Let's come in our Bibles this evening to Luke's Gospel, chapter 23, please. Luke's Gospel, chapter 23. Again, thank you, David, for your kind words of welcome. Good to have Philip with us, too. And we do appreciate your support and encouragement here in the meeting this evening. We have appreciated it night by night. And again, we just trust that as the meetings continue, that you'll endeavor to be here in, especially to bring those in under the sound of the gospel who know not our blessed Savior. Luke's Gospel chapter 23, and we're going to read from verse number 39, please. Verse 39. And we're at Calvary this evening. And one of the malefactors which were hanged reeled in him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. And they said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And we trust the Lord will bless the public reading of his own precious and fallible and earned and inspired word. I'm sure some of you here have been in Israel, and perhaps you've gone outside the city walls and you've got to the place recognized as Golgotha. And you'll see the little hill there, and we try to imagine what it must have been on that day. when our lovely Savior was crucified. And we see the three crosses standing side by side. There in the center cross is the Lord Jesus Christ crucified between two thieves, one on the right side and one on the left side. What a sight it must have been. One of these dying thieves comes under conviction of sin, realizes something about Christ, something different about the man on the center cross. I have no doubt this thief probably witnessed many crucifixions. There were many at that time. The Romans were crucifying many people, but there was something different about this man on the center cross. And by faith, he calls out for salvation, Lord, Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. His legs would have been broken. He would eventually have died. And he went straight from that scene at Calvary. We died on that cross. I'm talking about the dying thief, and he went straight to paradise. Someone described it as the great escape. The great escape. Last face he saw on earth would have been the lovely Savior. The first face he saw in paradise would have been the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. There in that center cross, there was one who was dying for sin. Then that thief, he was dying to sin. And sadly, there was another thief who was dying in sin. The center cross was a cross of redemption. Then there was the cross of reception where this man received Christ as his Savior. Then there was the cross of rejection. I wonder tonight as we picture the scene, which of these two thieves Are you going to be like this evening, the one that cried out and was gloriously, wonderfully, eternally saved, closed his eyes in death, opened them up in glory, or the other one who died in sin and was lost in hell for all eternity? Let's look at this well-known account in the Word of God as we look into it this evening and see what God would have to say to us tonight. I want to think, first of all, about the amazing grasp that this thief has. Think about who he is—a life of thievery, a life of robbery, a life of criminality. That's all he seemed to have known. Whatever he did, was serious enough to justify the death penalty. And so his crimes must have been many. That's the sort of man this is. And we have no problem identifying his sinfulness tonight. Look at verse 39. One of the malefactors which were hanged reeled on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. He was a malefactor. Back in Matthew 27, verse 44, here's what Matthew records, talking about both the thieves. The thieves also which were crucified with him cast the same in his teeth. They mocked the Lord Jesus. Can you imagine a man dying on the cross, and you mocking him? It's difficult to believe. You wouldn't do it to a dog. And that's the sort of man this was. He was a man that spent his life in thievery, dishonesty. He was a crooked man. And here he is on the cross, and for a time, he's mocking the Lord Jesus Christ. He's blaspheming God. He's a robber. He's a mocker. If ever a man deserved to go to hell, he deserved to go straight to hell. He was a heartless sinner. You know, we have no bother saying his sinfulness tonight, but, you know, that's not going to do him any good. But notice what he realizes himself in verses 39 to 41. And one of the malefactors which were hanged reeled in him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself on us. But the other And this is the man we're thinking about tonight, answering, rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, saying that in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly. For we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. Here's a man that recognizes his own sinfulness, and before anyone can be saved, have to recognize their own sinfulness. We can see sin in other people, can't we? We can talk about the murderers. We can talk about those engaged in pornography and abusers and terrorists and alcoholics and drug abusers, and we can see sin in many people. That's not going to do you any good until you're honest before God and can see the sin in your own heart. like the one of old who just fell on his knees and cried, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Very hard to say those three words, me, a sinner. Some can't get to that stage. Some can't get to that point where they'll honestly come before God and recognize their sinfulness. I think you know tonight you're a sinner, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Somehow the Spirit of God touched this man's heart, and he realized that he was a sinner. I don't know what it was, I don't know what it was that convinced this man of his own sin, but he had an amazing grasp. He could see his own sinfulness. He said, we're suffering because of our own sin. We're suffering because we deserve to suffer. But this man hasn't done anything amiss. He recognized his own sinfulness. Is that who you are tonight? Because until you come to that place, be saved. And maybe you're saying tonight, I'm no thief. I'm an honest, upright citizen. If you were to go into police headquarters and look up my name, my address, I have no rap sheet, as the Americans would say. I'm clean. I have nothing against me at all. I've never been in court. I've never been charged with anything. I'm an upright citizen here in County Antrim. But listen, it's not the amount of sin, it's the fact of sin. you and I know we're sinners. We've sinned in thought, we've sinned in word, and we've sinned in deed. This man recognizes his own sinfulness. But as I've intimated already, he recognizes the sinlessness of Christ. Look at verse 41, and we indeed justly For we receive the reward of our deeds, but this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, has done nothing amiss." He recognizes that this man is innocent. He sees a man dying on that center cross, and he's not there because of his own sin. It's translated in other places like this, This man never did anything wrong in his life. Paul says, For he hath made him, that's the Lord Jesus Christ, to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. The Hebrew writer describing Christ said, He's holy, harmless, undefied, separate from sinners, made higher than the heavens. And Christ was on the cross, not for his sin, but for our sin. This thief. who had never been in a gospel meeting, never had a copy of the Word of God. This thief that never heard a gospel message ever preached in his life, never had a gospel tract, never saw a verse of Scripture up in a tree or a telegraph pole, never heard an open air evangelist preach the gospel. This man knew nothing at all, and yet what a grasp he has. He sees his own sinfulness. and he sees the sinlessness of Christ. Maybe he saw Christ led as a lamb to the slaughter, and he opened not his mouth. What is it about this man? He hasn't objected. He hasn't complained. He hasn't said anything. He has come to the cross, and he opened not his mouth. He never saw the like of this in his life before. And the Lord begins to work in his heart by the Spirit of God, and he recognizes he's a sinner and sees the sinlessness of Christ, and sees that Christ's dying on that cross, not for his own sin, but for our sin. Tell me tonight if you're in the meeting and you're not saved. Are you starting to blush yet? Think of how you've been brought up. Think of the privileges that you enjoy. I'm pretty sure in your home there's a copy of the Word of God. I'm pretty sure that you've heard the gospel preached many times. I'm pretty sure in this town you've seen the Word of God, you've read gospel tracts, you have an understanding, and yet here's this lousy, no-good faith. and he seems to be further on than you tonight. He sees that he's a sinner, and he sees that Christ is the sinless one, but he recognizes more. Look at verse 42. He sees that the Lord is sovereign, and he said, unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. He calls him Lord. He talks about a kingdom. Here's a man dying on the cross. And yet this thief realizes that death's not the end. Because he's going to be a king, he's going to have a kingdom. That even though Christ is dying, it won't be the end of Christ. Do you see the amazing grasp that this man has? And I want you to think for a moment, you know, Peter, when the Lord Jesus Christ had that miracle, catch of fishes, you know, Peter fell down and said, depart from me, for I am a sinful man. And he calls Jesus Christ Lord. He had witnessed a miracle. Thomas, who doubted the Lord, and when he saw the prince in his hand, when he saw the print and the wound in his side, you know, Thomas fell down and said, My Lord and my God! And we could understand that. He looked at the very prince and could see that Jesus Christ was alive, and he calls him Lord. But here's this thief, and what does he see? He sees a man who'd been beaten stupid. A man whose visage was more marred than any other man, whose back was like a ploughed field, on his head a crown of thorns. He had been beaten, he'd been battered, he'd been slapped, he'd been spat upon, and he's hanging on a cross and he's dying. What a pathetic sight it must have been! And yet this thief says, Lord! Lord! He's a greater understanding of who Christ is, maybe than you have tonight. He understands that death's not going to be the end. Tell me, is he further on than you tonight? Would you not be embarrassed tonight to think that this lousy, no-good thief, dying on a cross, never in a Gospel meeting, never at a Gospel mission, never had anybody witness to him and tell him he needed to be saved. No one ever shared the Gospel with him. No one ever told him about Jesus Christ. Here he is, hanging on a cross, and he sees this man dying. And what a sight Christ must have been, hanging naked on that cross, and yet he says, Lord, Lord, What a statement of faith! What an amazing grasp this man has. He recognizes his own sinfulness, the sinlessness of Christ, the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ, the seriousness of the situation. Verse 40, But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Does not thou fear God? Seeing art in the same condemnation, this man fears God." We're told in Psalm 111, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Paul, speaking about mankind in Romans 3, verse 18, says, there is no fear of God before the rise. This man feared God. He feared facing a righteous God. He feared the wrath of God. Do you fear God tonight? You know, we fear electricity, although there is an electrician in Rifrailand, he's an old man, and they used to tell me, I don't know much about electricity, but I know that you use a phase tester if you're checking if the wire's live, and there's an electrician here, forgive my ignorance tonight, and you put it on, if the wee thing lights up, well, that's live. But he didn't need a phase tester. He used to lick his fingers and touch it, aye, that's live. Now, don't try that at home. Please don't try that at home, but I have a healthy respect and fear for electricity. I'm not going to put my fingers near a bare wire. We have a fear of God. This man had a fear of God, a reverence for God. He understood that God was going to judge his sin, and he's not asking, listen, he's not saying, Lord Jesus, save my life. He's not saying, Lord Jesus, get me down of this cross and take this pain away. He's not praying for his life. He's not praying to come down of the cross. He's not asking that the pain might be eased. He's praying and crying to God for his soul. He doesn't want to go to hell. Lord, remember me when I comest into thy kingdom. Matthew 10, verse 28, the Lord said, "'Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.'" Do you see the amazing grasp this man had? Hanging on a cross, on his way out to Christ's eternity, he sees the Lord Jesus Christ. I wonder, did he hear him pray, "'Father, forgive them'? for they know not what to do." This man had known nothing about forgiveness all his life, a man who's led the Lamb to the slaughter. who willingly went to Calvary and willingly is giving his life. A man who did no wrong. He knew no sin. In him was no sin. The sinless, spotless, crimeless, harmless Son of the living God. He was God, manifest in the flesh. This man recognizes this. He calls him Lord. He says, You have a kingdom. There's life after death. This man had an amazing grasp, and he doesn't want to go to hell. Tell me, where are you tonight? Have you an understanding that this man had? He turns from his sin, he turns from his companion, and he turns to Christ. There was repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. What an amazing grasp. And then secondly, I believe we can see amazing grace here. I could be wrong, and it's a point that we could argue about, but I would say this is the greatest example of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ anywhere in the Word of God. As I said, if ever a man deserved to die and go straight to hell, surely this thief did. And he cries out to the Lord Jesus Christ. When you think of those who were round about Christ, verse 32 says, And there were also two other malefactors led with him to be put to death. Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 53, prophesying some 700 years before this event, What an amazing book we have. 700 years before Calvary. The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ would be crucified with thieves, transgressors. You're looking for truth tonight? You'll find it in the Word of God. You'll find it in the person of Jesus Christ. Look how low the Lord Jesus Christ is sunk. Here he is in the cross between two thieves. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8 verse 9, For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Paul says, Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, not just any death, even the death of the cross. Think of the Lord of glory. coming into this world. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made, and here He's hanging on a cross. Do you know in Psalm 22, the Lord Jesus said this prophetically speaking. He says, I'm a worm and no man. I was listening to the radio the other day, and they were talking about the Grand National, and some lady was on complaining about the horses that died. And apparently in racing, there's a horse dies every other day. And I'm sure there are people who love horses, and nobody wants to see horses die. And I'm not taking sides in this tonight, but I'll tell you, no one ever complains about a worm dying. Nobody ever stands with a placard up saying, save the worm, save the worm. And if you went out there tonight and there's worms on the car park, and sometimes in a damp evening you can see them coming out from the grass, you could step on it on your foot, and you know this, it wouldn't cost you a thought. You mightn't even notice it. That's how low our Lord Jesus Christ got. He says, I'm just a worm and no man. crucified between two thieves, hanging on a cruel cross. Think of those around him. Think how low he stooped in order to lift you up. He went down into the miry pit in order to lift you out of the miry pit and set your feet on the rock, Christ Jesus. That's how much he loved you tonight. I'll tell you, he couldn't love you anymore. And I'll tell you, no one in the world loves you more than Christ loved you, that he went to Calvary and died to be your Savior. Somehow this thief realized that. Look at the request in verse 42. And he, this is this thief we're thinking about, said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Here's a thief kneeled to a cross, And he's looking into the face of a dying Savior, and he cries, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. You know, his hands were nailed to the cross. He couldn't give anything. His feet were nailed to that cross. He couldn't go anywhere. He couldn't join anything. He couldn't get baptized. He couldn't get confirmed. He couldn't keep any sacraments at all. He couldn't go to church. He couldn't join a church. He could do absolutely nothing. Thank God he could get saved. Could get saved. Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to the cross I cling, Naked come to thee for dress, Helpless look to thee for grace, Foul I to the fountain fly, Wash me, Savior, or I die." Oh, he couldn't get baptized. He couldn't go to church. He couldn't do any good works. He just comes as a sinner to Jesus. And that's what the Lord's asking you to do tonight. not to join anything, not to do anything, not to be anything. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Titus 3, verse 5, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Here's a man hanging on a cross, could give nothing to Christ at all. nothing in my hands I bring." He just comes as a sinner to Jesus and says, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Some people spell salvation with the word don't. You don't do this, and you don't do that. Others spell it with the word do. You have to do this, and you have to do that. The Word is done, because Christ has done everything that has to be done. The work's finished tonight. Here's the good news. You have nothing to pay. You have nothing to join. You just come as a sinner to Jesus tonight. Come by faith. just like this thief on the cross. Materialism says you can buy your way out. The politician wants to legislate the way out. The military says, fight your way out. Industry says, work your way out. The philosopher says, think your way out. Jesus says, I am the way out. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No mouth cometh unto the Father but by me." Do you see the amazing grace here? Think of those who were round about Christ. Do you see how low He stooped for you? Think about the request. Here's a lousy thief, and he's crying out to Christ for mercy. And then look at the response in verse 43. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." The vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus, a pardon received. Here's an undeserving, ill-deserving, hell-deserving sinner, one who earlier on blasphemed God, a life of thievery, no good, good for nothing man, and he comes as a sinner, and he's crying out to the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness and mercy, and the Lord responds to him. You know, it's interesting when the Lord Jesus was hanging on the cross, There were those who mocked Him in Matthew 27, verse 40, "'Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself.'" Christ never said a word to them. In Matthew 27, verse 42, He saved others. Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. The Lord never said a word to them. He doesn't respond to them. But here's a sinner. I'm told from medical people that his throat at this time could have been congealed with blood. I'm talking about the dying thief. The words would have been difficult to get out of his mouth. He wouldn't have been able to shout. It would just barely have been a whisper. But the Lord's ear was opened unto the cry of this sinner. And all he could do, and with all his strength, he says, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. He had nothing to give Christ. He had nothing to offer Christ. He had no good in himself. He just comes as a lousy, no-good sinner. And the Lord responds and says, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. You see the amazing grace of our Lord Jesus Christ tonight? This tells me tonight, no matter what you have done, no matter who you are, no matter where you've been, the Lord Jesus Christ can save you tonight. There's none too bad. There's none too good. The Lord can save you tonight. There's none too old. There's none too young. The Lord can save you tonight. See the amazing grasp, we see the amazing grace, and then we see the amazing glory. Listen to verse 43 again. What a promise, verily. Truly, truly, the Lord Jesus says, you can believe this tonight. And he says to the thief, what a word of assurance to a dying man. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, what a period. Verily, verily, I say unto thee today. You're not to have to wait. The moment you close your eyes in death, you're going to open them in glory. Verily, verily, what a promise. I say unto thee today, what a period, what a place, paradise. What a place. John writing in Revelation says, God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death. neither sorrowing or crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away." You know, that morning this thief, I don't know where he was in chains or how they'd have cuffed him, and he's walking probably barefooted on cobblestones, and he's just a lousy thief. And no doubt the heat would be getting to him, and when he would get to the cross, the pain and the agony and the suffering. And later on, when he closed his eyes in death, he'd be walking the streets of glory. What a joy to be saved tonight. Have you ever watched someone die who's not saved? It's not a nice thing to see. Have you ever had to officiate at the funeral of a man or a woman who has no profession of faith? It's an awful place to be. What a difference. When someone has known Christ as their Lord and Savior, when like this thief, they know they're going to close their eyes in death, and yet they're going to open them in glory, it's going to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. When Stephen was being stoned to death, he said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Stephen knew that death wasn't the end. He knew he was going somewhere better. But you know, the beauty of this is not even the promise, it's not even the period, it's not even the place that you catch the person. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, today thou shalt be with me, the Lord Jesus Christ, in paradise. Imagine spending all eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, it'll be great to see loved ones that have gone before us, their loved ones in the glory, and I'm looking forward to seeing them again. but just to be near the dear Lord I adore will through the ages be glory for me." Do you have that hope in your heart tonight that it's going to be absent from the body and present with the Lord? See the amazing grasp tonight. Listen, if you're not saved, you should blush tonight. I say this graciously, tenderly, and lovingly. You should be ashamed tonight. Here's a lousy thief. The first time he gets an understanding of what he needs to do, he doesn't dilly-dally. He doesn't delay. He cries out to Christ, and he's saved by the grace of God. See the amazing grasp he had. Do you see the amazing grace that the Lord Jesus Christ could hear this sinner and respond? And with arms wide open, he welcomed this sinner into the family of God. See the amazing glory? He went from that horrible scene at Gilgotha and that painful, dreaded scene, and he went straight to glory. But you know, I want to finish off tonight with an amazing gaffe. This is surely one of the biggest blunders recorded in Scripture. Let me say this. I don't know any about Harry Potter. I've never read it. I've no interest in it. It just wouldn't appeal to me at all. But when J.K. Rowling had written the book, apparently she sent it to 12 publicity houses, and they all sent it back and said no. It reckoned it cost them about $1 billion. It's described as the biggest literature blunder in history. That's nothing to the blunder that this thief made on the cross. Here's a man, and he watches his friend, and he sees his friend turn his eyes upon Jesus. And I have no doubt he could hear him speaking to the Lord, and I have no doubt this man could hear what the Lord said to him. Today, shalt thou be with me in paradise." And here's two men, and I would say they thieved together, they robbed together, they grew up together, they probably joked together, they probably did a lot of things together. And this fellow watches his friend turn his eyes upon Jesus, put his faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, get that assurance that he's on his way to heaven, and yet he stays on the cross, dies on the cross, and goes to hell. What a blunder. What a blunder. There was no more distance between him and the Lord Jesus than his friend and the Lord Jesus. And yet one of them turns and trusts the Lord. This other man, he just stays the way he is, continues to mock the Lord, and he dies in sin and goes straight to hell. Tell me tonight. Is there someone that you've grown up with, played with, ran about with, joked with, and tonight they're on their way to heaven and you're on your way to hell? If Christ were to come back tonight, they're going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, but you're going to be left behind to face the wrath of God in certain hell. Both these men were mockers. Both of them were thieves. Both of them lived lives. They were no good people, and yet one of them was going to die and go to heaven, and the other one was going to die and go to hell. What an amazing gaffe for someone to make. Both these men prayed. One of them said, Save me from death. Luke 23, verse 39. One of the malefactors which were hanged reeled in him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. Save me from death. The other one says, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Lord, save me from hell. Save me from hell. Tell me tonight, is there a friend that you've grown up with and tonight they're going to heaven and you're lost? maybe in your own family, maybe your best friend, maybe they're here tonight, and you know they're saved, they're ready, and you're not ready. If things were to end tonight, you're going to be in a lost sinner's hell. Let me tell you a story about a friend of mine. We were in primary school together. We were in secondary school together. We palled about. We joked about. We carried on. We got into trouble together. You know, I remember when I got saved, his mom used to say to me, whenever you're preaching—and I would have done some preaching just to fill out now and again—you're the only one he'll come to hear. And so, a few times he'd come to hear me preaching the gospel. And I remember meeting him in Cookstown, when he was visiting in Cookstown, and I was there, and Matthew was there, my son, and Matthew's now 34, so it's a good while ago, he was only a child then. And I remember speaking to him about salvation. And I said, you know, you need to be saved, you need Christ. He says, Ian, I just can't grasp this blind faith thing. I just can't get this blind faith thing. I says, we're not talking about blind faith. You can come into this with your eyes wide open. Jesus Christ wants to be your Savior. He said, Ian, I want to be rich, but I don't want to work. And he got rich, and he didn't work. He got involved in gangs. I don't want to say too much, for I know this has gone out in broadcast. He went missing in 2001. About six years later, they were digging, trying to find his body in a place called Moortown, which is outside Coke, towards Ardboe. Couldn't find anything, and then they were directed to another area just outside Cookstown in the direction of Omagh. Still haven't found his body. The police said he's missing so long that it's presumed he was murdered. His dear mom, who was a believer, she went home to Glory. Never knew what happened to her boy. I remember that day in Cookstown Street. He says, I can't get this blind faith. He says, I want to be rich and I don't want to work. And the only way you can be rich and not work is through criminality. And I believe he made a conscious decision to go in a different direction. Two people that grew up together, laughed together, played together, had fun together. went in different directions. Tell me what direction you're going in tonight. If you were to die tonight, would you be caught up and would you be in glory? Or would it be a Christless hell? Is God speaking to you tonight? If the Lord Jesus had time for this lousy thief, he has time for you tonight. Don't go to hell. You have no need to go to hell. You can come and trust Christ as your Savior tonight. And he says, him or her that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. Tonight's your night to get saved. Don't put it off any longer.