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“Can I Be Redeemed?”

Neal Grantham
11/24/24 - Sun PM

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Psalm 177 verses 1 to 773.

Psalms 77 1 to 10.

I cried out to God with my voice, to God with my voice.

And he gave ear to me in the day of my trouble.

I sought the Lord.

My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing my soul refused to be comforted.

I remembered God and was troubled.

I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed.

You hold my eyelids open.

I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.

I call to remembrance my song in the night.

I meditate within my heart and my spirit makes diligent search.

Will the Lord cast off forever and will he be favorable no more?

Has his mercy ceased forever?

Has his promise failed forevermore?

Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has he in his anger, shut up his tender mercies?

And I said this is my anguish.

But I will remember the years of the right hand of the most high.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to speak tonight.

Uh It's, it's been about a full year since I last preached.

And uh it took me some time to realize that I didn't want to preach full time.

But, uh, I, I do enjoy, uh, coming in and sharing the word with people.

And I, I kind of really like to focus more on evangelism.

I found that the, the full time work of a preacher, uh didn't fit for me.

And, uh, I messaged Allen a few days ago because he was asking me what the title of my sermon was.

And I told him the title of my sermon was for, we cannot stop speaking because when I usually the first time I preach at a new congregation, I really wanna share that message and he text me back a few minutes later and said my lesson last weekend was for we cannot but speak.

And so I don't know how he went ahead in time and uh chose uh to steal my lesson.

But I think he, it's possible I did talk to him about it later over the phone and I said, I, I guess what we can do is I can present the same lesson and we'll let the congregation decide which one's best.

Um That's not what I'm doing.

OK. So, uh for the sake of Alan's job and that's, that's totally the whole reason.

Um So I, I have a gospel meeting series that is focused on understanding more about how God feels toward us.

And that's, that's quite the task for somebody that's my age.

I'm just 36 years old.

And I think really, the Christian spends all of their life trying to determine how God feels about them and what God thinks about them.

And I know the answer is found in God's word.

But I can assure you when I was baptized at 15, I didn't rise up out of the water and just know exactly how God feels about me.

I knew about Jesus, I knew what he had done for me, but here I am 21 years later, still trying to determine exactly how he feels about me and the things that I do.

And so this is one of the lessons in that series.

And so I'm gonna have to, I'll, I'll have to tell you just a a brief moment about what lesson one is about because this isn't the first lesson.

That's the reason that I had John Reid from Psalm 77 is because it seems like a af is really struggling with the idea of can I actually be forgiven?

And I think that all starts in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.

I don't know when they were hiding among the trees, exactly what was going on in their mind.

But I know that there are human beings just like me created in the same way that, that I've been created.

So I would think they have similar thoughts to me before they man.

I wish I knew what that was like I wish I knew what it was like to have that relationship with God in the garden, not tainted by sin, having never sinned, having a perfect relationship with God.

And afterwards I feel like they probably spent the rest.

I think Adam lived 900 years or so.

I, I mean, it's close enough, you know, um, that I think he probably spent the rest of his life trying to determine just what God thinks about and how he feels.

And I wonder what kind of questions they asked themselves as they were hiding amongst the trees in the garden.

They were obviously afraid.

Adam says that we were afraid so we hid ourselves and I almost get the picture of, of a child messing up and having a parent that is abusive.

And as soon as the kid messes up, they are just terrified that they are going to be disciplined beyond belief and they are hiding and running.

And maybe those are kind of some of the same feelings that Adam and Eve were feeling as they're hiding among the trees.

Now, you and I at least know because I guess however long we've walked with the Lord that God's not just waiting for us to mess up so he can come chase us down with a belt.

He does teach good and proper discipline, but it's not the kind of thing that was going on in Adam and Eve's mind.

That's my estimation.

I think that they were terrified of what was going to happen as if they could only mess up this one time and their relationship with God would be over forever.

Well, the reason that this lesson is so important to me is, and I've talked to my wife, my wife knows this more about me than anybody else.

Um because of some things in my life and I'm not gonna give you the details other than to just say I fell away from, from the Lord for a time.

And when I came back to the Lord, I came back to the Lord because I was scared.

Now I don't like that about myself.

It makes me feel bad because I think I, I know other people in my life that it's like man, I think they've just been following the Lord their whole life and other people that just like, yeah, I'm, I'm sure you messed up but you didn't mess up like I messed up.

And after that for many years of my life and the feelings are still there.

The the feelings that I remember feeling, I'm not sure if I can go to heaven and that did not go away after a few weeks or a few months.

So I told you I was baptized when I was 15 and then I fell away probably at the age of 393.

And then I got really bad when, by the time I was 19 years old, 19 years old.

Is when I came back to the Lord and for a very long time and still I still get some counseling for it.

When it comes back up.

I will wonder, can I possibly go to heaven?

Because the alternative is terrifying as it should be.

But I want you to be thinking about Adam and Eve hiding in the trees in the garden.

As as we go through this lesson, I brought that psalm up.

I don't know if as a p was feeling the exact same thing, but it seems like he is passionately questioning the idea.

Can I be redeemed?

I really need to know this and me, the personal feelings that I had, I need to know that more than anything else, more than you know, I got married a little later probably than your average person, early thirties.

And I was wondering for a long time.

Am I going to find a wife?

And that meant a lot to me?

I thought about it a lot.

It didn't matter at all in comparison to me constantly thinking, am I going to get to go to heaven and what happens if I don't go to heaven?

And so that scared me and it grieved me and, and so on.

And so maybe here are some of the questions maybe Adam and Eve were thinking and if not, there are questions that I've thought is one is it's, it's all over and I'll never be redeemed.

Ok. And here in a minute we'll talk about some Bible characters that I think have the same feelings.

Maybe it's all over right now.

Maybe we can't walk with God in the garden anymore.

Well, that sound, that sounds pretty terrible.

If it can be fixed at all.

How long is it going to take to fix this relationship?

And even then when the relationship is fixed, is it actually really gonna be the same?

And you get that feeling right?

I think about my Children are completely innocent now.

They do some things that frustrate me, but it's not sin.

And I wonder when they're, if Lord willing they get old enough where they reach a point where they really, they commit sin and then, or they do something to me that upsets me and, and maybe Kaya has her first thought of like, well, can I ever make this right with dad?

We have those same kind of feelings toward God.

Will it ever really be the same?

So we've already read about a AAA F is he has that question?

I think Adam and Eve have that question.

And then I think about Jonah, if you want to turn over um to the story of Jonah with me real quick.

So I'm not gonna spend so much time on Jonah's story, but Jonah, obviously, you know, he's, I, I don't think of when I think of Bible characters that did just the worst things ever.

I don't pick Jonah out.

Maybe I should.

But, but Jonah did a pretty terrible thing. Right.

God is saying here's some people that I want to save and Jonah, he doesn't want to do that.

Now, by the end of the story, I think we realized Jonah didn't like those people and he wanted God to punish those people for what they had done.

God still wants to redeem them and Jonah runs away and I, I really, honestly, I don't think it was till a preacher in the past few years of my life pointed it out like I think of Jonah and that fish and I think about he, I do in my mind, I've always thought, well, like there was a lot of room in there and, um, I mean, it was probably scary but it wasn't, it couldn't been that scary until I heard a sermon and a preacher telling, tell me, I mean, he wasn't there either, right?

The preacher that was preaching about it, but he's talking about, you don't know if water was rushing in and out of the belly of that fish, how dark and scary it was.

And, you know, I'll spare you some of the details, but it's a terrifying situation and, and I think Jonah is dealing with some of the same kind of questions that A ap has in psalm 77.

Uh Let's, we'll start in chapter two of Jonah uh and begin reading in verse two where he says, I called out of my distress to the Lord and he answered me, I cried for help from the depth of Shiel.

So when he says that it sounds like he's saying, I was about as close to death as you could be.

I imagine that for three days, you know, I can't know exactly what Jonah thought other than what he said.

But I, I think in a similar way, what was the last thing that happened to Jonah before he goes in the belly of this fish?

He had sinned against God.

Last thing he had done, he gets tossed in the water, stormy waters.

I'm gonna drown out here.

Oh, no, it's worse.

I'm gonna die inside this fish and it's really dark and I can't see a way out.

What if it's all over?

And what if I die in the belly of this fish?

And I don't ever get to see God because of what I've done.

He says for you cast me into the, deep into the heart of the seas and the current engulfed me.

All your breakers and billows passed over me.

So I said I have been expelled from your site.

There, it is right there.

Just like Adam and Eve, right?

You're the, you, there's something has happened where I'm now separated from God.

I've lost the kind of relationship that I had with him before.

Now, Jonah does have some hope here.

It's the only thing that's keeping him going because even though he sees how terrible this is and he's battling, am I actually gonna get saved from this situation?

He does still say nevertheless, I will look again towards your holy temple.

He knows if there is any salvation that it is only with God just holding on to.

The only thing he's got left in this dark spot.

Water encompassed me to the point of death.

The great deep engulfed me, weeds were wrapped around my head.

I mean that, that lit, that may have been literal.

You know, I don't know if he had seaweed and stuff wrapped around him in the belly of this fish.

And at times he was nearly suffocating in there.

I descended to the roots of the mountains and the earth with its bars was around me forever.

And that's where I'm gonna stop. Ok?

Because I know and you guys that have read Jonah, you know, there's still some hope in this story.

But the point of the lesson that is to first focus on that feeling of a lack of hope. Ok?

I want you to think about.

Not only now, Adam and Eve hiding in the trees.

Oh no, we did.

The one thing God told us not to do.

What's he gonna do to us is he gonna destroy us?

Are we just never going to see him again?

And how much suffering is this gonna cause?

So it's j I think about Paul and Peter, if we want to bring up some New Testament characters right now, I know we get a lot of hope from Paul's stories in the New Testament.

Paul is the one that said, you know, I'm, I'm the chief of Sinners.

So I think he's trying to bring some hope to the people that, you know, you feel like you've done the worst thing.

And Paul is saying, well, I did worse than that and Paul is imprisoned, Paul is spending, I mean, basically the rest of his life.

And this is one of these where I'm, I'm kind of speculating, but I would just think as a, as a human that did the things that Paul did that even though he had all the hope that he had in Christ, if not daily.

And it probably was daily that he thought about the wicked things that he did before he became a Christian.

You, I still battle with the idea of am I gonna be saved?

Peter is another one.

I'm, I'm, I'm saving the, my w in my opinion, my worst guy for last.

Ok. So I know Paul says he's the chief of sinners.

I get it.

That's not who I always pick out.

And I got Peter.

Peter is the kind of person that he, what I read in the story of Peter is it seems like he wanted to do good things for God, but he wanted to be able to do them on his own.

He wanted to be able to do it from his own courage and strength.

And oftentimes that that's what cost him.

You know, when Jesus comes out of the garden for a moment and speaks to him, hey, you guys are sleeping right now, you need to be praying.

You know, I know that they're tired, but also, it seemed like a lot of times Peter wanted to just be able to pull the strength out of his own heart and do things for Jesus and because he didn't prepare himself the way Jesus commanded him to prepare himself, then Peter ends up denying Christ, then denying him II, I always get mixed up.

I think he's denying him with curses and maybe foul language as well.

Like he's cursing the idea and he's using.

But whatever he did, he does it three times to God and then goes away weeping bitterly.

And I wonder for the next several days after jesus' crucifixion and waiting for, waiting for Christ to return if he's going to, you know, all the doubts that Peter may have in his head, Peter is I, well, I messed up.

It's, it's over.

We, we got, we got to the end of the story.

This is the event he's been preparing us for and that was it.

Peter had been walking with Christ his whole time and there was only one they struggle with their faith the whole time, right?

Like we all struggle with our faith.

But there was one point that Peter had to get right.

There was one thing that above everything else, Peter needed to get. Right.

And that was when Christ was going to be crucified, Peter needed to stand up.

He said he would, he said he wouldn't deny Christ and then he still did it.

And, you know, I wonder what kind of regret Peter is feeling over those next several days.

And how much I, I don't know if he's questioning, can I still be saved?

But I mean, I would, I didn't just run away.

I told everybody around me, I don't even know him.

He's my best friend.

I don't know that guy.

Sorry, I don't know.

And so each of these people Asaf is struggling with the idea of redemption.

I need to be redeemed from something I've sinned and I've separated myself from God.

Adam and Eve are struggling with that.

Jonah is struggling that while he's in the belly of the fish.

I think Paul was struggling with that on and all throughout his life.

I know God was there to remind him that he is a righteous man and that he saved and that he's walking with Christ.

But I think the battle would have still been there.

And of course, Peter.

Now here's the thing that is hopeful to me about all of their stories and then I'll tell you about this last guy.

Well, no, I'll save it.

I'm gonna, I'm gonna bring this last guy and then I'll tell you.

So I want you to turn to Second Kings chapter 227.

I don't think, you know, I think Paul would be in a battle here between him and Manasseh who's the worst person that ever existed and there might be worse people.

But when I go to Bible stories and I read, you know, sometimes you've got, like, this guy had this one problem.

He was a good righteous man, but he failed to get rid of the high places.

And you know, or, or this guy struggled with this one thing.

And then you've got Manasa who basically just has this laundry list of all of these terrible things that he did up to basically the worst things that you can do as a human being on the earth.

And while I was talking about that, I forgot to turn there.

So give me just a second.

It's gonna be second Kings chapter 233. Mhm.

Now I'm gonna start in verse one says Saint Kings 223 2100 says Manasseh was 227 years old when he became king.

He reigned 277 years in Jerusalem and his mother's name was Hephzibah.

He did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Now we've read that a lot, OK?

A lot of kings, you read that he did evil.

We just happen to get a lot of Manasseh's story.

He did according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

So basically did all those things.

He re he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah, his father had destroyed.

So now he rebuilt them, but he had also witnessed Hezekiah destroy those things, right?

So he had good example, maybe not perfect examples.

We had good examples in his life.

So he's not just one of those people that was raised in a really bad situation.

And so he can just blame the environmental situation around.

Well, I wasn't raising a good home.

He also had good examples around him, but then still chose to do wicked things.

He erected altars for bail and made an Ashra as Ahab king of Israel had done.

That's one of those that you say, Ahab, like there's another one of the worst people from the Bible.

So he did all the things that Ahab had done, worshiped all the hosts of heaven and served and built altars in the house of the Lord of which the Lord had said in Jerusalem, I will put my name for, he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

He made his son pass through the fire, which I don't want to go into much detail.

But that's one of the worst things that you can do, offering child sacrifices unless I've misinterpreted that passage.

But that's what I've always heard that it was he practiced witchcraft and used divination and dealt with mediums and spirits.

I almost kind of, I'll say I wish cause it's God's word but I almost wish that pass fast.

His son through the fire was at the end because I'm like, well there's the worst thing but you get, you get all of this and as you're reading this, I mean, there should be kind of this sickening feeling well up in your heart at this man.

And the more that you read about him, you go, OK?

I know Jesus can save anybody, but not this guy, the kind of a feeling that you might have.

I know Jesus can save anybody.

But that guy, we know what's gonna happen to that guy. OK?

And it will be well deserved.

Then he set carved images of Ashra that he had made in the house of which the Lord said to David and to his son Solomon in this house and in Jerusalem, which I've chosen from all the tribes of Israel.

I will put my name forever and I will not make the feet of Israel wonder anymore from the land which I gave their fathers.

If only they will observe to do according to all that I've commanded them and according to all the law and that my servant Moses commanded.

And I think here's kind of a God's word is making another point.

Again, it's like he knew not to do these things.

He knew from history.

He knew from the examples around him and he did all of the evil things that he could think of.

Verse 39 says, the Lord spoke through his servants, the prophets saying because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, having done wickedly more than all the Emirates did who were before him and has also made Judah sin with his idol.

So now he's also kind of incurring the sin of he's brought the people and the nation into this sin.

And then skip ahead down to verse 223.

Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another besides his sin with which he made Judah's sin.

So it's really driving home the point he did all these things.

Oh and he also did all of these evil things.

And the only thing I can think in my mind is I'm reading, especially if I'm a first time reader is like, well, this guy's about to get it, ok.

If anybody's separated from God, it's Manasa.

And if anybody is not gonna be able to come back to the Lord, it's gonna be Manasa.

Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did and his sin which he committed are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of June?

That's the way it ends that statement about him and all the sins he committed are recorded.

Now, I'm gonna have you turn over to second chronicles?

Chapter 21 I'm sure that most people here are familiar with ma a to some extent.

So you probably do know the conclusion of the story, not, not bringing a new revelation to you, but I still want to go and look at this because at this point, if I, if I tell any average person about the story of Manasa, right?

And say, what do you think happened to that guy?

He went to hell.

That's what, that's what I would think I would think.

And you know, sometimes the world talks about almost as if there's, you know, different levels of hell is if there's uh for the really bad people, they're going way down here.

And that's what I would probably think too is Manasa, he's, he's going way down there.

So in chapter 22000 of second chronicles, I'm gonna start back, I'm gonna read uh I'm gonna start back in verse one and, and read a little bit more uh of chronicle's record of the story.

It says Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king and he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem.

He did evil in the side of the Lord according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel, rebuilt the high places, the Baals, the Ashram worshiped all the hosts of heaven built altars in the house of the Lord altars for the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

You know, it's like, did we really need two accounts?

You know, of how bad this guy is?

But God did drive home the point of how bad this man is.

Here's some more verses in a different book of the Bible about how bad this guy was.

Mm I'm sorry, I lost my spot a second.

And then uh down in verse 10, the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people.

Now, I don't know, there, there are some occasions where somebody is approached by a prophet like David was Nathan.

There are some occasions where God speaks directly.

Solomon was one of those people where God spoke directly to him as far as I know, heard the voice of God.

I hope I'm not making a mistake there, but either way God through the prophets or through his own voice or however he does, it spoke to Manasseh and his people.

So imagine he's done all these things.

The He doesn't really have much of an excuse yet because we've got Hezekiah, not a perfect man did some pretty good things.

The Bible also is recording.

He should know the history of God's people.

So he should be able to look at those examples and say I know what not to do.

And I also know what I should do for God.

So now God's speaking to him and you probably at that point you're thinking, well, he's about to get it.

Now, God's gonna speak to him and say, well, you know, it's too late, you know what's about to happen and he says they paid no attention.

So Manasseh at this point now has had God speak to him through whatever means and he's still, I'm going down this road of wickedness.

So we get to verse 11.

Therefore, the Lord brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against him.

I think probably, you know, I'm very new here.

So I don't know what all lessons Alan's done, but Alan's lessons are usually from my understanding.

Pretty informative.

I wouldn't doubt if over the past few years, he's probably told you how terrible the Assyrians are.

Um I don't know if they're the worst people that ever existed, but they did some pretty brutal, nasty things to the, the people that they would conquer.

So God has allowed the Assyrians to come in and now here, you know, if you're a righteous person, you might be thinking finally, Manasseh is gonna get what he deserves and in some ways he does, it says the king of Assyria came against some captured Manasseh with hooks.

I don't want to know what that looks like.

Bound him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon.

So you could just end the story right there and say, well, probably died over there, died over there.

A wicked man like he deserved.

And that sounds like a just punishment for Manasa.

Well, for those of you who have already read, you know, that's not how the story goes.

And for me, I hate that man aa did these things.

I am thankful that this is recorded in the Bible.

I'm thankful that the full story of Manasa is recorded in the Bible because I need it because I'm a person who still sometimes struggles with.

I know what God's word says.

I know what he says about his people.

I still feel like I might not make it.

And so, um says, verse verse 12 when he was in distress.

Ok, I just talked to somebody the other day.

This was um they were riding in the back of the patrol car with me, ok?

And uh I was taking them to another jail where they were gonna spend some time and God opened the door for us to talk about Christ.

And this person was telling me how bad they felt that the reason that they came back to God is because they were in a very terrible situation.

Now, he didn't tell me all the details.

But you've heard those kind of stories before somebody gets in a car wreck, they nearly die.

They turn their life around.

Maybe he was participating in something else that nearly killed him or whatever it was, but he got to the end of his rope and maybe he thought he was gonna die or maybe he thought I've done the worst possible things and now I'm terrified of going to help.

And I talked to that guy about the NASA.

I, you know, I had several minutes to ride with him.

I asked him if he had ever heard about Manassa.

And I'm just gonna, you know, this is, I'm just guessing the guy in the patrol car that I was driving, he probably did some terrible things.

He might have done some things that are worse than things that I think that I've done, I'm not sure he did all the things M NASA did.

And I told him about Manasseh because of this part of the story is in verse 12 when he's in distress.

And I know that somebody might say, uh uh well, of course, now you're gonna call for help, but then you're gonna be charged with.

But that's, you're not really repenting because you're only doing it because you're afraid of the consequences if you don't or you want to get out of this punishment that you're now receiving, which is being dragged over to Assyria in hooks and thrown in a dungeon and you're gonna die here.

But it says, he entreated the Lord, his God humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.

And I almost still picture people laughing at the idea.

And I think at a time in my life, I would have, it's not really gonna matter how much you cry out, man.

And it.

And it just simply says, when he prayed to Him, God right here says He God was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication and brought him again to Jerusalem.

Then Manasa knew that the Lord was gone and I kinda wanna go back and, and use God's own word and just show God.

Well, wait a minute.

Hold on.

What about verse six?

He made his sons pass through the fire.

The I'm just not gonna say it.

You know what I'm saying?

He, he did the worst things you could do to the most innocent human beings that you can do that to.

What are you talking about?

You?

You heard his supplicate?

You were moved by Manasa.

And the truth is, is that God was, I don't know how I'm not having compassion for that guy.

I'm just, I'm not mean as a Christian.

I know what I'm supposed to do as a Christian.

But if I lived there, if I lived in Judah, and I knew what Manasa was doing to innocent Children, I'm gonna have a problem with anybody feeling compassion for it.

And I'm thankful at the same time that, that God is able to have compassion for Him.

And I don't need to understand all of it because when I go back, I know God didn't plan for man aa to do these wicked things.

But what God did plan is to have this story of redemption for man.

Aa. That's not so I can go back and go.

Oh, well, I didn't do nearly as bad as Manassa, but it's to go back and say it's not just how wicked can somebody be and God can still redeem them.

It is also can a person just be at the lowest most wicked point in their life.

And the only reason that they're calling out to God is they know that he's the only one that can get him out of this bad situation.

That doesn't seem very righteous.

But it is, it's still righteousness.

I, I have um a lesson that I did for a uh it's a, it was a Fall Gospel Gospel series, Fall Bible class series or something in South Fayetteville.

And I got asked, well, we're doing men of faith and I was like, I mean, you know, you got your normal list of men of faith.

And I asked, I asked my friend that preaches I was like, can IU use Solomon and Manasa?

And he, he's like, ok, if that's what you wanna do.

And the reason I did it is I need those stories too.

I don't need him to have done what he did.

But I need the story shown to me that says, hey, look, it's not just these people, let me give you an example.

It's not just the Christian that was raised by Christian parents that mostly stayed away from wickedness.

Sure they sin, but they were baptized and then they lived their life faithfully.

They struggled a little bit, but they were mostly good people.

I need to know that God can save people that are just the worst human beings that can exist on this planet.

I mean, NASA was, I'm not trying to tear him down if he stayed faithful.

Like the story says he'd be in paradise with God too.

So I don't think he's gonna be bothered about what I say right now.

And then I've got one last story for you.

I may have taken too much time on that one and I think I might be OK cause I think Allen preaches quite a long time.

So I think that gives me a few extra minutes and then you don't have to ever have me again if I spoke too long because the real point of the story is not actually about Manasa.

The end of that story of man Nasa's story is that he goes back and he builds up the city again, removed the foreign gods set up the altar of the Lord and made sacrifices and he reestablished the righteous things in Judah, Adam and Eve.

Um I mean, I, I hope Adam, you know, spending 13 years on earth or, or however long it was started doing some righteous things and working for the Lord and Jonah got out even reluctantly and started working for the Lord again.

And even Manasa, after all of that still gets to spend the rest of his life doing some good things for God.

Now that, you know, we can take that too far and go well, I'm gonna work my way up into heaven and that's not the point.

But you still, when you mess up and you repent, you want that opportunity to go back.

Can I fix it?

Like the question we asked at the beginning, how long is it gonna take to fix this?

Can I fix it?

I think you probably know the answer is really, no, no, I can't, I can't fix the sins that I've committed.

But that's gonna bring us to our last person.

And like I said, guys, if it takes too long, you know, to be my last, my last sermon up here, Matthew chapter 27 is where I want to go.

So the hope I mentioned this and then I for I, I was like, oh, wrong part of the sermon.

All of those people got a chance in a way to redeem themselves.

Now, I know ultimately God saved those people, right?

But you, when I say redeem themselves, I mean, after their repentance, they get to go do some good things for God and start feeling like I'm restoring myself.

I'm restoring my righteousness.

I'm getting back, right?

And then we're gonna come across a guy that doesn't have that opportunity.

Now I'm gonna make a real quick, quick disclaimer. OK?

I don't think you even go here.

You might.

So as a Christian, I get in some debates with people about the thief on the cross.

Ok. You know why?

Start talking about baptism?

And they're like, oh, well, was he baptized or he wasn't baptized?

That's not where I'm going.

Ok. Thief was under the old covenant and Jesus told him he was going to paradise.

You have been baptized to be saved.

All right.

I just want to get that out.

So you don't think, uh, oh, where's he going with this?

But I do want to talk about the thief and the way that he was saved because this is the one that for some reason, even though I really love the story of a NASA.

This one hits me emotionally more.

I don't know all the reasons.

Now in Matthew chapter 27 and I could be mistaken about this and Allen can correct this, uh, in the next Bible class or something if I'm wrong about it.

But there's a point in Matthew chapter 27 that sounds like both of the robbers are mocking at first.

Now, if I'm wrong about that, I'm wrong.

Ok. And that's, that's not really the point, but it sounds like robbers were mocking him.

It seems like both of them were and then the other robber or thief seeing what was going on and seeing Jesus reaction, he changed his heart.

That's what it seems like.

If not, it was just one and I apologize for the misinterpretation there.

But in Matthew chapter 27 it says when they verse 33 when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull, they gave him wine to drink, mixed with gall.

And after tasting it, he was unwilling to drink.

And when they had crucified him, they divided up his garments among themselves, casting lots and sitting down, they began to keep watch over him there and above his head, they put up the charge against him which read, this is Jesus, the king of the Jews.

At that time, two robbers were crucified with him.

One on the right and one on the left.

And those passing by were hurling abuse at him, wagging their heads and saying you who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself.

If you're the Son of God come down from the cross, there's a lot of filthy things going on at the cross.

It's disgusting to look at.

If you visualize it in your mind, the way these people are acting to the perfect most innocent being that exists in the same way.

The chief priest also along with the scribes and elders are mocking him and saying he saved others.

He cannot save himself.

He's the king of Israel.

Let him come down now from the cross and we believe him, of course, they wouldn't have.

He trusts in God, let God rescue him.

Now if he delights in him for, he said, I'm the son of God.

The robbers who had been crucified with him were also insulting him with the same work that, that verse right there is why I, I tend to believe at one point both robbers were insulting him and then the other robber had a change of heart.

I don't know for sure in Luke chapter 23 and we're, we're almost at the end of this sermon.

So I said at the beginning of the sermon, you know, the point, this is the reason I had Ethan sing.

The songs that I, I wanted to sing were about redemption and forgiveness.

I didn't tell him any particular songs.

I just thought, hey, as long as they're about redemption and forgiveness that that'll fit the bill.

And this is why I, I love the story of the thief on the cross.

So probably most people here, they've been Christians for a long time know how brutal the cross was and how brutal discouraging was.

They know that some people didn't even make it to the cross because they died before.

And it's a very agonizing, apparently the worst death that the Romans could come up with.

And the thief, he's up there too.

He got beat, he's got nails in his hands, he's got nails on his feet.

Now, I don't think people were mocking him the way they were Christ, but I'm sure it hurt and the thing about the thief that's different than the other stories that I shared with you is even Manasseh, who I thought, hey, that guy's not being redeemed.

He even got to go back and do some good things at the end of his life, the thief has no option for that.

He can't do that.

You die on the cross and probably more than most things, you know, when you're up there, I'm not coming down.

There's been some times in my life where I thought I was going to die and I was wrong and I'm here years later, the thief knows he's going to die 100% and it's brutal.

And if I'm not mistaken and Matthew chapter 27 is, is read like I'm reading it there even up there for a time.

It sounds like he might have been mocking Jesus too with his buddy.

I'll say I apologize one more time if that's inaccurate.

But I don't know what kind of thief he was.

I don't know what kind of life he lived, but it sounds like the last things he did before he was going to die had nothing to do with God.

And it sounds like the thief is going exactly where you think he's going to go when his life is over.

And I feel like the thief probably is feeling the same kind of things that Asaf is singing about in Psalm chapter 77 is, will God forgive?

Can I be redeemed.

You just imagine if you've ever felt like, man, I'm lost or what if I am lost today.

And there is no doubt in your mind when your arms are spread out and there's holes in your hands and feet and your back is bleeding and you can barely breathe and it's over and I imagine how dark it feels to be up.

I can't, I can't really imagine, but I try to think about that.

Give me just a second to find my place.

Verse 39 Luke chapter 23 1 of the criminals who were hanging, there was hurling abuse at him saying, are you not the Christ save yourself and us?

So even up there, the thief has reason to look over at his buddy and go yeah, and join in with that, right?

He has there's another temptation for the thief and why not?

Because his life's over.

It's not like he can be saved.

He's dying as a thief.

But then it says the other answered rebuking him and said, do you not even fear God?

Maybe he's saying, hey, look, you don't seem even afraid to die right now.

We're up here hanging on the cross.

We're about to die.

You could be in more distress than to be I am a sinner.

I'm separated from God.

I'm about to die right now and I know I'm about to die and there's nothing that's gonna change it no matter what words come out of my mouth and I certainly don't have any actions that can save me.

I can't get myself off the cross.

He says, do not even fear God since you're under the same sentence of condemnation.

And we indeed are suffering justly for we're receiving what we deserve for our deeds.

But this man has done nothing.

He recognizes who Jesus is.

Jesus is the only person that's never done anything wrong.

And here it's gotta be right here, ok?

This is, and this will be it man.

Naa I imagined him crying out in distress like he thinks he's gonna die in a Syria.

He doesn't know that he doesn't know what's gonna happen for sure.

Maybe over time.

Yeah, they're gonna stop feeding me and I'm starving to death and I'm gonna die.

The thief is about to die right now.

It's in the next few hours.

It's inevitable and his faith not, don't worry, not about not without baptism for us, but for him, the only thing that he has left that could possibly save him is right here beside it.

And there's no reason for any normal human being to think this is gonna work.

You just, you know, it's over and he does the one thing that he needs to do.

He says, Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom?

I wonder how, what kind of pause it felt like in between him saying that and Jesus responding because I'm gonna tell you when I struggle with my thoughts about how God feels about me.

Sometimes I don't picture that he's saying good things to me.

Now, that's usually because I'm wrong.

But just imagine it's like, well, when I say this is he even gonna say anything back when I say this is he gonna turn his head.

When I say this is he just going to look at me and go, no, you're a wicked sinner.

And instead he says, truly, I say to you today, you should be with me in paradise today.

What the the thief?

I mean, I don't know how much longer it was just a few hours if it wasn't just mere minutes.

And he's been in paradise with Jesus ever since.

That's a long time ago, about 2000 years ago.

Um According to our human time, I bring that up because of course those other stories were hopeful to me.

But the thief, he had one opportunity when everything seemed impossible in this story, it is impossible for the thief to be saved.

He can't come down and do anything to change anything.

But he knows God can, he knows if there's any hope he can say something to Jesus and he just ask him, will you remember me when you come in your kingdom?

And the answer is yes.

Now for us today, in closing, I, I think that got the point for us today.

In closing after jesus' death, the new covenant came into effect and in that new covenant Christ command for us.

And I believe the thief would say the same thing to you, ok?

The thief that was saved the way he was saved.

Still gonna tell you what, obey Jesus.

Jesus tells us today if we want to be redeemed, if you're separated from God, that you need to confess.

Jesus is the Son of God.

You need to repent of your sins.

You need to be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

And Jesus feels the same way about you and me that he felt about as a Adam and Eve, Jonah Manasa, the thief, Peter and Paul and everybody else is.

He wants all the sin to go away and he wants to bring you up to heaven where there is no sin and there is no evil and there's no remembrance of those things.

And that's the opportunity again tonight is that if you're ready to obey the gospel, that you can repent of your sins, confess Jesus as the Son of God and be baptized in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

And please do that as we stand and say.