Well, I invite you to take your Bibles this morning and turn with me to Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 27, as well as Luke's Gospel, Chapter 23. Matthew 27 and Luke 23. We will begin reading in Matthew 27, verse 32. Matthew 27, verse 32. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say a place of a skull, they gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall. And when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him and parted his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there, and set up over his head his accusation written, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Then there were two thieves crucified with him, one on the right and another on the left. And they passed by, reviled him, wagging their heads, saying, Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise, also the chief priests mocking him with the scribes and elders said, 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. And he trusted in God. Let him deliver him now if he will have him. For he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. And I would have you notice there in verse 44 that both of the thieves who were crucified next to Jesus were reviling the Savior. Matthew here tells us that the thieves, plural, abraded Jesus in the same manner as those who were passing by. They were both saying, if you are truly God, save yourself and us from this torture. Now turn over to Luke chapter 23. Luke chapter 23. Luke 23, beginning in verse 32. And there were also two other malefactors, thieves, criminals, led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment and cast lots. And the people stood beholding And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others. Let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, and saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew. This is the king of the Jews. And one of the malefactors, which were hanged, railed on 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 he 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. Did you notice the change of heart in the one thief? One of the thieves who at first despised Jesus came to delight in Jesus. the penitent thief, as we call him, who rejected the Lord at the moment of his crucifixion, in a short time came to receive the Lord. In Matthew's gospel, we find this one questioning the goodness of God. And in Luke's gospel, we find him resting in the goodness of God. One moment we find him agreeing with the vicious verbal attacks towards Christ, and the next moment we find him rebuking the other thief for doing what he was doing just a short time before. In Matthew it seems that the penitent thief was of the persuasion that if Jesus is truly God, that he, the thief, deserved to be saved from his problems. And in Luke, it seems that this thief came to recognize that he deserved to die for his wrongdoing while also recognizing that Jesus did nothing wrong. So the question of all questions is, what changed this man's thinking? What was it? that caused him to find hope in Christ during the final hours of his life. I mean, think about it. There were two men crucified together with the Lord, and both were criminals. Both of them were equally near Christ. Both saw and heard all that happened during the six hours that Jesus hung on the cross. Both of them were on their deathbed, so to speak. Both were suffering excruciating pain. Both needed to be forgiven. And yet one died in his sins as a hardened, unrepentant, and unbelieving sinner, and the other repented, believed, and cried to Jesus for mercy, and was gloriously saved. How is it that under precisely the same circumstances, one man is awakened to his need of salvation and the other remains spiritually careless. Well, I believe the answer to these questions can only be found in one word, and that one word is grace. There is no other suitable explanation than this. The penitent thief on the cross had a change of heart and was gloriously converted during the final hours of his life because it pleased God to make him a testimony of his wonderful grace. I do not believe the penitent thief came to faith in Christ because he was somehow smarter than the unrepentant thief. We find nothing in the passage that seems to indicate that the IQ of the penitent thief was higher than the impenitent thief and therefore was the cause of his salvation. I do not believe that the man who was promised paradise was somehow more moral than the man who scorned Jesus until his final breath. There's nothing in scripture that suggests that the penitent thief performed less sins than the impenitent thief and thus was more worthy to be saved. And obviously this man who felt the guilt of his sin and came to know Christ in the final hours of his life could do nothing to make himself more religious or more savable. It's not like he read his Bible attended a church service, or prayed for hours before he was saved. So clearly he did not come to know God's peace by trying to do more good for God. Neither do I believe that this penitent thief was saved because he somehow had the power to muster up enough faith and repentance of himself to motivate God to extend mercy to his soul. There is absolutely nothing in either passage that implies that this man's great power to believe saved his soul. On the contrary, we read that this man came to believe on Christ because God alone humbled him, changed his heart, gave him the needed faith to rest in Christ, and assured him of heaven before he took his last breath. The glorious conversion of this man was nothing short of a gracious miracle of God. His turning to the Lord was entirely of God's sovereign grace. And this is what the Bible tells us salvation is. The Bible tells us that salvation is all about God in Christ, seeking and saving undeserving sinners. The Bible tells us that the work of God is God giving regenerating faith to those who are spiritually dead and unable to save themselves. Ephesians chapter two, verses eight and nine. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. What is the and that? The and that is the grace. You did not give yourself grace, and that is the faith, and that faith, which comes by grace, is not of yourself. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Titus 3, five through seven, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to God's mercy, he saves us. by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified, catch it, by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Romans 5, 1 and 2, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Romans 1, 12 and 13, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. From beginning to end, the penetrating influence of the gospel in the hearts of men is entirely of God's sovereign grace. And I personally believe that this is why it has pleased God to record this man's salvation testimony in the Bible. It has pleased God to save this penitent thief because God wants to demonstrate to all that he will save who he wants, where he wants, when he wants, how he wants, to the end that he alone might be glorified. Now, having stated the singular truth, I want you to think about God's grace being shown to the penitent thief from three different viewpoints. First, I want you to think about God's sovereign grace in the circumstances of his life that led up to his crucifixion. Up to the point of his death, we know absolutely nothing of this man. We don't know anything of his background. We don't know anything about his family relations. We don't know anything about how long he has been a criminal. We don't know if he ever heard or saw Jesus perform miracles. We don't know, we're not told if he ever heard one of Jesus's sermons. We don't know if he grew up being exposed to the truths of God's word. We don't know if he ever went to a synagogue meeting on the Sabbath day to hear the preaching of God's word from the Old Testament. But what we do know is this. We do know that God in his grace allowed this man to live up to the moment of his salvation. I mean, just think about all the particular details that this truth alone implies. for this man to be crucified next to Jesus means that God did not allow him to die in his sin before being crucified next to Jesus. And you and I know that there are 101 ways that one could die in this life. So we can gloriously rejoice in the fact that God in his grace preserved his physical life to bring him up to this point. For this man to have an occasion to see and talk with Christ before his death meant that God in his grace led him to the nation of Israel at the same exact time that Christ was living, ministering, and was being crucified. I mean, this man could have been born in Egypt. This man could have grown up to be a worshiper of false gods and idols. But God, in his grace, led this man to be crucified right next to God himself. Have you ever thought about this before? From a human perspective, this man or Jesus could have been crucified on different days or different times. Looking at things from a purely incidental viewpoint, this man or Jesus could have had a thousand different details that would have caused either one of them to be crucified next to other people. But we know, as the Bible tells us, God doesn't operate by chance. God operates only by divine foreordination. So in the case of this man's coming to taste the goodness of God and salvation, we can rejoice in the fact that God sovereignly arranged every detail of his life to lead him to Christ. The second thing I want you to think about is God's sovereign grace. in his patience with this man's sin. And specifically, I want you to think about God's provision of a gospel witness and a final opportunity to give right with God before his death. Now again, we don't know the full story of his life. We don't know the specific scope of his sinfulness, but we do know that he was a notorious criminal. We do know that he was an unbelieving, hard-hearted scorner who was joining others in their maligning of Jesus' person. So the question that I ask you is, did this man who was saved deserve a final opportunity to be saved? Did God owe this man the immeasurable blessing of being brought face to face with the Prince of Peace? Would God have been unkind to cause this man's heart to fail before Christ promised him paradise? Would God have been unjust to harden this man's soul for scorning Christ as Christ suffered so immensely? Just think about the great patience and long-suffering God extended to this man. And God was not only gracious in the circumstances of his life, but in his patience with his constant rebellion against the Holy One that raged in his heart. What good did this man do to be brought to Christ in his final hours? The third thing I want you to think about is God's sovereign grace in the actual saving of his soul. When this criminal asked Christ to remember him, we read that Christ assured him that he would be with him in paradise. And I think this is just pure grace. And if this is not pure grace, I don't know what is. There's absolutely no goodness in this man to be recognized or admired. There was nothing he could do to earn or merit salvation. This man was dying on a cross. And as he cried out to the Lord from his heart, God promised him life. And there we rejoice in the words of Paul, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Though this man was a great sinner, we find that Jesus is a greater Savior. There is more mercy in Christ than there is sin in man. Marvelous grace. of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt. Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured, there where the blood of the Lamb was spilled. Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold, threatened the soul with infinite loss. Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold, points to the refuge, the mighty cross. Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe. all who are longing to see His face, will you this moment His grace receive? Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that will pardon and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that is greater than all of our sin. Was that hymn written for that man or what? Grace, grace in the circumstances of his life. Grace in God's patience towards his sinfulness and grace in the very saving of his soul. Now having examined three features of God's grace in this man's life that brought him to believe on Christ, I want you to note four practical lessons that God would have us to learn for our spiritual benefit. And the first lesson glimmering through the pages of the penitent thief's testimony is the truth that it is never too late to accept God's free gift of salvation. So long as someone has breath, so long as someone is still in their conscious state, there is still an opportunity to look to Christ and be saved. I may be speaking here to someone this morning who feels that they've done too much wrong against God. They feel as they look back at their life that God would never forgive them for the wicked sins that they've committed. If that's you, let this passage encourage you to see that it's never too late to accept God's free gift of salvation. And listen, it's only Satan's lies that cause you to think that the door of opportunity remains closed. Jesus says, all who come to me, I will in no wise cast out. Jesus says, whosoever believeth on me shall be saved. So there's no age limits. There are no sin limits. There are no condition attached to Jesus's promise to save. The only requirement of you is to repent and believe the gospel. That's it. So long as you have opportunity to be saved, you can be saved. It's never too late to call upon the name of the Lord. He's a savior who hears. and who's nearby. The second lesson that God wants us to learn from this passage is the truth that it is foolish and presumptuous to think that we will be like this man and have another opportunity to receive Christ at the time of our death. And I like what J.C. Ryle says. He says, quote, one penitent thief was saved in the hour of death that no man might despair, but only one that no man might presume. Let us put off nothing that concerns our souls, and above all, not put off repentance under the vain idea that it is a thing in our own power." End quote. So what Ryle is saying here is don't be so foolish to think that your heart will be soft enough to receive Christ on the day of your death because there was another man on the cross who had opportunity to look to Christ and be saved and he was hardened. So don't be foolish and presumptuous to think that you're gonna be the penitent thief on the cross rather than the hardened man on his cross. So while we rejoice in the fact that God saved this man on his deathbed, we must recognize the truth that this is not an ordinary experience, but an extraordinary experience. And this is why the Bible is full of exhortations, warning us not to boast ourselves of tomorrow. You and I have no guarantee that we're going to grow past 60, 70, 80, or 90. You and I have no guarantee that God will give us another chance to get right with him past this Sunday. There's no guarantee. This may be your last sermon. And that's why the Apostle Paul cries out in his writing, today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time. None of us know when our last day of death will come. All of you have been shocked by family members and friends who have gone before you. In our ordinary way of thinking, we think, They should have lived longer than they did, but God has our day of death written down on his eternal calendar, and there's nothing you can do to thwart that. None of us know when our day of death will come, or if our heart will be ready to receive Christ at our final hour, so the invitation is to receive Christ today, to call upon his name now. We're foolish. We're presumptuous to think that we will be like this man and have another opportunity to receive Christ at our day of death. And the third practical lesson that's staring us in the face in this passage is the sad reality that many lives have been wasted because they've refused to live for Christ in their youth. So turning this third lesson into an exhortation, let me prod you by saying you need to start living for Christ now. I don't know if this man's family had anything to do with him or if they were aware that he came to Christ before his death. But I'm sure it's likely that those who knew him remembered him by his sinful lifestyle and not by his turning to the Lord. So what I'm saying is, while we do rejoice in God giving grace to sinners near their death, it's very sad and it's very unfortunate for others to look back at someone's life and see days, weeks, and years wasted. Days, weeks, and years full of emptiness, trivial pursuits, and sorrowful regrets. So the exhortation preaching to us through this man is choose to live entirely for the Lord today. Remember God in the days of your youth. Don't wait until your life is ruined by your sinful choices. Don't wait for the drama that has caused so much hurt to your family. to be the only thing that's remembered by lost loved ones, submit yourself to God now. Don't waste your life. Life is a vapor. It appears for a little time and then vanishes away. You are going to be remembered by the testimony of your life. So what is your life preaching? Will people have to make up lies at your funeral? or will they speak the truth about your relationship with Christ? You see, this man got right with God in his final hour. Yes, we rejoice in that, but many only remembered him by his sinful actions, by continuing in a life of unbelief. So this is cause for us to get right with God now so that our life might shine as a testimony of His grace. And then lesson number four, Don't ever judge someone to be unsavable. Isn't this a wonderful lesson? Don't ever judge someone to be unsavable and how guilty we are of this. I don't care if they are the outcast of society. I don't care if they're a demon-possessed man or woman. I don't care if they're a persecutor of the church. If God's word teaches us one truth, it teaches us that God's power to save is greater than man's power to sin. God's power to save is greater than Satan's power to blind. God is able to change the hearts of the most wicked sinners to put his power and goodness on display. And I'm sure the Christian community might have been tempted to look at this penitent thief before his crucifixion, before his faith in Christ and think, there goes a hopeless cause. That man's getting what he deserves. This is his judgment. That man is surely on his way to hell. And yet what do we find? We find that when no man cared for this man's soul, God cared for a soul. So don't ever judge someone unsavable. Keep evangelizing and keep praying for your lost family members, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and those who want absolutely nothing to do with Christ. Sometimes God will shine the light of truth into someone's dark heart who has rejected your message time and time again. And how true this was in your life, no? Somebody invited you to church. Someone said they were praying for you. Somebody gave you a Bible. Somebody tried to witness to your soul. Somebody tried to evangelize you with the gospel. You turned it away, you scorned at it, you mocked it. You were mean and cruel to the messengers of God. You resisted God's mercy in submitting to him through his messengers and finally God broke through. Some of you were like this. We can pull out the pictures later. Some of you were like this hard penitent thief before his faith, where people wondered, are my prayers ever going to be answered? And if God has the power to break through to your soul, God has the power to break through any man's soul. And we see that illustrated also in Saul of Tarsus. persecutor of the church, one who is dragging Christians into prison, one who is as a dragon breathing threatenings and slaughters against the disciples of the Lord. And yet there was a humble man in his death, Stephen, who prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And who was among them? Saul of Tarsus. Stephen knew that God could change the heart of anyone. And if there's been a week that I have seen this truth miraculously illustrated in somebody's life, it's been this week. So let me share with you the story of my 79-year-old grandma. Now to set the context of her spiritual condition, I can tell you that while there were times as a young child that she attended the vacation Bible schools in different churches, there were times that she occasionally attended church in her adult years, I've personally never saw her read the scriptures. I've never seen her pray to the Lord. I've never once heard her tell the story how God has saved her soul and rescued her from hell. I can't think of one occasion in 36 years where I've heard her talk about how good God is. So regarding her faith, I think it is safe and gracious to say she had a nominal faith. My grandmother and my great-grandparents nominally went to church, but you could not tell in the fabric of their life that God was the love of their soul. There are many things that I saw and heard contrary to Christ being the king of her life. And regarding her physical health, her physical condition, my grandma and her health has declined drastically in the last several years. Actually, we are shocked that she has made it to the point where she is today. We are just absolutely surprised that God in his grace kept her alive to this point. Last month she was put on hospice care and she's been on oxygen for months. Years ago a stint was put in her heart and we thought that was going to be the time in which she passes from this life to the next. So long story short, this last week I got a call from my mom telling me Tuesday that she is dropping everything and getting on a last minute flight from Seattle to Phoenix to be with her mom during her dying days. And after that call, I came into this auditorium and I started crying out to the Lord. And I cried two simple prayers. I said, Lord, let the angels rejoice over one sinner who repents. Your word says that you are glorified when one sinner repents of their sin. So Lord, magnify your grace through my grandma. She doesn't deserve another opportunity. She doesn't deserve to be saved, but Lord, I know that you are great and greatly to be praised. And then I prayed in this auditorium for about 30 minutes. I said, Lord, if your grace is able to save the penitent thief on the cross, surely your grace is able to save my grandma. So I prayed and then I asked you to pray. And Wednesday came around and my grandma mentioned to my mom and to my aunt and to my cousin that she was going to die this weekend. My grandma had received word somehow, it's hard to decipher whether it was the medication or whether it was the Lord. I know that God works in mysterious ways and God is sovereign even over medication and people's health conditions. So I came to believe that the Lord was telling her that she had this weekend to get right with him. And then my grandma said to my mom, is Casey coming to help me to get to the other side? So there I knew I had to find a way to get there. A door of opportunity was open. Her heart was still tender, still willing to receive the Lord into her life. So I drove to Phoenix Wednesday night after church asking you to pray. And in the car ride there, I just had a spirit of rejoicing, rejoicing in God through song. I felt that the Lord was hearing our prayers. I felt like it was going to be a blessed opportunity when I got there. Got in about 12.30 midnight, woke up. My grandma went through her normal routine. The first thing she asked was for her coffee. She had her coffee. She took her medications orally as normal. When I came into the room, she recognized who I was. She asked about Becky and the kids. And then I asked her if she was ready to meet the Lord. And my grandma said, no. No. And I asked, why? Why, Grandma? And I didn't put any words into her mouth, but my grandma said, I've done too much wrong. I've got a sinful heart. And from that moment, I was able to share with her the good news of the gospel, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I got to explain to her that Christ became sin for us, who knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. And then I asked my grandma if she was ready to cry out to the Lord, and she said yes. And in the best way she knew how, she cried out from her heart to the Lord, asking God to save her soul. Now I want you to keep in mind that on Thursday morning, God gave us an unusual hour of semi-alertness for me to talk to her. After that conversation, she did not have any conversations over five minutes. God sovereignly worked out the arrangements for me to get there at that time to talk to her and gave her at least some alertness to speak to her about that soul. And ever since then, she's been sleeping. Friday comes around, several tried to wake her up. We got just a few little responses, but nothing of conversations. And then there was a three minute scope again where her eyes were open, And she was able to tell where she was and who we were. And I again asked her, I said, Grandma, are you ready to meet the Lord? And she said, He's so good. He's so good. Don't cry. He's so good. And of course, everybody started crying. And that was the final assurance that God had done a work in her soul to the glory of His name. So can God save sinners? Can God work miracles in anyone's life? We find from the pages of God's Word that He can and He does. And we see in the illustrations of others that He can and He does. This week alone, I've known three occasions in which God has shown mercy to someone's soul in the final days of their life. Now again, these are not ordinary, these are extraordinary, but they broadcast the truth that God is a good and gracious God. So I close by asking you this morning, where are you? Where are you with Christ? Do you know Him? Is He your Savior? Is He your Lord? Is He your hope? Is He your salvation? Is He your peace? Is Christ your greatest friend? And if not, the invitation to you this morning is believe. on the name of Christ. Turn to him in repentance and faith and receive him as your own. Recognize that Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive you of your sin. What else is there to live for in this life? Young people, listen to me. Children, teenagers, what are you going to waste your time on? Phones, video games? TV, movies? Do you want the end of your life to come and say, I did nothing for the Lord except stare at a screen? What is your life? It's even a vapor. Appears for a little time. and then vanishes away. If you don't know the Lord, oh, I encourage you this morning, come to Him. He's willing and able to forgive you of your sin. He's willing and able to change your life. Only one life will soon be passed and only what's done for Christ shall last. And that's it. God is so good. to undeserving sinners and we must all recognize that we are all undeserving sinners.