[0:00] God's help, let's turn back to Luke and chapter 23, and reading again just the last section there in verse 43.
[0:16] And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. So tonight I want us to look at the narrative of the thief on the cross.
[0:35] This is a very well-known account, and indeed it's a wonderful account. It's an account of the life-transforming power of the gospel message, in the life of a man who is, quite literally, in his dying moments.
[0:54] And in that sense, we would call this an 11th hour conversion, or an 11th hour salvation. And I suspect that this particular text is a text that has been used many, many times over the centuries to bring lost sinners into the kingdom of God.
[1:17] Perhaps even people here tonight could testify to these very verses and say they were used in bringing me to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because these words and this text is incredibly powerful.
[1:31] And it is a text that is full of hope, isn't it? There's a tremendous amount of hope in seeing this man being converted in his very dying moments.
[1:41] But although this is a text of hope, it is also a text that is very easily abused by some.
[1:53] Because for some people, they see this man, this thief on the cross, and they see him converted in his very dying moments. They see him converted at the 11th hour.
[2:06] And they think to themselves, well, that's a good idea. That's a really good idea. I'm going to do just that. I don't want to give my life to the Lord now. I don't want to hand my life over to him now.
[2:19] I don't want him to be Lord of my life now. I've got things I want to do myself. I want to enjoy my life the way I want. But at the same time, I want to go to heaven. So what I'll do is, I'll live my life as it is just now.
[2:32] And then when the jaws of death begin to open up before me, whenever that might happen, when those jaws of death open up, then I'll come to faith.
[2:43] Then I'll do what this thief does here. And I'll put my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if that's how you are thinking here tonight, then I want to challenge you.
[2:57] And I want to challenge you to take a step back from this scene. As we picture this scene on the cross here, I want you to take a step back. Because what we tend to do very often is home in and focus in on that thief that was saved.
[3:13] We focus on him. And I suppose for good reason. It's a good news story. And we're almost blinkered to everything else that's going on. But if we take a step back in this scene that unfolds before us here, in the text, you'll notice something.
[3:29] And what you'll notice is there's not just one thief. There is two. There is another thief there as well. And although we tend, as I say, to maybe focus on one thief in particular, the one who would be saved, we ought not to forget about the other thief.
[3:48] We ought not to ignore that other thief. Because there are solemn spiritual lessons to learn from that other thief here as well.
[3:59] And what I want to do just for this few moments this evening is, I want to look at both of these criminals. I want to look at both of them as they're crucified side by side or either side of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[4:16] And firstly, what I want to do is, I want to look at the thief who was lost. So I want to look at him first. And then after that, I want to shift the focus to the thief who was saved.
[4:26] And what I want to do is, not so much just compare and contrast the thieves themselves. I want to compare and contrast their prayers. Because what you have here is not just two criminals or two thieves.
[4:41] You have two prayers as well. They both, in a sense, put up a request to Jesus. It might not be particularly obvious when you're first reading it, but they do. Both of them actually put up a request to Jesus.
[4:53] And what is a request to Jesus but a prayer? Is it not? And here you have two very different prayers. And as we'll see, two very, very different outcomes.
[5:05] So firstly, with the Lord's help, let's look at the thief who was lost. And we'll find that in verse 39 there. One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, Are you not the Christ?
[5:24] Save yourself and us. So this thief here blasphemes Jesus. That word there, railed at him, it's the same as blaspheming. Blasphemed him.
[5:35] Now, how much these thieves actually knew about the Lord Jesus Christ before this day, we're not really sure. We don't know how much they knew at this point.
[5:46] Perhaps they've encountered Jesus throughout his earthly ministry. That's quite possible. Perhaps they've heard something about Jesus. But at the same time, because they're criminals and because they're thieves, there's a good chance, perhaps, that they haven't heard much about Jesus at all.
[6:03] But yet, even if this thief here, even if he knew nothing about the Lord Jesus Christ before this day, at the very least, now he knows something.
[6:13] Now he knows something. Because as he's there on the cross, he hears those in the crowd shouting all sorts of things at this man that's hanging beside him.
[6:24] And the thief as well, he's aware that there's a much bigger crowd here than at a normal crucifixion. So he's aware this is no normal crucifixion. And he's hearing the crowds shouting at this man who's hanging beside him.
[6:37] And the things that they're shouting, they're saying things like, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. And if you are the Christ. So this thief, even if he didn't know anything else before this, he's hearing things now.
[6:52] This man has supposedly been seen as the king of the Jews, the Christ. He's hearing all these things that this crowd is shouting. And what is it that he does?
[7:05] When he hears all this, what does he do with all that information that comes? Well, we see there, he blasphemes. He blasphemes Jesus. He shouts abuse at the Lord Jesus Christ.
[7:17] Now, that's quite remarkable when you think about it. This man who's on the cross, he's not just like a bystander with nothing else to do. This thief on the cross here, he is going through one of the most painful forms of execution you could ever imagine.
[7:35] Because it's understood that crucifixion was one of the most painful executions that we find in history. And here, this man, he's going through those very pains here.
[7:47] And you would think that he would be so taken up with his own pain and with his own suffering that he wouldn't have time to think about anything else. And that he wouldn't have time to think about anyone else.
[8:03] That his mind would be so taken up with the agony of his own situation. But here, you see this thief. And he's fighting against the pain of crucifixion.
[8:17] And he's fighting against it in order to blaspheme Jesus. Because, as we understand the crucifixion itself, to actually speak in an audible fashion and to shout in an audible way, you'd have to open up your lungs.
[8:33] And in order to open up your lungs, you would have to put pressure on the nails on your feet. And that causes a great degree of pain. And it seems as though this thief here, he will actually cause himself pain in order to ridicule and blaspheme the Lord Jesus Christ.
[8:52] It's quite remarkable. This is no apathetic taunt. This is a deliberate and a spiritual attack. The powers of darkness are very much behind these things.
[9:03] So he's blaspheming. But what is it that he actually says? He says, are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.
[9:15] You see, he has heard this crowd saying, save yourself. Go on. Prove to us that you're the Son of God. Prove to us that you're the Christ.
[9:25] Come down from the cross. Save yourself. If you really are who you say you are, come down and save yourself. And as this thief hears that, he takes that and he adds to it.
[9:36] He actually adds to it. He says, effectively, if you are the Christ, save yourself and us. You see, in a twisted way, he actually asks Jesus to save him.
[9:52] So he says, save us. It's a request. It's a request to Jesus. And what is a request to Jesus but a prayer, isn't it? And in that sense, this man has prayed.
[10:03] He has said to Jesus, here, save us. But of course, I hope it's crystal clear that this is a blasphemous and evil prayer.
[10:14] An evil and blasphemous petition. Why? Why is this so evil and blasphemous? Well, there's a number of reasons. But the main thing is, there's a lot more to prayer than just the words we use.
[10:29] Because what he says here is perfectly fine. Save us. That's a good prayer, isn't it? Save me. We would commend people to say that kind of prayer. Save me. Save us.
[10:40] And that's what he does here. But this is a blasphemous prayer. It's a blasphemous prayer. Because this prayer here is lacking a number of things.
[10:51] A number of things. And I want to just highlight two things that this prayer is lacking. First and foremost, he lacks faith. That's fundamental to prayer, isn't it? Faith. But he lacks faith.
[11:02] You see, he says, are you not the Christ? And that's really worded in the sense of, are you not supposedly the Christ? If you are, save us.
[11:13] You see, there's no faith in this. There's no faith in this at all. These words here, they're not a declaration that Jesus is the Christ. They're the opposite. They're words very much loaded with doubt.
[11:27] And it's as though he's saying, you're not the Christ. Some translations have it, if you are the Christ. It's as though he's saying, you're not the Christ. I don't believe you're the Christ.
[11:39] I don't believe. If you are, prove it. Prove it to me. Your own people, they don't believe you. Look at them, Jesus. They're there in the crowds. And they're blaspheming. And they're ridiculing.
[11:49] And they're mocking you. They don't believe you. If you really are the Christ, save yourself. And not only that, but save us as well. You see, this prayer has no faith in it at all.
[12:01] There is no faith at all in this blasphemous prayer. But as well as lacking faith, the prayer also shows a complete lack of understanding.
[12:12] Because he has no understanding of what he actually needs saved from. We touched on this in the fellowship on Friday night, didn't we? Saying, save us.
[12:23] You have to ask, what do people mean by that? Save us. What does that mean when someone says, save me? Save me from what? And you can ask here, what does this man mean here when he says, save us?
[12:33] Did this mean that he wanted to be saved from his sins? Saved from going into a lost eternity? Well, of course, that's not what he meant here. When he says, save us here, save me.
[12:45] He just wanted down from the cross. That's all he wanted. He wanted down from the cross. And he wanted down from the cross so that, what, he could turn in repentance and turn to the Lord?
[12:56] No. He wanted down from the cross so that he could carry on his crime-fueled life. That's all he wanted here. He didn't care about his soul or sin or heaven and hell or any of these things.
[13:08] He just wanted down so that he could continue his life of sin. This is a blasphemous request, a blasphemous prayer. There's no faith in it and absolutely no understanding at all.
[13:25] And I wonder how many blasphemous prayers like this are put up to God. I wonder if you've ever put a blasphemous prayer like that up to God.
[13:36] Now, the chances are you have, because this is actually a very common thing to do. You see, there are some people, and they've got no care for God. They've got no thought about their souls.
[13:49] They've got no thought about their eternal well-being or anything like that. But when difficulties come their way, when a crisis moment comes, maybe to do with your health or finances or relationships or whatever it might be, when a crisis moment comes, you've got no care for God, but when the crisis moment comes, you turn to him all of a sudden.
[14:10] And you send up some kind of flippant request up to him, some kind of emergency arrow prayer up to God. And you'll say something along these lines, If you are there, God, help me.
[14:22] If you are there, God, save me. If you are there, God, heal me. And I wonder if you've ever done something like that. As I say, very common. Probably most people here have a very common kind of prayer to put up.
[14:37] Now, I'm not saying here, don't pray to God in times of distress and times when death is drawing near. Of course we should pray to God in crisis.
[14:48] And I'm not saying don't pray to God when you're in crisis. But what I'm trying to point out here is that if you've got no care for your soul, if you've got no care for how you are in relationship to God, if you've got no care about your eternal well-being and all of these things, if you've got no care about any of those things, then you have much bigger problems than whatever crisis is in your life at that time.
[15:15] That's not to belittle the crisis in any way, and I don't mean to do that. It's just to highlight the seriousness of your spiritual condition. Because surely that must come first.
[15:26] But how often people put these kinds of prayers here up. They don't care about their souls. They just care about whatever crisis they're in and getting out of it. And this thief's request or his prayer here, it's utterly devoid of faith and utterly devoid of any understanding.
[15:43] He blasphemes and he mocks Jesus. And is that not a frightening way to end your life? Imagine. Imagine ending your life in that way.
[15:54] The last thing you did, it was blaspheme the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that's how this man ends his life here. And for those outside of Christ here tonight, some of you might be looking at this and thinking, Well, if I was face to face with Christ and his sufferings, if I was there like that man, I would have believed.
[16:19] I would have. I would have believed. I wouldn't have rejected him like that. I certainly wouldn't have blasphemed him or mocked him in the way that this thief does here. I wouldn't have done that.
[16:30] I would have put my faith in him. But friends, you have to remember that you are face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ, aren't you?
[16:42] Every time you come under the sound of the gospel, you come face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ. And even here tonight, you are face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ.
[16:53] Arguably in a clearer way than even this thief was, because the gospel is proclaimed. The good news that Jesus Christ died for sinners, and if we put out faith in him, then we will be saved.
[17:09] That's the gospel. And there we are, face to face with the gospel, and face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have to ask, What's our response to that? How do we respond?
[17:20] How are we going to respond to the gospel message? Are we going to reject it? Are we going to reject Jesus? And if we are, then how are you any different to this thief that we have before us here?
[17:39] How are you any different? No different at all. This man ends his life rejecting the gospel, blaspheming the gospel. You make sure that you don't end your life in the same way.
[17:53] Make sure you don't end your life like that. There's no more solemn way to end your life than to reject the gospel message of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we thank God for the other thief here.
[18:06] And I want to turn the spotlight now to this other thief. Now it looks as though, certainly in the early stages of the crucifixion narrative, it looks as though this thief is actually mocking Jesus as well.
[18:21] And the reason I say that is because in Matthew's account, in Matthew 27 and verse 44, we read an interesting phrase. We read, So what you have actually, at the beginning of the crucifixion narrative, it seems to be that both criminals are mocking Jesus.
[18:50] That both of them are somehow involved in this blaspheming that's going on. But obviously something dramatic happens in the heart of this other thief here.
[19:02] All of a sudden something changes. Something drastic changes in this man's life. And you can ask the question, what is it that's changed? What's changed here?
[19:12] What's affected him in this way? So that we see this vast change of blaspheming, or ridiculing Jesus at one point, and now how we see him here in these verses in Luke. What has brought about that change?
[19:23] Is it something he's seen on the cross? Is it something he's seen in the Lord Jesus? Is it perhaps something he's heard? We know of sayings of our Lord Jesus on the cross.
[19:35] We've read a few of them there. Is it these sayings? What has changed this man's heart here? Now maybe all these things played a part.
[19:46] It's likely that the Lord used all these things. But ultimately, the change was brought about by the Spirit of God. That's the reason for this change. And amazingly, we only have a few verses here in this passage in Luke.
[20:01] But amazingly, in these few verses, we actually see clear evidences of how the Spirit of God has actually worked in this man's heart. It's quite remarkable how much we have in these few verses.
[20:15] And I want to just look at some of the evidences of the Spirit working in the heart of this man. And the first evidence we have of this change is in his rebuke there to his colleague in crime.
[20:27] In verse 40, we read, So, what do we see here?
[20:46] We see a godly fear developing in this man. You see, as the jaws of death are opening up before this man, he becomes very much aware of God.
[21:00] He becomes aware of God. And this fear of God begins to develop inside him. And this fear of God awakens him to his condition.
[21:10] He begins to have the eyes of his understanding opened. That's the Spirit who's doing that. You see, the other thief lacked this. The Spirit wasn't opening his eyes.
[21:24] He was blinded by his own sin. But here, this man, he begins to see. The Spirit is working in him. And he begins to see. And not only does he begin to see, but he begins to fear.
[21:35] And what is it that he's fearing? He's not fearing death. He's not fearing the pains of the cross. He's not fearing crucifixion itself. He is fearing God.
[21:48] He's fearing God. Remarkable. And is this not how the Spirit of God works in the life of the sinner? Is that not how the Spirit of God works when he's converting the sinner?
[22:03] Because for those amongst us here tonight who have been saved, you perhaps remember a time when you had no fear of God. Maybe you remember a time when you didn't really reverence him at all.
[22:16] A time when you would blaspheme his name and it didn't really affect you in any way. But then the Spirit of God all of a sudden began to work. And when the Spirit worked and he opened your eyes, you begin to fear God.
[22:29] You didn't have this before. Now all of a sudden you begin to fear him. This godly fear sets in. And very often in the process of conversion, that's the first thing that we become aware of.
[22:41] We become aware that all of a sudden now we fear God. We didn't before. And now I fear God. And you wonder, why is that? And it's the Spirit of God is working in you.
[22:51] And that's exactly what this thief experiences here. The fear of God. But then what does that lead to in the experience of this thief? So then we see the next evidence of the Spirit's work.
[23:04] We see conviction and confession of sin there in verse 41. In verse 41 we read there, You see, he confesses that he is a lawbreaker and he confesses that he is deserving of punishment.
[23:28] And again, is this not the case spiritually when the Lord is working in a saving way in the sinner? Because as this sense of godly fear sets in, what happens is it highlights and it very much elevates our sin.
[23:45] Our sin is magnified. And before this happened, you would sin and it didn't bother you that much. You would sin and you knew it was sin because you knew your Bible and you knew this was a sin.
[23:56] But you would sin and it didn't really bother you. But when the Spirit opens your eyes and when you begin to be aware of this fear of God, all of a sudden sin bothers you.
[24:07] It bothers you. It really gets to you. And things that perhaps you used to do and things that you used to say without flinching before.
[24:18] Now all of a sudden you do and you say these things and you're uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. And it's like you feel the eye of the Almighty One Himself looking down on you and you just feel the weight of the conviction of all of these things.
[24:34] And on top of that, you become aware that God is a holy God and a just God. And when you think about that, that God is holy and just, you begin to realize that your sins deserve punishment.
[24:53] And then it dawns on you that you are actually heading for a lost eternity. All these thoughts, the Spirit of God opening your eyes and it's all just flooding in all of these different thoughts.
[25:08] And here, this thief, he's convicted. He's convicted of his law-breaking and his sin. He admits it and he admits that he needs to be punished.
[25:20] But, he doesn't stop there, does he? So we've seen a godly fear setting in. We've seen this picture of conviction and confession of sin.
[25:31] But then he goes on to proclaim the innocence of Christ, doesn't he? In verse 41 again. Because what does he say at the end there? But, but, this man has done nothing wrong.
[25:45] This man has done no wrong. This thief is saying, this man hanging beside me on the cross, he is innocent. And that is incredibly profound. And that's profound because Jesus has been through countless trials.
[25:59] He has been through countless councils and gatherings and they've all tried him. And every single one of them have essentially concluded that Jesus is guilty. Even when they thought he was innocent, they still found him guilty, didn't they?
[26:13] Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. Right the way through, even his own people, the Jews, shouting out, crucify him. Crucify him. They all find him guilty.
[26:25] But, this humble thief declares Jesus innocent. That's amazing, isn't it? Amazing. This humble thief declares Jesus innocent.
[26:37] This thief, he sees what the eyes of the learned and the so-called wise and educated, this thief sees what they didn't see.
[26:50] This thief sees a man being condemned to death, but a man who has done nothing wrong. He sees the innocence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[27:02] And, friends, that's the wonder of the gospel. You see, the gospel doesn't just show us our sin. It doesn't just show us our sin. That wouldn't be good news, would it?
[27:13] If all the gospel did was make us feel terrible because of our sin. There's no good news if that's all it was. But the gospel shows us our sin so that then we will see the sinless one, the sinless Lamb of God.
[27:27] And the more we see of our sin and the blackness of our sin, the more beauty we see in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[27:38] You see, the Spirit works conviction in us not so that we might dwell on our sin. The sin works conviction in us in order that we might then look and see the innocence and the sinless perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[27:55] And here that thief does just that. He sees the innocence of Jesus. So then, in this thief, what have we seen so far? We've seen that he has this sense of godly fear.
[28:07] We see that. You see a conviction and a confession of sin. You see a picture of that. He sees the innocence of Christ and then, crucially, he prays.
[28:22] He prays. And we looked at the blasphemous prayer of the other thief and how different is the humble prayer of this thief here. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
[28:36] Amazing prayer, isn't it? And you see the humility in that prayer. Just remember me. It's so simple. It's as though he's saying, if you but remember me, my soul will be well.
[28:49] My body might die here on the cross, but Jesus, if you remember me, my soul will be well. It's such a simple and a humble prayer.
[29:03] And we can learn a lot from that, you know. It's not the long-winded, articulate prayers of the wise that God wants to hear when we come to him for salvation, is it?
[29:15] It's not that. Sometimes we think our prayer needs to be of a particular theological rigor to be saved. That's not the case. That's not the case at all. Because when we are left broken by our sin, and when we are struck with this realization that we are hell-deserving sinners, sinners, and then, when we become aware of the Spirit of God working in us and opening our eyes, words fail us.
[29:44] We've got nothing. We've got nothing to give. We're broken. Broken sinners aware of our sin coming before God and we've got nothing. And all we can do is fall before our Lord and say words like this, remember me.
[29:58] Remember me. Sometimes that's all we have and sometimes when the Spirit works in that way in your life, that's all you need to come broken before God and say, simply, remember me.
[30:11] And you'll notice as well in that prayer, he says, when you come in your kingdom. That's another remarkable phrase there.
[30:22] His eyes are so opened by the Spirit of God that he sees this battered, bloody, bruised body hanging on the cross beside him and this thief sees him as a king.
[30:35] Nobody else sees him as a king. But amazingly, this thief does. He sees him as a king and a king of this vast spiritual kingdom.
[30:47] Amazing faith and understanding in that prayer, isn't it? Amazing humility as well. Remember me when you come into your kingdom. His eyes have been opened.
[30:58] The Spirit has opened his eyes and you can clearly see that in this prayer. Remember me. Remember back in Genesis when Joseph, when he was in prison and Joseph, he was in prison with Pharaoh's cupbearer and of course famously Joseph interpreted the dream the dream of the cupbearer and he told the cupbearer that he would be reinstated to his position and remember what Joseph said to him.
[31:27] He said, when you are restored, remember me. Remember me when you are freed and what happened? Did the cupbearer remember his fellow prisoner?
[31:39] He didn't. He forgot his fellow prisoner but Jesus will not. Jesus will not forget his fellow prisoner here.
[31:50] He will not forget this poor, humble thief. The rest of society might forget him quite likely. The rest of society probably took nothing to do with him.
[32:01] They probably gave him little attention at all but Jesus, Jesus, he remembers him and we can see that in his response in verse 43 there.
[32:13] Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Amazing answer. There was silence in response to that blasphemous request or that blasphemous petition from the other thief but how different is the response to this humble prayer of faith here from this thief.
[32:36] Jesus assures him your prayer is answered. Jesus assures him that life eternal awaits him that very day.
[32:49] He is saved. It's amazing. He is saved. You know, there is great irony in what's actually going on here when you stop and think about it. Why do you put a man on a cross?
[33:02] What's the purpose of you putting a man on a cross? Well, the purpose of you putting a man on a cross is to kill him. That's why you do that. So that he'll die. But here, the irony is that here, a man goes on a cross and he comes to life.
[33:18] He comes to life. It's the opposite of what you expect. Because spiritually, when this man was nailed to that cross, he was dead. He was dead in his trespasses.
[33:28] He was dead in his sin. He was dead already. He was dead. But there on that cross, there in that place of death, he comes to life.
[33:40] It's amazing, isn't it? He becomes a life. He becomes a new creation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ. And you know, the devil would have probably been looking down here and he would have looked at this thief and he would have seen in this thief a man who has lived his life in sin, a man who was previously mocking and ridiculing Jesus on the cross, a man who has lived a life of crime.
[34:12] And the devil would have no doubt thought to himself, well, this is definitely one of mine. Definitely. I mean, look at his life. This is one of my children, a child of the devil and no doubt the devil was ready to just close his grasp on that man's soul and to take him down into a lost eternity.
[34:31] No doubt. But amazingly, what happens? Just as this man is about to be taken down into the very depths of hell, just as the devil is ready to grasp him, the Lord Jesus Christ takes him out just like that, just before it is too late.
[34:52] Amazing. An amazing account of someone being saved. And you know, these two thieves here, what's remarkable about them is that they're both very similar.
[35:07] They both have the same experiences. Sometimes we put conversion down to mere experience, but here, these men experience the same thing. They both hung either side of Jesus on the cross.
[35:18] They both saw the same things. They both heard the same things. They've both lived crime-fuelled lives. Yet one of them is saved.
[35:30] And strangely and solemnly, the other one is not. As we read elsewhere, one will be taken and one will be left. The same experience.
[35:41] salvation is a work of the Spirit of God, doesn't it? The Spirit of God opened that man's eyes and he was able to come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[35:57] Well, I suppose as I just draw to a close now, I want to leave you with a question. I suppose the question very much gets to the heart of this passage of the thief on the cross and the question is, is it ever too late to be saved?
[36:14] Is it ever too late to be saved? Now, probably what you want me to say here is, no, it's never too late. Never too late to be saved and you would point at this thief on the cross and you would say, there's evidence, there's evidence for you, it's never too late to be saved.
[36:30] But actually, there is a time when it's too late to be saved. Because I look at that other thief, I look at that other thief who died, as far as we know, blaspheming Jesus.
[36:42] I look at that other thief and I can say, it's too late for him. It's too late for him. It's too late for him. He has died without putting his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is too late.
[36:52] And it is too late for everyone who dies without putting their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, there is a time when it can be too late.
[37:03] And unconverted friends here tonight, if death comes for you and you have not put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then it is too late for you as well.
[37:20] Don't gamble with your souls. Don't gamble on getting to hear another sermon next Lord's Day or don't gamble on waiting for another communion Lord's Day evening service.
[37:33] don't gamble on these things. Today is the day of salvation. Don't you focus on that thief that was saved and say I'm going to do that. You remember that other thief.
[37:44] That other thief because for him it was too late. And my prayer is that every one of us in here would close in with Christ today. That we would come and bow our knee before Jesus today.
[37:58] Not even tonight, not even later on, right now. That we would put our faith in him. And that we would know that joy and that wonderful experience of the salvation that we have in Jesus Christ.
[38:13] Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for the gospel and the solemn truths which you teach us in it.
[38:37] And we have considered a solemn passage even this evening as we've looked at these two thieves. Two very different stories, two very different prayers, two very different outcomes.
[38:49] others. And we pray, O Lord, that as we all gather here tonight, some in the Lord, some with our faith in Christ, but some perhaps who have not put their faith in Christ.
[39:02] We pray, O Lord, that those who are outside would look at these two thieves and that they would see the reality of what awaits them if they do not put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[39:14] may you instill an urgency in their souls and may the Spirit so work in their souls. May your Spirit open their eyes that they may be aware of that godly fear themselves, that they would be convicted of their sin, that they would see the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus Christ and that they would be driven to their knees in prayer.
[39:36] And may they see that their prayer need not be anything more than these simple words that we saw here, remember me. So remember each one of us here tonight. And we ask it all in Jesus' name.
[39:49] Amen. We'll close our service of worship by singing to God's praise in Psalm 86 in the Scottish Psalter.
[40:11] Psalm 86. And we'll sing there the verse marked 1 through to 7.
[40:26] O Lord, do thou bow down thine ear and hear me graciously because I sore afflicted am and am in poverty. Because I am holy, let my soul by thee preserved be.
[40:40] O thou my God, thy servant save, that puts his trust in thee. Since unto thee I daily cry, be merciful to me, rejoice thy servant's soul, for Lord, I lift my soul to thee, for thou art gracious, O Lord, and ready to forgive.
[40:58] He is ready even now tonight to forgive. And rich in mercy, all that call upon thee to relieve. And then you have the Lord listening to the prayer of the psalmist here.
[41:10] Hear, Lord, my prayer, unto the voice of my request attend. In troublous times I will call on thee, for thou wilt answer send.
[41:22] So we'll sing those verses there to God's praise. Amen. O Lord, do thou bow down thine ear, and hear me graciously, because I soar afflicted, of and am in poverty, because I wholly let my soul by thee preserved be.
[42:20] O thou my God, thy step, I'm saved, that puts in trust in thee.
[42:37] Sigh unto thee, I daily die, be merciful to me.
[42:51] me. Rejoice thy servant soul, for Lord, I lift my soul to thee.
[43:09] For thou art gracious, O Lord, and ready to forgive, and rich in mercy, all that fall upon thee to relieve.
[43:38] hear, dear Lord, my prayer, unto the voice of my request attend.
[43:56] In troublous times I'll call on thee, Lord, thou will pass the end.
[44:13] I don't wish to discourage anyone from waiting for the prayer meeting, but if you are waiting, if you kindly make sure that your car is not parked where it's blocking others in. Thank you. And now may the grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit continue with you all, no one forever more.
[44:38] Amen.