[0:00] Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
[0:27] ! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
[0:48] Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
[1:06] Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree? Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
[1:38] Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree? Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
[2:00] Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb? Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
[2:30] Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb? Were you there when He rose up from the grave?
[2:52] Were you there when He rose up from the grave? Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
[3:22] Were you there when He rose up from the grave? Please, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if you were there, if The blood of Christ Jesus has power to save.
[4:21] The blood of my Savior has conquered the grave. He left heaven's glory and died on a tree to purchase salvation for sinners like me.
[4:41] The blood of Jesus flows from the cross, pleading my pardon, though painful the cost.
[4:54] Pure Son of God, how loving the Lord. Merciful Savior, come into my heart.
[5:09] Find peace through the blood of the Lamb who was slain. Cry unto my Jesus, O call on his name.
[5:22] Come unto the Father, through Jesus the Son. Your pardon is certain, redemption is done.
[5:36] The blood of Jesus flows from the cross, pleading my pardon, though painful the cost.
[5:49] Pure Son of God, how loving thou art. Merciful Savior, come into my heart.
[6:03] You may be seated. Don Wigan helps in Lighthouse Bible Church in Searsport. And Steve Snell is pastor of the Augusta Baptist Church.
[6:17] As we get closer to the cross and see the people that are closest to Jesus, we're going to be looking this evening at the two thieves.
[6:32] Now, Scripture says that there were two thieves. We're going to be looking in Luke chapter 23, starting in verse 32. It says, and there were also two other malfactors led with him to put to death.
[6:48] And we see these malfactors in Mark chapter 15. It talks about two thieves. Now, this was a, because this was prophesied over in Isaiah chapter 53.
[6:59] It says, he was numbered with the transgressors. When we think of all that Jesus did for us, when we think of the, just how he went to the cross, how he died, how he paid the price for our sins.
[7:12] When we look at these two thieves, as I was thinking about it, I was looking at their response. We have two different responses here. One by one thief and one by the other.
[7:26] And I looked up in Webster's Dictionary, and the definition of a response is something that constitutes a reply or a reaction. We have a reaction from these two thieves.
[7:38] The first thief was not a very good reaction. First of all, we're going to see the two responses. We're going to see this first thief had ridiculed. He ridiculed the Lord Jesus down in Luke chapter.
[7:51] Well, let's start in verse 32 again. And they were also two other malfactors led with him to put to death. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, they crucified him and the malfactors, one on the right hand and one on the left.
[8:09] Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they parted their garments and cast lots, and the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with him derided him, saying, He saved others, let him save himself, if he be the Christ, the chosen of God.
[8:31] And the soldiers also mocked them, and coming to him and offering him vinegar, and saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.
[8:43] And a superscription was also written over with the letters in Greek and Latin and Hebrew, This is the king of the Jews. And one of the malfactors, which was hanged, railed on him, saying, If thou be the Christ, save thyself.
[9:00] And here we have one of the malfactors, one of the thieves, railing on him, mocking him, accusing him, and deriding him, saying all manner of things against him.
[9:12] Which, again, is a filament of scripture when we see what Jesus went through, how he went through all of that for us. When we read Isaiah chapter 53, we see all that he went through because of our sin, because of his love for us.
[9:28] He went through that for us. And so we see the reaction of the malfactor was one of ridicule, and how he ridiculed and did not, and he mocked the Lord Jesus.
[9:39] Over in Isaiah chapter 53, we read this. Isaiah chapter 53, very familiar verses, I'm sure. But in verse 3, it says, well, starting in verse 3, He was despised and rejected of man, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
[9:59] And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. And he was despised, and we esteemed him not. He was despised by this first thief. And because of the ridicule, what we have happening, we have a rejection taking place.
[10:14] This thief rejected the truth of what the Lord Jesus, who the Lord Jesus was. He rejected the truth that he could have salvation if he but believed on him as a savior, and trusted in him, and realized what he was doing.
[10:29] But instead of that, he mocked him, he ridiculed him, and therefore he rejected the truth of who Christ was. And that meant that because of that rejection, we see that over in John's Gospel chapter 12, in John's Gospel chapter 12, when we think of rejection, we see that judgment is going to take place because of the rejection of the Lord Jesus.
[11:00] In John chapter 12, starting in verse 47, And so we see the result of what is going to take place of this thief was because of his rejection of the Lord, he's going to be lost.
[11:37] He's going to reject the truth of who God is, and therefore he is going to suffer the judgment of God because of his rejection of the truth. When we think of all that Christ has done, when we think of how he became sin for us, who knew no sin, that thief had the reality of who Christ was right there.
[11:59] But instead of accepting that truth, he rejected that. And because of that rejection, we read in John chapter 3, very familiar verse, in John chapter 3, in John chapter 3, it says, in verse 36, He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life, but he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
[12:27] This is the reality of what is going to take place for this first thief. Because of his rejection of the Lord Jesus, because of his rejection and of his mocking and not accepting the truth, he is going to be condemned to hell because of his rejection of that.
[12:44] And again, if anyone rejects Christ, that is what is in store for them, is condemnation. And again, the wrath of God abideth on him.
[12:55] It's something not to look forward to. But when we see that, when we see the response of this first thief, we go to the response of the second thief. So back, if you would, back in Luke's Gospel, chapter 23, we see another response taking place, one that is more positive than that of the first thief.
[13:17] Starting in verse 39 again, it says, And one of the malfactors which was hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be the Christ, save thyself. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Does thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
[13:35] And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds. But this man has nothing, has done nothing amiss.
[13:46] And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him, Verily I say unto you, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.
[13:57] We have a wonderful reaction, a different reaction, to the truth of who Christ was. We have an acceptance of who Christ was, and a believing, a recognition of what Christ has done, and what Christ was doing.
[14:12] Because it says, Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And we see the truth of him accepting who Christ was. Accepting the reality of the salvation that Christ was offering.
[14:26] And so when we think of all that Christ has done, when we think of how special that is, when we trust Christ as our Savior, we have a redemption that is sure and just.
[14:38] We have a reality to know that one day we're going to be with him in glory, because of what he has done. Over in the book of Acts. Over in the book of Acts, in Acts chapter 13.
[14:55] Just want to read a couple of verses in Acts chapter 13, when we think of all that we have in Christ. In Acts chapter 13, starting in verse 38, it says, Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.
[15:12] And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses. When we believe in the Lord Jesus, we are justified from all things, all sins, because of what Christ has done.
[15:30] And this thief on the cross accepted the truth, what Christ has done. And because of that, he was justified. Because what was Christ's response? This day he shall be with me in paradise.
[15:42] The reality of what Christ has done. The reality of who he is. When we think of all that he has done, and that hope that we have, that security we have, is because of Christ.
[15:55] And when we think of these two thieves, when we think of their response, when we think of one was a ridicule, and one was an acceptance. When we think of what Christ has done for us, what is, that we have an assurance.
[16:12] Because one day we're going to be with him. One day, as the Lord Jesus talked to this other thief, and said, today you shall be with me in paradise. If we know Christ is our Savior, we have that assurance too, that one day we're going to be with him.
[16:27] And just one more verse before we end closing, over in the book of 1 Peter, in 1 Peter chapter 1, talking about the Lord Jesus, in verse 8 it says, Whom having not seen ye love, though now ye see him not, yet believing ye rejoice, with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.
[16:51] Then in verse 9, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. The end of our faith, is the salvation of our souls.
[17:02] We can believe in the truth, of what Jesus Christ has done. That second thief, that died on the cross, next to the Lord Jesus, believed the truth, of who Christ was.
[17:13] And because of that, he's in glory with him. And when we trust Christ as our Savior, when we realize the truth of who he is, and all that he went through for us, when we accept that truth, we have the reality, that the end of our faith, is that we're going to be with Jesus.
[17:33] And what a wonderful hope that is. A hope that is sure and steadfast, that we're going to see him, face to face. And we're going to be with him, for all eternity. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the, you know, I love the response of the second thief.
[17:49] Believe. We need to believe and trust, in what the Lord Jesus has done. And believe, and walk in faith. Greetings, from Augusta Baptist Church.
[18:13] When I was given the opportunity to participate in this routine, I took the opportunity to choose the name Mary.
[18:28] And as I read, I was given the text of John 19, verses 25 to 27. And I'd like to just read that, to get the context of where we're going.
[18:43] John chapter 19, beginning with verse 25. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene.
[19:07] When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciples standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, woman, behold thy son. Then saith he to the disciple, behold thy mother.
[19:21] And from that hour, that disciple took her unto his own home. Now we've understood that there's reasons why, in the authorship of this gospel, that the writer seems to leave out specific identifications, specifically of himself, being John.
[19:44] But he's also leaving out the specific identification of the mother of Jesus. Now when I take the word Mary, and I look for Mary in these verses, I have Jesus' mother's sister, who is Mary, the wife of Cleopas.
[20:03] I'm confused already. And then there's Mary Magdalene, which we've heard a lot about, so I was wondering, you know, which Mary was I supposed to take? So I assumed, by the nature of all of these verses together, that we're talking about Mary, who is sometimes referred to as the mother of Jesus.
[20:28] It's also referred to as the mother of James and Joseph, the mother of Judah, and even Simon. And I believe there were two sisters involved.
[20:38] Mary, the one who was espoused to Joseph, the one who was the virgin-born mother of Jesus himself.
[20:59] And looking at her relationship with Christ, we see her role as mother.
[21:11] And I'm thinking back to her earliest nourishings of her newborn child. We read in Luke chapter 2, verse 40 and verse 52, that Jesus grew.
[21:30] Jesus had to grow up. Jesus started out as a young child, just like many of the children here in our sanctuary today. some of these young children, when they get hot and tired and bothered and the preachers are going long and doesn't seem like there's any chance of ever getting to the food downstairs, they say, Mommy, Mommy.
[21:56] And only Mommy will do. She was the teacher of this young child.
[22:10] Can you imagine teaching little boy Jesus about Moses?
[22:21] Can you imagine the mother teaching Jesus about how God communicated to Moses and wrote on the tablet with his fingers? And I see Jesus just kind of rubbing his fingertip.
[22:40] Can you imagine teaching Jesus about creation? About how God created the heavens and the earth and all things that were in in six literal days and all this stuff.
[22:55] and he's just kind of... Yeah? I get it, Mom. But I want to look at the mother's heart.
[23:09] And in that, I found a couple of verses we get from Luke chapter 2, verse 19. I want us to go back to Luke 2, 19. And in Luke chapter 2, just by the very chapter, you know we're going back to the birth of Jesus.
[23:27] In verse 19, we have this verse that says, Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. What is in a mother's heart? Well, what was she pondering?
[23:40] Well, she was pondering the report of the shepherds that the angels had just told them that they would find the Messiah. A Savior was to be born.
[23:53] And of course, Jesus' mother, Mary, learned earlier from the angel back in chapter 1, verse 32, that Jesus would be the Son of the Highest.
[24:04] And in verse 33, He would be King forever. And these shepherds are coming at the birth of Jesus now and declaring how the angels had informed them that this was the Savior, a Savior, the Messiah.
[24:23] Then again, we're in Luke chapter 2, and let me go down to verse 51. There's another instance where at the end of the verse, it says, His mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
[24:36] What sayings were these that she was keeping in her heart? Well, specifically, as it relates to the occasion when Jesus was 12 years old and debating in the temple with the leaders and showing them how much He knew.
[24:52] He was kind and polite enough not to do that with His mother when He was so high, but now He's 12 years old and He's in the temple or He's in the, wherever the leaders are and talking to them and His mother and Joseph and the rest of the family have gone off to go home and realize He's not among them.
[25:13] So they turn around and come back and find Jesus in the temple talking with the rulers and His mother speaks to Him in this fashion in verse 48.
[25:25] When they saw Him, they were amazed. And His mother said unto Him, Son, why hast thou dealt with us thus? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
[25:41] Now just before we go on to the next verse, I want to recognize that there is a version of Greek texts out there that has this very phrase in the same words, thy father and I sought thee, but there are other Greek texts and I have one of each in my home.
[25:59] The other Greek text changes it a little bit and says, Joseph and I have sought thee sorrowing and I wondered about why the two and why one, which one was maybe correct or which one was adjusted maybe because, you know, Mary only said one thing.
[26:19] But in fact, I believe we get the recognition that between the two references we consider the reality of both circumstances. Yes, Joseph was the one who was with Mary.
[26:33] Joseph was the one that Mary would have come to and said, we don't have Jesus among us. And Mary and Joseph went back to find Jesus.
[26:47] But the specific reference when his mother, if his mother said, and I believe it is more appropriate to read it as we have it in the King James, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing because of the response that Jesus gives.
[27:04] When he says in the next verse, verse 49, did you not know I must be about my father's business?
[27:17] She addressed him specifically in the context of the day, the context of the society where even if Joseph wasn't his physical father, he was at least regarded as such and perhaps some still did not know the difference between the virgin birth and the supposed illegitimate birth before they were married.
[27:49] married, but Mary referred to him as thy father and Jesus corrected his mother in that very subtle form.
[28:01] No, my father is the heavenly father and his is the business I must be about. And yet at twelve years old he did then turn and yield to his parents and went to be with them.
[28:16] But Mary in this give and take of response was pondering this in her heart as well. And then in John chapter two, John chapter two, the first five verses give us one more instance of the heart of Mary.
[28:42] It's an interesting one it says, the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, lest it be confused as to which Mary they were talking about.
[28:58] The mother of Jesus was there and both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage. They wanted or they ran out of wine. The mother of Jesus saith unto him, they have no wine.
[29:10] So here's Mary telling Jesus, her son, they've run out of wine. Of course Jesus knows exactly what she's asking for. And he replies to her in a form that starts to put her in her place saying, woman, what have I to do with thee?
[29:27] Mine hour has not yet come. It's sort of a put down in that she's asking him to do something and he's saying, what have I to do with you?
[29:38] I am not necessarily responsible to you and I don't know how best to put it except that what have I to do with you?
[29:50] It's interesting how his mother responds to that in that she accepts being put aside and lest anything else be left to question, she speaks to the servants.
[30:08] I think she has an idea even now of what Jesus was going to do, but not in response to Mary. So as Mary is backing out, she's addressing the servants that Jesus is about to address and she tells them, I believe with the confidence and faith that Jesus was going to do something special about her request.
[30:33] Even though he has put her aside, she transfers that over to the servants and say, you take this from here, do whatever he tells you. They're not going to believe it until they see it.
[30:47] And when he turns the water that they've collected into something that these servants take to the owner, the responsible party of the feast, and they come back with this response, he said, it was the best they'd ever tasted.
[31:02] And the servants looking around saying, what did we do? I mean, all we did was put water in the pots. You see how Jesus took the focus off of Mary, transferred it to their servants to conduct this one more indication of his own power.
[31:23] But Jesus' mother, being sensitive, being put in her place, she takes her place and passes the honor over to the servants.
[31:37] So in this case, she has this too in her mind, as she is standing there by the cross. And as we consider, this, her relationship is completed by the disowning of her own son.
[31:54] Did you know that? Do you recognize when in Matthew chapter 12, as well as in Mark chapter 3, it's also recorded in Luke chapter 8, how Mary and her family members come to find and to inquire about Jesus among his followers.
[32:11] And Jesus tells his followers, doesn't even refer to his family, and says, who is my mother? These who are following me are my mother and my sister and my brother.
[32:29] who is my mother? Can you imagine the mother of Jesus facing this expression now with everything else she's had in her heart, and then remembering the prophecy of Simeon in Luke 2 verse 35 that said a sword would pierce her own soul.
[32:56] And and yet, in spite of all of her understanding about the Savior that she was going to bear, who was to be the Son of the Highest and King forever, and having learned that he must be about his father's business, and being set aside even on this earth, recognizing that Jesus is not going to focus upon her or give her any benefit of this world, disowns her completely before his followers, I think for the specific purpose that we're going to talk about in just a moment, because as we see her standing there at the foot of the cross, we see one who is a nourisher, one who is a concerned heart, one who has a sensitivity to the needs of others, and knowing that she herself has no authority over her own son, she is still standing there beside John at the foot of the cross, what could she possibly be doing there but to encourage her own son?
[34:26] Mother, what would you do if your son had died? I had the recent occasion to be able to sit with a mother in a hospital room whose son was on life support, the family had come together and they had agreed that it was time to let him go.
[34:50] this mother, sitting in the room with her son, having been just recently unplugged, met us in the hallway as we came in to see her and to visit with her, told us that they had just released him.
[35:08] and this mother had a calmness about her heart because she knew that her son was a believer in Jesus Christ.
[35:23] She told us that as we came to the room, she said her family is all here and before I get a chance to ask her, she gave this testimony glory and they're all saved.
[35:41] I said as a pastor, that makes my job easy. I have nothing left to do except to be there to comfort. a mother who is grieving for the loss of her son, who had every comfort of the hospital system and of the drugs that we have available to keep him comfortable, to make his life easy, uneventful, unpainful, unhurt in any way, shape, or form as they recorded his last heartbeat.
[36:18] And passed out a copy of the paper to each of the family members. But Jesus' mother, standing there at the foot of the cross, as her son, not being unplugged, there was no plug to unplug, as her son was cruelly treated, writhing in pain, and her son was there, she was there for him.
[36:50] Heartbroken as she was, but still supportive. And I can only recall her earliest recollection, how she originally rejoiced in God my Savior, as she magnified the Lord, even before Jesus was born, in Luke 1, verses 46 and 47.
[37:13] she knew that this baby that she was about to give birth to, pardon me, was her own Savior.
[37:27] Thus, it made perfect sense. And she was perfectly willing to be disowned by her own son, set aside knowing that this was the Son of the Highest.
[37:41] This was the Messiah, the Savior, that was going to save her own soul as well. She knew God was her Savior now, she knew how.
[37:58] I didn't put the comma in the right place, let me change that. She knew God was her Savior, Savior. Now, she knew how. And she demonstrated her faith in Him by supporting Him right to the end.
[38:17] There was no question. She believed that her Son, Jesus, was the Savior, the Messiah of this world, and could save her as well.
[38:32] Now, take your hymn books once more, page 250. 250. 250. And let's have you stand once more.
[38:54] And we'll just do the first verse. It's getting late, so we'll do just the first verse. beat the cross of Jesus, I faith would take my stand, a shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land, a home within the wilderness, a threat upon the way, from the burning of the noontine heat, and the burden of the day.
[39:53] You may be seated. there's only two left. Mark behind me, Mark Stockwell, he used to be a Hope community church, and he is now retired from there.
[40:08] So Mark, being retired, not an active pastor like all these other guys, you can probably keep it shorter than... Okay, go ahead, Mark.
[40:22] I thought I should get more time. That's what I thought. If you would take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of John, chapter 19.
[40:43] Now, if you know me at all, I like to have titles for my messages. And God didn't give me a title for my message here until about an hour ago. The title of my message tonight is The Disciple Who Learned the Lesson of Love.
[41:03] And I'm here to share about John. Actually, probably I was one of the first ones when I saw the list, I grabbed at John. In John 19, verses 25 through 27, it says, Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Coloipus, and Mary Magdalene.
[41:27] When Jesus saw, therefore, his mother and the disciples standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son.
[41:37] And he saith unto the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. I find this very interesting.
[41:52] I mean, typically, even in today's society, it would be the eldest son or eldest daughter or whoever would take care of their mom or dad in their later years.
[42:05] and here's someone who's not a son. John. And I think of what's going on in this conversation here.
[42:16] It's a quick conversation, but there's so much there. You know, the disciple whom he loved. We know that through the scriptures we find that John has a special relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
[42:34] No one had a heart like Jesus other than John. John loved more than the rest. And I think he proved it by he was the only disciple there.
[42:49] Where was Peter? Where was James? Where was the other disciples? Only John. That took a lot of love. Well, it took a lot of courage too, but it took a lot of love to show up there with all these evil people doing evil things.
[43:08] And he's there to show his love for the Lord. Just as his mother was there probably to encourage him, so was it John. And he says to his mother, woman, behold thy son.
[43:25] You know, it's important here to note that Jesus wanted to make sure his mother was properly cared for. It's sometimes hard to want to take care of or take care of older parents.
[43:40] It's a trial sometimes. My dad went home to people of the Lord last year and there was a lot that I was not expecting to do that I had to do.
[43:53] But I did because I loved him. And he says, woman, behold thy son. It's interesting, and from that day he took her into his own home.
[44:08] He cared for her. Why? Because Jesus recognized that John would care for her.
[44:22] Again, why not any of the other siblings of Mary? Well, did they know the Lord Jesus as their Savior yet? I honestly don't believe so.
[44:35] But he knew John believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for his Savior. A man named Dr.
[44:46] John Vaughn wrote a book called Precious Than Gold. And he thought he loved the Lord until he went through a tragedy his wife and his daughter were terribly burnt in a house fire.
[45:03] And he learned the lesson of love was love is not something that you feel. Love is something you do. God commended his love towards us in that while we're yet sinners Christ died for us.
[45:18] There was Christ hanging on the cross us. And his thoughts are of his mother. He's up there hanging in agony.
[45:32] You know, that same Jesus cares as much about us as he cared about us more. Matthew Henry wrote, we see here the confidence Jesus' voices in the beloved disciples.
[45:49] This was an honor put upon John and a testimony both of his discernment and his faithfulness. If Jesus knows all things, he would never have made John his guardian if John would have failed in that.
[46:09] It was a great honor to be employed for Christ. You know, it's a great honor to be called to be a servant of God. Whether you're a pastor or a teacher or a parent, you know, God has a great calling because he loves us.
[46:34] Those who truly love Christ are beloved of him and will be glad of any opportunity to do service for him. Recently, we've been getting involved in a nursing home ministry and weekly we've been going to visit some of the folks at the nursing home.
[46:53] And sometimes these folks can be very discouraging because they can, this hurts, nobody's come to see me, you know, and, but there's this one gentleman I started visiting here a couple months back, his name is Cedric, he wears a pink bucket hat.
[47:15] And when I first started to see him, he enjoyed our conversations, but he was kind of mopey and groany, oh this and that, and, you know, I really don't want to live anymore, and kind of moaning and groany.
[47:36] When I saw him the other day, I knocked on his door, asked him to come in, he quickly grabbed his TV control, remote control, and shut off his TV so he could hear our conversations.
[47:51] And he smiled. I'll tell you, somebody like this, you see them smile, it's a great encouragement. And I not only smiled, but when I asked if I could have prayer with him, he said, oh please, that's encouraging, because we're trying to share Christ with him, and share the love of Christ.
[48:15] In 1 John 3 16, it says, hereby we perceive, or understand, or grasp, the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.
[48:27] And we are, or we ought, to lay down our lives for the brethren, or we're duty-bound. A number of years ago, I had an opportunity to donate a kidney to someone.
[48:44] And I was able to use this verse over and over again, when, because they won't let you donate a kidney if you're going to be selfish about it.
[48:54] I don't know how you can be less selfish. But I was able to use this verse with the doctors, the nurses, for the motivation, why I was given, because they all ask you, why are you going to donate a kidney?
[49:11] because it says we're to lay down our lives as Christ did. John wrote this.
[49:23] John was the same one that was at the cross. John, in John chapter 13, writes of Jesus, verses 34 and 35, says, a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you.
[49:46] Our example of love is Jesus Christ. John's example of love was Jesus Christ. John loved Jesus.
[50:01] We're supposed to love one another. To what end? That all men should know that we are his disciple if we have loved one towards another. We're in a world of hate.
[50:15] Hate towards us. But if we can love people in spite of their hate, we can be like Christ. we can be like John.
[50:30] You know, I think of John also as he was also considered probably the youngest of the apostles. I am excited in our church when teens get saved.
[50:46] But not only when they get saved, but when they want to go out and serve the Lord. If one young man, he's up in the sound booth every Sunday. Because he wants to serve the Lord.
[51:00] You know, there's two girls about 8-12 years old who have gotten up a couple times on special music because they love the Lord.
[51:12] Because they want to serve the Lord. I think that's a great example for us who are older. Serve the Lord. Take every opportunity. look at every appointment as a divine appointment.
[51:25] It sure was a divine appointment for John to be there before the cross on that day. And what a wonderful man he was.
[51:36] And think also that it's believed that he lived the longest of all the disciples in his 90s. we do a service at the nursing home once a month.
[51:49] And we have one lady who comes. She goes, I'm 101. I think it's wonderful that she's still got it all up here. 101.
[52:00] We just had a gentleman pass away in our church here a month or so back. He was working on his 103rd year. And you know, and sometimes folks like this, they go, why am I still here?
[52:19] Because God has still got something for us to do. And I think sometimes that's a testimony that these folks have. One of the older men in the church took a couple of the new teens aside and had a talk with them here a couple weeks ago.
[52:37] and turned their lives around. Shared Christ with them and what Christ had done for him. John loved the Lord.
[52:51] The Lord loved John. You love the Lord? We know the Lord loves us, right? Take your Bible and go to Hebrews chapter 12.
[53:07] Hebrews chapter 12. You know what you're thinking. It's like everybody else has been in Matthew and Luke and John. Go to Hebrews chapter 12.
[53:27] Tonight we've seen people who were far from Jesus when he was on the cross. Those religious leaders and those Roman soldiers hated him. We're just waiting to see him die.
[53:41] And we get closer and closer and we see John, Mary, right there at the foot of the cross watching the Savior die. And he looks out and he saw the hatred.
[53:55] He saw the love. He looks out and he's on the cross and he's looking out there and he's on that cross for each and every one of them.
[54:08] Whether they were the haters or the ones who loved him. Whether they were the throng out there who couldn't wait to see him die or his mother down here who loved him so much.
[54:20] But he was on the cross for every one of them. She needed him to go on that cross just as much as they did. We, I don't know everybody here tonight, I'm glad to see all of you here from different churches, but whether your name is Bill, Mary, George, Sue, whatever, Jesus went that cross for you.
[54:44] He went there to bring salvation. You know, one of the interesting things, a lot of times when we do these Good Friday services, we'll do the seven last sayings of the cross. And I got looking at those this week.
[54:58] And do you know how much there's seven of them? Three of them have to do with others. He says, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
[55:09] He said to the thief, today you will be in me in paradise. He said to John and to Mary, he said, woman, behold your son, behold your mother. He was always thinking of others.
[55:22] Why was he on that cross? Because of others. We need a savior. And he is there. He came and did this act on the cross because that was the only way the father could forgive them.
[55:40] Because they didn't know what they were doing. But he was the way of salvation for them. He came with others in mind. He came to finish the work of salvation.
[55:51] salvation. You know, in Mark chapter 14 verse 61 it says this, but he held his peace and answered nothing. And again the high priest asked him saying, art thou the Christ, the son of the blessed?
[56:07] And Jesus said, I am. And ye shall see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power coming in the clouds of heaven. Here's Caiaphas. He's asking him these questions.
[56:18] And he's now on that cross. Why is he on that cross? Because Caiaphas needed a savior. Stop and think about that. I've got you there in Hebrews chapter 12.
[56:29] Look at verse 2. If you ask my church members, they'll tell you that's my favorite verse. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.
[56:44] Stop right there. For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. How can he say that? How can the writer of Hebrews the joy?
[57:00] Now we know because Jesus told us when he was in the garden of somebody, Father, to be thy will, let this thing pass from me. But nevertheless, let thy will be done.
[57:12] How can you have joy going to the cross? Jesus, I think Jesus looked out that day and he saw those guys back there. He saw his mother and John down here.
[57:24] He looked out and saw every one of you. And he said, I get to make a way for them to avoid hell and go to heaven.
[57:38] I get to do a job that needs to be done and I get to do it. Was it great being on the cross? No, it wasn't great being on the cross. But to provide salvation for each and every one of us, what a great thing he did that day.
[57:56] And the joy to be able to look forward and say, you know what, George is going to get saved. Bill's going to get saved. They're going to trust in me. I'm doing this for them.
[58:09] You know, this is a story that I found. 1997, Ryan Matthews, 17 years old. He's arrested and charged with murder of a convenience store clerk in Bridge City, Louisiana.
[58:24] He enters his plea, not guilty. And, you know, evidence comes in and they have the trial and everything and he's found guilty. And he's sentenced to death.
[58:39] Fortunately, you know how our system, our legal system works. Ten years later, he's still in jail. His attorney at the time of the trial, the guy who was in the convenience store wore a ski mask.
[58:54] They never asked for any DNA evidence about the ski mask and who was wearing it. Ten years later, things have advanced and stuff. Finally, somebody tests the mask and find out it wasn't him.
[59:07] he's there. His sentence is vacated. He's able to get out of jail. Can you imagine being arrested, put in jail, and you're innocent?
[59:21] That's the case with Jesus that day. He was innocent. But they were going to convict him anyway. They came up with all kinds of things to convict him.
[59:31] And Jesus, you notice how many times they pointed out Jesus didn't say anything? Why didn't he say anything? Because of the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross.
[59:45] He knew what he was there for. He knew why he was there. He knew what he was going to do. Can you imagine standing before the judge of the universe? He says, you've been charged with sins against the holy God.
[59:59] How do you plead? Well, if we're honest, we're going to say, yep, I'm guilty. I'm guilty of the sin, but, but, I plead the blood of Jesus Christ.
[60:17] That day when he went to the cross, he went there for me. And the judge brings down that gavel, and he says, the blood of Jesus, God's son, cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
[60:32] So you are declared, forgiven. God came to this world in Jesus Christ, and he gave his life so that we could have eternal life in heaven with him, so that we could have a life here on earth where we walk with him and fellowship with him.
[60:55] We come to this Easter season. Tonight, we're talking about the cross. I love that old sermon. it's Friday, but Sunday's coming. We're talking about Friday and what Jesus did for us.
[61:09] But never forget, Sunday's coming. I can't wait for Sunday. But for today, I'm reminded again, Jesus did all of this for you and I.
[61:25] Taking hymn books again. Turn to page 243. 243. And let's stand.
[61:40] Let's stand. when I survey the wondrous cross on which the prince of glory die.
[62:11] My riches gained I count but lost and bore contempt on all my pride.
[62:29] On the third. See from his hand his hands his feet Sorrow and love blow mingle down Did e'er such love and sorrow meet or thorns compose so rich a crown On the fourth.
[63:09] Were the whole realm of nature mine That were a present far too small Love so amazing So divine Dements my soul My life My own Love so amazing so divine And where does it come through?
[63:53] To Christ alone. Let's finish with this song tonight In Christ Alone. Christ the Lord My hope is found He is my light my strength my song His cornerstone His solid ground Firm through the fiercest frown and storm What heights of love what depths of peace when fears are still and striving cease I comfort earth my all in all here in the love of Christ I stand in Christ alone who took on flesh full is a God in helpless faith
[64:56] His gift of love and righteousness scorned by the ones He came to save but heights of love what depths of peace when fears are still and striving cease I comfort earth my all in all here in the love of Christ I stand there in the ground His body lay light of the world by darkness slain then bursting forth in glorious day up from the ground He rose again what heights of love what depths of peace when fears are still in soon you cease my comforter my all in all here in the love of
[66:02] Christ I stand if you're here tonight and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior talk to any one of us pastors that are here tonight we would love to take the word of God and show you how you can know for sure that this Easter season you are ready when Easter comes when he rises from that grave you are ready to celebrate that day because you know him as your Savior come talk to us we will be glad to show you now I know it's late but there are refreshments downstairs as a chance we don't get together like this but once or twice a year and it is so good to see others to know that we are here in Hancock Maine are not alone there are others out there you know we're kind of at the end of the world out here you all drove here tonight you know that but but we still believe in the
[67:15] Lord Jesus Christ and the finished work at Calvary fellowship together and get to know each other let me have a word of prayer to dismiss you I'll pray for the food downstairs go have some fellowship dear Heavenly Father we just thank you for this time together tonight Lord we thank you for each one of these men who participated!
[67:41] whether it was those Roman soldiers or Mary you died for them you died for us you died for everyone so that they might have the opportunity to have the forgiveness of sin and salvation Lord thank you for all that you have done for us thank you for the love that you have shown to us thank you for your care for others thank you for who you are Lord I pray for the refreshments downstairs I pray that you bless those to our bodies bless the fellowship together watch over people as they travel home Lord just thank you for this encouraging night that we have had thank you in Jesus name amen!
[69:02] voy! voy! voy!