Assurance

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

I want you to turn with me again this morning in your Bibles to Luke 23.

Going back to actually the words of the Lord were spoken in Matthew and Luke and John.

And we last week started off with the fantastic words of forgiveness.

The words of forgiveness in verse 34.

Then said, Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

And we looked at that in detail last week.

And I hope you took your notes home and spent this week looking through those scriptures in verses 33 through 38.

It's what we dealt with last week.

If you're here this morning, you do not have a worship guide.

Would you raise your hand over here, Bob?

We have one right here.

Brother Harry, thank you.

And run right back there, Harry, too.

Run up here.

But today we're going to be looking at the response of the Savior to the request of the sinner.

Wow.

You know, as I was looking, now the if you want to just shorten that title, it's the word of assurance.

But really, it's the response of the Savior to the request of the sinner.

And today I got to thinking about that for each and every one of us.

We have to come to the same situation, the same circumstance or circumstances that lead to this kind of confrontation with the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I say that confrontation or a crisis is another way of saying it in a loving way.

Because we all have to, hey, respond as a to the request of the Savior.

And here's what I love about this powerful passage.

We're going to be looking at verses 39 through 43.

And follow me as I read.

And one of the criminals, the malefactors, which were hanged, railed on him.

The word rail there meant just gave out unbelievable profanity, dismay, just tremendously rebuking and cursing and belittling the Lord Jesus Christ.

I meant, and what you got to note now, when you go to Matthew, in Matthew chapter 27, starting at about 9 o'clock in the morning is basically what the scriptures cover from 9 to 3, 6 hours is the details in what we are studying here.

Matthew 27 · chapter mention

So early in that morning, they both, both of the thieves, Jesus was crucified in the middle of two thieves, one on the right, one on the left.

And in the beginning of that morning, they both were just letting Jesus have it.

They were just, I mean, unbelievably rebuking him and cursing at him.

And we see this, and one of the male factors which hang railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, say thyself and us.

And the other Matthew, it says, if you are really who you say you are, if you really are the Messiah, come down off this cross and bring us with you.

It was a self-serving accusation.

But the other answer, now, in between the time that he started cursing Jesus, probably around the time mid morning, maybe noon, I would uh, you know, probably think.

Anyway, when he heard and saw the love of Christ, and when he heard Jesus say, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, in verse 34, the Holy Spirit took those powerful words and began to deal with his heart in an unbelievable way, to the point that he realized that Jesus was the Messiah and that he needed Christ as his Lord and Savior.

So we see a powerful dialogue going on here between He and the Savior.

And now we just know what the Lord said.

We don't know if there's what else they possibly could have said.

We just know that he spoke, the Lord recorded seven of the words that he spoke, the last words we call them on the cross.

But we don't know.

There might have been more of a dialogue going on.

Probably what, possibly was.

But with the excruciating pain and all the torture they were all going through, probably not a whole lot of talking going on.

But they we see this unbelievable confession and confession of this thief, of this criminal, of this really murderer.

And let me say this: only the worst of the worst were crucified.

Not everybody was crucified, only the worst criminals were crucified.

And let me remind you, and I'll say this again Friday, the one in the middle was the worst of the worst.

They put the worst of the worst criminals in the middle.

So Jesus Christ was labeled as the worst of the worst of the thieves.

God help us.

The worst of the worst.

So we see that then this one thief, this one criminal, got under conviction and no doubt begins to come to Christ, gives his heart and life to Christ.

And notice what he does after I think he has given his life to Christ.

Look at what he says.

But the other answered and rebuked him, the one that got saved, verse 40.

Him saying, Dost not thou fear God?

Seeing thou art in the same condemnation.

In other words, you deserve exactly what you're getting.

I deserve what we're getting.

And we indeed live or justly, we deserve it.

But for we received the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss.

And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

And we also shared last week, there's the Lord, there's the sinner's prayer right there in the Bible.

So today I want us to first of all look at the sinner's request.

The sinner's request.

But you know what?

We can never contemplate the exchanges that went on that day.

But the sinfulness, one, there's two things that I know that I see in this passage that are powerful.

One, the sinfulness of man and the sovereignty of God.

That is, I it's tremendously exhibited right here.

To crucify the Lord Jesus was the greatest of all crimes, but to add to the shame of its holy and sinless Son of God was crucified between the, I meant the murderers, the thieves.

What a shameful display that went on that day.

But that display went on for us.

On the exceeding sinfulness and corruption of the human heart is so seen here.

That how men start out reviling Christ, cursing Christ.

And we hear that today every time you hear a GD, every time you hear some of the most profane words said about our Lord.

I think about the thieves on the cross.

And I know what you think.

You know what you and I used to be guilty of this.

I start thinking about, oh man, I wish they'd shut up, or I wished I could shut them up.

But then I'm reverted back to this scene, and I think to myself, but no, you need to start praying, God save them, God save them, change them.

Because on that very day, two started out reviling him, cursing him.

But the Holy Spirit grabbed him when they heard the precious words of Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, and changed his heart on the cross.

On the cross.

So if they can change a thief's heart on the cross, he can change a man or woman's heart anywhere.

Can I get an amen?

So don't ever give up on that loved one.

I don't care how bad they get, how low they go, you don't give up on them.

Because it really is never too late.

Never.

Have you ever pondered why God permitted his son to be crucified between two thieves?

Have you ever thought about that?

Why?

Have you ever realized that all that happened right here on that horrible day was determined before it happened?

Do you know it was predicted before it happened?

Listen to what he says in Isaiah 53, verse 12.

Isaiah 53:12

Powerful, powerful prophetic utterance.

Hundreds of years before Isaiah the prophet foretold that he would be numbered.

Look what it says.

He would be numbered with the transgressors.

He would be numbered with the transgressors and made intercession for the transgressors.

It was an act which magnified the sovereignty and the grace of God.

And actually, it's a beautiful example of Jesus Christ being our mediator.

There's one God and one man between God and me and the man Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 2.

So we see it was an act which magnified the sovereignty and grace of God.

Of those two men, one became a Christian, the other rejected Christ.

And I thought to myself, is that not exactly what we have today?

When, hey, you either, hey, one, hey, in fact, you know what I think?

The only difference between these two thieves and us, we haven't been caught yet.

Hello.

We're in the same predicament.

We either receive Christ or we reject Christ when confronted with Christ.

There is no in-between.

There is no waiting.

When you hear the gospel, you either receive it or reject it.

And we see that very vividly right here.

One was saved, the other was lost.

And that is the challenge of the gospel message.

Now let's focus our attention on the dialogue.

Number one, look at the sinner's request.

Look at verse 42.

Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Those words have been preserved throughout eternity, through the scriptures right there, because they represent the prayer of every man and every woman that has received Jesus Christ.

Lord, will you remember me when you come into your kingdom?

What a joy.

I can go back to the day I got saved at First Baptist Church in Sylvester, Georgia, sitting in the balcony.

I can remember the Holy Spirit dealing in my heart.

My youth pastor had been witnessing to me and sharing with me.

And my pastor had shared with me.

I was a basketball player, he had been an all-American basketball player.

And I'll never forget what my pastor said.

He said, You know, you're a great athlete, but what God wants is your heart, and then he can use you and your athleticism for his honor and his glory.

And all that was ringing in my heart and my mind.

And when he gave that invitation, I'll never forget, he said, I normally don't do this.

And I was this was a chosen frozen church.

There's only two types of churches happy clappy or chosen frozen.

I happen to be a member of a happy clappy.

Can I get an amen?

Amen.

Happy clappy.

Amen.

I don't want anything dead.

I'm not going to be in a dead church.

I will not.

I'll go out there in the woods and just have my own self-a spell.

Amen.

But listen, here we are.

And I'll never forget, he said, we never do this.

We never say an extra, uh, sing an extra stanza.

And I'll never forget, I just prayed, Lord, I know you're dealing with my heart.

Lord, I just know, and I know I need to go down and give my life to you, Father.

But uh, I tell you what, I bargain with God.

You ever been there?

Bargain with God.

Oh God, if they sing one more stanza, I'm going.

And I knew they wouldn't.

They never did.

And sure enough, at that time, and he and the pastor looked right up in the balcony right at me.

Have you ever been under conviction and there's there's 175 people sitting out here, and you'll turn around and you think the preacher knows something about you, and he's preaching directly to you.

You ever been there?

About every other Sunday, right?

At least does he know that?

How did he find that out?

No, it's called the Holy Spirit bringing conviction.

He didn't know I'd said that, and I just said it.

And he looked up and he said, But we're gonna sing one more stanza.

Next thing I know, I'm I don't even remember.

I I must have flown down or jumped the balcony.

I don't remember.

But I was standing in the front of the pastor, and him smiling said, I knew, he said, Danny, I've been praying God's gonna save you, but he's gonna use you in a way you'll never comprehend.

I'll never forget those words.

Now, being a pastor was the last thing for my mind.

But I'm just telling you, that's the way he works.

And by the way, when you bargain with God, you better go through with it.

It's better not to vow to make a vow and not fulfill it.

Can I get an amen?

So we see him moving in an unbelievable way.

Now, let's look.

I want us to look at a few things about the sinner's request.

Number one, this is the way we are when we're in our sin.

It was number one, a dreadful fate.

Oh, yes, look.

Verse 32.

There were two criminals led with him to be put to death.

He's a man whose fate was sealed.

It was sealed physically.

It was sealed, are you ready?

Morally, and it was sealed spiritually.

In fact, his body was hung there to die.

He was quivering with excruciating pain.

He, hey, he could not lift his hand to do one righteous deed.

He couldn't, hey, lift his feet to walk to the, hey, hey, to the church or to anything.

He was doomed.

It was over.

He's dying and he's going to hell.

There's only one problem.

There's always the grace of God, as long as you've got one breath, there's a chance.

Someone said, I don't believe in deathbed decisions.

Well, you don't believe in the thief on the cross.

Hello?

He was dying, about to be, hey, about to die.

And we see he's there.

We see that he had physically, there was nothing he could do morally.

This man had submitted his life to the worst of living, to the worst of sins.

He had done it all.

I mean, he was the worst of the worst.

His whole life had been lived in sin.

And then spiritually, hey, he was dead in trespasses and sins, Ephesians 2.1.

Before he called on the name of the Lord, he joined the other thief in cursing God.

It doesn't get any lower than that.

I want you to understand how bad a guy this guy was.

In fact, so he could not work for his salvation.

Hello?

He couldn't work for his salvation.

Titus 3, 5, not by works of righteousness which we've done, but according to God's mercy, he saved us.

And then, hey, we also so see that he could not work for his salvation.

Physically, he could not atone for his salvation.

For by grace are you saved through faith, not of yourself.

It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

And then morally, he could not hope for salvation.

And spiritually, he was without Christ, having no hope, and without God in the world.

Ephesians 2, 12.

It was a dis hey, a dreadful fate.

Notice the second thing.

Not only was it a dreadful fate, it was a disturbing fear.

He was afraid.

Do you not even fear God seeing you?

Look at verse 40, are under the same condemnation?

Wow.

Here's a man trembling, not only because of the pain that's, you know, excruciating pain and the throbbing of all the nerves and the pulsating through his frame, but because of a great fear that seized him that, hey, this is the Messiah.

This is God.

And if I don't receive him, I'm not going with him.

I'm not going to spend an eternity in heaven.

I'm going to hell.

Folks, you need to have a fear of hell.

There is a hell.

I've been listening all week.

For the last month, I have not heard one pastor say anything about the judgment of God.

They've been talking about the life in Christ and all.

But the fear part, I've not heard any yet.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have to have the whole counsel of God.

Listen to me.

As much as there is a heaven, there is sure a hell.

For every time he speaks of heaven, he speaks of condemnation and damnation twice in the New Testament.

Wow, that's important.

So we see the fear.

We see, and look at this fear.

First of all, his incriminating deeds.

Look at what he says in verses 40 and 41.

Do you not even fear God?

He said to the other criminal, seeing you are under the same condemnation.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you don't hear anything else, you and I apart from the grace of God, hey, the righteousness of Christ, we are doomed to condemnation.

Aren't you glad to know that you know him?

Aren't you glad to know that you know, that you know, woo, that you know.

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

When he looks down at me, he doesn't see my ungodliness and my meanness and my wretchedness and my sinfulness.

He sees the righteousness of Christ.

That's the grace of God.

Man, that's good.

The incriminating deeds.

And then look at verse 41.

We indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you reject Christ, one day you'll stand at the great white throne judgment, and you will realize that you have got exactly what you asked for.

You say, wait a minute, I didn't ask.

Oh, yes, you did.

You asked for it by the way you live.

By rejecting the love of Christ, the gospel of Christ.

And we see that so vividly.

It's kind of like John Newton.

Now, some of you remember John Newton.

But let me tell you a little bit about John Newton.

John Newton grew up with his dad being a master sailor.

So John Newton, as a young man, went into the British Navy.

Became a lieutenant quite quickly for all the years because he started selling around and being a workman on a ship with his dad at 11 when he was 11 years old.

Self-taught, and in summer he'd go to school.

So he entered the British Navy and became a lieutenant as quick as anyone had ever climbed the ranks.

But then he rebelled and started getting drunk and started living a life of debauchery.

And I was reading something.

He lost his personal discipline, was arrested for desertion, publicly flogged, and demoted to a common sailor.

While in his teens, John sailed to Africa.

He mocked authority, chose his friends unwisely, became a very unsavory character.

In Africa, John fell into the service of a slave dealer and was put to work on the dealer's plantation.

Now he had, you know, he had gone AWOL, quit the Navy, and now he's been incarcerated by a slave owner, and he's working for this slave.

At 21, he escaped, boarded the ship, this is awesome, called the Greyhound, and resumed his former lifestyle.

He reliced the, hey, the seamen, the captains, everything.

He was always complaining, grappling, telling them the ship's captain, even a, but then he reviled and cursed even a book he had found, and he had found a book on this ship and read the book, and it was titled The Imitation of Christ.

And he's cursing the book, saying, Oh, because he had sailors on there trying to witness to him, and he's reviling them, telling them how there's no such thing, and just on and on.

Just being a heathen.

Then one night the gray hand settled into a violent storm.

The ship and crew were saved in gratitude.

John Newton became, hey, John Newton bowed his knees that night when that ship was being tossed to and fro.

And he said, Oh God, if you will save us and the ship and my captain and me, I will live my life for thee.

Well, the ship was saved.

And sure enough, John Newton became a minister.

And we celebrate the change in his life each time we sing.

Amazing grace.

How sweet the sound.

Let's save a wretch like me.

He wrote it.

Wow.

Doesn't matter how bad you are, how low you go.

Jesus Christ and his blood and his love will redeem anyone.

From the pits of hell.

And we see, what a powerful.

The incriminating deeds.

Notice the second thing.

And by the way, let me say about our incriminating deeds.

Romans 14, 12, there's a verse here.

Every one of us should give an account of himself to God.

We're in no better position than was the thief on the cross.

If we do not know the cleansing power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall also have to answer for our misdeeds.

Number two, the impending doom.

Look at verse 40.

In the light of that he feared, he was also under the same condemnation.

The scriptures remind us that God had appointed a day that he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained and given us assurance unto all men in that he raised Jesus from the dead.

Acts 17, 31.

He's given us assurance that he's going to judge this world, and you and I have the opportunity by the grace of God to avoid that condemnation.

Wow, that's good.

Man, that's good.

Hebrews 9.27, and as it is appointed unto man once to die.

And after this, look, the day of judgment.

Romans 3.18, there is no fear of God.

There is no fear of God before thy eyes.

Wow.

No fear when we're walking with God.

No fear.

The judgment of God.

Dr.

Alan Redpath was an evangelist.

And as he finished the crusade, he told his associate, he said, Now I'm going to slide out.

You continue the invitation.

And he went to the side and he went out and he put a hat and put a scarf around it.

It was very cold.

He was preaching in Chicago and went out and went behind the lamp post in front of the auditorium.

He wanted to watch the people come out.

He had just preached one of the most dynamic messages on the judgment of God preached on hell.

And as they were walking out and he heard them talking and kind of smiling and laughing, even and jeering back and forth, and he said, My God, my God, oh, what's wrong with my preaching?

Do they not understand the severity of judgment?

Wow.

Ladies and gentlemen, every week I pour my heart out to you for one reason: that you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

It's not about what I say, it's about what God's word says.

It's the transforming power through the teacher, the Holy Spirit of God.

His word is with power.

Luke 4.32 that literally transforms our lives.

And we see that here.

The impending doom.

There is no fear of God before their eyes.

In the sinner's request, we see not only that dreadful fate and the disturbing fear, but one other thing.

The dawning faith.

Woo!

Look at what he says in verse 42.

Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

What has happened?

A moment or two ago, we had joined the other, he had joined the other three mocking.

The Son of God, cursing the Son of God.

What had affected the change?

Faith had begun to work in his heart.

People ask me all the time, how can one person be so bad and then all of a sudden be so good?

One answer the grace of God.

A life-changing, transforming power through the Holy Spirit of God.

You don't want to know me before I was saved.

In fact, I was the one voted most likely not to succeed.

I was the one voted most likely to be the first locked up.

Hadn't it been for my first cousin being the chief of police in my little hometown, I would have been locked up.

He saved me from being locked up three or four times.

He'd come get me and take me home.

People, it took people 20 years before they'd invite me to come back and preach in my hometown.

They didn't believe it.

Every once in a while on Facebook, after I got a couple of about four after our 40th year anniversary, I went back and met all my folks.

It was amazing.

Everybody, anytime there was a time for pray, Danny, you want to pray?

You want to pray for us?

I mean, it was amazing.

But Susan will tell you, she was with me, and I had the best looking wife there.

But uh and they would come up and they would say, they'd say, Danny, I can't believe it.

Danny, I can't believe it.

Can't believe it.

I knew you when.

Uh yeah, you knew me when.

Hey, I didn't know Christ.

But when Christ changed me, I became a new creation.

Old things passed away.

Behold, all things have become new.

I ain't the same man I used, Squire Parsons got a song.

Oh, I ain't the same man I used to be.

Amen.

What a beautiful, beautiful picture here on the cross within hours, seeing the transformation of an Almighty God in our lives.

It's literally seen right here.

I don't think we see the significance and the importance and the power of this picture.

That's the power of God within hours, within minutes.

How erratically saved is Steve.

And then he said, Lord, remember me when you come into my kingdom, your kingdom.

This is one of the greatest conversion stories in the whole of the Bible.

No doubt about it.

Faith doned in his soul, and look how it came about.

Look, look, look how it came about.

How this faith, first place, he heard the words of the Savior.

Watch.

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Luke 23, 34.

Now watch.

He turned his aching head and his painful body to the middle of the hey, to the middle cross.

And he saw the words over his head, and either they were on a sign hanging over the cross, or maybe even a sign hanging over his neck, but it said, The king of the Jews.

You know what?

Hey, I got to thinking about this, and I thought to say, Woo! There's the first gospel track.

I believe in life in my life and death tracks.

There it is, the king of the Jews, the Messiah.

Even though, even though the scribes and the Pharisees and the false priests and false prophets didn't even, they didn't even know that he really was the Messiah.

They were making fun of him, so they put it the king of the Jews, because the king of the Jews meant the Messiah.

But he was still declared.

Amen.

That's right.

Even by his enemies, they declared him the Messiah.

What a powerful, powerful illustration.

He called himself the Son of God.

Now watch.

Remember, the earthquake had not happened, nor had he uttered the word, it is finished.

So it must have been the words of the prayer forgiveness.

It was God's love that saved him.

If you don't hear anything else, for God's, quote it with me, John 3.16.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

It was the love of God that saved him.

He paused in his pain to think about it, and faith was born.

It was his faith in Christ.

Now notice two things that brought this faith.

Number one, verse 42, the divine Savior.

Look at what it said.

Lord.

Underline it.

Lord, remember me.

If Jesus Christ is not Lord of your life, he's not Lord at all.

Kuros.

Controller.

You can't.

I have people all the time, and I think it's just really not understanding the scriptures.

They'll say, Well, I got saved and then I made him Lord.

Oh no, you didn't.

First of all, you don't have the authority and the power to make him Lord.

And by the way, he was Lord before you thought about making him Lord.

Amen.

No.

You don't get saved and then make him Lord.

You get saved because he is Lord.

And you ask him to come in and rule your life, control your life.

You get tired and sick of your life.

This thief was tired and sick of his life.

He knew that his life had results and it was condemnation.

And he knew that the life that Jesus Christ stood for and Jesus Christ was willing to give him was, hey, abundant life.

Hey, eternal life.

Hey, in the presence of the Lord's joy.

He knew that he would live forever with that life.

And he rejected his friend and the previous life, and he said, I receive you.

Notice he used the word Lord.

I receive you as my master.

Will you remember me when you come into your kingdom?

Wow.

1 Corinthians 12, 13, listen to what it says.

No one, this is a one powerful verse.

I had not seen this verse in a long time.

As I was exergetically going through all these scriptures, and I saw this, I said, oh what a scripture.

And it says, For by one spirit are we all by excuse me.

1 Corinthians 12, 13.

And it says, as we've been all made to drink into one spirit, 1 Corinthians, that's not 1 Corinthians 12, 13.

Here's what it says.

No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

What's this?

Is this not powerful evidence?

You can't be saved, and he can't be Lord of your life if the Holy Spirit's not dwelling in you.

So that's why we know.

Somebody says, I'm not sure.

I had one guy say, Oh, I'm not sure that the thief really got saved, especially out of fear.

And he's on his deathbed.

I got news for you.

He said the right word, Lord.

And you can't even acknowledge Lord in him be Lord if the Holy Spirit's not dwelling in you.

I will, that's good.

Amen.

Man, that is so powerful.

That is so powerful.

No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

Submissiveness to the working of the Holy Spirit.

This thief stretched out in faith to Christ, the divine Savior, and he says, Think of me.

Let me ask you when you got saved.

Did you say, Lord, I'm yours?

Thank of me.

Thank you for saving me.

Thank you for convicting me.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity.

Wow.

Look at this thief.

It reminds me of a little poem William Cowper wrote.

He said, The dying thief rejoiced to see the fountain in his day, and there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away.

Let me say that again.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day.

And there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away.

Or think of the course.

I do believe, I will believe that Jesus died for me, that on the cross he shed his blood from sin to set me free.

And then B, we see not only do we see the divine Savior, we see the divine sovereign.

Look at verse 42.

Remember me when you come into my kingdom.

This man's faith has now pierced the heavens.

Did you ever hear such faith as this?

Is it the basis of our salvation?

Belief in Jesus Christ as Savior and Solvent.

Here is real salvation.

Lord, I I confess that I'm a sinner.

Lord, I know that I deserve my punish.

Lord, I know I've not done anything honoring to you.

I've lived a life of sin.

But I'm asking you to forgive me.

Lord, I know you love me.

I know you died for me.

And I know that my, hey, in myself, my condemnation is hell.

But God, you promised me if I would give my life to you and accept your grace and accept your gospel and your love, you would save me.

Today I ask you to think of me and save me.

Lord, please.

Wow.

Please.

Woo! That brings me to the second and last point.

Are you interested in the Savior's response?

Watch what happens next.

Wow.

He says in verse 43, Today you will be with me in paradise.

What a word of assurance is this.

What a message to all the children of Adam's fallen race.

And it gives assurance of two things.

Ready?

Number one, immediate salvation.

Woo! Look, notice what I'm about to have a spell.

Notice what it says right here.

Today you will be with me in paradise.

This is the death blow to any work salvation anybody could say anything about.

You don't have to work your way to heaven.

You can't work your way to heaven.

It's only by the grace of God.

Is that not good?

Church, say that's good.

You say, yeah, but but but but so you just believe you can get saved and live like you want to.

Did you hear me say that?

That's not what the gospel says.

That's not what it teaches.

You say, well, hey, when you really get saved and he becomes Lord, you change.

No choice.

Hey, no change, no salvation.

You have an emotional decision, a knowledgeable decision, but you don't have a will decision.

Giving of the will.

Now watch.

Notice what it says.

Immediate.

Immediate salvation.

2 Corinthians 5.8, to be absent from the bodies to be present with the Lord.

Oh, and I love 2 Corinthians 6.2.

Beloved, now is the acceptable time.

Behold, now is the day of salvation.

Brother Mike back there.

I knew Mike.

I had witnessed to Mike when uh uh Leela, his daughter, we had led her to the Lord, and little Emma had gotten saved.

Remember, we baptized them.

And brother Mike, the night I led Leela to the Lord, and Nicholas had already been saved, you remember.

Emma had been saved, his grandchildren.

Uh, and so I shared that night with Brother Mike.

And I I turned to Mike that night and said, Mike, are you ready?

Wouldn't you like doing it?

He said, No, not right now.

Well, he had a severe heart attack, and God got his attention.

And he was here.

He was here the Sunday I was gone.

Uh Brother Sylvester was preaching.

And then last Sunday when I was back, I met Mike coming in.

And he doesn't know that what I was thinking when I saw him.

But in my heart, I well, I smiled at him, but in my heart smiling, I said, mm-mm-mm.

Jesus is drawing.

Holy Spirit is calling.

And I preached, and again, as I shared, I watched, watched, and again he said he thought I was preaching directly to him.

No, I'm just preaching the word of God.

Just like some of you right now, you think I'm preaching to you because you know you've been living like you ought not to be living, and you know you need to change.

And that's a lot of all of us.

And so anyway, I walked in, and Matt and Ben were with me.

And I just walked in and sit there for a minute.

And usually in a vacation in a visit, you try to take a little time, break the ice.

In fact, let me teach you a little lacrostic.

You'll love this.

Ready?

Salt.

S A L T.

You might want to write this down.

This is fresh off the Holy Spirit just gave me this.

This is good.

We are to be the salt of the earth, right?

What does that mean?

Letter A, show love.

Show love to people, not condemnation.

Letter A, ask questions.

Find out about them.

Get to know them.

You can learn a lot about somebody in 30 minutes if you ask the right question.

I promise.

Letter A, listen.

Listen to their answers.

Listen to what they tell you.

Don't talk all the time.

And I know y'all think that's hard for me, but when you can see me in a different place, I promise I'm a pretty good listener.

And then letter T.

Transition the conversation to Christ.

Now, that's what I normally do on a visit.

Especially if I know someone's lost and I'm trying to lead them to Christ.

But I knew Mike had heard the gospel.

I knew Mike was ready.

I knew it.

I knew it.

Holy Spirit told me.

In fact, I was supposed to go with the young people that afternoon.

They were going out to the lake, but the Holy Spirit wouldn't let me say, No, you need to go see Mike.

You need to go lead Mike to the Lord.

I'm as clear as I'm standing here, that's what he told me to do.

And I did it.

So I get in there, this is about the second or third visit that night.

And I walk in and say, hey, and talking to Leela.

And Nicholas was there sitting there.

Little Emma hugged my neck.

I said, Mike, how are you doing?

He said, I'm doing fine.

And I just stopped, took my hat off, took my sunglasses off.

I said, No need to beating around the bush.

I'm here for one reason, Mike, and that's to lead you to Jesus Christ.

You need Jesus.

Do you want to receive him?

Yes, sir.

Woo! Yes, sir.

That's what it's all about.

Folks, that's what it's all about.

I promise you.

I don't do that.

I live to do that.

That's all I live for, is to share the good news.

And that's why we do the ice cream truck.

Rick needs help.

You want to get in?

Hey, we're going to hit every neighborhood around this summer.

We're going to have such a good time with that ice cream truck.

Somebody asked me, I think there's Barbara.

Barbara said, Well, I'd like to do the ice cream truck, but I'm so scared.

I want I said, Barbara, can you drive the truck?

Oh, I can do that.

I said, That's all we gotta do.

Ha ha ha.

We'll do the talking.

You just drive that sucker.

Amen.

And by the way, it's a rolling billboard for Jesus.

Jesus is awesome.

The church ever.

You know I'd say anything.

Just give them a thing of ice cream and say, if you don't have a church, come visit us.

Anyone can do that.

We're no, hey, we were going door to door Monday with the boys from Liberty, and they said, Oh, you're the ice, you're you're the guy from the ice cream truck.

Everybody's had free ice cream.

And by the way, you know, are you ready for this?

I'm gonna get you real excited.

I'm gonna get you real excited.

You know how many pieces of ice cream we've given out since we started uh what a really about a year and a half ago?

8,000 pieces of ice cream.

Can we give can we give God a hand?

Woo! That's a lot of contacts, baby.

Amen.

That's a lot and let me say something that I didn't bring out in the beginning.

With that said about winning people to Christ.

Uh Dr.

Hugh Richardson, our Shelby Baptist Association director, texts me and said, uh, in Georgia preaching at the state evangelism conference, and God has really blessed that.

And uh Faith Riders is a big motorcycle.

They've contacted me.

They want me to do their conference, but they want us to do a big Faith Riders motorcycle conference here.

I said, We'll do it in, we'll do it out under the thing.

Wouldn't it be good to see about a thousand motorcycles out on the property?

Woo! Wouldn't that be and hear the gospel?

Hallelujah! But anyway.

Uh but so then he he texted me back and he said, he said, Pastor Danny, did you you don't know this?

We just got the records from the state.

3,200 Southern Baptist churches in the state of Alabama, 3,200.

And in comparison now to membership, which means we got about 130 members, I understand that, even though we run about 250, 260.

But now what's this?

He said, your church ranked number 10 out of 3,200 in baptisms.

Woo! Hallelujah.

That's what it's all about, folks.

Hey, I love you.

You're pretty, you're sweet, and you're good for I mean, I love to talk.

But if all we did is show up every morning and Sunday morning and say, you look good here tonight, that's good message, all that stuff, and hug each other, and nobody getting saved.

We're doing something, something's wrong.

They're sitting in the camp.

We're not praying.

Something's wrong.

Are we just dead?

We don't have a heart to share with.

By the way, every one of you have influence of somebody to invite them to church and to touch them and share Jesus with them.

Amen.

Amen.

Had a chance to share the gospel why this week again.

A gentleman.

He said, Thank you.

You don't know how I needed this.

I said, We all need it.

We all need it.

I need it every day.

That's why I get up and get in the book every day.

I need it.

I need Jesus to talk to me.

Immediate salvation.

A lady was talking to her husband, and her husband was having a bad day.

Beating her, just treating her unbelievably.

She was a dynamic Christian.

And he finally hit, he had been drunk, but got sober, and he finally looked up and he said, Oh, I'm sorry, honey.

And then here's what he said.

I just wished I would die.

She said, That's what you need to do.

Die to self and give Jesus Christ your life.

And he did.

Changed their home overnight.

Amen.

Amen.

That's what it's all about.

And then infinite satisfaction.

And I'm through.

Today you will be with me in paradise.

I defy anyone to divine paradise.

You can't do it.

I've tried.

We've gone.

Now we can go to Revelation and talk about you can't do it.

But what I know is this, I want to be a part of it.

I mean, here's what I can tell you in paradise and in heaven, what it's all about.

Psalm 16, 11, look at what it says.

We can talk about it as heaven, or as the heavenly Eden, or as the sum and substance of all the joys, bliss, and happiness that we can ever conjure up in the eternity beyond.

But whatever it is, it is infinite satisfaction.

And here's what it is.

Look, in your presence, that will show you in the path of life.

In thy presence, God's presence is the fullness of joy, thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore.

I don't know what it's all gonna be, but I guarantee you it's satisfaction guaranteed.

Woo! Amen.

Satisfaction guaranteed.

Oh, the pleasures, the joy.

An uneducated factory worker was invited by his boss who had his PhD from Princeton.

This uneducated factory worker had been sharing the good news to his boss for a year or so.

So they were having this atheist conference, and this PhD from Princeton, where he graduated, was going to be sharing why.

And so he thought he would get his friend off his back, and so he didn't have the knowledge to combat the guy as he would share the gospel with him.

He thought he would let one of his PhD Princeton educators, that was an atheist that believed there's no such thing as God, as he was giving a lecture on it.

So he said, Would you go with me?

And he said, I'll be glad to.

And so he goes, and I wrote this article, and it came out of the actually the Daily Bread, Grand Rapids.

If you don't read that, you ought to read it.

It's a great little five-minute devotional.

But here's what he said.

It was, it would be difficult to persuade anyone with the assurance to disbelieve in Christ.

The reality was clearly demonstrated in life in an uneducated factory labor who radiated the joy of the Lord, and one day an unsaved boss challenged him to attend a lecture by an atheist scholar.

The believer went on to the meeting and listened intently as a speaker launched a logical and forceful attack upon the Christian faith.

On the way home, the skeptic asked, Now you ready for this?

Well, what do you think now?

He thought he had him.

What do you think now?

The answer came quickly from the uneducated, dynamic Christian man.

He said, I heard that lecture 25 years too late.

He said, Puzzled.

Looked on the other man's face and he said, What do you mean?

He said, Well, during the last quarter of my life, in the last 25 years of my life, God has done everything in many four me that his fellow that this fellow said was impossible.

So whatever he's saying, I know it ain't true.

It's a lie because he's transformed me and answered everything he said couldn't happen, has happened in me.

So I'm sorry.

God bless you.

Wow.

Wow.

You know, sometimes when people try to just knock us down and make us look like an idiot as cr as Christians, you know what?

I know he's real.

Because I know what he's done in me.

Amen?

And you do too.

So you can you can try to try to make me reject Christ all you want to, but you can't do it.

Because over 35 years ago, at first Baptist Church, in a dead Southern Baptist church, I got saved.

I shouldn't have said that.

I'm sorry.

In in a Baptist church, I got saved.

Amen.

I got saved, and I've not been the same since.

He changed me.

And boy, has it been a beautiful, beautiful time.

I want to close with this.

Is it any wonder that we preach our hearts out in this glorious gospel?

Notice what he said.

Today with me in paradise, three things.

And I'm through.

Today, what urgency?

Right now.

Listen, watching online or people, we had about, I think Benji told me about, oh, about 80 people that watch us regularly.

On, usually 70, 80 on Sunday morning, then about 100 and something during the week.

Listen, there's an urgency today.

That thief hanging on the cross did not have another opportunity.

I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking, well, I will, when I get to the point where maybe I'm dying, then I'll make that decision.

You may not have that opportunity.

You don't know.

You don't know.

You don't know, folks.

Today, behold, now's the time.

Today is the day of salvation.

Right now, the urgency.

Then notice the second phrase.

With me.

What company?

To spend an eternity with Jesus Christ.

And then the third word.

Where?

In paradise.

What happiness.

What ecstasy.

What pleasure.

For an eternity.

Is that not good?

Well, let me ask you this morning.

And this is it.

And I wrote it to me.

It is a revel.

Hey, this salvation to that thief is as revelant today as it was 2,000 years ago.

There is no time dimension with God.

Calvary is a point of history.

And let me say something right here.

But it is the converging point of two eternities.

Calvary is the converging point of two eternities.

Have you ever thought about that?

What you do with Calvary, this cross, Jesus in the middle, will determine your eternity.

You will spend an eternity in heaven or hell.

And it's your choice.

One thief had, hey, by the way, you know why he's in the middle?

Let me tell you my answer.

You know why he hung in the middle?

So both thieves would have the same opportunity.

Hello.

Is that not good?

God gave me that.

He'd give everybody the same opportunity.

He's not, he doesn't want some to die and go to hell.

He didn't predestine anybody to die and go to hell.

I don't believe that.

That's not Agape love.

I just don't believe it.

You're not going to convince me.

I do not believe in limited atonement.

I'm sorry.

I love you.

And we'll debate it till Jesus comes back.

When we get to heaven, you'll see I was right.

Just a thought.

And I do love you.

I don't want anybody to die and go to hell.

Nobody.

Nobody.

Nobody.

It's your choice.

Think of it.

You're there.

And let me say something.

I wrote this old, I will, this is good.

The cross was in the heart of God before it was on Mount Calvary.

That's why Jesus had to come.

You read your Old Testament, that's why He had to come.

To really express.

Man's not capable.

Man's not capable of expressing that kind of love without Christ living in him.

Amen.

So let me ask you today, what have you done with Calvary?

What have you done with Calvary?

Have you received him?

Or have you rejected him?

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

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Send us an email at office at the church at CW dot com.

We hope you have a wonderful day and again, God bless you.