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Series Code: AFDB
Program Code: AFDB000162S
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01:00 ♪♪♪ 01:02 male announcer: This presentation is brought to you 01:04 by the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry. 01:06 ♪♪♪ 01:14 Doug Batchelor: There's really only two kings in this world. 01:16 You can either serve Jesus, or you serve the enemy. 01:19 People hate to think of it that way, but you've really got 01:21 Christ or Satan, that's all you have. 01:23 Some folks say, "Well, I'm not gonna get involved, 01:25 I'm neutral." 01:26 Jesus said that's not an option. 01:28 He said you're either with me, or against me. 01:34 Doug: You know, I want to share something with you that is 01:37 always fascinating to me. 01:40 It's a passage you find in the book of Isaiah that sort of 01:43 outlines the science of salvation. 01:45 It's the steps in conversion. 01:48 Chapter 6 is where you find Isaiah's conversion experience. 01:52 And it says, "In the year that King Uzziah died," this is 01:55 Isaiah 6:1, "I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and 02:00 lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple." 02:04 So, he sees God. 02:06 He sees him on his throne. 02:08 He sees the Lord in the year that his king died. 02:10 I think that's interesting, good King Uzziah. 02:13 And it tells us, "Above his throne stood the seraphim," 02:18 these angelic creatures. 02:19 "Each one had six wings, with two he covered his face, with 02:23 two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 02:25 And one cried to another and said, 'Holy, holy, holy, is 02:28 the Lord of hosts. 02:30 The whole earth is full of his glory.' 02:32 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who 02:35 cried out, and the house was filled with smoke." 02:37 Now what would you do if you saw something like that? 02:41 Well, Isaiah saw the glory of God. 02:42 He saw the holiness of God and he was overwhelmed. 02:46 And he said, "Woe is me, I am undone. 02:49 Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst 02:52 of a people of unclean lips. 02:54 For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." 02:57 He repents and confesses his sin after he sees the goodness of 03:00 God and the power of God. 03:02 "Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand, coal 03:07 that he had taken with tongs from the altar, and he touched 03:10 my mouth with it, and he said, 'Behold, this has touched 03:14 your lips. 03:16 Your iniquity is taken away, your sin purged.'" 03:18 What a beautiful story. 03:19 As soon as he sees God, he confesses, he repents, his 03:22 iniquity is taken away, his sin is purged. 03:25 And after he's cleansed from his sin, it says, "Then I heard 03:30 the voice of the Lord." 03:31 You know, after you come to the Lord, and you repent of your 03:33 sin, and you're washed from sin, you hear God speaking 03:37 in a new way. 03:38 It's like when Christ came out of the water. 03:40 There was this voice from heaven. 03:41 God speaks to us and guides us through his Spirit in a new way 03:45 when we're converted. 03:46 And that voice says, "Who will I send, and who will go for us?" 03:51 And then it said, "Here am I, send me." 03:53 Isaiah responded, and God said, "Go, tell those people." 03:56 It starts with his seeing the Lord, it ends with his 03:59 going for the Lord. 04:00 Salvation really begins with seeing God. 04:04 The Bible tells us the goodness of God leads us to repentance. 04:08 But it really is all summed up in first he saw the Lord, and 04:11 not only did he see the Lord, the Bible tells us he saw 04:15 the Lord in the year that his king died. 04:18 You know, it's at the cross that we really see the Lord the best. 04:21 And as I mentioned in our opening remarks, this is what 04:24 the world refers to as Good Friday. 04:26 That time when 2,000 years ago, Jesus successfully culminated 04:31 the plan of salvation by living a sinless life and then dying 04:35 on our behalf. 04:37 And when we really see what God has done for us, that has 04:39 a transformational power. 04:41 And you know, that I think is the key to revival. 04:43 I wanna take you to that Friday afternoon, and we're gonna go 04:46 to Luke chapter 23. 04:48 And this is--the message is really the thief on the cross, 04:51 as you've gathered. 04:53 "Then one of the criminals were hanged," crucified, "Blasphemed 04:57 him, saying, 'If you are the Christ, save yourself and us.' 05:02 But the other answered and rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not 05:05 even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 05:09 And we indeed justly, for we receive the 05:12 due rewards for our deeds. 05:14 But this man, Jesus, had done nothing wrong.'" 05:18 Then he turns and he says to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when 05:22 you come into your kingdom.' 05:24 And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly I say to you, today 05:28 you will be with me in paradise.'" 05:32 What a wonderful promise. 05:33 Now, you don't find this story in Matthew, or Mark, or John, 05:36 it's only here in the Gospel of Luke that he gives that account. 05:39 And I'm so glad that it's there, because this story of an 05:44 11th-hour conversion really gives a lot of people hope. 05:47 Now, I don't recommend that anybody waits till the 11th hour 05:51 before they make their decision to come to the Lord. 05:54 I think it was Matthew Henry that said one time, "There is 05:57 one example of an 11th-hour conversion in the Bible, 06:00 so nobody needs to lose hope." 06:03 But then he added, "Keep in mind there is only one example of 06:08 an 11th-hour conversion, so nobody dare presume." 06:12 I think people that plan on waiting until the final hours 06:15 of their life before they surrender their lives to the 06:18 Lord, it usually doesn't work out that way. 06:19 We don't know whether or not we're gonna die suddenly, so you 06:23 don't want to plan that way. 06:24 You want to give the Lord your life and your best now, 'cause 06:26 it's always better to live the Christian life than to wait and 06:30 live for the devil and offer to the Lord the leftovers just 06:33 before you drop off into the grave. 06:35 Now, there have been some people that, praise the Lord, I was at 06:40 more than one hospital bed when somebody gave their heart to the 06:44 Lord, and I prayed with them in just the final days 06:47 of their life. 06:48 And I believe I'll see them in the kingdom. 06:50 But you don't ever want to plan your life that way, but there 06:54 is hope in that. 06:55 Now, when we're looking at this story, there's so many things we 06:57 can learn from this. 06:59 First of all, the conversion takes place at the cross. 07:02 You know, one of the great passages in the Bible, it talks 07:05 about Galatians chapter 2, verse 20. 07:07 "I have been crucified with Christ. 07:11 It is no longer I who live, but Christ that lives in me. 07:14 And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith 07:18 of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." 07:23 You know, when I read that, it occurred to me one time, there's 07:26 only a couple of people that were actually crucified with 07:28 Christ, literally. 07:30 There were two thieves, and one of them was saved. 07:34 So, I made it a special interest of mine to study what happened 07:38 in this example. 07:39 Something else about these two thieves is it says they were 07:43 guilty of murder. 07:44 Well, Jesus said, "If anyone is angry with his brother without 07:46 a cause, he's guilty of murder." 07:48 We can have homicide in our hearts, it's not just an action, 07:52 it can be an attitude. 07:54 And we also learn from this story they could do nothing 07:56 to save themselves. 07:58 So, here they are, they're under a death sentence, 08:00 like all of us. 08:02 They're guilty of murder, and robbery, blasphemy, it says they 08:06 blasphemed Jesus to begin with. 08:08 You know, Jesus was on the cross for about six hours alive, 08:13 one hour dead, a total of seven hours, very interesting. 08:16 Last hour on the cross, he was resting. 08:19 And during the time of the crucifixion, originally both 08:23 thieves sort of engaged in asking Jesus to use his power 08:26 to save them. 08:29 But as the hours wore on, something began to happen 08:32 in the heart of one of those thieves. 08:34 Now, I'm going to tell you in a series of points 08:36 here what happened. 08:39 And this thief, he went through, it says, I'll just tell you 08:42 real quick. 08:44 He beheld the evidence, he believed, he broadcast, 08:49 he beseeched, he became, and he was blessed. 08:54 And so, this thief goes through a transformation. 08:57 He goes through the steps of conversion on the cross. 08:59 Now, the reason we're looking at this in studying the subject of 09:02 the new heart is because I believe we can apply these 09:06 principles to our lives, and say, "Lord, have I gone 09:08 through these steps?" 09:10 So, let's look at some of these things together. 09:12 Well, first of all it says he beheld the evidence. 09:15 I just talked to you about the story of Isaiah. 09:18 Isaiah saw the Lord. 09:20 Something happens when we see. 09:22 Jesus said, "If I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me." 09:26 And as we behold, Christ said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent 09:30 in the wilderness." 09:31 You remember all the Israelites there in the book of Numbers. 09:34 They were bitten by serpents, and they were dying. 09:37 And Moses was instructed to make a bronze serpent, and put it on 09:41 a pole, and he lifted it up in a position of visibility 09:44 for everybody. 09:45 And those that looked in faith were healed of the venom. 09:49 And Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent, so the Son 09:52 of Man must be lifted up." 09:53 And you know, we sing that song, "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." 09:58 And John the Baptist, when he first identified Christ, 10:01 he said, "Behold, the Son of God." 10:03 Something happens when we see. 10:06 Our eyes are opened in a special way. 10:09 The conversion of Isaiah, he saw the Lord. 10:12 Paul on the road to Damascus, he saw the Lord. 10:15 What did Zacchaeus want? 10:17 He wanted to see Jesus. 10:18 These and many others in the Bible, their conversion began 10:21 with getting a picture of God and his goodness. 10:24 And then that led to repentance and the other steps 10:28 in the process. 10:29 So, this man sees Jesus lifted up. 10:32 He saw his king in the year that he died. 10:35 You know, there's real power in the cross. 10:39 Go through your hymnal sometime and look at how many songs 10:41 revolve around the theme of the cross. 10:44 Whether it's "Beneath the Cross of Jesus," or "At the Cross, 10:47 At the Cross," and so many others, there's real power 10:50 in the blood, as they say. 10:52 So, he beholds the evidence. 10:54 He sees the contrast between Barabbas and Jesus. 10:57 See, that man was a witness to the trial of Pilate. 11:01 So, when Pilate, you know, there were three crosses already 11:03 prepared that day, Barabbas was supposed to die on one of them. 11:07 Pilate thought, "I've gotta trick to see if I could get 11:10 Jesus set free." 11:11 Pilate didn't want to have him crucified. 11:14 His wife had warned him, don't do anything against 11:16 that just man. 11:18 So, he said I'll take this hardened criminal, Barabbas, and 11:21 I'll set him next to Jesus who has already been beaten, and 11:24 they'll have empathy, and they'll say let Jesus go. 11:27 But it didn't work that way. 11:28 Well, this thief was watching this all unfold. 11:31 He saw the whole drama of the religious leaders saying, 11:34 "Give us Barabbas." 11:36 And as a result of that, that made an impression on him. 11:40 He saw the sign above Jesus's head. 11:43 He's hanging from the cross, and maybe at an angle where he can 11:45 read it, and it says, "This is the king of the Jews." 11:49 Well, that should tell you something. 11:51 He saw the darkness of the day. 11:53 He overheard Jesus, I'm assuming that the two thieves were 11:56 crucified first, and then the Romans, they crucified 11:59 Jesus last. 12:01 And he heard Jesus say, "Father, forgive them, they don't know 12:04 what they're doing." 12:06 And he realized this is my only hope, so he beholds the 12:11 evidence, and then he believes the evidence. 12:15 It's one thing to know the evidence, it's another thing 12:18 to believe it. 12:20 You know, the devil knows the Bible is true, but he doesn't 12:23 believe it. 12:24 He's not willing to surrender to it, and have faith in it, 12:28 and follow it. 12:29 This man actually acts upon the evidence. 12:32 When he sees that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the 12:35 world, he ends up asking for help. 12:38 And so, this begins to work in his heart, and he realizes this 12:41 is the Messiah. 12:42 He settles the faith in his mind. 12:44 You know, we cannot be saved without faith. 12:47 This man believes. 12:48 Now, what separates this thief from the one on the left? 12:54 You know, both thieves asked to be saved. 12:56 The thief on the left said, "If you're the Savior, and if you're 13:00 the Christ, save yourself and us." 13:03 What did the devil say to Jesus when he came with the 13:05 temptations in the wilderness? 13:07 He said, "If you're the Son of God." 13:09 Father came to Christ in Mark chapter 9, he's got his son that 13:12 is tormented by a demon, and he says the demon throws my son in 13:16 the fire, and he throws him in the water, and he says, "But if 13:19 you can do anything," Jesus just stopped when he said that, 13:22 and he said if. 13:23 If you believe, all things are possible. 13:26 And so, it is so important to the Lord to believe. 13:29 And you know, some of us, you might be saying, "Pastor Doug, 13:32 I just don't have enough faith, what I do?" 13:34 Pray the prayer that father prayed in that story. 13:37 He said, "Lord, I believe. 13:39 Help my unbelief." 13:41 So, even if you've got faith like a grain of mustard 13:44 seed, come. 13:45 This thief evidently had some faith there. 13:48 And he turned to Christ then. 13:51 Not only did he believe the evidence, he broadcast 13:55 his convictions. 13:57 He had the courage to actually speak up and say 13:59 something about it. 14:00 In Luke chapter 23:40: "Do you not even fear God, seeing you're 14:05 under the same condemnation? 14:07 And we indeed justly." 14:09 This is him repenting and confessing publicly. 14:13 He says we're getting what we deserve. 14:15 "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the 14:18 mouth confession is made unto salvation." 14:21 It's one thing to believe the Lord, but you can't always be 14:24 a secret Christian. 14:25 Someone once said that there's really no such thing as a secret 14:28 Christian, because either your Christianity will destroy the 14:32 secrecy, or your secrecy will destroy the Christianity. 14:36 But it's just so hard to keep the good news a secret. 14:40 And if you let that happen, pretty soon the good news 14:43 dies away. 14:44 This man could not keep it to himself in front of everybody. 14:47 You know what? 14:49 Some people are afraid to testify for Jesus in a crowd 14:51 where it's not popular. 14:53 Think about that man that day. 14:54 He is surrounded by the crowd that had condemned Jesus. 14:57 They hate Jesus, they're demon possessed, and he turns 15:00 to Jesus, and says, "Lord." 15:03 Well, that takes courage, but you know what? 15:05 When you're crucified with Christ, you have 15:06 nothing to lose. 15:08 He didn't care what the crowd thought. 15:09 What are they gonna, do crucify him? 15:11 You can't do anything worse than that. 15:12 And so, it's actually very liberating when you take up 15:15 your cross and you follow the Lord. 15:17 This is what this man did. 15:19 He laid everything down, and he was crucified with Christ. 15:22 He wasn't afraid to publicly testify for Jesus. 15:25 Even Christ's own disciples, it says they stood afar off 15:29 beholding these things. 15:31 Just before the end, John and Mary came to the foot of the 15:34 cross, and later, some of the others maybe drew closer. 15:37 But Jesus was definitely not popular that day. 15:42 It's probably some of the same people in the crowd that were 15:44 shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David," that were also in the 15:47 crowd shouting, "Crucify him, crucify him." 15:49 Don't follow the crowd. 15:50 The crowd's very fickle. 15:53 announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing, 15:55 free resource. 15:56 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 15:59 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 16:01 mobile device. 16:03 To get your copy of today's free gift, simply call us and ask for 16:06 the offer number shown on your screen, or visit the web address 16:10 and download a digital copy. 16:12 And be sure to select a digital download option on 16:15 the request page. 16:16 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 16:19 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want. 16:22 And most important, to share it with others. 16:27 Doug: So, this man believed, he publicly confessed. 16:30 You know, you read in Revelation 12, verse 11: "The redeemed 16:34 overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of 16:38 their testimony." 16:41 That man publicly said, "Lord," and he declared his convictions. 16:45 Something else happens here. 16:48 It says he beseeched the Lord. 16:50 Not only did he declare him to be Lord, he declared him 16:53 to be King. 16:54 Notice, he said, "Lord, remember me when you come into 16:56 your kingdom." 16:57 You must accept Jesus as your Lord and your King. 17:01 He's directing your life. 17:02 He is the king of your life, he rules. 17:05 You know, I like the way Paul puts it. 17:08 He said, "Let not sin reign." 17:10 A king usually reigns in a kingdom. 17:12 And when you surrender your heart to the Lord, sin will not 17:15 reign in your heart anymore. 17:17 Paul says, "Sin shall not have dominion over you." 17:20 Again, he's speaking in kingly language. 17:22 And how often did Jesus share parables of the kingdom? 17:25 There's really only two kings in this world, you can either serve 17:28 Jesus, or you serve the enemy. 17:31 People hate to think of it that way, but you've really got 17:33 Christ or Satan, that's all you have. 17:35 Some folks say, "Well I'm not gonna get involved, 17:37 I'm neutral." 17:38 Jesus said that's not an option. 17:40 He said you're either with me or against me. 17:43 Now, have you asked yourself lately, am I really 100% 17:46 with the Lord? 17:47 You can't serve two masters, Jesus said. 17:50 So, he then beseeches is the Lord. 17:53 He issues a prayer, and he says, "Lord, remember me when you come 17:59 into your kingdom." 18:00 You know, that's such a beautiful statement, 18:02 when you think about it. 18:06 So often, we forget about God, but we want God to remember us. 18:11 That man, that thief, that day, he could've said, "Lord, can you 18:15 make the nails hurt a little less? 18:17 Lord, I'm thirsty, can you get me a drink?" 18:19 Of course, Jesus was thirsty, too. 18:21 He didn't ask for any relief from his present circumstances. 18:26 You know, so many people, they have sort of 18:28 a foxhole conversion. 18:30 Even Christians that aren't in a foxhole sometimes have foxhole 18:32 conversions, where they'll go through a crisis, and while 18:36 they're going through the crisis, they're scared. 18:38 They get a bad report from the doctor, or they've got a crisis 18:41 in their family, or they have a near-death experience with a car 18:44 accident, or something, a financial reversal. 18:46 A lot of people have had big financial reverse. 18:49 And they come to the Lord out of fear, but all of a sudden, when 18:51 the finances are okay, they forget about the Lord, 18:55 or when they survive the medical problem. 18:58 You know, this man was not asking that God change his 19:01 earthly circumstances, he was asking that he changed 19:04 his eternal circumstances. 19:08 You can come to the Lord, and God can change 19:11 your circumstances. 19:12 He can save you from all kinds of problems, I've seen it 19:14 many, many times. 19:16 I've seen people, I know people who are in prison with a life 19:20 sentence, and they gave their hearts to the Lord, and through 19:23 a miracle, they never expected to get out, they got out 19:27 and continued serving the Lord. 19:29 Because while they were in prison, they said even if 19:31 I never get out, I'm giving myself to the Lord. 19:33 So, it wasn't based on, "Lord, what are you 19:36 going to do for me?" 19:37 So, this thief, he's really not asking for earthly relief. 19:40 So often, our prayers are like that man who's in prison. 19:44 And he says, "Lord, this prison is so cold. 19:47 Will you help them fix the air conditioner or the heater?" 19:51 Or they say, "Lord, the food in this prison is terrible. 19:54 Can you do something about the cook, do something 19:57 about the food?" 19:59 Or they say, "Lord, my bed is so hard. 20:00 Can you give me a better bed?" 20:01 "Or, The concrete floor is so rough. 20:03 Can I have a little foot carpet?" 20:04 Or, Lord--and it's like they keep praying that God will make 20:07 them more comfortable in their prison, and the Lord says to 20:10 them, "Why don't you pray that I get you out of jail?" 20:13 See, Jesus is not just wanting to make us comfortable while 20:16 we continue living a selfish life. 20:18 And so often, our prayers are filled with things that are 20:20 basically saying, "Lord, help me to be prosperous and comfortable 20:24 on my way to destruction." 20:26 Well, hope the Lord never answers that prayer for you. 20:29 You don't wanna be comfortable on your way to destruction, 20:31 you want to be convicted on your way to destruction. 20:35 And this man was not praying for temporary comfort, 20:39 he was praying for eternity. 20:41 And what is more important than that, your temporary welfare, 20:45 or your eternal welfare? 20:46 That should be the primary prayer of our hearts. 20:50 Point number five, he becomes a new creature. 20:54 He may not have looked much different on the outside, 20:58 but something actually happened. 21:00 Now, he goes through the steps of conversion. 21:02 You remember we started with the story of Isaiah. 21:05 We see the Lord, then by contrast, we see ourselves. 21:09 That man saw Jesus as the Son of God, he saw him lifted up in the 21:15 year that his king died, and then he sees himself. 21:19 He knows that he's wasted his life, he confesses publicly. 21:22 This man did nothing wrong. 21:24 We are getting what we deserve. 21:25 We've been criminals, we've wasted our lives, and then he 21:29 repents, he's sorry. 21:31 He publicly confesses, he receives the promise, 21:36 he beseeches, he asks the Lord, he receives and believes the 21:39 word of Jesus, and then what happens? 21:42 He embraces the cross. 21:43 He is crucified with Christ. 21:45 He didn't ask to get down. 21:46 Now, I want to ask you a question though, 21:48 just hypothetically. 21:50 If this man could've gotten off the cross, would he have lived 21:54 a different life? 21:55 I think so. 21:57 You know, a lot of people, when they're converted, you know 22:02 they're converted because they're just transformed by it. 22:06 Some people say, "Well, I just want to be forgiven," 22:09 but they don't really want to be changed. 22:10 But what really happens when you're converted is that 22:13 your behavior changes. 22:15 The interesting thing this story reminds us is this man 22:17 is definitely not saved by his works. 22:20 Well, there is one work he does. 22:21 Jesus said this is the work, that you believe on the one 22:24 the Father sent. 22:25 This man did that work. 22:27 He believed on Jesus, but this man was not saved because he 22:29 paid a lot of tithe, he is not saved because he was at church 22:32 every week, he's not saved because he had the perfect 22:36 health habits, he's not saved for a lot of the good works 22:40 and good deeds that we would normally think. 22:41 There's absolutely no record of any good deeds that he did 22:45 after he came to Jesus. 22:47 So, he saved based on his turning to Christ and his faith. 22:50 Now, this is something I hope that everybody catches 22:53 in this story. 22:56 Jesus looks like he is at his most helpless point in his life. 23:00 He suspended between heaven and earth, he cannot move, he's 23:03 imprisoned on the cross, and the devil thinks, "I've finally got 23:07 'em where I want him." 23:08 See, every other time in Jesus's life, when the crowd tried to 23:11 stone Jesus, as they did once or twice, or when they tried to 23:15 toss him off the cliff there in Nazareth, the Father 23:18 protected Jesus. 23:20 But now, God has withdrawn his protection. 23:23 There in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Christ prayed 23:25 that Thursday evening, and he said, "Father, not my will, 23:29 thy will be done," the Father withdrew his protection 23:32 from Christ. 23:33 Demons came in and just did everything they could to extract 23:36 as much suffering as they could from the Son of God to get them 23:39 to sin, to deny the Father. 23:42 And finally, now Jesus is being crucified. 23:44 He doesn't look like the King of the universe or the Creator, and 23:47 the devil thought, "I've stopped him, he's helpless," and yet, 23:53 Jesus said, "I've come to seek and to save the lost." 23:56 And that thief, when he called out and said, "Lord, remember 23:59 me," the devil could not keep the Savior from saving. 24:04 Even though his hands were nailed to the cross, and 24:07 his feet were spiked to the tree, when that man asked for 24:10 help, Jesus, I think his face began to shine. 24:13 He forgot about all of his physical suffering, because the 24:16 main purpose of Christ's life was to save the lost. 24:20 You know, it's so interesting that Christ's delights in 24:23 reaching the people that normally you would think 24:25 are the most hopeless. 24:26 Who's the first one there at the tomb for the resurrection? 24:30 A prostitute converted by grace. 24:32 Who is the one that is beside Christ that's converted 24:35 at the crucifixion? 24:36 A thief, a robber, and someone who is at least 24:38 an accomplice in murder. 24:40 These are the people who are surrounding the greatest events. 24:43 What is Jesus trying to tell us by all of this? 24:46 That there's hope for every sinner. 24:48 Doesn't matter what your sins are. 24:51 "Pastor Doug, I'm guilty of adultery." 24:53 Oh, Jesus saved adulterers. 24:56 "I'm guilty of murder." 24:58 Well, Moses was guilty of murder, as was David and others, 25:01 and Manasseh, and he saved them. 25:04 And the Bible tells us the arms of the Lord are not shortened 25:08 that he cannot save. 25:09 He can save you, friends. 25:12 So, then he receives the blessing of Christ. 25:14 He beseeched the Lord and he receives the blessing. 25:17 The words of Christ come like music from heaven. 25:20 "Assuredly I say to you, today you will be with me 25:24 in paradise." 25:25 What a promise. 25:27 You know, you can go through almost anything if you know 25:29 it's gonna be better on the other side. 25:31 And when that thief realized that he was promised everlasting 25:36 life, I think he embraced that promise with his faith. 25:39 He couldn't do anything with his hands, but by faith he embraced 25:42 that promise, and peace entered his heart. 25:45 And I think there was a dramatic transformation that came over 25:47 his face that the whole crowd went silent and they listened to 25:51 this conversation between the thief in Jesus. 25:55 And in the final hours of Jesus's--final moments of 25:59 Jesus's life in the world, he saved one of the most hopeless 26:03 people who could not save himself. 26:06 Jesus is offering us eternal life. 26:08 He says follow me and you will have a place in my kingdom. 26:11 There were three crosses on the hill that day. 26:15 One of those crosses died in sin, one died to sin, and then 26:21 Jesus died for sin. 26:23 Everybody is in that picture somewhere, friends. 26:26 I hope that you'll come to Christ right now and say, 26:28 "Lord I want to accept you and I want to die to sin. 26:31 I want to have that new birth, that new heart." 26:38 announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 26:40 free resource. 26:41 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 26:44 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 26:46 mobile device. 26:48 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 26:51 the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 26:55 shown on your screen, and be sure to select a digital 26:59 download option on the request page. 27:01 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 27:04 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want. 27:07 And most important, to share it with others. 27:11 female: I was addicted to all different types of things. 27:14 male: I was drinking so much on the road that when I got home, 27:18 I would be just yelling at the top of my lungs. 27:21 male: I had a problem with authority, started smoking at 27:24 the age of 14, and drinking by the age of 15. 27:26 male: And I had money, I had women, I had car every 27:30 two years. 27:31 male: And life wasn't really that fulfilling. 27:33 I mean, I was having a great time on the outside, but inside 27:37 I knew something was dying, something was wrong. 27:40 male: I got down on my knees and I prayed to God. 27:43 I said, "God, if you're there, wherever you lead me in life, 27:46 whatever you want me to do, I am yours." 27:49 male: I started studying the Bible and found Amazing Facts 27:53 online, and was watching hours of sermons each day. 27:56 My life has changed so much since I started following God's 27:59 path for me. 28:02 male: I wanna thank you. 28:03 female: Thank you. 28:04 female: Thank you. 28:06 male: From the bottom of my heart. 28:13 announcer: Would you like to know God's plan for our broken 28:15 world as revealed in Bible prophecy? 28:18 Want practical, trusted solutions for your 28:20 biggest challenges? 28:22 Freshly updated and redesigned, Amazing Facts Bible study guides 28:27 provide 27 Bible-based topical lessons with beautiful graphics 28:31 and straightforward answers that are enlightening, encouraging, 28:34 and easy to understand, giving you real, relevant Bible answers 28:38 to questions like how can I have healthier relationships? 28:41 When will Jesus come? 28:42 And much more. 28:44 Order yours today by visiting AFBookstore.com or 28:47 by calling... 28:50 ♪♪♪ 28:56 announcer: Don't forget to request today's free offer. 28:58 It's sure to be a blessing. 29:00 And thank you for your continued support as we take the gospel 29:03 of Jesus Christ to the world. 29:05 We hope you'll join us next week as we delve deep into the 29:08 Word of God to explore more amazing facts. 29:15 ♪♪♪ 29:23 announcer: This presentation was brought to you by the friends of 29:26 the Amazing Facts 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Revised 2020-09-02