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male announcer: This
presentation is brought to you
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by the friends of the
Amazing Facts Ministry.
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Doug Batchelor: There's really
only two kings in this world.
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You can either serve
Jesus, or you serve the enemy.
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People hate to think of it
that way, but you've really got
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Christ or Satan,
that's all you have.
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Some folks say, "Well,
I'm not gonna get involved,
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I'm neutral."
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Jesus said that's not an option.
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He said you're either
with me, or against me.
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Doug: You know, I want to
share something with you that is
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always fascinating to me.
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It's a passage you find in
the book of Isaiah that sort
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of outlines the
science of salvation.
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It's the steps in conversion.
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Chapter 6 is where you find
Isaiah's conversion experience.
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And it says, "In the year
that King Uzziah died," this is
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Isaiah 6:1, "I saw the Lord
sitting on a throne, high and
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lifted up, and the train of
his robe filled the temple."
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So, he sees God.
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He sees him on his throne.
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He sees the Lord in the
year that his king died.
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I think that's
interesting, good King Uzziah.
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And it tells us, "Above
his throne stood the seraphim,"
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these angelic creatures.
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"Each one had six wings, with
two he covered his face, with
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two he covered his
feet, and with two he flew.
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And one cried to another
and said, 'Holy, holy, holy, is
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the Lord of hosts.
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The whole earth is
full of his glory.'
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And the posts of the door were
shaken by the voice of him who
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cried out, and the
house was filled with smoke."
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Now what would you do if
you saw something like that?
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Well, Isaiah saw
the glory of God.
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He saw the holiness of
God and he was overwhelmed.
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And he said, "Woe
is me, I am undone.
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Because I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst
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of a people of unclean lips.
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For mine eyes have seen
the King, the Lord of hosts."
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He repents and confesses his sin
after he sees the goodness of
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God and the power of God.
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"Then one of the seraphim flew
to me, having in his hand, coal
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that he had taken with tongs
from the altar, and he touched
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my mouth with it, and he
said, 'Behold, this has touched
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your lips.
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Your iniquity is taken
away, your sin purged.'"
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What a beautiful story.
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As soon as he sees God,
he confesses, he repents, his
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iniquity is taken
away, his sin is purged.
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And after he's cleansed from
his sin, it says, "Then I heard
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the voice of the Lord."
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You know, after you come to
the Lord, and you repent of your
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sin, and you're washed
from sin, you hear God speaking
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in a new way.
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It's like when Christ
came out of the water.
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There was this
voice from heaven.
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God speaks to us and guides us
through his Spirit in a new way
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when we're converted.
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And that voice says, "Who will
I send, and who will go for us?"
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And then it said,
"Here am I, send me."
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Isaiah responded, and God
said, "Go, tell those people."
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It starts with his seeing
the Lord, it ends with his
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going for the Lord.
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Salvation really
begins with seeing God.
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The Bible tells us the goodness
of God leads us to repentance.
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But it really is all summed
up in first he saw the Lord, and
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not only did he see the
Lord, the Bible tells us he saw
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the Lord in the
year that his king died.
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You know, it's at the cross that
we really see the Lord the best.
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And as I mentioned in our
opening remarks, this is what
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the world refers
to as Good Friday.
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That time when 2,000 years ago,
Jesus successfully culminated
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the plan of salvation by living
a sinless life and then dying
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on our behalf.
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And when we really see what
God has done for us, that has
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a transformational power.
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And you know, that I
think is the key to revival.
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I wanna take you to that Friday
afternoon, and we're gonna go
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to Luke chapter 23.
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And this is--the message is
really the thief on the cross,
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as you've gathered.
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"Then one of the criminals were
hanged," crucified, "Blasphemed
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him, saying, 'If you are the
Christ, save yourself and us.'
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But the other answered and
rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not
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even fear God, seeing you
are under the same condemnation?
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And we indeed
justly, for we receive the
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due rewards for our deeds.
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But this man, Jesus,
had done nothing wrong.'"
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Then he turns and he says to
Jesus, "Lord, remember me when
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you come into your kingdom.'
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And Jesus said to him,
'Assuredly I say to you, today
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you will be with
me in paradise.'"
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What a wonderful promise.
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Now, you don't find this story
in Matthew, or Mark, or John,
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it's only here in the Gospel of
Luke that he gives that account.
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And I'm so glad that it's
there, because this story of an
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11th-hour conversion really
gives a lot of people hope.
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Now, I don't recommend that
anybody waits till the 11th hour
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before they make their
decision to come to the Lord.
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I think it was Matthew Henry
that said one time, "There is
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one example of an 11th-hour
conversion in the Bible,
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so nobody needs to lose hope."
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But then he added, "Keep in mind
there is only one example of
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an 11th-hour conversion,
so nobody dare presume."
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I think people that plan on
waiting until the final hours
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of their life before they
surrender their lives to the
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Lord, it usually
doesn't work out that way.
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We don't know whether or not
we're gonna die suddenly, so you
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don't want to plan that way.
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You want to give the Lord your
life and your best now, 'cause
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it's always better to live the
Christian life than to wait and
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live for the devil and offer
to the Lord the leftovers just
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before you drop
off into the grave.
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Now, there have been some people
that, praise the Lord, I was at
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more than one hospital bed when
somebody gave their heart to the
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Lord, and I prayed with
them in just the final days
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of their life.
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And I believe I'll
see them in the kingdom.
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But you don't ever want to plan
your life that way, but there
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is hope in that.
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Now, when we're looking at this
story, there's so many things we
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can learn from this.
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First of all, the conversion
takes place at the cross.
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You know, one of the great
passages in the Bible, it talks
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about Galatians
chapter 2, verse 20.
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"I have been
crucified with Christ.
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It is no longer I who live,
but Christ that lives in me.
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And the life that I now live in
the flesh, I live by the faith
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of the Son of God who loved
me and gave himself for me."
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You know, when I read that, it
occurred to me one time, there's
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only a couple of people that
were actually crucified with
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Christ, literally.
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There were two thieves,
and one of them was saved.
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So, I made it a special interest
of mine to study what happened
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in this example.
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Something else about these
two thieves is it says they were
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guilty of murder.
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Well, Jesus said, "If anyone is
angry with his brother without
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a cause, he's guilty of murder."
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We can have homicide in our
hearts, it's not just an action,
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it can be an attitude.
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And we also learn from
this story they could do nothing
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to save themselves.
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So, here they are,
they're under a death sentence,
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like all of us.
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They're guilty of murder, and
robbery, blasphemy, it says they
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blasphemed Jesus to begin with.
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You know, Jesus was on the
cross for about six hours alive,
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one hour dead, a total of
seven hours, very interesting.
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Last hour on the
cross, he was resting.
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And during the time of the
crucifixion, originally both
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thieves sort of engaged in
asking Jesus to use his power
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to save them.
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But as the hours wore
on, something began to happen
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in the heart of
one of those thieves.
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Now, I'm going to tell
you in a series of points
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here what happened.
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And this thief, he went through,
it says, I'll just tell you
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real quick.
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He beheld the evidence,
he believed, he broadcast,
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he beseeched, he
became, and he was blessed.
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And so, this thief goes
through a transformation.
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He goes through the steps
of conversion on the cross.
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Now, the reason we're looking at
this in studying the subject of
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the new heart is because
I believe we can apply these
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principles to our lives,
and say, "Lord, have I gone
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through these steps?"
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So, let's look at some
of these things together.
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Well, first of all it
says he beheld the evidence.
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I just talked to you
about the story of Isaiah.
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Isaiah saw the Lord.
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Something happens when we see.
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Jesus said, "If I am lifted up,
I will draw all men unto me."
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And as we behold, Christ said,
"As Moses lifted up the serpent
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in the wilderness."
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You remember all the Israelites
there in the book of Numbers.
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They were bitten by
serpents, and they were dying.
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And Moses was instructed to make
a bronze serpent, and put it on
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a pole, and he lifted it
up in a position of visibility
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for everybody.
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And those that looked in
faith were healed of the venom.
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And Jesus said, "As Moses lifted
up the serpent, so the Son
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of Man must be lifted up."
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And you know, we sing that song,
"Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus."
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And John the Baptist, when
he first identified Christ,
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he said,
"Behold, the Son of God."
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Something happens when we see.
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Our eyes are
opened in a special way.
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The conversion of
Isaiah, he saw the Lord.
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Paul on the road to
Damascus, he saw the Lord.
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What did Zacchaeus want?
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He wanted to see Jesus.
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These and many others in the
Bible, their conversion began
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with getting a picture
of God and his goodness.
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And then that led to
repentance and the other steps
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in the process.
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So, this man
sees Jesus lifted up.
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He saw his king in
the year that he died.
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You know, there's
real power in the cross.
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Go through your hymnal sometime
and look at how many songs
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revolve around the
theme of the cross.
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Whether it's "Beneath the Cross
of Jesus," or "At the Cross,
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At the Cross," and so
many others, there's real power
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in the blood, as they say.
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So, he beholds the evidence.
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He sees the contrast
between Barabbas and Jesus.
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See, that man was a
witness to the trial of Pilate.
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So, when Pilate, you know,
there were three crosses already
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prepared that day, Barabbas was
supposed to die on one of them.
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Pilate thought, "I've gotta
trick to see if I could get
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Jesus set free."
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Pilate didn't want
to have him crucified.
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His wife had warned him,
don't do anything against
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that just man.
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So, he said I'll take this
hardened criminal, Barabbas, and
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I'll set him next to Jesus
who has already been beaten, and
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they'll have empathy,
and they'll say let Jesus go.
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But it didn't work that way.
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Well, this thief was
watching this all unfold.
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He saw the whole drama of
the religious leaders saying,
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"Give us Barabbas."
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And as a result of that,
that made an impression on him.
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He saw the sign
above Jesus's head.
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He's hanging from the cross, and
maybe at an angle where he can
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read it, and it says,
"This is the king of the Jews."
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Well, that should
tell you something.
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He saw the darkness of the day.
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He overheard Jesus, I'm assuming
that the two thieves were
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crucified first, and then
the Romans, they crucified
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Jesus last.
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And he heard Jesus say, "Father,
forgive them, they don't know
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what they're doing."
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And he realized this is my
only hope, so he beholds the
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evidence, and then he
believes the evidence.
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It's one thing to know the
evidence, it's another thing
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to believe it.
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You know, the devil knows the
Bible is true, but he doesn't
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believe it.
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He's not willing to surrender
to it, and have faith in it,
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and follow it.
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This man actually
acts upon the evidence.
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When he sees that Jesus is
the Messiah, the Savior of the
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world, he ends
up asking for help.
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And so, this begins to work in
his heart, and he realizes this
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is the Messiah.
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He settles the
faith in his mind.
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You know, we cannot
be saved without faith.
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This man believes.
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Now, what separates this
thief from the one on the left?
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You know, both
thieves asked to be saved.
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The thief on the left said, "If
you're the Savior, and if you're
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the Christ, save
yourself and us."
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What did the devil say to
Jesus when he came with the
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temptations in the wilderness?
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He said, "If
you're the Son of God."
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Father came to Christ in Mark
chapter 9, he's got his son that
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is tormented by a demon, and he
says the demon throws my son in
00:12:12.13\00:12:16.00
the fire, and he throws him in
the water, and he says, "But if
00:12:16.03\00:12:18.93
you can do anything," Jesus
just stopped when he said that,
00:12:18.97\00:12:22.30
and he said if.
00:12:22.34\00:12:23.77
If you believe, all
things are possible.
00:12:23.81\00:12:26.57
And so, it is so important
to the Lord to believe.
00:12:26.61\00:12:29.78
And you know, some of us, you
might be saying, "Pastor Doug,
00:12:29.81\00:12:32.28
I just don't have
enough faith, what I do?"
00:12:32.31\00:12:34.35
Pray the prayer that
father prayed in that story.
00:12:34.38\00:12:36.95
He said, "Lord, I believe.
00:12:36.99\00:12:39.19
Help my unbelief."
00:12:39.22\00:12:41.36
So, even if you've got
faith like a grain of mustard
00:12:41.39\00:12:43.96
seed, come.
00:12:43.99\00:12:45.33
This thief evidently
had some faith there.
00:12:45.36\00:12:48.56
And he turned to Christ then.
00:12:48.60\00:12:50.97
Not only did he believe
the evidence, he broadcast
00:12:51.00\00:12:55.20
his convictions.
00:12:55.24\00:12:57.11
He had the courage to
actually speak up and say
00:12:57.14\00:12:59.34
something about it.
00:12:59.37\00:13:00.78
In Luke chapter 23:40: "Do you
not even fear God, seeing you're
00:13:00.81\00:13:05.65
under the same condemnation?
00:13:05.68\00:13:07.72
And we indeed justly."
00:13:07.75\00:13:09.58
This is him repenting
and confessing publicly.
00:13:09.62\00:13:13.09
He says we're
getting what we deserve.
00:13:13.12\00:13:15.39
"For with the heart one believes
unto righteousness, and with the
00:13:15.42\00:13:18.73
mouth confession is
made unto salvation."
00:13:18.76\00:13:21.76
It's one thing to believe the
Lord, but you can't always be
00:13:21.80\00:13:24.30
a secret Christian.
00:13:24.33\00:13:25.77
Someone once said that there's
really no such thing as a secret
00:13:25.80\00:13:28.84
Christian, because either your
Christianity will destroy the
00:13:28.87\00:13:32.31
secrecy, or your secrecy
will destroy the Christianity.
00:13:32.34\00:13:36.18
But it's just so hard to
keep the good news a secret.
00:13:36.21\00:13:40.78
And if you let that happen,
pretty soon the good news
00:13:40.82\00:13:43.39
dies away.
00:13:43.42\00:13:44.75
This man could not keep it to
himself in front of everybody.
00:13:44.79\00:13:47.39
You know what?
00:13:47.42\00:13:48.92
Some people are afraid to
testify for Jesus in a crowd
00:13:48.96\00:13:51.56
where it's not popular.
00:13:51.59\00:13:52.93
Think about that man that day.
00:13:52.96\00:13:54.23
He is surrounded by the
crowd that had condemned Jesus.
00:13:54.30\00:13:57.20
They hate Jesus, they're
demon possessed, and he turns
00:13:57.23\00:14:00.40
to Jesus, and says, "Lord."
00:14:00.44\00:14:02.90
Well, that takes
courage, but you know what?
00:14:02.94\00:14:05.27
When you're
crucified with Christ, you have
00:14:05.31\00:14:06.61
nothing to lose.
00:14:06.64\00:14:08.01
He didn't care
what the crowd thought.
00:14:08.04\00:14:09.38
What are they
gonna, do crucify him?
00:14:09.41\00:14:11.05
You can't do
anything worse than that.
00:14:11.08\00:14:12.75
And so, it's actually very
liberating when you take up
00:14:12.78\00:14:15.72
your cross and
you follow the Lord.
00:14:15.75\00:14:17.59
This is what this man did.
00:14:17.62\00:14:19.05
He laid everything down, and
he was crucified with Christ.
00:14:19.09\00:14:22.62
He wasn't afraid to
publicly testify for Jesus.
00:14:22.66\00:14:25.43
Even Christ's own disciples,
it says they stood afar off
00:14:25.46\00:14:29.60
beholding these things.
00:14:29.63\00:14:31.17
Just before the end, John
and Mary came to the foot of the
00:14:31.20\00:14:34.60
cross, and later, some of
the others maybe drew closer.
00:14:34.64\00:14:37.31
But Jesus was
definitely not popular that day.
00:14:37.34\00:14:41.91
It's probably some of the same
people in the crowd that were
00:14:41.94\00:14:44.01
shouting, "Hosanna to the Son
of David," that were also in the
00:14:44.05\00:14:46.98
crowd shouting,
"Crucify him, crucify him."
00:14:47.02\00:14:49.38
Don't follow the crowd.
00:14:49.42\00:14:50.75
The crowd's very fickle.
00:14:50.79\00:14:53.15
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Doug: So, this man
believed, he publicly confessed.
00:15:27.62\00:15:30.76
You know, you read in Revelation
12, verse 11: "The redeemed
00:15:30.79\00:15:34.56
overcome by the blood
of the Lamb and the word of
00:15:34.60\00:15:38.07
their testimony."
00:15:38.10\00:15:41.00
That man publicly said, "Lord,"
and he declared his convictions.
00:15:41.04\00:15:45.34
Something else happens here.
00:15:45.37\00:15:47.91
It says he beseeched the Lord.
00:15:47.94\00:15:50.61
Not only did he declare
him to be Lord, he declared him
00:15:50.65\00:15:53.45
to be King.
00:15:53.48\00:15:54.78
Notice, he said, "Lord,
remember me when you come into
00:15:54.82\00:15:56.52
your kingdom."
00:15:56.55\00:15:57.89
You must accept Jesus
as your Lord and your King.
00:15:57.92\00:16:00.99
He's directing your life.
00:16:01.02\00:16:02.69
He is the king of
your life, he rules.
00:16:02.72\00:16:05.56
You know, I like
the way Paul puts it.
00:16:05.59\00:16:08.00
He said, "Let not sin reign."
00:16:08.03\00:16:10.43
A king usually
reigns in a kingdom.
00:16:10.47\00:16:12.47
And when you surrender your
heart to the Lord, sin will not
00:16:12.50\00:16:14.94
reign in your heart anymore.
00:16:14.97\00:16:17.04
Paul says, "Sin shall
not have dominion over you."
00:16:17.07\00:16:19.94
Again, he's
speaking in kingly language.
00:16:19.97\00:16:22.38
And how often did Jesus
share parables of the kingdom?
00:16:22.41\00:16:25.65
There's really only two kings in
this world, you can either serve
00:16:25.68\00:16:28.55
Jesus, or you serve the enemy.
00:16:28.58\00:16:31.52
People hate to think of it
that way, but you've really got
00:16:31.55\00:16:33.42
Christ or Satan,
that's all you have.
00:16:33.46\00:16:35.39
Some folks say, "Well
I'm not gonna get involved,
00:16:35.42\00:16:37.19
I'm neutral."
00:16:37.23\00:16:38.56
Jesus said that's not an option.
00:16:38.59\00:16:40.60
He said you're either
with me or against me.
00:16:40.63\00:16:42.96
Now, have you asked yourself
lately, am I really 100%
00:16:43.00\00:16:45.97
with the Lord?
00:16:46.00\00:16:47.34
You can't serve two
masters, Jesus said.
00:16:47.37\00:16:50.77
So, he then
beseeches is the Lord.
00:16:50.81\00:16:53.01
He issues a prayer, and he says,
"Lord, remember me when you come
00:16:53.04\00:16:59.11
into your kingdom."
00:16:59.15\00:17:00.65
You know, that's such
a beautiful statement,
00:17:00.68\00:17:01.98
when you think about it.
00:17:02.02\00:17:06.39
So often, we forget about God,
but we want God to remember us.
00:17:06.42\00:17:10.99
That man, that thief, that day,
he could've said, "Lord, can you
00:17:11.03\00:17:15.23
make the nails
hurt a little less?
00:17:15.26\00:17:17.60
Lord, I'm thirsty,
can you get me a drink?"
00:17:17.63\00:17:19.70
Of course, Jesus
was thirsty, too.
00:17:19.73\00:17:21.80
He didn't ask for any relief
from his present circumstances.
00:17:21.84\00:17:26.34
You know, so many
people, they have sort of
00:17:26.37\00:17:28.41
a foxhole conversion.
00:17:28.44\00:17:30.08
Even Christians that aren't in
a foxhole sometimes have foxhole
00:17:30.11\00:17:32.75
conversions, where they'll
go through a crisis, and while
00:17:32.78\00:17:36.05
they're going through
the crisis, they're scared.
00:17:36.08\00:17:38.29
They get a bad report from the
doctor, or they've got a crisis
00:17:38.32\00:17:41.22
in their family, or they have a
near-death experience with a car
00:17:41.26\00:17:43.96
accident, or
something, a financial reversal.
00:17:43.99\00:17:46.63
A lot of people have
had big financial reverse.
00:17:46.66\00:17:49.36
And they come to the Lord out of
fear, but all of a sudden, when
00:17:49.40\00:17:51.73
the finances are okay,
they forget about the Lord,
00:17:51.77\00:17:55.84
or when they
survive the medical problem.
00:17:55.87\00:17:58.24
You know, this man was
not asking that God change his
00:17:58.27\00:18:01.31
earthly circumstances, he
was asking that he changed
00:18:01.34\00:18:04.88
his eternal circumstances.
00:18:04.91\00:18:08.78
You can come to the
Lord, and God can change
00:18:08.82\00:18:11.12
your circumstances.
00:18:11.15\00:18:12.49
He can save you from all
kinds of problems, I've seen it
00:18:12.52\00:18:14.86
many, many times.
00:18:14.89\00:18:16.19
I've seen people, I know people
who are in prison with a life
00:18:16.22\00:18:20.83
sentence, and they gave their
hearts to the Lord, and through
00:18:20.86\00:18:23.83
a miracle, they never expected
to get out, they got out
00:18:23.87\00:18:27.34
and continued serving the Lord.
00:18:27.37\00:18:29.30
Because while they were
in prison, they said even if
00:18:29.34\00:18:31.51
I never get out, I'm
giving myself to the Lord.
00:18:31.54\00:18:33.27
So, it wasn't based
on, "Lord, what are you
00:18:33.31\00:18:36.08
going to do for me?"
00:18:36.11\00:18:37.41
So, this thief, he's really
not asking for earthly relief.
00:18:37.45\00:18:40.42
So often, our prayers are
like that man who's in prison.
00:18:40.45\00:18:44.39
And he says, "Lord,
this prison is so cold.
00:18:44.42\00:18:47.72
Will you help them fix the
air conditioner or the heater?"
00:18:47.76\00:18:51.49
Or they say, "Lord, the
food in this prison is terrible.
00:18:51.53\00:18:54.60
Can you do something
about the cook, do something
00:18:54.63\00:18:57.63
about the food?"
00:18:57.67\00:18:58.97
Or they say,
"Lord, my bed is so hard.
00:18:59.00\00:19:00.44
Can you give me a better bed?"
00:19:00.47\00:19:01.77
"Or, The concrete
floor is so rough.
00:19:01.80\00:19:03.51
Can I have a
little foot carpet?"
00:19:03.54\00:19:04.87
Or, Lord--and it's like they
keep praying that God will make
00:19:04.91\00:19:07.91
them more comfortable in their
prison, and the Lord says to
00:19:07.94\00:19:10.05
them, "Why don't you pray
that I get you out of jail?"
00:19:10.08\00:19:13.58
See, Jesus is not just wanting
to make us comfortable while
00:19:13.62\00:19:16.35
we continue
living a selfish life.
00:19:16.38\00:19:18.45
And so often, our prayers
are filled with things that are
00:19:18.49\00:19:20.72
basically saying, "Lord, help me
to be prosperous and comfortable
00:19:20.76\00:19:24.83
on my way to destruction."
00:19:24.86\00:19:26.76
Well, hope the Lord never
answers that prayer for you.
00:19:26.80\00:19:29.30
You don't wanna be comfortable
on your way to destruction,
00:19:29.33\00:19:31.77
you want to be convicted
on your way to destruction.
00:19:31.80\00:19:35.77
And this man was not
praying for temporary comfort,
00:19:35.80\00:19:39.14
he was praying for eternity.
00:19:39.17\00:19:40.98
And what is more important than
that, your temporary welfare,
00:19:41.01\00:19:44.98
or your eternal welfare?
00:19:45.01\00:19:46.95
That should be the
primary prayer of our hearts.
00:19:46.98\00:19:50.19
Point number five, he
becomes a new creature.
00:19:50.22\00:19:54.72
He may not have looked
much different on the outside,
00:19:54.76\00:19:58.69
but something actually happened.
00:19:58.73\00:20:00.30
Now, he goes through
the steps of conversion.
00:20:00.33\00:20:02.83
You remember we started
with the story of Isaiah.
00:20:02.86\00:20:05.43
We see the Lord, then by
contrast, we see ourselves.
00:20:05.47\00:20:09.74
That man saw Jesus as the Son of
God, he saw him lifted up in the
00:20:09.77\00:20:14.98
year that his king died,
and then he sees himself.
00:20:15.01\00:20:19.18
He knows that he's wasted
his life, he confesses publicly.
00:20:19.21\00:20:22.65
This man did nothing wrong.
00:20:22.68\00:20:23.99
We are getting what we deserve.
00:20:24.02\00:20:25.35
We've been criminals, we've
wasted our lives, and then he
00:20:25.39\00:20:29.29
repents, he's sorry.
00:20:29.32\00:20:31.89
He publicly confesses,
he receives the promise,
00:20:31.93\00:20:36.06
he beseeches, he asks the Lord,
he receives and believes the
00:20:36.10\00:20:39.17
word of Jesus,
and then what happens?
00:20:39.20\00:20:42.47
He embraces the cross.
00:20:42.50\00:20:43.87
He is crucified with Christ.
00:20:43.91\00:20:45.37
He didn't ask to get down.
00:20:45.41\00:20:46.74
Now, I want to ask
you a question though,
00:20:46.78\00:20:48.61
just hypothetically.
00:20:48.64\00:20:50.81
If this man could've gotten off
the cross, would he have lived
00:20:50.85\00:20:54.25
a different life?
00:20:54.28\00:20:55.72
I think so.
00:20:55.75\00:20:57.72
You know, a lot of people,
when they're converted, you know
00:20:57.75\00:21:02.72
they're converted because
they're just transformed by it.
00:21:02.76\00:21:06.53
Some people say, "Well, I
just want to be forgiven,"
00:21:06.56\00:21:09.06
but they don't
really want to be changed.
00:21:09.10\00:21:10.43
But what really happens
when you're converted is that
00:21:10.47\00:21:13.34
your behavior changes.
00:21:13.37\00:21:15.00
The interesting thing this
story reminds us is this man
00:21:15.04\00:21:17.84
is definitely not
saved by his works.
00:21:17.87\00:21:19.91
Well, there is one work he does.
00:21:19.94\00:21:21.61
Jesus said this is the work,
that you believe on the one
00:21:21.64\00:21:24.21
the Father sent.
00:21:24.25\00:21:25.55
This man did that work.
00:21:25.58\00:21:26.92
He believed on Jesus, but this
man was not saved because he
00:21:26.95\00:21:28.95
paid a lot of tithe, he is not
saved because he was at church
00:21:28.98\00:21:32.82
every week, he's not
saved because he had the perfect
00:21:32.85\00:21:36.22
health habits, he's not saved
for a lot of the good works
00:21:36.26\00:21:40.06
and good deeds that
we would normally think.
00:21:40.10\00:21:41.50
There's absolutely no record
of any good deeds that he did
00:21:41.53\00:21:45.57
after he came to Jesus.
00:21:45.60\00:21:46.90
So, he saved based on his
turning to Christ and his faith.
00:21:46.94\00:21:50.84
Now, this is something I
hope that everybody catches
00:21:50.87\00:21:53.41
in this story.
00:21:53.44\00:21:56.01
Jesus looks like he is at his
most helpless point in his life.
00:21:56.04\00:22:00.75
He suspended between heaven
and earth, he cannot move, he's
00:22:00.78\00:22:03.69
imprisoned on the cross, and the
devil thinks, "I've finally got
00:22:03.72\00:22:06.92
'em where I want him."
00:22:06.96\00:22:08.26
See, every other time in Jesus's
life, when the crowd tried to
00:22:08.29\00:22:11.43
stone Jesus, as they did once
or twice, or when they tried to
00:22:11.46\00:22:15.36
toss him off the cliff
there in Nazareth, the Father
00:22:15.40\00:22:18.63
protected Jesus.
00:22:18.67\00:22:20.80
But now, God has
withdrawn his protection.
00:22:20.84\00:22:23.20
There in the Garden of
Gethsemane, when Christ prayed
00:22:23.24\00:22:25.14
that Thursday evening, and
he said, "Father, not my will,
00:22:25.17\00:22:29.24
thy will be done," the
Father withdrew his protection
00:22:29.28\00:22:32.11
from Christ.
00:22:32.15\00:22:33.45
Demons came in and just did
everything they could to extract
00:22:33.48\00:22:36.62
as much suffering as they could
from the Son of God to get them
00:22:36.65\00:22:39.59
to sin, to deny the Father.
00:22:39.62\00:22:41.92
And finally, now
Jesus is being crucified.
00:22:41.96\00:22:44.86
He doesn't look like the King of
the universe or the Creator, and
00:22:44.89\00:22:47.66
the devil thought, "I've stopped
him, he's helpless," and yet,
00:22:47.73\00:22:53.10
Jesus said, "I've come to
seek and to save the lost."
00:22:53.13\00:22:56.24
And that thief, when he called
out and said, "Lord, remember
00:22:56.27\00:22:59.17
me," the devil could not
keep the Savior from saving.
00:22:59.21\00:23:04.51
Even though his hands
were nailed to the cross, and
00:23:04.55\00:23:06.95
his feet were spiked to the
tree, when that man asked for
00:23:06.98\00:23:10.39
help, Jesus, I think
his face began to shine.
00:23:10.42\00:23:13.09
He forgot about all of his
physical suffering, because the
00:23:13.12\00:23:15.92
main purpose of Christ's
life was to save the lost.
00:23:15.96\00:23:20.46
You know, it's so interesting
that Christ's delights in
00:23:20.50\00:23:23.00
reaching the people
that normally you would think
00:23:23.03\00:23:25.00
are the most hopeless.
00:23:25.03\00:23:26.74
Who's the first one there at
the tomb for the resurrection?
00:23:26.77\00:23:29.94
A prostitute converted by grace.
00:23:29.97\00:23:32.14
Who is the one that is
beside Christ that's converted
00:23:32.17\00:23:35.04
at the crucifixion?
00:23:35.08\00:23:36.41
A thief, a robber, and
someone who is at least
00:23:36.44\00:23:38.75
an accomplice in murder.
00:23:38.78\00:23:40.42
These are the people who are
surrounding the greatest events.
00:23:40.45\00:23:43.25
What is Jesus trying
to tell us by all of this?
00:23:43.28\00:23:46.29
That there's
hope for every sinner.
00:23:46.32\00:23:48.59
Doesn't matter
what your sins are.
00:23:48.62\00:23:51.03
"Pastor Doug, I'm
guilty of adultery."
00:23:51.06\00:23:53.90
Oh, Jesus saved adulterers.
00:23:53.93\00:23:56.30
"I'm guilty of murder."
00:23:56.33\00:23:58.13
Well, Moses was guilty of
murder, as was David and others,
00:23:58.17\00:24:01.40
and Manasseh, and he saved them.
00:24:01.44\00:24:04.47
And the Bible tells us the arms
of the Lord are not shortened
00:24:04.51\00:24:08.08
that he cannot save.
00:24:08.11\00:24:09.58
He can save you, friends.
00:24:09.61\00:24:11.91
So, then he receives
the blessing of Christ.
00:24:11.95\00:24:14.55
He beseeched the Lord
and he receives the blessing.
00:24:14.58\00:24:17.15
The words of Christ
come like music from heaven.
00:24:17.19\00:24:20.62
"Assuredly I say to you,
today you will be with me
00:24:20.66\00:24:24.33
in paradise."
00:24:24.36\00:24:25.69
What a promise.
00:24:25.73\00:24:27.03
You know, you can go through
almost anything if you know
00:24:27.03\00:24:29.43
it's gonna be
better on the other side.
00:24:29.46\00:24:31.83
And when that thief realized
that he was promised everlasting
00:24:31.87\00:24:36.40
life, I think he embraced
that promise with his faith.
00:24:36.44\00:24:39.47
He couldn't do anything with his
hands, but by faith he embraced
00:24:39.51\00:24:42.81
that promise, and
peace entered his heart.
00:24:42.84\00:24:44.91
And I think there was a dramatic
transformation that came over
00:24:44.95\00:24:47.45
his face that the whole crowd
went silent and they listened to
00:24:47.48\00:24:51.29
this conversation
between the thief in Jesus.
00:24:51.32\00:24:55.22
And in the final hours
of Jesus's--final moments of
00:24:55.26\00:24:59.46
Jesus's life in the world, he
saved one of the most hopeless
00:24:59.49\00:25:03.57
people who could
not save himself.
00:25:03.60\00:25:06.20
Jesus is
offering us eternal life.
00:25:06.23\00:25:08.00
He says follow me and you
will have a place in my kingdom.
00:25:08.04\00:25:11.61
There were three
crosses on the hill that day.
00:25:11.64\00:25:14.98
One of those crosses died in
sin, one died to sin, and then
00:25:15.01\00:25:21.72
Jesus died for sin.
00:25:21.75\00:25:23.62
Everybody is in that
picture somewhere, friends.
00:25:23.65\00:25:26.35
I hope that you'll come
to Christ right now and say,
00:25:26.39\00:25:28.52
"Lord, I want to accept
you and I want to die to sin.
00:25:28.56\00:25:31.26
I want to have that
new birth, that new heart."
00:25:31.29\00:25:34.10
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Excessive worry can consume you,
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resulting in sickness,
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It can also damage
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opportunities, and yes, diminish
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00:26:31.19\00:26:35.79
Doug: Worry affects
everybody differently,
00:26:35.82\00:26:38.23
but it's all driven by fear.
00:26:38.26\00:26:40.40
So how can you overcome a world
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I'd like to recommend for
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in a World of Worry."
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You'll discover a lifeline to
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cast your cares upon christ and
experience a serenity that isn't
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subject to your circumstances.
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announcer: Send a gift of any
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00:27:34.58\00:27:38.05
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We hope you'll join us next
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