Gospel—Matt Roach
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Part of the gospel meeting this evening. The gospel is the good news that God loved us so much that he sent his Son down to earth to die and paid the punishment that was due to us. This book, the Bible of God's word, it tells us that we've all sinned, we've all says in Romans.
For we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We've all fallen short against the standard that God has given us. And God is a holy God, and his holy decree is that.
And God is a just God. You can't just overlook sin, you must punish it.
Requires death and judgment. But God is also a loving God. He's a merciful God. He's a great gracious God, and he put in, in the works of planet salvation that not only meets his righteous demands, but offers us salvation and eternal life. He sent his Son down to this earth. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Tell us in Hebrews 2 That it became man so that he could die, so that he could suffer death to pay for our sins.
Since a human condition required a human solution, Zoroji's came down as the perfect man. We know the story. He was born in Bethlehem.
Today to Mary, Virgin Mary.
He grew up. He walked around this earth. He faced trials and tribulations and suffering like we do, but without sin. He did good. He healed the sick, the blind, Elaine, and raised the dead to life.
Many was sent to the cross of Calvary. He went there willingly. He was nailed to that cool Roman cross where he shed his blood and he died.
That we could be saved. His death pays the pen the penalty that we had before God. And tonight it's simple faith that you need to reach out in if you wish to avail yourself for that salvation. Faith that the Lord Jesus Christ died and bled for your sins, and he rose again the third day, and he's in heaven today. And someday he'll come back, we believe very soon to take home those who have accepted Him as their Savior.
And if you haven't accepted him as your savior?
You'll be left behind, and someday you'll face him as your judge.
So tonight, I want you to listen to the words from this book. Take heed to them, but leave this room without taking them into your heart and accepting them. Perhaps we could start by singing Stand and Sing hymn #10 and we can save it. Start that for me. There's a Savior on high in the glory, A Savior who suffered in Calvary's tree. A Savior is willing to save now as ever. His arm is almighty, His love great imprisonment.
00:05:16
Oh, very, very good morning. I'm very.
I'm about to run rage from all the blood for the forest day together.
For I'm waiting for.
God to bear everything on God the same time.
And.
Oh.
No.
Fried chicken and the small men can't shake it shall.
Umm.
Ask for God's help before we continue.
Regarding our fault, we can see another hymn #28.
And we can start that then?
Yeah, so.
The earth shall gather.
Ready. Run from your eyes away.
To decorate takes place to menstrual through the cloud of wondrous plan.
Ning to rain so I don't know.
Yeah, it's a problem.
So high before all the 95.
Beginnings are strive for me.
Great. All right, everyone think they're doing their hands and I want to have a pleasant roll. I am going to do so. That's why they start riding this wild brown skeleton until God.
00:10:05
Saturday yesterday vibrates also one.
Of my brain.
Anything wrong? Sky glory?
Saved by grace alone.
Head of my heart tonight to talk about grace.
The truth of Christianity is separated from man's religion by a number of things. Our brother Wally today referred to the fact that Christianity has an empty grave.
Our Savior approached the dead, Return to heaven. That's the big distinguishing factor of the truth of Christianity. But another one is the idea of grace versus works. All other legends of man have manifest center man through his efforts trying to elevate himself to attain godhood, to achieve paradise, whatever the end goal may be. It's all about what man does. But Christianity takes back control away from us. We have no control. It's all in God's hands.
And it's great. And grace is unmerited favor or unearned favor. And it's a difficult.
We're sometimes understand. I've got a quote from WTP Wolfson, and he's defined grace as this grace is God's coming to a man that has sinned. That's God coming to us and taking him out of the condition in which his sin has placed him, a condition which he cannot by any possible means free himself by his own efforts.
So Christianity is about God coming to you. He's breaking that gap between himself and your sin. There's nothing you can do to earn it. He's coming to where you are, and he's offering you a solution to your sin that you yourself cannot earn. And I think in all the Scripture, one of the most beautiful examples of grace is the story of the thief on the cross. I'd like to turn to that tonight and read from Luke 23.
I'm going to start in verse 32 and I realize I'm coming into the story a little bit.
After a lot of things have happened, so by the forsaken time, I'm going to start in verse 32. I'll give you some background of what has happened up to this point. We have in chapter 22 The Lord Jesus Christ being betrayed into the hands of the Jewish rulers by one of his own disciples, Judas.
He was taken by those Jewish rulers and put to a false trial where he was accused of blasphemy, which was punishable in the Jewish law by death.
The irony of that is that he was the Son of God, but that you didn't believe it, so he assumed that he was blossoming.
The Jews accused him of after they took him to the Romans. They didn't even have they had no power of their own to crucify him or to put him to death under the Roman system. They need to convince the Romans to kill him. So when they took him to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, they accused him of insurrection or treason against Caesar, which was punishable by death in the Roman law.
Pilate spoke to Jesus.
I saw no fault in the man. He tried to release him because Jesus was sinless. There was no fault in him.
But the Jewish leaders went among the people and riled them up so that they cried out, Crucify him, crucified him. So Pilate, wanting to please them, had Jesus stripped of his clothing, had him scourge with that Roman whip which I understand is braided leather with bones and metal tied into it for the flesh from his back, says in Isaiah 53 that he was scared more than any man.
He was led from there to the hill of Calvary where he was nailed to that cross. And that's where I want to pick up the story here in verse 32.
And there were also two other malefactors, their fees that were led within to be put to death.
When they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him and the malefactors, one in the right hand and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they pirated raiment and cast lots, and the people should be holding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying he saved others, let him save himself if he be Christ chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar.
And saying, if thou be the king of the Jews.
And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew. This is the king of the Jews. And one of the manufacturers were hanged railed on him, saying, If that would be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answer answering rebuke, can say thus not thou fear God, seeing Mauer in the same condemnation. For we indeed just we received a due reward of our deeds. But this man has done nothing, nothing amiss.
He said unto Jesus, Lord, Remember Me when thou come us into thy Kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee today.
Shalt thou be with me in paradise? And there's both the 6th hour, and there's a darkness over all the earth until the 9th hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veiled, the temple was written in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
00:15:09
What a scene we have here before us, the scene of contrast. On the center cross, we have one nailed. It was thinless, perfect. On either side. We had criminals that deserve to be there, two thieves who do their works, what they've done in their lives. It ended up nailed to this cross. But in the center was one that didn't belong there. Not only was he sinless, he had a choice of whether he went there or not.
It tells us another gospel. When he was arrested, Peter, I believe it was, pulled out his sword and tried to fend off those that were coming to arrest Jesus.
Jesus told him to put the sword away and said, don't you know that I could call 12 legions of angels and set myself free?
We read another gospel where they tried to capture him at one point, but it was before his time and he just walked through the midst of them and went away. They had no power over him. He went to that cross willingly because of his love in his heart for us to die for us. But those thieves when I'm sure kicking and screaming to that cross.
And we know and and it says in verse 39 that they that one of the male factors, one of those thieves mock Jesus and said, if you be the Christ, come down from the cross.
And save us too. And we know brother gospels that at one point both those fees were mocking Jesus. They were saying that too. If you be the Christ, save yourself and us. But at some point that feat was touched by God. His heart was touched. Perhaps it was the prayer of Jesus in in verse 34 that perfect that prayer of perfect love being nailed to the cross. He prayed for forgiveness for those that were doing it. Imagine that would have spoken those watching.
Or perhaps it was Genesis conductor in the entire thing. I can imagine when hardened criminals were being nailed to that cross, the most foul things have been coming out of their mouth. They would have been screaming curses and hatred those that were doing it. But it says in Isaiah that.
He was led as a sheep to the slaughter and was a land before shears. He was dumped. He said nothing to rebuke those that were mocking him. He showed nothing but love.
Quoted that wrong. It says he was oppressed and he was afflicted. He opened not his mouth. He was brought as a lamb through the slaughter, and the sheep before his shears his dump. So he opened not his mouth.
What a testimony to those watching and to those two fees, and one of these fees was touched by that. He was touched by what he had seen. God had reached out and touched his heart and he stopped his mockery and he realized what a condition he was in. There was nothing he could do. He was in a desperate situation, physically nailed to that cross. What can he do for himself? What religion of man could have helped him there? Could the message of Islam have helped him? Or good works have to outweigh your bad? What could he do? In a few hours? He had left to pay the debt that he owed, even if.
Should work it off and the Bible says that it's not that works with righteousness as we have done according to his mercy saved us. Even if he could have gotten down from that cross, the freedom would have been short lived. The Roman soldier put it, put him back up. So there's nothing he could do on that cross. There's no good works he could do. He was helpless.
Yet he recognized that. He recognized that without the help of the one in the center cross, he would perish.
And he turned to the Lord, and he said, Lord, Remember Me when thou cometh into thy Kingdom. He reached out to the only one that could help him in that situation.
And what did the Lord say to him? The Lord say no. A few minutes ago you were mocking me. I can't accept you. Did you say that? Did you say no? Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week or after you do some penance in the afterlife to a piece what you've done. No, He just said today you will be with me in paradise, instantaneous. That's the the assurance of your salvation. It's not in your hands that he could do nothing to save himself.
But he turned to the one that could help him.
True dependence on that salvation that is offered. Nothing he could do.
But instantly.
Given salvation.
And tonight, that same salvation is available to you. If you're hearing your sins, nothing you can do but reach out and faith the one that died for you on that cross. He shed his blood.
And man didn't take his life. It says in verse 46 that he delivered his spirit into the hands of his father, and he gave up the ghost. He gave up his life.
He was buried in a tomb, and we know that three days later he rose again, returning to glory. We'll come back someday for us.
In a lot of ways, when we're in our natural state as dinners, we're a lot like that thief. We're helpless. There's nothing we can do on our own.
We're not physically nailed to a cross, but we are enslaved to our sin. Nothing that we can do ourselves is All is all through grace. I'd like to turn to some verses in Ephesians chapter 2 to read about our conditions.
00:20:01
Seasons Chapter 2.
And we'll start in verse one. You'll notice if you're reading umm from King James, the words happy quicken during italics. They were put in there by the translator. If I want to leave those out to get the claw here, because that thought comes back in in verse verse 5.
Says And you who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in the lust of our flesh.
Filling the desires of the flesh in the mind and we're by nature the children of wrath even as others. So by nature we are dead in our trespasses and sins. You'll notice that the verb tense here is we're dead. Paul, the apostle Paul who penned these words and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit was writing to those already saved. If you're here tonight in your sins, that verb changes to our you are dead in your trespasses and sins. What can a dead man do to help himself?
Nothing, it's too late. You were dead in your trespasses and sins. Horrible thing to think of.
Says in verse three that when you're in your sin, you're fulfilling the lust of your flesh and the desires of your mind. Your enslaved to that sin and you may say well I do good things, I'm not always doing evil things, but what purpose are you doing those good things? You're not doing them for God. They're worthless. Says in Isaiah, forget the reference that all our righteousnesses are filthy rags in his sight. All the good things we do, if not done for him are filthy rags. We can do nothing on our own. We are dead in our trespasses.
Apostle Paul talked about this further our loss condition. Roman St. Keep your finger. Stevens 2 will come back.
But in Romans 3, Paul writes further, picking up, uh, part way through verse nine, you said, for we have before proved, this is Romans 3 verse nine. For we have both proved, we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin. So everyone, Jews and Gentiles, all the nations are under sin as it is written. There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understand it. There is none that seeketh after God. They're all gone out of the way. They are together, become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, No, not one.
Their throat is an open sepulchre, and with their tongues they have used to see, and the poison of ASP is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known. There is No Fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things, whoever the law say to them, who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be, may become guilty before God.
Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified at his sight, For by the Law is the knowledge of sin. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Not only that, it says there's none that even seek after God. We are truly trapped in our unrighteousness, trapped in our sins.
Incapable of doing anything for us, our mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, destruction and measure in our ways. And the law that was given to us, it only condemns us. The law that was given the 10 commandments, the the moral code that God gave the children of Israel for them to abide by. It didn't give them a a, a standard against which they could determine what was right and wrong and allow them to do good.
That measuring stick of the law only condemned them, made them realize they were falling short, and was by that law.
That we have the knowledge of our sin. Man is guilty before God with no excuse. Tell us in Romans one there without excuse because of the creation we see around us magnificent creation. A man knows there's a God. Further, man knows that he's sinning because of the law. God has written the law in man's hearts. But it doesn't end there. As I mentioned before, God meets us in his love. He reaches out to us in grace. Let's turn back to Ephesians chapter 2.
We'll pick up the best part of that chapter. Not the best part of the chapter, but the first part was talking about our wretched condition.
And then the good news that comes out in verse 5, but it says, but God, we read about how we were dead in trespassing and sins. But in verse four. But God who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherein wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in our sins, have quickened us or made us alive together with Christ. By grace ye are saved, have raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages that come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace.
And his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
Even though we're in that rescue condition file in the sight of God, He loved us so much, they sent His Son to die for us. And there's nothing that we could do to earn that salvation. It's given to us.
00:25:01
Quote I read earlier God has come to us in our condition in our sinful condition that we found ourselves in. We had no power to help ourselves. He came to us in his grace. He gave us the faith to believe and if you're here tonight.
God can touch your heart and bring you to salvation. Is he the Word? Open your heart to the Lord and be saved.
For by grace here say through faith and not of yourselves is the gift of God, not of work, lest any man should boast. But we know when in heaven sitting before God or sitting with the other leaders that are there saying I got here on my own. I did some great things, that's why I'm here. No, we'll be there in adoration realizing what he's done for us. I have a quote here from William Faraday, which I just think is a beautiful, umm, acknowledgement of the grace that God has has shown us. He says this when our noblest doings.
Compared to what Christ has done for us, we feel constrained to put our hand upon our mouth and cast ourselves adoringly at His feet. He will delight to commend and reward even a cup of cold water given for His sake. But be it far from us to utter one word about the best we have done. It is grace alone that has put us under the path of Christ. Works cannot save.
No other system in this world can bring you to salvation. All those other systems look to you to do something. And yet this book, God's Word, tells us that those good things we do condemn us for the law that we try to follow condemn us. It exposes us for what we are as sinners. But God and his love and mercy and grace has come to us and given us a way of salvation.
And much like that deep from the cross where you're helpless.
The one in the center cross could help you tonight.
He's the one who can save you from your sin and put you on a path to glory, eternal life.
And it's just a simple reaching out in faith tonight, acknowledging who he is and that you're a Sinner and you need a Savior.
I wanna use the lock for this meeting time to tell a story I've enjoyed recently. It's happened about 70 years ago during the Second World War. Some of you in this room were alive during that time period. I will point you out. Some of you may have studied the store or the the history of the Second World War. You may recognize some of the names I'm going to use. And I ask for your forgiveness. Love your German names. I'll probably butcher them. But the story goes like this. It's centered around a man named Henry Garricki. Henry Garricky was born in 1893 in a small farming town in Missouri.
In the US, he was raised in a Christian home and when he ended high school, he went to seminary and he became ordained as a Lutheran pastor. He was given a church and pastor in the city of St. Louis, MO. And Henry had a heart for the gospel. He, he talked about how he was in the business of trying to win souls for Christ and when he wasn't in his, in his church on Sundays, preaching five or six, uh, messages every Sunday.
He was in the hospitals, in the homeless shelters and especially in the prisons. He spent a lot of time giving the gospel.
To the criminal and the underprivileged beyond church as he was called, as he would call them. I know that worked with Henry in his ministry would often recall him saying show them Jesus Savior from sin.
Well, Henry was pastoring that church when the Second World War broke out. He was married to uh, his wife Elma, and they had three sons. And his three sons enlisted in the army and were sent overseas to fight in the war. And in 1943, Henry felt called to join the military as well as a chaplain.
So he was sent to Europe and he served time in military hospitals, ministering spiritually and giving the gospel to wounded soldiers.
He was stationed in in England and France and Germany. He saw some of the worst things that you can imagine in that hospital. He was there working after D-Day and he saw the flood of wounded coming in, saw a horribly named people, people dying, gave the gospel to everyone that he could. And by the end of the war, he was tired of the bloodshed. He wanted to go home to see his wife.
But before he could go home, he got called in into the commanding, into the office of his commanding officer.
To be in, uh, November 1945 and as commanding officers, said Henry, before you go home, there's one more thing we're gonna ask of you. You've been selected for the internal security detachment at the Nuremberg prison in Nuremberg, Germany. You've been asked to be a chaplain Finossi, war criminals that are held there.
That was a lot to ask of Henry. A lot of people didn't believe that those men deserved to hear the gospel and be forgiven.
His commanding officer, after he told Henry that he was selected and tried to talk him out of it, said Henry, you're older than the rest of the child who use your age for an excuse. Turn this down and go home. But everyone wanted to pray about it. So Henry went away and prayed for a few days. He knew full well with these men had done These were just run-of-the-mill Nazi criminals. These are Hitler's inner circle. Men like Joakim von Ribbentrop, Herman Guring, Rudolph Hess, William Katell, men who had been involved in planning carrying out Hitler's.
00:30:05
Solution The murder of 6,000,000 Jews, other minorities. These men had, we can say, a blood on their hands with no one else. So Henry went away and prayed. He had experienced the results of their of the Nazi aggression first hand. Three of his two of his three sons have been brutally wounded in the war. And he recounts how he had gone into the cow concentration camp after he had been liberated to help out with some of the people they were freeing from there. And he accidentally touched a wall with his hand and came away smeared with blood.
In the human blood leaking through the wall. So he knew who he was going to be. He was asked to minister to these Nazi war criminals. So Henry said he prayed harder than he ever had in his life for those few days. He said by the end of those days, God had showed that these were not monsters, but souls that needed a savior. Sir Henry said that he would go. So he went to the Nuremberg prison and this is where the Nuremberg, uh, war trials occurred. And he had about 12 uh, criminals that were part of his area of responsibility.
And on his first day, Henry went around each one of these into cells of each of these criminals.
Nazi war criminals introduced himself and invited them to come out to his Sunday services. I won't go through the accounts of each one, obviously, because there's twelve of them, but there's kind of four of these stories or introductions that stood out to me. The first one was Rudolph Hess.
When he asked Rudolph has to come to his Chapel on Sunday for, uh, to hear the gospel and to hear about Jesus Christ. Rudolph has said no, I don't believe that stuff. If I need to pray, I'll do it here myself and myself.
He went in to see Herman Goering.
Gurig said, I know I don't believe it, but I'll come out to the, to the, the funding services. And he actually did, but he found out, uh, Henry found out that the prison psychologist that Goering are just trying to get her to sell more often. Goering said this to, to Henry Derrick. He, he said, to me, Jesus is just another smart Jew. No one's special.
You went into the Jokaban ribbon troughs.
Cell introduced himself and invited him out to a Sunday service.
And Ribbentrop said this religion business isn't nearly as important as you think it is.
But he came out to the services Ribbentrop did over time.
The biggest surprise for Henry that day is he went into the cell of Wilhelm Cassell. He was the commander of the German armed forces very high up in the Nazi regime. Bowen Catal was reading his Bible and when Antenna introduced himself, Patel held it up and said, this book said that even the center, like I can be saved.
Henriette first is skeptical, but over time he began to see cattle as a repentant Sinner.
But a testimony to God's grace.
Henry kept ministering to these men and many of them didn't believe what he had to say, but they grew to respect Henry because they saw in him a love that shone through. He had a sincere desire to win their souls for Christ. Henry wasn't popular by the way. He received piles of hate mail from many Americans, especially, umm, he was from America. The newest story hate mail from Christians as well, saying these men don't deserve the gospel. They don't deserve God's grace for what they've done.
But Henry knew that the gospel could save even the vile of Sinner. It could save that thief that was nailed to that cross. So you continue to give them the gospel.
And in the spring of 1946, a rumor started circulating through the prison cells that Henry was going home to his wife.
And William Gatell picked up a pen and he wrote a heartfelt letter to Alma Garricki, Henry's wife. And you can see that letter today. I understand it's at the Concordia Historical Institute in Missouri on display. He wrote a letter to her and had everyone of the Nazi war criminals in that cellblock. Scientists. It appealed to her to let her husband stay. They needed him. He respected them or they respected him. They saw the sincerity in him and they wanted him to stay even though they didn't believe in Christ. They saw Christ shoddy through Henry and they wanted him to stay there through the end of the trial. Henry's wife.
Sincere love for the gospel as well. She responded through airmail. Some simple words stay, they need you. So Henry stayed and he was there through the end of the trials. October 1St, 1946. The verdicts were handed down and six of the men on his watch were condemned to death by hanging, including ribbon through.
They were to be hung in the morning of October 16th of that year, 1946, and the evening before Henry went to each one of those condemned men to give them the gospel one last time, and to pray with them if they wanted it.
Met with Herman Goering. Goering rejected the Gospel of Christ, but he said to Henry, give me communion just in case.
Henry said I can't give you communion because the very one that instituted the Lord's Supper is the one that you're rejecting. I can't give you that communion.
So Goering shrugged his shoulder and said I'll take my chances.
00:35:00
Don't take your chance with your eternal soul tonight. Perhaps you're in here. You've heard the gospel many times and you've walked out in different I'll take my chances. There's no chance of tomorrow. There's no guarantee. Don't walk out with a chance. Walk out with a guarantee, with assurance, with confidence. That thief hanging on the cross could do nothing, but he had confidence that he would be saved by the one in the center.
You know, Goering was the first one that was sentenced to be hung the next morning. But Guru never made that walk to the gallows. Later that night, he process cyanide castle into his mouth and committed suicide. And as he was convulsing on his bed, foaming at the mouth, Henry was whispering the gospel into his ear, trying desperately to save this man in his final breath. As far as we know, he went to a priceless eternity. He made escape demands justice. He didn't appear to be hung the next morning. He may have escaped man's justice, but he won't escape gods.
Someday he'll stand before his, his judge, his creator, and his name we look for in the book of life and not found and be cast into utter darkness. And that's the same for everyone in this room tonight who is not saved. You 2 will stand before your judge. Someday you may have a charmed light down here. You may never meet do anything criminal and be held accountable by the government. You may live a good long life, but you won't escape God's justice. God said the soul that sins it must die.
And you will meet that creator one way or the other.
Needham saved standing on the righteousness of Christ that you can have eternal life so Guring didn't make it to the gallows and the next day the sentences were carried out and there were a couple of men like willing to tell that were hanging that day that did profess to be saved, but many went to their desk staying steadfastly loyal to Hitler and Henry Pennant for their ox. I want to talk a little bit about Ribbentrop. His story is incredibly.
Demonstrative, demonstrative of God's grace and the ability to save the vilest offender with going out of the way and not the lie to be hung. Ribbentrop has moved at the front of the list, So at about 1:00.
11:00 AM. He was led from his holding cell and he walked to the gallows. He climbed those 13 steps up to the platform, hands timed behind his back.
Uniform guards beside him and he was accompanied by Henry Garricky. Henry was president at the hanging of each one of those men that was on his watch and he preached the gospel at the very end for each of those men. The Ribbentrop got to the top of that platform. His his legs were shackled, hand remade, tied behind his back.
And he was asked if he had any last words.
And here's what Ribbentroff said.
Looking at his, at the witnesses there, this is what's on record as official last words. God protect Germany. God have mercy on my soul. My final wish is that Jeremy should recover her unity and that for the sake of peace, there should be understanding between the East and the West. So those are his official last words. They were captured by a reporter named Arthur Gates. I looked through the audio. We can get anything online now, the actual audio, this news broadcast.
And this secular reporter said this, it sounded like ribbon through.
Truly recognize the extent of what he had done. He sensed a repentance in his voice tho those weren't Ribbentros last words. After he finished saying those words, the witnesses, he turned and looked at Garr Garricki, Henry Garricky and he said, I will see you again, I will see you again.
One other man on that platform heard those words. He was the US Commandant of the prison, but they didn't mean anything to him, But they meant something to Henry, Doctor Ribbentroff said. I will see you again. The black hood went over his head, the noose was tightened and he was dropping to eternity. I will see you again. Why don't you say those words?
Well, only one person on that platform knew the story, and that was Henry. Henry had spent the last few minutes of Ribbentrop's life with him alone in that holding cell before he made the walk to the gallows.
He was there in prayer, driven through.
And here are Ribbentrop's last words to Henry Garricky.
I place all my trust in the blood of the Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world. May God have mercy on my soul.
How could a man like that have confidence that he would see Henry Garrick again in heaven?
Certainly wasn't anything that he had done. If anybody deserved judgment, you might say with an off your war criminal. Yet he could look Henry in the eye and say I will see you again.
He could only do that because of his confidence in the blood of Christ. He had no other hope.
He was facing death, he was minutes away, and yet he had any confidence. That astounds me to be a moment away from dropping to your death and having the confidence to say to another Christian, I'll see you again.
I hope that I was in that situation knowing I'm staying, that I would have that same confidence. That's, that's, that's purely, that's putting yourself in God's hands completely and trusting what he's done for you. I place my trust in the blood of the Lamb and taketh away the sins of the world.
00:40:08
And tonight he might say that if the blood of Christ is saving a Nazi war criminal.
You can be saved as well. The violence offender reminded me of that him the stanza Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood to every believer, the promise of God. The violence offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus, a pardon receives the violence offender can be saved because it's not up to us.
Our lives are a mess on our own, but Christ came down and he died for us. He shed a fat blood, the blood that can give us confidence that we will be saved. He was perfectly righteous. So his death on our behalf, when we accept it, his righteousness is given to us so we can stand before God someday and say I'm clean, I've been saved.
Christ died for me. Your son, the Lord Jesus Christ died for me. I'm not here because I did anything on my own. I'm here because your Son died for me. He loved me enough to come down to this earth.
And die for us. What love, what grace. And tonight.
You can walk out that door and you can take a chance. If you're not saved, you can take a chance. You'll have another opportunity. Maybe you'll have a deathbed and you think you can convert there. But there's no there's no guarantee of tomorrow. Your death may come or.
The Lord may come to take home those who have accepted Christ as their Savior. And if you're left here, you will face death someday for your sin, and you will stand before that righteous judge.
Read about that in Revelation. Revelation chapter 20 I believe.
Revelation chapter 20.
And verse 11 And I saw a great white throne, him that sat on it, from whose face? From earth, Whose face? The earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were open, and another book was opened.
Which was the book of life, And the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the books according to their works. And that he gave up the dead that you're in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead, which are in them. And they were judged every man according to their works.
And nothing hell were cast in the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
As for those who reject Christ, what a horrible end.
Internal punishment. But John who wrote this, continued writing into chapter 21. This is the hope that's there for each of us to accept him as our Savior. Chapter 21, verse one revelation. I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first earth, the 1St heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold the Tabernacle of God.
And he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.
With an end for those who accept Christ as their Savior.
I don't know what it will be like to have God dwelling with us, tabernacling, umm, dwelling amongst us.
I can only think.
As William Faraday said in the quote I read that we can do nothing but fall adoringly at his feet for what he's done. You think of those as such, with the Nazi criminals that were saved ribbon through what must be.
In his heart he looks before that one to save even his sins. What joy, what adoration to realize that that one paid your debt for you.
And tonight, that same blood, as I said, has saved the thief on the cross.
Save Ribbentra that even saved the Apostle Paul and penned much of this. This New Testament Apostle Paul went around murdering Christians before he was converted and yet God brought him to repentance as well.
Paul's interesting story because from the fewest perspect Jewish perspective, he felt he was doing good works. Says in Galatians that if anybody has any reason to boast, it's me. I was jealous for my faith, but from the Christian perspective, he was killing Christians.
Yet God in His grace save the Apostle Paul as well.
And then inspired him to write much of our New Testament. He's the one that wrote whereby Gracie or saved through faith, not of work with any man should boast.
In one passage, I forget the reference, Paul called himself the worst offender, one of the worst sinners. And yet, what a story. Paul is saved by grace, recognizing that his works only condemned him. So tonight it's simple. Just reach out in faith, acknowledge you're a Sinner, that you need Christ as your Savior.
00:45:17
And he will be.
Able to save you immediately like the fat thief today will give me in paradise. Nothing you have to pay at all. Nothing. Nothing you can do to earn it. Nothing you can do to lose it. Nothing you can do that is so evil that it can't be forgiven. Is blood is powerful.
I first place my confidence in the blood of the Lamb that washes away the sins of the world.
That's confidence. That's faith in something that God did for you, not in your own.
Perhaps we get closed by singing hymn #28.
28.
Sorry, that would be 38 and 38.
Let me get started.
I know.
Her.
The problem is I don't know.
Goodbye. I'm just saying you need to get into the communication. Continue.
By all our hearts, be living in the living room.
Turn around in the way you've been in Raha hai hai hai.
And I am a man burning sway without being in the same hole.
Everybody's gone. Don't let it down.
Until.
Again.
I know.
I'm scared I'm gonna do the time dancing round of sin.
Threading and you're in the ending, in the eyes, through the thighs and thighs.
I really love and I have to break the British way.
And even take home.
To get your heart when it's kind of dead.
With me into God's hands, our God and our Father. Thank you for this opportunity to open the Word of God and to read. But the Lord Jesus Christ coming down in his great love for us and dying and shedding his blood for us, that we might be saved, we might have his righteousness credited to us.
We thank you for that grace that was shown to us.
We recognize.
Nothing that we can do. Who is that? If it was up to us, we don't have that confidence. Believe that we'd be truly safe. We're so thankful that it's in your hands.
We just ask, does anyone tonight in this room that has not accepted Christ as their Savior that they won't put it off any longer. They won't leave this room and take a chance with the eternal destination of their soul.
We just think of the message we're going forward elsewhere in this world. We just ask that it'll be delivered with power.
00:50:00
And a softly brought to the saving knowledge before Jesus Christ made for them on the cross. We just commit this evening into your hands, asking in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.