Gospel—Robert Muir
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I want to welcome everybody to the Gospel reading tonight. When I look around, I don't.
Think that there's anybody here who wasn't here last night?
Anybody here? If there is anybody here tonight who was not here last night, raise your hand.
So we heard a very solemn and faithful message last night.
And if you don't know the word Jesus as your savior?
Right now, don't wait until partway through this meeting.
Or till the end of the meeting.
If you heard the message last night and you're not saved, you know how to be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and I hope you said.
I'd like to open a meeting by singing #10 on the MTV.
There is a Savior on high in the glory.
A savior who suffered on Calvary's Creek.
A Savior as willing to save now as ever. His arm is almighty, His love great and free, His love His great country.
That's thing #10.
There is a saying.
As well.
True.
Insane.
With the Lord's help.
I'd like to speak tonight for a little while. I hope it won't be an hour.
A boat.
Three about four men.
Three of those men.
Were criminals.
Dakota, you know the criminal is.
That person what?
We do stuff that's really nice, that's right, really bad stuff. Thanks.
3 criminals. Three of those four men were criminals.
They had two destinies.
Thing Do you know what a destiny is?
A place where they're going to go again, where they went to already because these men were in the Bible. So they're long gone out of this world now.
That place, two places where those three men went to, each one of them went to one of those three or two places.
And we're going to talk about the person that we've been singing about, the Savior.
Four men, 3 criminals, and one savior.
And those 3 criminals went to one of two destinies. But before we start to read and to speak, go ask the words.
Our God and our Father, we thank Thee for Thy precious Word.
That has told us so clearly that we need a savior.
And.
Has told us so clearly for Jesus how that has come into this world to save sinners.
Most of us in this room.
Lord Jesus had the privilege of remembering this morning. Remembering the.
And that perfect work that that is due on the cross of Calvary.
And we just pray that if there is one in this room tonight who does not know the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
Who has never come and put their trust in thee to take their sins away, We pray.
That that was to work in such in the heart of such a one tonight.
That they would understand.
Thy love for them and Thy desire, Lord Jesus, to save them.
And that they would come to thee right now.
We ask these things, our God and Father, for thy glory and for the glory and honor of the Lord Jesus, of whom we desire to speak tonight. We ask thee for Thy help by thy Spirit and I, worthy and precious name or Jesus, Amen.
And so, as some of you have probably guessed, we're going to read mostly from Luke chapter 23, and we're not going to read the whole chapter for the sake of time.
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But we'll start in Luke chapter 23.
And we will start with verse 12.
Loop 23, verse 12.
Verse 13. I'm sorry, 13.
And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and rulers, and the people, said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me as one that perverted the people.
And I be and behold, I having examined him before, you have found no fault in this man touching those things where of ye accused him.
I just want to make it very clear before we go ahead that this man who is referred to is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even though he's it's not named, his name isn't given in parts of, you know in a lot of verses in this chapter, the He or the him refers to to the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
So.
Howard says I have found I have, having examined him Jesus before. You have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof the accused him No, nor yet hear it, for I sent you to him.
And lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him and release him, for of necessity he must release 1 unto them at the feast.
And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas.
Who for a certain sedition made in the city and for murder, was cast into prison.
I was therefore willing to release visas, speak again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify Him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why? What evil has he done? I have found no cause of death in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices.
Requiring that he might be crucified.
And the voices of them and of the three priests prevailed.
Pilot gave sentence that it should be as they required, and he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison whom they had desired, but he delivered Jesus to their will.
We'll drop down to verse 32.
And there were also two other malefactors.
LED with him Jesus to be put to death.
When they were come to the place which is called Calvary.
There they crucified him.
And the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
We'll stop there for the for the moment.
So we have seen in these verses that we have read the three criminals that we talked about.
The first one.
Was Barabbas.
And Barabbas was guilty of murder.
He had killed somebody.
Murder.
And for making a sedition in the city.
So there was Barabbas, a guilty man.
And then we read farther down.
About the two malefactors verse 32, there were also two other two other men. Malefactors LED with him to be put to death.
Now, I don't think we.
We read, I think we read in some of the other gospels, it refers to those two malefactors as thieves.
I wonder if they were guilty of other things. I don't think we read about that, but they were. They were convicted criminals. They were all three of them, Barabbas and the other two who are not named malefactors. There were 3 guilty men. Guilty as as Dakota said.
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Doing things that were wrong.
I want to ask.
Everyone of us.
Are we any? Are you and I any better than any of those three men?
What do you think, Tim?
Think that we're any better than those three guys?
The Bible says tells us in Romans chapter 3 we won't have to turn to it. We know it well. There is no difference, for all have sinned.
So we can't stand here and say, well, I would never do with that what Barabbas did.
And my heart.
The way I was born, just as bad, just as simple as Barabbas's heart.
There's no difference, for all have sinned.
So we are all in that same position of being condemned.
3 condemned criminals.
Let's read on verse 30.
Verse.
Well, let's just notice in verse 33.
Oh, I'm sorry, let's back up a little bit.
When pilot. When pilot presents the choice to the people.
It seems that the tradition was that they had to that pilot had to release a criminal.
At this, at the feast.
Why he would why that tradition would have ever evolved doesn't really make sense. Why would you want to release a criminal who had been guilty of murder?
And let him go out the door and down the street and kill somebody else.
I don't think the justice system has improved a whole lot since then.
But here was the tradition that the people could choose make a choice to release a convicted criminal.
And so who do they choose? They choose. They chose Barabbas.
To be released.
Murderer walking out the door.
Would go and probably do the same thing again.
Pilot had given them a choice.
Because the Jewish leaders had brought the Lord Jesus.
And tried to make all kinds of accusations against him.
Everyone of them was false. Every accusation they made was a false one.
But because of the choice that Pilot was giving to the people.
And because the people, the Jewish people of that day, wanted to get rid of the Lord Jesus.
At any cost.
And they were being persuaded in that direction by the chief priests and elders.
They made the choice that Jesus would be crucified.
And that Barabbas would go free.
And the world today wonders.
Why somebody can walk into a McDonald's or into a bar or a theater and kill 15 people with a machine gun.
Here's the answer.
The world shows a murderer to go free and.
Crucified the Son of God who would come to save sinners.
But that's the way the world, that's the way the world thinks.
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Or I should say, they don't think.
Because.
Satan doesn't want you.
Or anyone else?
North Barabbas, not the two malefactors or any of the people. Satan doesn't want anyone.
To realize their need of a Savior. To realize that they're a Sinner.
And to come to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
Don't let Satan fool you.
Into thinking like that. If you don't know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, don't listen to Satan. Don't ever listen to him. Come to the word Jesus right now.
Another thing I wanted to notice here.
Well, perhaps we'll come back to it later. Yeah, we'll come back to it later. So in verse 33.
32 We read that there were two of the two malefactors who were led with the Lord Jesus to be put to death.
And it says in verse 33 that when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there is a crucified him.
They crucified the one who had come to save sinners.
And the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
So there were three crosses there that that they were going to use to crucify the ones that they wanted to crucify that day.
And the Bible doesn't really tell us, but I don't think it it's going too far to say that.
If they had.
If the ruling had been a just one, Barabbas should have been on that, on that third cross.
Along with the two other malefactors.
The ones who should have been on the cross. I'm talking from A.
From a human justice point of view.
It should have been Barabbas and A2 malefactors on that cross getting what they deserve for what they had done. But instead of that, it was Jesus the word Jesus.
Who had done absolutely nothing.
That deserve.
We know that He came into the world to save sinners.
And he had to be, he had to go. And we're going to talk more about that.
You know when I say he didn't deserve that?
Hunters Fund. You didn't deserve that crucifixion, I should say.
Even pilot when we in the first few first several verses that we read, even pilot three times.
I stated that there was. He found no fault in the word Jesus.
First of all, in verse 14 I found no fault in this man.
And in verse 15, nothing worthy of death.
And then in verse 22, at the end of verse 22, I have found no cause of death in him.
So here was the pilot, the governor, stating three times that there was nothing. He found nothing in Jesus that was worthy of crucifixion.
And yet he listened to the people.
And went ahead and let them, let Jesus Christ.
Not only did pilot.
State those things, but it's so clear and so important.
To look in the word of God.
First of all, in Second Corinthians 5 to see what the Spirit of God says.
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About the fact that Jesus.
Not only never sinned, but could not sin.
And this is a an attack that Satan is making these days.
For even Christians to be saying.
The word Jesus could have sinned, but he did not.
Let me say very clearly that that is totally false and and an insult to the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2nd Corinthians 5.
And verse 21 Says.
He hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin.
Him who knew no sin, Jesus did not know. If I could put it this way, speaking reverently, He did not know how to sin.
He did not have a fallen nature that you and I have, that you and I were born with that could sin.
And then in heater.
We all know these verses very well, but it's a good thing.
To be sure about them, because as I say, it's under attack.
First, Peter.
Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 22 it says who did know sin?
And then lastly in first John.
Chapter 3.
At the end of verse five it says in him is no sin.
The new translation for that verse I believe, says in him sin is not.
So God has made it very clear in his work.
That the Lord Jesus Christ not only did not sin, but could not sin.
But nevertheless.
Man in his the world and their rejection of the Lord Jesus wanted to crucify him, to get rid of him.
Little did they know.
How?
Little did they know the love of God.
And that.
This man that they thought they were getting rid of?
Was going to be able to save.
Them from their sins.
You know when you think of Barabbas.
He must have been a pretty happy man that day.
Because here he was expecting probably to be crucified, to die by crucifixion.
And at the end, by the end of that day, he was a freeman as far as the justice system was concerned.
He may have thought he was free.
But was he really free? No, he was still under the condemnation of God because of his sins.
You may think that you can get away with things.
I'm sure we've all been guilty of trying to do that when we were young.
Maybe even when we're older.
But you know Barabbas.
Eventually died.
We're not. It's not recorded in the Word of God.
But neither is it recorded that he ever realized that he needed a savior and came and trusted in the Lord.
So eventually he died and so as far as we know.
He never, never trusted before, so he may have thought he was free, but he was not. He had to be. He still has to answer, had to answer to God for his sins.
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May not have had to answer to the human justice system, but everyone of us, the Bible says we'll give account of himself to God.
Now let's.
Read a little further.
Down in the Tractor, verse 39.
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, on Jesus.
Saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us, but the other.
Answering rebuked him saying, dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation and we indeed justly where we receive the due reward of Rd.
But this man.
This man Jesus has done nothing in this.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, Remember Me when thou comest into thy Kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.
Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.
So here were the two malefactors. Rabbis has walked out the door, a freeman supposedly under the.
Unjust justice system of that day.
But here are the two malefactors, and they're hanging on those two crosses.
And both equally guilty, just as Barabbas was.
One of them.
Mocks the Lord Jesus in verse 39 and says If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
Same kind of words, similar words to what a whole lot of other people were saying.
The chief priests and the elders and those that passed by and soldiers, all kinds of people were mocking the Lord Jesus.
That's what one of the malefactors, that's the only thing we we read him saying.
But the other one.
2nd Malefactor.
Obviously the Lord was working in his heart. The Spirit of God was working in his heart.
If the Spirit of God is working in your heart right now, don't shut him out.
Listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to you in your heart.
Because this malefactor realized that he needed.
The man who was beside him on that cross, in the middle, on the middle cross, he realized that Jesus could do something to help him.
He knew that within a few hours or less, he was going to be a dead man.
And he knew that he was getting what he deserved. That's what he said. He said we indeed just go, for we received a due reward, what we deserve for our deeds.
And he also said, this man Jesus has done nothing in this.
He he understood quite a lot. I don't think that that that malefactor had ever sat in a gospel meeting.
Or ever been. Or maybe have never had, Never heard? We don't really know. We're not told that he did. And yet the Spirit of God was working in his heart and revealing quite a few things to him.
And as the Spirit of God is working in your heart, you listen to Him.
Today, right now, don't even wait for 10 or 15 minutes till we're finished.
Listen and come to the Lord Jesus now.
So.
He asks or he says to the Lord Jesus in 42 verse 42.
And this is very amazing, really. He says unto Jesus, Lord, Remember Me when thou comest into thy Kingdom.
How did he know to call Jesus Lord?
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The Spirit of God was working in his heart.
And what did he know?
About Jesus having a Kingdom.
As far as he was concerned, here this man Jesus beside him on center cross.
Was going to end up dead the same way it's same as he was and the other malefactor.
But the Spirit of God was revealing all kinds of things to this this guilty criminal.
Because God loves a Sinner.
Brother Rick made that very clear last night. God loves every Sinner in this world and He wants to save them through the Lord Jesus Christ, through his work on the cross.
Satan is going to try to stop you thinking about that.
If you're not safe, don't listen to Satan.
And so.
The amazing thing to me is that this, this malefactor, the 2nd malefactor, actually did what we're told.
In Romans chapter 10, verse 9.
If thou shalt confess, Jesus says, Lord, confess with thy mouth. Jesus says word and believe in thine heart.
That God has raised him from the dead. I shall be saved.
And so this malefactor, by what he said.
He called Jesus Lord.
And he believed.
By what he said, he believed that Jesus would rise from the dead.
So he did exactly what Romans 10 and nine says is required.
To be safe, it's amazing.
But that's how the Spirit of God can work. And if He's working in your heart right now, listen to me.
So.
We talked about.
We talked about two destinies.
The one who believed, the malefactor who believed in the Lord Jesus here.
It's we Jesus gave him the answer of where he was going to be.
He said Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.
So that the moment that that malefactor.
Who believed the moment his life went out of his body he was with Jesus? Imperatives.
Barabbas.
And the other malefactor.
It doesn't tell us here where they went, but.
If we turn back a few chapters, we're going to find read a better man that we.
That we're all familiar with.
The rich man in chapter 16.
And we find out.
There about where people go who do not believe in the Lord Jesus.
We're not going to read that whole account.
But it says in verse 22.
It came to process the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abrahams bosom that would have been in heaven with the Lord. The rich man also died and was buried and in hell. He the rich man lift up his eyes, being in torment, and seized Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus.
That he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this point.
And that place?
Where this rich man ended up?
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He was being tormented, inflamed.
Everyone who dies and leaves this world.
Without trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Is going to end up in that same place.
In the wake of fire forever.
So that's as far as we know. That was the destiny, that was where.
Barabbas ended up and the malefactor who did not believe in the Lord Jesus, the one who mocked him.
They have been in the Lake of Fire or tormented in flame.
As it says here about the rich man for 2000 years now.
Think of that, and that's not the end.
Can you imagine being in?
In flames, tormented in flames, in the lake of fire forever.
It's a. It's a.
A frightening thing to think of. You would think that that would be enough to.
To make anyone.
Rethink their position.
As to whether they believe in the word Jesus as their savior or not.
But you know, the word of God tells us that it's so love of Christ that constrains us.
And I think this, this second malefactor realized the love.
That God had for him, and he realized his need of the Lord Jesus and came to him.
And if you haven't ever come to the Lord Jesus yet for salvation, you need to realize that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
That whosoever you, whosoever believes in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Well, you know, we I wanted to talk more about the word Jesus himself.
Because He's the one that has made this all possible. If there wasn't, if it wasn't for what the Lord Jesus suffered on that cross, we wouldn't even be having our gospel meeting tonight. And we would all be heading for that same lake of fire forever.
But God so loved us that he sent the Lord Jesus into this world.
To die on that cross, Man thought they were getting rid of him, but he came to save sinners, and he had to be.
You had to go through that agony, that awful agony, on the cross. Now I want to go to Matthew.
To read their verse in chapter 27.
And these are all very familiar passages.
But I just wondered. I think we get it most clearly in Matthew.
What took place in those three hours of darkness?
I know John, her brother John spoke of this this morning. Let's read it in Matthew 27 and verse 45.
Now from the 6th hour there was darkness over all the land unto the 9th hour.
And about the 9th hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying you lie, you lie, Alama Sebastian I. That is to say, my God, my God, why herself forsaken me.
In those three hours.
Of darkness.
A holy God.
Who cannot look upon sin?
Laid my sins on.
Word Jesus Christ.
And he was.
Good for everyone of my sins.
And everyone of every sin of everyone in this room was put their trust in him.
And you can have that same forgiveness of sins if you'll come to the Lord Jesus Christ and put your trust in Him.
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And this that goes for everyone in this room, from the youngest to the oldest.
From maybe six or seven years old.
Over 90.
It doesn't matter what age you are.
If you've never come to the Lord Jesus, you need to come now because.
He by his, by this work on the cross, He has made it possible for you.
To be safe, to be part of, part of.
That.
Brought part of his bride forever that we've heard of it this afternoon in heaven, forever in the Father's house.
So after those three hours of darkness verse.
47.
Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said This man calleth for Elias, and straightway one of them ran and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a Reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let thee let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
Jesus, when he cried again with a loud voice, you loaded up the ghost.
Jesus laid down his life. We read in in John chapter 10.
He told the disciples.
John, Chapter 10.
Verse 17 There therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man take it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received from my Father.
The word Jesus was fulfilling the work that his Father had given to do, and in John 17.
He said, he said that. He said I have.
Finished the work which thou gave us me to do and on the cross.
We read that he said it is finished and gave up the ghost. He laid down his life so that you and I could have eternal life with him in the Father's house forever.
And then in John 19.
A very important.
Part of the work that the Lord Jesus did on the cross. John 19 verse 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side and forced whisk came there at blood and water.
Either saw a bear record, and a record is true, and he knoweth that he says true that ye might believe.
The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin.
Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins.
The work that the Lord Jesus has done on the cross.
Is the only thing that can save you and me?
We cannot try to turn over a new leaf and say, well, I'm going to do better and I'm going to try to please God the rest of my life.
It's not going to work.
Because the Word of God, as we've already read, says all have sinned and come forth of the glory of God.
The word Jesus Christ is the only savior of sins.
If you have never put your trust in him.
Do what the what the Malefactor, the 2nd Malefactor did. Come to him and put your trust in him right now. Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we thank Thee for that perfect finished work that we have.
Read about again and spoken of though feebly. Little do we enter in, little can we enter into the depths of all thyself.
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That I endure on the cross.
For everyone of us who has put our trust in.
And little do we really understand the love.
That paid that caused thee to pay such a great price.
In order to have sinners like ourselves as part of Thy bride forever in heaven.
But we thank the court and we pray that if there's one in this room tonight who doesn't know the Lord Jesus as their Savior, that they would come to thee. Now, the salvation.
And we ask these things, our God and Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, Amen. Amen.