23, if you're able to stand with us in reverence to the Word of God in prayer, Luke chapter 23. It's a familiar text tonight, and I pray the Lord to use it to speak to us. Verse number 39. The Bible said in one of the male factors, which were Hain, reeled on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost thou not fear God, seeing that thou art of the same condemnation? 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 saith unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Father, Lord, I do pray tonight that you would bless the reading of thy word. I pray you would speak in our hearts. Lord, I pray tonight you would make Calvary real to us. Lord, help us to set our affections on things above and not on things of this earth. And Lord, speak to us in a personal manner. God, I pray that you would help us to receive with meekness the engrafted word. And God, I pray that you'd be pleased with our worship. May we see no man save Jesus only tonight. And we'll thank you for it. In Christ's name we do pray. Amen. Amen. You can be seated tonight. And I know if you're a Bible reader, you're familiar with this text and certainly the story of Calvary and the cross tonight as Luke is pinning it down. And as we look at these crosses tonight, I'm really not looking at the three crosses in and of themselves, but there's two ways we could view this text. We could view them as a whole. and then certainly we could view them as individuals. And if we look at these three crosses on this hillside as a whole, we know tonight in verse 39 that we do see a dying sinner, that this man died in his sin. We know that we see a dying saint in verse number 40 down to verse 42, that this man Though he started out on the road to Calvary lost, he found new life and left this world a saint of God. And then we see a dying Savior in verse number 43. As Jesus said, Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise. The man in verse 39 simply dies in his sin, while the man in verse 40 through 42 dies to his sin. And then the man in verse 43, thank God, he dies for our sin. He knew no sin, but because he was made the righteousness, or were made the righteousness of God in him. I not only believe Jesus did not sin, I believe he could not sin. If he could have sinned then, that would mean he could sin now. But he was sinless before this world began. He was sinless at Calvary, and he will still be sinless down through the ages. Amen? When we come to verse number 39 tonight, we see that this man is a very hateful man. You can see it, you can hear it in his voice. The man in verse 40 to 42 is a humble man. The cross has broken this man down and Christ has brought him to a place of humility. Oh, but the man in verse 43, he is a heavenly man and he is a holy man. He is the Holy Son of God. The man in verse 39 is full of greed as he thinks of only himself and says, save thyself and us, who he was really thinking about. He's a man that's full of greed. The man in verse 40 to 42 is a man that is full of guilt. But I'm glad to say tonight the man in verse 43, It's a man that is full of grace. Amen? For in his dying hour, as he is getting ready to leave this life, he does what he came to do. And that's to seek and to save that which is lost. And it's before Jesus draws his final breath, as the blood is still flowing from his veins. He reaches over and rescues one more sinner before he makes the crossing. Amen? You see the man in verse 39, he lost his identity. He died at Calvary that day, walked off the pages of the scripture, and is never mentioned again. And that's the way it is with any sinner that dies without God and goes to hell. They lose their identity. But the man in verse 40, down to verse 42, He did not lose his identity, but thank God his identity was changed, for he is not the same man that he started out when he went to Calvary. But the man in verse 43, his identity was not lost, and neither was it changed, for he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen. He is the Son of God. Amen. When we think about the man in verse number 39, we see this is a very bitter cross. You'll notice with me in verse 39 that this man is bitter and unbelieving. He's a man of no faith. Look what he said here. And one of the male factors which were hanged railed on him in the two-letter word here. He said, if thou be the Son of God. That two-letter word sent that man to hell. That's a word of no faith. It's a word of unbelief. I'm telling you, Brother Seton, if he would have just dropped that one word and said, Thou be the Christ, it would have made all the difference in his life, in this world, and in the world to come. But two letters, two-letter word sent this man to hell. He's a man of no faith. He's a man of no fear. He railed on the Son of God in his final moments of death. And then he's a man of no future as he's never mentioned again. It's a bitter cross. Verse number 43, there's that beloved cross. Well, I thank God for this cross, don't you? I mean, if you want to know what kind of man Jesus is, you can find out what kind of man He is in one verse, in His dying hour, in His last deed, in His last act at Calvary. You may have not heard anything or known anything about Him before the cross, but while He's on the cross, in just one saying, you can find a whole lot about who He is. And He's beloved. You say, what do you mean? The first word tells us He's a man of truth, as He said the word verily. Amen? You see, that word identified His very life. He was the very embodiment of truth. Everything Jesus ever said, it came to pass or it will come to pass. He never told a lie. He never stressed the truth. He always said exactly what was supposed to be said. He is the truth. He is the way, the truth, and the life. And thank God He's the man of truth. Amen. In that beloved cross, we see that He is a man of tenderness. As He said, I say unto thee. What about Jesus in His dying hour was willing to have a conversation with a sinner such as this? While every breath and every heartbeat was a sacrifice and was pain and agony, Jesus did not ignore this sinner. You say, why is that? Because he's a man of tenderness. He will not ignore any sinner. I'm telling you, if there's a sinner here on this Friday night, and if you want to be saved, you can be saved. A lady comes to me one time, and she said, I'm afraid I've crossed God's deadline. I said, what makes you think that? She said, I don't know. I think I've crossed this deadline. I said, do you want to be saved? She said, I do. I said, then you hadn't crossed this deadline because if you'd crossed this deadline, you wouldn't have wanted to be saved. I said, I've got good news for you. If you want to be saved, you can be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Amen. I'll say tonight, he's a man of tenderness. In his final hour, he rescued us and then he's a man of today. He said, today thou shalt be with me. Amen. I tell you for that old thing, it wouldn't have really mattered where Jesus was going. It wouldn't have really mattered what he was doing. He just knew that where he was going, he was going with him. I tell you, I don't know where life's going to take me. And you don't know where life's going to take you. But I'm glad I'm not going through this life by myself. I'm glad, thank God, between here and yonder, I've got a good shepherd. I've got a good shaker. I've got an unseen hand that'll lead me through this walk of life. Amen. He's a man of treasures. Thank God. He said, today, you're going to be with me in paradise. I mean, what about this man? Spent his whole life thieving. Died with nothing, not even the clothes on his back, but wound up in paradise. Didn't have to do a con to get there. He just had to come clean. There's the bitter cross. There's the beloved cross. But this middle, it's not the middle cross at Calvary, but it is in the text. I want to think about this believing cross. Because it's interesting, I know when we go to Calvary, we always look at Jesus, and rightfully so. And I was reading this one day, and what caught my attention is that this man, a preacher, you know this, he started out the same way as the other man, railing the same accusation in his teeth. But somewhere between on that Via Dolorosa, somewhere on that road from Jerusalem to Calvary's brow, you know what happened to him? It's theology change. I want to preach a few minutes on this subject, on the theology of a thief. Because the word theology just simply means the study of God. And this thief never went to Bible college. He never got a degree. He wouldn't know some of those big words that we throw around and that we hear sometimes said. And he didn't have a lot of time to really figure out who Jesus was. That's the good thing about Jesus. He's not hard to figure out. He ain't playing games with sinners. You see, some people struggle with their salvation. Some need to be saved. But some, they try so hard to be sure that they're saved that they complicate salvation. But I'm going to tell you something. God ain't playing hide and seek with nobody. Amen? And Calvary's for anybody. And the road is wide. And the blood still flows. And God, you can have a no-show salvation if you want to. And this thief didn't have a lot of time to study God. But he must have studied Him. Because when he gives to Calvary, he believes It's amazing to me what he believes. You say, what do you mean? Notice with me in this text, and we'll be done tonight. I want you to see, first of all, in verse number 40, look at what he believes about his Maker. Amen? The Bible said, but the other answered rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God? Now, he believes some things about God. Obviously, he didn't. I don't know how much theology he had about God starting out, but by the time he gets to Calvary, he believes two very important things about his Maker. Number one, he believes his Maker is real. Amen? He said, does thou not fear God? I'm telling you, listen, it didn't look like he feared God starting out. But the closer he got to Calvary, the clearer he saw his Maker. That's what Calvary does. Calvary shines a light on the stranger. But Calvary shines a light on the Father. And when he got to Calvary, he believed God was real. And Calvary will make you believe God's real. If you've ever been to Calvary, if you've ever seen the Lord, you'll believe that God is real. Amen. And then he believed that his Maker ought to be reverenced. He said, dost thou not fear God? The Bible said the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. It's the beginning of the conversation. In this text here, he starts out on the right path. He's fearing God. He believes some things about his maker. I want to stay with this thief tonight. I believe the same thing. Theologically, he believes. I believe God is real tonight. I want to go on record and say God is real. And I believe God ought to be reverenced. Amen. I'm telling you tonight, you said, preacher, how do you know he's real? A songwriter said, I know he's real because I feel him down deep in my soul. And can I tell you tonight, I know he's real because the Bible says so. But I know he's real tonight because he's been real in my life. And he'll be real in your life. I see what he believed about his Maker. And notice what he believed about mankind. He believed that mankind was dying. Pretty easy for him to figure that out on the cross. He's hanging there next to Jesus, and the other thief is on the other side. And all three of them are dying. It's an illustration of Hebrews 9, 27. He didn't have the verse, but he felt it and he saw it in reality. He knew he had come to the end of life. He knew that he was dying and that all mankind is going to die. The Bible says it is appointed a man once to die, and after this the judgment. The Bible said for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Bible said the soul that sinneth shall surely die. I'm telling you, every man, woman, boy, and girl outside the trumpet in the rapture that may happen before we finish tonight, we've got a death sentence hanging over us. We've got an appointment with death. And this old boy believed that mankind was dying. No convincing him. He's already convinced. And he believed that mankind was deserving. Look what he said. Dost thou not fear God, seeing that thou art in the same condemnation? Look what he said in verse 41. And we indeed justly. For we receive the dear rewards of our deeds. He said, do you not fear God? He said, we receive justly. We're receiving the dear rewards of our deeds. He believed he was dying. He believed that mankind deserved what he got. And so, boys, come to the realization, I'm getting what I deserve. I'm guilty as charged. I don't deserve anything any better than this. I deserve death. I deserve hell. I'm telling you, when a sinner gets to a place where they know God is real, and God ought to be reverenced, and they know they're dying, and they know they deserve death and they deserve hell, I'm going to say they're getting on the right track. Amen. He believed that mankind was depraved. He said in verse 40, he said, see, and I'll end the same condemnation. He believed that man was condemned to die. What he believed about his Maker, what he believed about mankind, but notice what he believed, thank God, about the Master. I'm glad it gets a little bit better the further you read. He said in verse 41, and we indeed justly, for we receive the dear rewards of our deeds but this man. He said, now, I can tell you about me and you, Mr. Thief. We're dying, and we're depraved, and we're deserving. That's what I believe about mankind. You need to fear God because He's real, and He needs to be reverenced. That's what I believe about our Maker. I'll tell you what I believe about this man. I'll tell you about this man. This man's different, amen? You say, Mr. Thief, What do you believe about this man, about this master?" He said, I'll tell you what I believe. I believe this man's sinless. Amen? He said, but this man, notice this, he hath done nothing amiss. He said, you and I are just two old sorry sinners, but not this man. You and I deserve to die and go to hell, but not this man. You and I deserve these crosses, but not this man. You and I deserve to shed this blood, but not this man. This man hadn't done anything. He heard Pilate say, I find no fault in it. Listen, he heard that. He didn't start out believing that. That's what Calvary does. It changes your thinking. It changes your theology. When he saw the blood and when he saw Calvary, all of a sudden, he said, he's not like us, but not this man. Hallelujah. He believed he was sinless. And then he believed he was sovereign. Look what he said in verse 42. And he sent unto Jesus, first word he says to Jesus, Lord. That's a word of sovereignty. And I'm not a Calvinist. And I'm not ashamed to say I'm not a Calvinist. In fact, I'll go as far as to say this. You don't become a Calvinist from reading the Bible. You become a Calvinist from reading after Calvinists. Amen. But Jesus wasn't a Calvinist, amen? And if you're not fishing, you're not following, amen? I'll tell you, Jesus, He's hanging on the cross, and it's interesting the thief uses that word because this thief is the only one that called Jesus Lord when He was on the cross. Not the disciples, not anybody else, but a lost, hell-bound sinner who's as close to Calvary as you can be without getting saved. He's starting to believe some things about this master. He's sinless. He's sovereign. He's Lord. I want to say tonight, I believe the same thing this thief believes. Don't you? I believe he's sinless. I believe he's sovereign. I don't know what's going to happen in this world. I tell you, I'm not trusting in our government. I'm not trusting. I think God for our military ought to have double the more. Isn't that right? I'm telling you, listen, I believe in God, guns, amen, guts, and glory. Don't you? And grit in between. I think everybody ought to own a 1611 and a 1911. Amen? I think that's right. But can I tell you something? I'm not trusting in this world. I'm not trusting in military power. I'm not trusting in economical strength. I'm not trusting in my free other things of this world. There's an all-knowing, all-sovereign God that's in control of all things, and nothing's going to happen at what it don't pass through His hands. Hallelujah. I like what he believed about the Master, and I want you to see what he believed about mercy. Because now this old thief is going to get down to business in verse 42. He says, Lord, remember me. I mean, tonight, when you think about it, just a simple prayer. Not a lot of time for this old thief to pray. His theology has totally changed about Christ. He believes he's the master, that he's sinless. He believes that he's sovereign. But I can see him as he's hanging there on the cross. He doesn't have anything to offer Jesus. He's made a wreck of His entire life. His very life is flowing out of His veins as He's hanging there, gasping for every breath. taking that any moment, the next breath could be his very last. The clutches of death has already got a hold of him, and the demons of hell, no doubt, have rallied around the cross, not just to watch him to die, but to claim two more victims to the charred walls of the damned. But in the midst of it all, his feet says, I don't have a pedigree. I don't have any good works. I don't have anything to offer him. But I heard something about this man. I heard this man was a man of mercy. And the only terms I can come on, the only plea that I'm going to have, the only thing that I can plea for is mercy. And he said, Lord, I'm not asking for much, but would You remember me? You know what he believed about mercy? He believed it was possible. And he believed it was possible in his final hours of life. People say, well, I don't think people get saved at the end of life. It ain't for me to say that. I don't believe you can lean toward hell all your life and just plan to go to heaven in the very end. Probably don't work out that way for most people. I'll tell you, this thief had been a thief all of his life. He hadn't met Jesus, but this is his only opportunity to meet Jesus. And in this moment, here's what he does. He believes that no matter how rotten and sorry and low down, he'd be at mercy as possible for anyone, anywhere, at any time. And can I tell you, that is the gospel message. He said it knows no bounds. It knows no limitations. It can go to any region. It can go to any nationality. It doesn't matter the depth of depravity. I'm telling you where sin doth abound, grace doth much more abound. And Calvary's blood, it covers it all. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. But it can wash them all away. It can take all of my sins away at Calvary. Hallelujah. He believed mercy was possible. Not like this. He believed it was personal. Because he said, Lord, remember me. Remember me. Thief, why would you think that when he left the agony of this world, he would remember somebody like you? Only one answer to that question. Because Jesus is a man of mercy. I don't know if I see somebody here lost tonight. I'm sure most people sitting in this building probably saved. You'll never know who might be here tonight. I will tell you tonight, if you're here and you're lost, the same mercy He found at the foot of the cross is the same mercy you can find tonight. I like what He believed about the Master. I like what He believed about mercy. But I'll tell you something else He believed tonight. I want you to see what He believes about majesty. Because He believed more than the fact that Jesus was just sinless and sovereign. That mercy was possible and personal. But he believes some things about majesty. You say, what do you mean? Look what he said in verse 42, Lord remember me when thou comest, notice this, into, you ought to circle that next word, thy kingdom. You know what he believed about Jesus? He believed he was a king. It didn't matter what the world said about him. He said, Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. He believed Jesus was king. Not only did he believe he was a king, but he believed he had a kingdom. Amen? I mean, think about this. He believed Jesus was king. I want to say he is king. Amen? He's the king of heaven. He's the king of earth. And he's the king of hell. He's the king of kings. He's the king of the ages. He's the king of all times. He is king. He was king in eternity past. He's king in eternity present. And he'll be king in the future. My friend, one of these days, he'll set that kingdom up on this earth. And it may be sooner than this world thinks. And for 1,000 glorious years, Jerusalem is going to be the capital of this world. And my friend, it's going to shine brighter, 10 times brighter than the moon days. And the new Jerusalem's going to hover over. And the King of all glory is going to sit on the throne. And while the ages roll, we'll praise Him. Hallelujah. He believed Jesus was King. He believed He had a kingdom. And I like this. He believed His kingdom was beyond this world. He said, Lord, He knows He's dying. He said, Remember Me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. Now, He knows this. He knows Jesus is dying, but he knows he's a king, and he knows he's going to a kingdom, and he knows his kingdom isn't in this world, so it must be in another world. That thief knows he's dying. He said, Lord, in plain old North Carolina language, if there's any room for me in that kingdom, would you remember me? Calvary's a good place to start talking about the kingdom of God. And he believed that Jesus was king. He believed that Jesus had a kingdom. He believed that his kingdom was beyond this world. That's what he believed about majesty. I'll tell you something else he believed. He believed that he wanted to go with him. Amen. I'm going to tell you tonight, I believe Jesus is King. I believe He's got a kingdom. I believe that kingdom's beyond this world. I want to stay tonight with that old thief. I believe I want to go with him. Don't you? I'm telling you, this world doesn't hold anything for me tonight. If a trumpet was to sound right now, thank God we'd get out of here in the moment, the twinkling of an eye at the last trump. Thank God on the hillsides of glory, they're already getting ready. And thank God the bride is making herself ready, and it's not going to be long. Some golden daybreak, Jesus is coming, and we're leaving this walk of life. Hallelujah. Getting out of here, aren't we? I believe every bit of that, don't you? And I was reading that one day, and I came to this thought where the Lord must have brought it to my mind. Where do the men that started out believing nothing Learned to believe so much in so little of a time. How did he come to all of that theology from Jerusalem? Casting the same thing as he was coming through the streets. Casting the same thing, the railings in his teeth as that other thief. But something changed. When and where did that change? How did all that change? I think the answers are right here. You say, what do you mean? I think there was four things, and this is not the sermon that I'll give it to you and be done. I think there was four things that changed his theology. And I think it started at Calvary. I don't think it started in Jerusalem, as obviously he was railing on the Son of God. But when he got to the top of that brow, Calvary changes our thinking. If we can ever get a sinner to Calvary, it can change them. As we see in the other things, they may not all get saved. But if we can get them to Calvary, Calvary can make the difference. Calvary can do what we cannot do. You say, what was it? I think if you look at verse 33, I think it was the torture of Christ. Notice what the Bible says, and when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, notice this, there they crucified him. Jesus must have been crucified first. And the male factors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Now, I don't know if he was on the right or the left. I kindly want to think he was on the right side. Maybe somebody can straighten me out on that. I wouldn't be offended if you could. I'm just saying I don't really know. But I know Jesus, when they came to Calvary, there they crucified him. You say, what was it that changed this theology? I think it was the torture of Christ. You see, this man had obviously seen men crucified before they all had. Crucifixion was a common thing in that day. And they saw many people get crucified. But they never saw a man get crucified like this man. And when they got to the top of that brow, Jesus got crucified. His crucifixion was different than the other two. Like any other man, they fought, they wrestled, they struggled. But not Jesus. No doubt that other thief was, no doubt, spilling out all kinds of bitter cursings and things and railing on everyone. And the angry mob was shouting. But in the midst of all of that, the Bible said, and I say, that he went to the car cross as a lamb to the slaughter, as a sheep before shears is done. And he opened not his mouth. Jesus carried that cross like a man to the top of that hill. He laid that cross down, and to everyone's surprise, not one soldier had to fight Him on the cross. They took the hammer, and they took the nail, and Jesus laid down, and He laid His hand down, and He willingly, and as gentle as it could be done, He was crucified in the midst of that mob. For people that think they have to get the last word, when people say things to you, You need to hang around the cross a little more. Jesus did not have the last word. And I think that thief stood there in amazement. And he watched Jesus get tortured. And it spoke to him. It was the torture of Christ. Then I think it was the temperament of Christ. Look at verse 34. Now Jesus is on the cross. And he wants to say something. They're all hanging there now they've been crucified. And the first thing Jesus says is a prayer. Three of the seven saints were prayers. This is the first of the seven saints. Christ is on the cross. The first person. He had nothing to say to Herod. He said very little to Pilate. He said nothing to the soldiers. He had nothing to say to the angry mob. But when he got to Calvary, when he got crucified, and they elevated that cross, and they dropped it in, now all of a sudden Jesus has someone he wants to talk to. But it's not in this world. It's in the next world. He wants to talk to his father. And the first two words, or first word, is father. And the second word is forgive. And the third word is them. What about this? This thief is hearing all of this. He watched this man get crucified. He watched him as a lamb before the slaughter. And now he's praying a prayer in the midst of his agony. But he's not praying for himself. He's praying for the very ones. that put him on the cross, and it's a prayer of forgiveness. I believe this thief, as he saw the torture and he saw the temperament of Christ, he must have thought, if Jesus could forgive them for what they just did to him, then just maybe he could forgive me for all the things that I've done. Hallelujah. The temperament. He watched him pray. You know, I've heard preachers, people say this in church. Well, you can't forgive people if they don't ask for it. Read that verse. That crowd didn't ask for it and they didn't appreciate it. But he still forgave them. Forgiveness doesn't have anything to do with how people treat me. It's how I treat them. I think it was the temperament of Christ. Then I think it was the toning of Christ. Look at verse number 35. The people stood beholding. They're looking at the cross now. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, notice this. Here's what they said. He saved others. Now, I know there's more to that. But I think that thief caught that. Wait a minute. I just watched him forgive others. They're saying that he saved others. If He can forgive others, He might forgive me. If He can save others, I wonder if He could save me. I'm telling you, this thief, he's getting the gospel preached to him through an angry crowd. God will always have His way. God will always have the last word, even when it looks like man. You know, I'm telling you what's happening around this world and the wars that are taking place. You mark it down. There's an unseen hand that's working behind the nation of Israel. There's an unseen hand. My friend, they're just – listen, all these terrorists. And all these evil people of this day, they're nothing more than puppets on strings. God is still in control. If He was in control at Calvary, He is in control right now. Hallelujah. You don't have to be a Calvinist to believe that. The atoning of Christ. What they said resonated in His soul. He saved others. I think it was the torture, the temperament, the atoning that finally It always comes down to this. It was the truth. You say, what do you mean? The truth about Christ is said two different times. It is said in verse number... How did he know Jesus was a king? How did he know Jesus had a kingdom? Look at what the soldiers said in verse 37. Even though they were mocking him, they said, if thou be the king, save thyself. If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. But then, in verse 38, a superscription was also written. You know, it always comes down to what's written in it. If you get saved, you've got to put faith in what's been written. Mr. Thief, how did you know it was a king and had a kingdom? Well, I heard about it. But that was said in doubt. If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. But then I saw where it was written. And there was no doubt it was written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrews. Notice the phrase that was written, This is the King of the Jews. I think that sealed the deal for that thief. He watched Jesus get crucified. He heard the prayer, Father forgive him. He heard the taunting. He saved others. But then he read the truth. is that superscription was put up, this is the king. And he probably thought to himself, what have I got to lose? I've tried everything else. Look where it's got me. And he looked over at him and he said, Lord, and I think when he said Lord, he was on the right track. Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Now I'll tell you what thrills my soul about this text tonight. Is that this old thief was the last companion that Jesus had on this earth. The last conversation outside talking to his father. It's the last companion he had on this earth. But it's the first companion he had when he got to the other side. Can you imagine what paradise must have been like? When somebody announced, I don't know if it was an Old Testament patriarch or an age, I don't know who it was, but could you imagine what it must have been like on the other side of paradise when Jesus started coming through those gates and the announcement was made that, hey, here comes the Son of God, Calvary. Jesus has just paid the price. The blood has been put on the mercy seat. The altar has been satisfied in heaven. And he doesn't come in by himself. He came to seek and save that which is lost. I tell you, when he left this world, he brought a sinner through the gates of paradise with him. Amen? I'm telling you, he brought that sinner in. Hallelujah. I don't know what that thief thought, but he had to think this. He had to think this. As he walked through the gates of paradise, and he saw this crowd, and he looked across that gulf, And he saw that crowd. If he didn't know anything, he knew this. I was just a few breaths away from being over there. And I ought to be over there. That's where I was headed my whole life. But because of Calvary. But because of Jesus. He probably went through paradise telling everybody, you know, I don't belong over here. I'm not like the rest of y'all. I didn't have a pedigree. I didn't go to the synagogue. I'm just an old sorry low-down thief. I tell you where I ought to be. I ought to be on the other side where you see all of them. What you do? over here. I'll tell you why I'm over here. The only reason I'm over here, I've been to Calvary. I've seen the Lord. I met Jesus. I got under the grippings of Calvary. I put my, I changed my theology. I started on my road to Calvary on my way to hell. And by the time I get there, I'm on my way to heaven. And can I tell you 30 something years ago, I was on my way to hell. But a bus picked me up one day and took me to Calvary and put me under the grippings of Calvary. And I got in the family of God. Hallelujah. And tonight as we stand on this Friday night, I really don't even know what proposition to give. If you're lost, you need to be saved tonight. Come take preacher by the hand or somebody by the hand. But I'll tell you tonight, you don't have to come because I'm giving this invitation. But if you feel the need to come, you ought to come. Maybe tonight it's just to get around the cross. and say, Lord, thank you. Thank you for saving my soul. You've heard great preaching all week. You've heard great singing. You know, I'm glad I'm not a Muslim tonight. But I could have been. I'm glad I'm not a Jehovah Witness. I'm not a Catholic. I'm glad I know the truth tonight. I'm glad I've been to Calvary. Tonight, while our heads are about eyes are closed, as she plays softly, pastor's going to come. You just do what the Holy Ghost tells you to. If you need to come to this altar, get around the foot of the cross and say, Lord, I don't want anything, but I just want to say thank you. I'm not going to think less of you if you don't come. Don't come if you don't feel the need to come. But if you feel like you ought to come tonight, I know where I ought to be. And I know where I'd be going tonight if it wasn't for Jesus. If it wasn't for the cross, I'd be in Old Rock somewheres tonight, either in jail or in hell. And I thank God that one day the gospel kingdom endorsed it. Thank God. He saved my never dying soul. It's just good to be saved tonight. Don't ever get away from it. If you're cold and indifferent, if you're backslid on God, I'll tell you what you need tonight. You need to curl up under the foot of the shadow of the cross and say, Lord, I just need it to be reminded. You've been better to me than what I deserve. You've done far more than I've ever expected. I'm telling you, life's too short to forget the cross and what Jesus did for you tonight. I wonder where your children would be. I wonder where your grandchildren would be tonight if it wasn't for Calvary. Lord, thank you tonight. Thank you for the blood that you shed on the cross. Thank you for your willingness to come. Thank you for saving our sorry souls, for pulling us out of the pit, Thank you for this pastor, this church, these people, and every church represented here tonight. God truly bless them. Bless them financially, spiritually, and numerically, we pray in Jesus' name.