The
cross demands a choice. A nine word prayer saved the criminal on the
cross.
Luke
23:42-43
English
Standard Version
42 And he (the criminal) said, “Jesus, remember me when
you come into your kingdom.”
43 And he (Jesus) said to him, “Truly,
I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
1.
The criminal's prayer proves that good works are not required for us to be
saved.
2.
The criminal's prayer proves that forgiveness is instantaneous.
3.
The criminal's prayer proves that God forgives bad people.
4.
The criminal's prayer proves that forgiveness is available to you, and you, too, can be welcomed into heaven.
Context:
Luke
23:32-43
English
Standard Version
32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away
to be put to death with him.
33 And when they came to the
place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the
criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
34 And
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they
do.”] And they
cast lots to divide his garments.
35 And the people
stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him,
saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he
is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”
36 The
soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and
saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 3
8 There
was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals who were
hanged railed at him,saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself
and us!”
40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not
fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
41 And
we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this
man has done nothing wrong.”
42 And he said, “Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 And
he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me
in paradise.”
38 The Lord and his disciples were traveling along
and came to a village. When they got there, a woman named Martha welcomed him
into her home.
39 She had a sister named Mary, who
sat down in front of the Lord and was listening to what he said.
40 Martha
was worried about all that had to be done. Finally, she went to Jesus and said,
“Lord, doesn’t it bother you that my sister has left me to do all the work by
myself? Tell her to come and help me!”
41 The Lord answered, “Martha, Martha! You are
worried and upset about so many things,
42 but only
one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken
away from her.”
Mary’s
physical position reflected the position of her heart. Martha was
distracted by all the work to do.
Martha’s
distraction was pulling her away from Jesus. It bothered Martha that
Jesus wasn’t bothered by Mary not helping her out. Martha came to a
wrong conclusion about Jesus.
Jesus
does care about stuff, but He cares about quality time more with you
more. We must not let wrong priorities lead us away from intimacy
with Jesus.
Chris
Hodges says… “I have decided that I am not going to let anything that will
ultimately mean nothing keep me from experiencing what will ultimately mean
everything.”
Where
Mary sat made all the difference. She took a humble position before
Him. The closer I am to Jesus. The better my life will
be. Life may be tough, but having the eternal perspective of Jesus
makes all the difference.
1.We must choose to be close to Jesus.
2.We must get rid of all the distractions.
3.We must get close to Jesus, so people in our
sphere of influence can know Him.
We
can’t manage what everyone thinks of us. Martha is remembered for
her distractions. Mary is remembered for her devotion to
Jesus.
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord's throne
is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
Jeremiah 6:16
New
Living Translation
This is what the Lord says:
“Stop at the
crossroads and look around. Ask
for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But
you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’
Proverbs
14:12
New
Living Translation
There is a path before each person that seems right, but
it ends in death.
God wants us
to live our lives from His perspective not ours. He can see how our
decisions will ultimately impact us.
John 10:10
New
Living Translation
10 The
thief’s (the Devil's) purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose
(Jesus) is to give them (us) a rich and satisfying life.
My relationship to
God cannot be separated from the people who God has put into my life.
John
13:34-35
New
Living Translation
34 So now I am giving you a new
commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each
other.35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my
disciples.”
Matthew
22:36-39
New
Living Translation
36 “Teacher, which is the most
important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart,
all your soul, and all your mind.’
38 This is the
first and greatest commandment.
39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
How are we doing with the people who God has placed
into our lives? What is impacting our relationships
negatively?
1. We have a wrong understanding of forgiveness?
A. Forgiveness is not minimizing the offense.
B. Forgiveness is not reconciliation.
C. Forgiveness is not forgetting what
happened.
2. We don't believe what happened to us is
fair.
Matthew
18:32-35
New
Living Translation
32 Then the king called in the man he
had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt
because you pleaded with me.33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy
on you?’34 Then the angry
king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
35 “That’s
what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers
and sisters from
your heart.”
3. We don't think that we can forgive.
Philippians 4:13
New
Living Translation
13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
We have to make the next step for
our lives to change. Jesus made the first step for dying our the cross
for us.
Revelation
3:20
New
Living Translation
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my
voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as
friends.
1. Let's pray for those who hurt us.
Matthew
5:43-44
New
Living Translation
43 “You have heard the law that says,
‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.44 But I say, love
your enemies!] Pray
for those who persecute you!
2. Lets bless those who hurt
us.
Luke 6:27-28
New
Living Translation
27 “But to you who are willing to
listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.28 Bless
those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.
3. Do good to those who hurt
you.
Romans
12:17-21
New
Living Translation
17 Never pay back evil with more evil.
Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.18 Do all that you can to live in peace
with everyone.
19 Dear friends, never take revenge.
Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge; I
will pay them back,”[a] says
the Lord.
20 Instead,
“If your enemies are hungry, feed
them. If
they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning
coals of shame on their heads.”
21 Don’t
let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
Ephesians
4:31-32
New
Living Translation
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage,
anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.32 Instead, be kind to each other,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven
you.
