00:11:53,539 –> 00:11:57,520 version of heaven how I got here the story of the thief on the cross a book 197 00:11:57,520 –> 00:12:01,340 that pastor Cullen wrote a number of years ago then turned into an audiobook 198 00:12:01,340 –> 00:12:06,539 and also a film talk more about that. Just a moment but the story the thief on 199 00:12:06,539 –> 00:12:10,179 the cross. I think is one of the most clear ways that we can present the 200 00:12:10,179 –> 00:12:15,119 Gospel message is just that reminder that there was nothing the thief did to 201 00:12:15,119 –> 00:12:17,940 earn heaven. He’s in heaven today 202 00:12:17,940 –> 00:12:21,580 because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross right next to him and you may 203 00:12:21,940 –> 00:12:25,700 use this story to share the Gospel message with 204 00:12:25,700 –> 00:12:29,919 those in your life who might be interested in knowing more about what it 205 00:12:29,919 –> 00:12:34,580 takes to be in heaven. You can pick up a copy of the paperback book the 206 00:12:34,580 –> 00:12:38,619 audiobook or you can watch the film heaven how I got here a night with the 207 00:12:38,619 –> 00:12:41,099 thief on the cross when you visit our website 208 00:12:41,099 –> 00:12:45,219 openthebible.org slash heaven all this week when you start by the 209 00:12:45,219 –> 00:12:49,559 website you’ll be able to watch that film for free through Easter Sunday so 210 00:12:49,559 –> 00:12:54,859 come to the website openthebible.org slash heaven let’s continue. Here is 211 00:12:54,859 –> 00:13:00,599 Stephen Baldwin with chapter four 212 00:13:00,599 –> 00:13:10,200 chapter 4 Hope then in 15 a.m. 213 00:13:10,200 –> 00:13:16,200 my request had been simple Jesus remember 214 00:13:16,320 –> 00:13:23,119 when you come into your kingdom His answer was simpler still 215 00:13:23,119 –> 00:13:25,960 amen 216 00:13:27,039 –> 00:13:32,780 there was no mistaking his enthusiasm joy filled his eyes that see looked at 217 00:13:32,780 –> 00:13:39,500 me it was as if he had been waiting for me to ask as if his answer to my request 218 00:13:39,780 –> 00:13:48,059 bound up with why he was there it felt to me as if his arms which were pinned to 219 00:13:48,059 –> 00:13:53,179 the cross were reaching out to me with the same love and forgiveness that he 220 00:13:53,179 –> 00:14:05,280 had offered to the guards amen yes I’m with you your prayer as mine it will be 221 00:14:05,479 –> 00:14:10,479 done 222 00:14:23,340 –> 00:14:28,539 after all my wasted years it would not have been surprising if he had 223 00:14:28,539 –> 00:14:32,799 responded with caution don’t you think it’s a little late for you to be 224 00:14:32,900 –> 00:14:38,840 thinking about my kingdom after the hatred I had shown toward him just a few 225 00:14:38,840 –> 00:14:44,159 hours earlier I could hardly have complained if he had said the kingdom of 226 00:14:44,159 –> 00:14:53,440 heaven is not for people like you but that is not his way he did not place me 227 00:14:53,440 –> 00:14:59,280 on probation he did not send me on a long spiritual journey or tell me to 228 00:14:59,580 –> 00:15:06,719 instead he joyfully accepted my prayer and took his stand with me as I took my 229 00:15:06,719 –> 00:15:17,880 stand with him I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and asked him to save me 230 00:15:18,599 –> 00:15:30,119 He accepted me freely and gladly without hesitation or condition. Amen he said and 231 00:15:30,119 –> 00:15:40,039 then after a short pause I tell you today you will be with me in paradise 232 00:15:40,640 –> 00:15:49,859 paradise the world of peace where God’s people enjoy his presence I had no doubt 233 00:15:49,859 –> 00:15:57,099 that this would be Jesus’s destination after he died but I was shocked by his 234 00:15:57,099 –> 00:16:03,700 unconditional promise that I would be there with him hanging on that cross I 235 00:16:03,880 –> 00:16:12,840 I could taste hell already I had nothing left but fear and Jesus 236 00:16:12,840 –> 00:16:20,559 promised paradise when I reached out to him I thought his kingdom would be in a 237 00:16:20,559 –> 00:16:25,380 distant future that’s why I asked him to remember me 238 00:16:25,380 –> 00:16:31,299 but Jesus made it clear that I didn’t need to worry about him remembering I 239 00:16:31,539 –> 00:16:36,580 would be in paradise before the day was done 240 00:16:38,340 –> 00:16:43,599 amen I tell you today you will be with me 241 00:16:43,599 –> 00:16:52,979 in paradise these were the greatest words anyone had ever spoken in my life 242 00:16:52,979 –> 00:16:59,580 they changed everything for me looking back I see even more in the promise of 243 00:16:59,659 –> 00:17:04,140 Jesus than I was able to grasp at the time 244 00:17:05,599 –> 00:17:14,300 he had said you will be with me and so it was 245 00:17:14,699 –> 00:17:22,619 I was Jesus last companion on earth and his first companion in heaven I’m still 246 00:17:22,619 –> 00:17:28,020 amazed that he would choose me as the first person he would usher into heaven 247 00:17:28,739 –> 00:17:34,939 I expect the angels were astonished to that they should know by now the Jesus 248 00:17:34,939 –> 00:17:39,479 chooses some surprising friends 249 00:17:39,859 –> 00:17:46,180 like many others I thought heaven belonged to holy and faithful people who 250 00:17:46,180 –> 00:17:51,300 honored God with lives of love and sacrifice for the good of others 251 00:17:51,300 –> 00:17:57,300 Paradise was the home of the righteous it was for heroes of the faith 252 00:17:57,339 –> 00:18:08,099 such as Abraham Moses David and Elijah. My life would not measure up I lived at 253 00:18:08,099 –> 00:18:13,660 a distance from God. I knew more about hate than love, more 254 00:18:13,660 –> 00:18:21,819 about doubt than faith, more about sin than repentance but Jesus reached out 255 00:18:22,000 –> 00:18:30,540 and made a friend of me. That is his way. It’s no accident I was the first one he 256 00:18:30,540 –> 00:18:36,699 brought into heaven. I am an example of what he is able to do with the least 257 00:18:36,699 –> 00:18:44,500 likely candidates. He snatched me from the brink of hell and brought me into 258 00:18:44,500 –> 00:18:48,140 the joys of heaven. 259 00:18:48,780 –> 00:18:57,060 Jesus said to me, Today you will be with me in paradise. And he was as good as his 260 00:18:57,060 –> 00:18:59,380 word. 261 00:19:14,500 –> 00:19:23,140 Death does not lead to a long period of 262 00:19:23,140 –> 00:19:28,520 unconsciousness nor does it lead to a long process of being prepared for the 263 00:19:28,520 –> 00:19:34,579 friends of Jesus. Death is an immediate translation into the joys of life at the 264 00:19:34,579 –> 00:19:43,500 right hand of God. My story is unusual, to say the least, but it teaches something 265 00:19:43,540 –> 00:19:49,339 that everyone needs to know. Entrance into heaven does not depend on your 266 00:19:49,339 –> 00:19:55,859 performance in the Christian life. Think about what happened to me. I trusted 267 00:19:55,859 –> 00:20:01,660 Christ and went to heaven on the same day. I missed out on the entire Christian 268 00:20:01,660 –> 00:20:09,339 life. I had no battles with temptation and no struggles with prayer. I never had 269 00:20:09,380 –> 00:20:15,619 the opportunity to be baptized, to receive communion, to join a church to 270 00:20:15,619 –> 00:20:23,300 make a donation, or to serve in a ministry. Since I’ve been here in heaven 271 00:20:23,300 –> 00:20:27,739 I’ve learned that many people on earth believe that their entrance into heaven 272 00:20:27,739 –> 00:20:36,140 depends on living a good and godly life. They may believe that Jesus forgives but 273 00:20:36,140 –> 00:20:40,319 deep down they feel that their progress in the Christian life is the key that 274 00:20:40,319 –> 00:20:46,859 will open the door of heaven. How could that possibly be true? 275 00:20:46,859 –> 00:20:53,839 I went to heaven without ever living the Christian life. I didn’t have the 276 00:20:53,839 –> 00:21:00,640 opportunity with my hands fixed on the cross. I was in no position to do good 277 00:21:00,739 –> 00:21:06,500 works with my feet nailed to a wooden beam. I could hardly walk in paths of 278 00:21:06,500 –> 00:21:13,060 righteousness. And with death only hours away there was no time for me to turn 279 00:21:13,060 –> 00:21:20,699 over a new leaf and live a better life. You too need to know this. Your entrance 280 00:21:20,699 –> 00:21:27,319 into heaven does not depend on how well you live the Christian life. If that were 281 00:21:27,319 –> 00:21:36,520 true there would be no hope for me or for you. We can’t live the Christian 282 00:21:36,520 –> 00:21:44,479 life well enough to deserve heaven. Nobody can. But when you reach out to 283 00:21:44,479 –> 00:21:52,280 Christ in faith and repentance he accepts you unconditionally. 284 00:21:53,280 –> 00:22:00,459 He does not say, I forgive you, but I will be watching very carefully to see how 285 00:22:00,459 –> 00:22:07,520 you do from now on. He doesn’t put you on probation and say, make sure you don’t 286 00:22:07,520 –> 00:22:16,500 mess up again. If my performance was involved, even to a small degree, I could 287 00:22:16,500 –> 00:22:21,939 never be sure of getting into heaven. How could you ever know that you’ve lived a 288 00:22:22,060 –> 00:22:29,000 good enough life? The good news is that salvation does not depend on your work 289 00:22:29,000 –> 00:22:37,680 for Christ, but on Christ’s work for you. Your work for him is never done, but you 290 00:22:37,680 –> 00:22:45,060 can take it from me. That His work for you is already complete. You can rest 291 00:22:45,060 –> 00:22:55,199 your life, death and eternity on Him with complete confidence. That’s what I 292 00:22:55,199 –> 00:23:00,680 did, and I can tell you I was not disappointed. 293 00:23:02,319 –> 00:23:07,319 Actor Steven Baldwin playing the thief on the cross as he reads chapter 4 of 294 00:23:07,319 –> 00:23:12,739 Pastor Collin’s book, Heaven How I Got Here. Collin, the thief heard 295 00:23:12,959 –> 00:23:17,540 Jesus’ words, today you will be with me in paradise. How do we know that paradise 296 00:23:17,540 –> 00:23:23,060 equals heaven? Because that’s where Jesus went when he died, and he said you will 297 00:23:23,060 –> 00:23:27,140 be with me. How do we know that that’s where Jesus went? Because at the end of 298 00:23:27,140 –> 00:23:35,420 His life He says, Father into Your hands I commit my spirit. Jesus went into the 299 00:23:35,420 –> 00:23:39,579 presence of the Father, He went into all the joy and the glory of heaven and he 300 00:23:40,160 –> 00:23:44,920 thief you’re going to be with me. Yeah, well, he says that to the thief. How can 301 00:23:44,920 –> 00:23:48,920 the person listening today have that same kind of assurance? Well in the same 302 00:23:48,920 –> 00:23:55,020 way as the thief did, he was given a promise by Jesus Christ. You will be with 303 00:23:55,020 –> 00:24:00,819 me in paradise. And when we put our trust in Jesus Christ, you stop trusting in 304 00:24:00,819 –> 00:24:04,719 yourself in your own effort to be a better person and start looking as the 305 00:24:04,719 –> 00:24:08,180 thief did to Jesus Christ and you ask him to save you. 306 00:24:08,180 –> 00:24:13,280 Well, he gives this promise to all who believe that we will be with him, he 307 00:24:13,280 –> 00:24:17,640 embraces us with his love and with his forgiveness. We put our trust in that 308 00:24:17,640 –> 00:24:21,859 promise just as the thief did. Well that may be a message that a friend or a 309 00:24:21,859 –> 00:24:25,199 family member that you have needs to hear. Do you think they might be 310 00:24:25,199 –> 00:24:29,859 interested in hearing the gospel in this way, by listening to Heaven How I Got 311 00:24:29,859 –> 00:24:33,839 Here or by reading the book by that same title? I would encourage you to check out 312 00:24:34,140 –> 00:24:38,780 our website, OpenTheBible.org and while you’re there all this week you’re 313 00:24:38,780 –> 00:24:42,479 going to see the movie that is based on this book. It’s called Heaven How I Got 314 00:24:42,479 –> 00:24:46,199 Here A Night with the Thief on the Cross and you can watch that for free as well. 315 00:24:46,199 –> 00:24:51,859 All of this at OpenTheBible.org. For Pastor Colin Smith, I’m Steve 316 00:24:51,859 –> 00:24:58,079 Miller. Thanks for listening and I hope you’ll join us next time.