Wednesday, May 3, 2023 PM

First silence your phones, please. Second announcement these were left here last Sunday. This looks like an old Chevrolet Ignition and trunk key and a house key. No one seems to know where they came from.

They were sitting over on the table. So they're still here then if it is it's going to cost him we can cough them up for a price. The other is there was an announcement in the bulletin that mr. Smoot put in there just about asking for summer session relief teachers.

So if you want to pray about that, we'd love to have you pray about that. So.

All right.

Let's start with a word of prayer and then we'll get into a brief devotion and I Hope to make sense of it. Paul asked me if she needed a Bible and I said no, it's all blasphemy. So you don't need to have a Bible.

Yes, sir.

I both.

That in itself is right there father we thank you so much for the fellowship we have had thus far across the table sharing bread. Father be with us as we we look at your word and and try to glean some Application from it.

We thank you for your mercy and your grace. Humble us when we need to be humbled. Encourage us when we need to be encouraged. And we know that you are the author and the finisher of our faith. We ask these things in Jesus name.

Amen. So Six weeks before Easter Lisa and I were doing a daily devotional read in book called the seek and save by Sinclair Ferguson. It was a very encouraging book and there's a particular point the last week would be week five the week before Holy Week that really.

The Thief on the Cross and Christ's Mercy

Spoke to me, you know, I want to try to share that with you, but if you'll turn with me to Luke Chapter 23, that's Luke chapter 23.

Paula.

Luke chapter 23. Verse 32 and then 39 through 43. So verse 32 and then 39 through 43 and this will be a familiar section of scripture to you. Verse 32. Two others also were who were criminals were led away to be put to death with him.

Verse 39. One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at him Saying are you not Christ? Save yourself and us. But the other answered in rebuking him said Do you not even fear God? Since you are under the same sentence of condemnation and We are indeed suffering justly for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds.

But this man has done nothing wrong and he was saying Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom and He said to him.

Truly I.

Say to you today you shall be with me in paradise. You know, it's been said that Most people die the way they lived unforgiven Sinners, but if you are a forgiven sinner a believer, you don't die the same way you may have lived.

At least for a portion of your life. Until the Holy Spirit came and God's blood rolled over you and cleansed you in Sinclair's Ferguson's book.

He shares.

From the perspective of you being the thief on the cross and what steps what? What things happen what facets of him being there happened. So we remember that the voice came from one side of Christ mocking him and hurling insults.

But he says this from the opposite side came a voice struggling To breathe out a few words in Jesus's defense. Something had happened in this man's heart. The exchange has many facets. Number one verse 41.

We are receiving the due rewards for our deeds. He confessed his sin. This man has done nothing wrong. He then recognized the innocence of Jesus. That he was not guilty. He shouldn't be there. But he was and then verse 42 Jesus.

Remember me. This thief then sought mercy so thus far he is he's confessed his sin. He recognizes Jesus's innocence. And he seeks mercy from Christ. Now you think about all that. He went on to that cross.

There could have been just another thief between them and he wouldn't have had this revelation. He wouldn't have had this confessional and then he says when you come into your kingdom He confessed the Lord's Lord confessed Jesus's Lordship over him.

He recognized that Jesus has a kingdom. And he's going to be in his kingdom and he wants to be there and then Christ responds to him today. You will be with me in paradise. He was given gospel. Hope now this exchange you know in my mind didn't last but a few minutes, but in that few minutes whilst Gazing upon fit the Christ face Understanding who he was and Understanding the ultimate Punishment he was getting ready to receive in fullness.

You know, my understanding is that in order to speak while being crucified You had to push up So that the diaphragm Would be loosened enough so you could breathe and then expel air to speak words. So to say this Was difficult physically and even for Christ.

As he turned to this man showed him mercy and hope in his last moments of lucid thought this man recognized. He gave evidence that his heart had been transformed Evidence that was eternal and he really becomes the first witness.

For the defense of the crucified Christ and he even rebukes the other thief the other criminal. Do you not fear God? And I thought about that for me personally. I I reached a place where I I understood.

There needs to be a fear of God here and I need to confess my guilt. And they need to recognize Jesus power and authority and what he will do for me in the fact that he showed me mercy and Then the same promise has come the same hope has come.

That when my time comes to pass from this earthly planet and from this temporary tent. I Will be with him in paradise. I'll get to experience that a little bit from Matthew Henry's commentary He writes this the conversion of the thief upon the cross is in an illuminated instant of Christ's power.

And.

Principalities over principalities and powers. His triumph over principalities and powers. Even when it seemed to be it was he who was being triumphed over Christ was taken physically. He was abused the crown of thorns placed upon.

He was he was whipped and was beaten. He was spat upon. It says his visage was not that of a man. And so you think okay, he's been triumphed over. He's been placed up on a cross he has no way of fighting.

He didn't fight back but even there He showed his power over powers and principalities. He triumphed over that in The hope he expressed to this man whose heart was converted. Who was hanging on? Across next to him the cross of Christ to some Is a saver of life.

Unto life or for most it is death. Unto death and to them that perish it is foolishness. They do not understand the veil is over their eyes and our hearts and their spirits. But to them that are saved it is the wisdom and power of God.

Remember Christ, although hanging on the cross is not powerless Because he grants favor He still has the authority to grant eternal.

Favor.

To a man who now believes the one condemned to die. Had the authority over eternal life now. What's that to us? What's the point? What do we need to do with it? First of all, we must in prayer call God Father and Come to him with reverence and confidence.

There is a healthy fear of God. But we can come to him in reverence and Confidence that he will hear us and he will act upon our requests our petitions. To the great thing we must beg of God for ourselves and others is the forgiveness of this sin.

We can ask God for healing and Provision and safety and Health and and all those things, but really the the one thing that we need to ask God of The most important is forgiveness the forgiveness of our sin.

Thirdly we must pray for our enemies and those who hate and persecute us. We must be an earnest prayer to ask God for the forgiveness of their sins and their sins against us. We like to harbor a little bit of hurt sometimes.

We like to harbor a little bit of vengeance. We like to harbor a little bit of dislike because of the way we were spoken to or treated or taking advantage of.

God says.

You are to place that upon his shoulders and you are to ask for forgiveness for the one who has offended you Hurt you Maligned you defamed you. It is not in our character our fleshly character to do that.

But God says it is if you love him. Christ spoke father forgive them for they not they know what they not do they know not what they do. So backing up a little bit if Christ was still an authority even hanging on the cross.

My simple mind says well, you know Christ could easily look down from the cross and said father Consume them burn them up Destroy them, but instead he prays for them. He petitions the Holy Father To forgive them for they know not what they do.

The greatest sinners may through Christ upon their repentance hope to find mercy. That's all of us and just as each of us who know Christ who are known by him Have ourselves received mercy upon mercy.

I read this and I just I felt.

I.

Felt a kinship with this thief on the cross. May sound odd, but I know what he's gone through. I Wasn't haven't been crucified. But I've been convicted. Found guilty. Was ready to pay a punishment. I could not afford.

But even on the cross God Son Christ was still in control in power and authority. So much so that he granted eternal hope. To this man who recognized who he was now the sad part of that is the other thief passed in the eternal damnation.

Eternal separation. We need to be humbled and reminded often how we got to be a child of God. I do not want to take it for granted.

I.

Do not want to forget. I do not want to Have it be just a memory. It needs to be vibrantly alive and active in me that it controls my actions and my thoughts my purposes because You know, no matter what good deeds I do the rest of my life or that in your life.

I Can never repay This gift it is that precious it is a gift Given freely just amazing. Well, that's all I had for you tonight. I want to take some prayer requests.