Skip to content Good Friday at BRAVE Church 2026 Apr 8 · 40 min ...more
Good Friday at BRAVE Church 2026
April 8, 2026 · 40 min
What if your worst moment could become your doorway to eternal life? One criminal mocked Jesus even while hanging inches away from salvation, yet another found paradise through simple, desperate faith.
Series Stand Alone Series April 8, 2026 · 40 min · Stand Alone Series
What if your worst moment could become your doorway to eternal life? One criminal mocked Jesus even while hanging inches away from salvation, yet another found paradise through simple, desperate faith. ...more Show the full description Show less What if your worst moment could become your doorway to eternal life? One criminal mocked Jesus even while hanging inches away from salvation, yet another found paradise through simple, desperate faith.
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Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub serves as president of Pastor Jeff Ministries, a national and global ministry designed to equip believers and challenge them to take
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In this video 0:00 A Moment from Eternity: The Three Crosses7:11 Misunderstanding Jesus Causes Frustration14:28 Repentance Requires Honest Confession22:37 True Faith Calls on the Lord Jesus32:27 Salvation is Immediate and Eternal
A Moment from Eternity: The Three Crosses 0:02 Well, good evening. Would you help me welcome all of our campuses that are worshiping with us tonight? And thank you for joining us on Good Friday. Would you pray with me as0:14 we get ready to hear God's living and active word among us? Our father, we do give you praise, glory, and honor for who you are. And Lord, we ask in these few minutes we have together that we would clearly hear you.0:25 We would clearly hear your love for us. We would clearly hear what you did by sending your son to die in our place for our sins on the cross, and what took place that0:37 day nearly 2000 years ago that give us the freedom and hope that we now have. Lord, help me be clear. Help me be truthful to your word because, Lord, we as a people believe that every time your word is faithfully and0:49 accurately proclaimed, that it is you who are speaking. So our prayer tonight is speak, Lord, for we are ready to hear. And so now for all those who have gathered who desire to hear the Lord Jesus Christ speak directly1:00 to you, who will believe what he tells you, and who will by faith put into practice what he shows you, will you agree with me very loudly this evening by saying the word amen. Amen. Each 1 of you here1:12 tonight is a moment away from eternity. You're a moment away from eternity. You may not believe it. You may be young. You may be healthy, but you're really a moment away from eternity. And the reason I know that is the
1:23 Bible tells you this, that life is just a vapor. You're you're here 1 moment and you're gone. For those of us that are a little older like me, you blink and you're like, I remember what it was like to be 8 years old. It
1:33 seems like yesterday, but it wasn't yesterday. And when you're young, you think your parents are really old and you're gonna blink and you're gonna be the same age. But eternity is just a moment away because at some
1:42 point in time, you're gonna take your last breath, and you're gonna leave this planet, and you're gonna stand before the Lord to give an account for your life. And every 1 of us is just a moment away. When we gather on
1:54 Good Friday, we're commemorating and remembering the death of Jesus Christ and what took place during that specific period in human history. It was a it was an amazing day. It was a gruesome day. It was a
2:06 grotesque day because Jesus had been arrested after being betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. And then as he was falsely tried and falsely accused and everybody accused him
2:18 without trial, without jury, they did it all wrong just to make sure that he was put to death. They even gave him the opportunity to free a criminal, and they said, no. Don't free the free the criminal. They said,
2:30 crucify Jesus instead. And so off he went to be crucified. But before he was crucified, he was beaten so badly he could barely stand. He was spit on. He was mocked. All sorts of different things took place. And then
2:42 he went up on a cross. And when he was on that cross, what was taking place is he, as the god man, was dying for the sin of the world. He took our place for our sin. It's the most
2:55 the most significant event that took place on the planet ever. 3 days later, rising from the dead, puts that whole package together. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is everything.
3:08 The most important event that has happened in entire human history. And there's a lot we could talk about on today. There's a lot we could say about that day. There's a lot in the scriptures we could highlight. But on
3:19 that day, there were 3 crosses. Jesus Christ was on the middle cross, and there were 2 criminals, 1 on his right and 1 on his left. And I'm gonna highlight those crosses because
3:31 I think there's some lessons that can be learned from that section of scripture. We're gonna be in Luke chapter 23. Luke chapter 23. And there's 3 crosses there. And on
3:43 1 cross, you have a man that's dying in his sin. On another cross, you have a man dying to his sin. And on the middle cross, you have a man dying for sin.
3:55 And we see a story and a picture there that's really important for us to understand because you're a moment away from eternity, each and every 1 of us is. And so I encourage you tonight to open up your Bibles to Luke
4:05 chapter 23. Luke chapter 23 and I'll I'll start in verse 33 just to give us a little bit of background. It says, when they came to the place called the skull, that was Golgotha, there they
4:17 crucified him and the criminals, 1 on his right and the other on his left. But Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. And they cast lots
4:29 dividing up his garments among themselves, and people stood by looking on and even the rulers were sneering at him saying, he saved others, let him save himself. If this is the Christ of God, his chosen 1, the
4:41 soldiers also mocked him coming up to him, offering him sour wine and saying, if you are the King of the Jews, save yourself. Now there was also an inscription above him,
4:53 this is the King of the Jews. 1 of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at him saying, are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. But the
5:05 other answered and rebuking him said, do you not even fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds. But this man
5:16 has done nothing wrong. And he was saying, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And he said to him, truly, I say to you, today
5:28 you shall be with me in paradise. And here from that short section of scripture, I'm gonna highlight 4 truths that you can take away on this Good Friday that will be important for you to understand. I mean, as this story
5:40 is posted in Matthew's gospel, it talks about all 4 gospels talk about the story. But in Matthew's gospel, it specifically says that the time that Jesus was nailed to the cross and they put king of the Jews on him and
5:50 everybody was mocking him, both criminals were mocking him at that time. That's about 9 in the morning. So for a period of hours, both criminals are mocking him. Everybody's coming by saying, hey, you've been
6:02 preaching salvation. You've been preaching that if we believe in you, salvation's ours, and you can't even save yourself. You're worthless. You're no good. And both criminals on opposite sides
6:14 were saying the exact same thing. Now what we read in the scripture, the fact that he was between 2 criminals fulfills prophecy in Isaiah chapter 53. The fact that they
6:25 divided his garments fulfills prophecy. All these things that were going on, it was showing that Jesus was exactly who he said he was and that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. But I
6:37 wanna highlight on these 3 crosses now because in Luke's gospel, it's really interesting because in Matthew's gospel, he calls them robbers. He uses a Greek word for robbers. Robbers was like a violent criminal with
6:48 somebody that that took by force. But Luke being the physician, the expert in language, calls them criminals. They were criminals. They weren't good guys. Neither of these guys on the side were good guys. If these guys
6:59 would have hurt you like they hurt the people at that time, you would have been glad to have seen them on the cross. They they deserved what they were getting. And here's what I want you to say, 4 truths versus this,
7:10 that misunderstanding Jesus causes frustration. Misunderstanding Jesus causes frustration. Let me just say this before we get started. There are scores of people in our culture that misunderstand Jesus.
Misunderstanding Jesus Causes Frustration
7:22 There are scores of people who don't really know who he is. When you talk about Jesus, you can't just say he's a good teacher, because good teachers don't claim that they're God in the flesh. You can say he's a teacher,
7:34 but that's not enough. You can say he's a prophet, but that's not enough. He's either a liar, he's a nut job, he's a lunatic, or he's actually who he says he is. He's the Lord. And the Bible reveals,
7:46 and I personally believe, that Jesus Christ is Lord. But misunderstanding that causes frustration because notice this 1 soldier. It says, 1 of the criminals who were
7:58 hanged there was hurling abuse at him saying, are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. What was he saying? He was saying, free us from this pain and suffering.
8:10 If you, Jesus, if you have the ability to save, wouldn't this be a good time to do something? I'm in pain. You're in pain. Stop talking. Start acting. That's what he was
8:22 saying. And a lot of people approach Jesus like that too. They they view Jesus as just a a a a benevolent older man that will do good things for you when you wanna have good things done for you. Jesus helped
8:34 me on my test. Jesus helped me be healthy. Jesus helped me lose weight. Jesus bring me more money. Jesus I mean, if you're really God, just do a lot of good stuff for me. And that's what the criminal was saying. The
8:44 criminal was saying he was frustrated because if Jesus really is God, then why is he allowing me to suffer? Up on this cross? If Jesus is really the all
8:56 powerful, all loving God who can do something, then why is he not acting on my behalf? And here's why. Because he's misunderstanding that Jesus Christ is a holy God. He's the King of
9:08 Kings. He's the Lord of Lords. He's God in flesh. And he needs to be approached.
9:35 You misunderstand what the purpose of Jesus coming in the first place was. See, what Jesus was doing at the time that that criminal was mocking him was the most significant
9:47 act on the entire planet. That the God man, Jesus Christ, left heaven, came to earth, put on flesh, fulfilled the law. And while he's taking the abuse from everybody,
9:59 including this criminal, sin of the world, so that all that are steeped in their sin could be set free, not for a moment
10:11 in time, but for all eternity. While this criminal is mocking Jesus, Jesus is doing the most holy, righteous, loving thing he can do. He was even dying for that
10:23 man's sins. And even though he was dying for that man's sins, that man was mad at Jesus because like, what are you doing for me? The most significant thing he could ever do. And he was missing it. And
10:34 misunderstanding Jesus causes frustration. But that's why Jesus really makes clear all throughout his ministry that not everyone who's near him or speaks of him is in his kingdom.
10:47 In Matthew chapter 7 verse 21, Jesus says, not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day,
10:58 Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in your name? And in your name, do we not cast out demons? And in your name, perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice
11:08 lawlessness. There's gonna be people on judgment day that are gonna say, but Lord, I knew you. I even mouthed the words Lord. I I even ministered on your behalf. Demons were cast out as a result of what I was
11:20 doing. I mean, I I've been here with you and he'll say, depart from me, you worker of iniquity, you sinner. I never had a relationship with you. We never knew each other. We
11:32 didn't have a relationship. You were living your life on your own terms. James 2 19 says, you believe that there is 1 God good. You do well. Even the demons believe.
11:44 And in Luke 6 in Luke chapter 13, he he gives this startling statement. Look, chapter 13 versus 26 and
11:56 27. He says, then you'll begin to say, we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets and he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me all you evil doers.
12:08 Depart from me, all you evildoers. You can be inches away from Jesus and completely lost. Case in point, Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot spent 3
12:20 years with Jesus. Judas Iscariot preached with Jesus. Judas Iscariot presumably preached the gospel. Judas Iscariot presumably because all the apostles had divine power to cast out demons and heal. Judas Iscariot was
12:32 casting out demons and healing. The only thing Judas Iscariot didn't have was a relationship with Jesus Christ. Sold Jesus out and then went and hung himself and immediately went to hell.
12:44 And yet Judas Iscariot was 1 of the 12. And even on the night that Judas was betrayed and and told him what you're gonna do, do quickly. It was shocking to all the other 11 apostles that
12:56 Judas Iscariot could do such a thing. They'd spent time with them. If you spend time with people for 3 years, you have a pretty good idea what they're like, especially if you're in a group of 12 or less. And nobody was
13:06 suspecting that of him. Anybody before that time would have been like, oh, yeah, Judas Iscariot, he's 1 of us. But the 1 who said he's not was Jesus Christ himself because he knew. It means you can be a kid that grew
13:18 up in the church and you can know all the facts about Jesus. And you can say, I prayed this prayer. You can even lead Bible studies and do all that and still miss having a relationship with Jesus. It's kinda like a gym
13:27 membership. Just because you get 1 doesn't make you fit. You can be near the gym, and the gym may not have any effect on your life. You could be inches away from the bench press and never get stronger. I
13:39 mean, that's what's going on here. Right? I mean, you can be around Jesus your whole life and still miss him, And it's frustrating to people because they misunderstand that
13:51 Jesus is the king of kings, and he's the lord of lords, and he's the ruler of the universe, and he's gotta be approached differently. Amen? Misunderstanding Jesus causes frustration. I hear it in our culture
14:03 all the time. People that are frustrated with Jesus, I asked him to do this. He didn't do it. I'm mad at him. He didn't come just to make all your requests come true. He came on a rescue mission for you
14:15 because you were dead in your trespasses and sins, story. Misunderstanding Jesus causes frustration. Number 2 is this. Repentance requires
14:26 honest confession. Repentance requires honest confession. As the story continues, notice what goes on. Now the other 1 who's been mocking him all day is gonna change his opinion, but the other answered
Repentance Requires Honest Confession
14:38 and rebuking him, said, do you not even fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? So both criminals, 1 on the right and 1 on the left, we
14:50 don't know which 1 was which. Right? I mean, if I was taking a guess, he'd be on the right because nothing good comes from the left. But I I just I just think that. But that's just a guess. I'm speculating. I'm
15:00 speculating. But here he was, and he was there, and now he's looking across Jesus and saying, don't you fear God? Like, we're under the same condemnation as him. We're gonna
15:12 die here in a minute. Do you realize when we die, we're gonna stand before God? Do you not care about that? That's what he was saying. Do you not care? And he goes on to tell him this, and we indeed are
15:24 suffering justly. In other words, I know I'm here because I know what I did was wrong, and I know I knew this was the punishment for what I did, and I did it anyway, and I deserve this. I deserve to die for what I
15:36 did. We're receiving what we deserve for our deeds. But this man here, he's done nothing wrong. I mean, this guy's been watching Jesus. He's been mocking Jesus.
15:48 He's been saying evil things about Jesus. Everybody has. But throughout the day as that's going on, Jesus is praying and he's saying over and over again, Father forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. I mean,
15:59 he's suffering worse than the other 2 because Jesus isn't just suffering physically. The wrath of God is being poured out on him for all the sin of the There it is. Right? Like
16:10 that. And so here he is. This guy is now being honest about what's going on. Really honest about our sin. The Bible says, I'll have sinned and
16:22 fallen short of the glory of God. I've fallen short of the glory of God. You've fallen short of the glory of God. James tells us if we've broken just 1 commandment, we're guilty of breaking them all. So So in case you're
16:32 sitting there saying, I think I've kept most of it good. If you've sinned once, you're not good enough in the presence of a perfect holy God. And you gotta come to grips with that because God won't take
16:43 sinners into heaven. That's why Jesus had to come. Because there was no gateway for sinners to get in. Because how could a holy God allow sinners in and still remain holy? And the answer is, he can't. So God had to send
16:55 his son Jesus, who's completely righteous to fulfill the law and do everything so he could be the perfect sacrifice, take the full measure of the wrath of God on the cross, because none of us is worthy
17:07 to die for sin. Only Jesus could die for sin. And on that day when he said, it is finished, and said, father, into your hand, I commit my spirit. And he breathed his last, the wrath
17:19 of God for the sin of mankind, satisfied. That was that's what was going on. Amen? And
17:31 repentance, which is really a change of mind, which is what happened to that criminal. That criminal changed his mind. I mean, at 1 point in time, he was cursing Jesus. He was going right along with the crowd. And at
17:40 some point in time, he's like, wait. Stop. Wait. He's done nothing wrong.
17:58 Sins. The Bible says in 1 John one:nine, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all and -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then
18:05 -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then - and for sakes them will find and for sakes them will find and for sakes them will find where we see the religious
18:17 leader, the Pharisee, and we see the the going to pray. And what does the sinner end up praying after the Pharisee prays this miraculous, beautiful, theological prayer that he's so awesome. And
18:44 super important. Admitting our sin is super important. Admitting our sin is super important. Admitting our sin is super important. Admitting our sin is super important. Som 51, 3 and 4. For I know my transgressions
18:49 against you and only you. That was David after he sinned against Bathsheba. He said, Lord, it's Yeah. I sinned with Bathsheba, but I sinned first and foremost against you and only you. I mean, I went against your
18:59 holiness. I broke your standard. I did what was wrong, God. I'm guilty before you. That's what he was saying. Right? And this is what we see all throughout scripture. We see the Lord's holiness. In Isaiah 50
19:09 seven:fifteen, it says, I dwell on a high and holy place. But who else does he dwell with? And also with the contrite and the lowly
19:21 of spirit in order to receive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. Those who admit that they're guilty of sin and those who are humble enough to do that. God says, I dwell in a holy place, but
19:33 I can also dwell with that. That's who I dwell with. See, God won't forgive what you don't confess. And for those of you that have gone through addiction recovery, 1 of the first steps that you ever have to do is admit
19:43 that you're the problem. Because until you can say, it's me and it's not everybody else and I'm the 1 that's made a mess in my life, there's no hope for you.
20:11 An outfit before you were ready to go out, ignoring it doesn't make it go away. Yeah, take care of it. Right? Our sin is ever before the Lord.
20:38 Personally. We've done it. I mean, every 1 of us has a resume of And the reason that you do is that you caught the DNA of sin and there's nothing you can do about it and God doesn't take That's why Jesus was
20:50 hanging on the cross. He was hanging on the cross because I am the way he said. I am the truth. I am the life. No 1 comes to the father except through me. I'm the righteous 1. I'll die for your sin. I'll die in your
21:01 place. I'll take care of all of it. I'm the only 1 who The reason it's Good Friday is there was no other way to take care of sin except what Jesus did on the cross. And he took care of sin. But when we see
21:13 that, repentance requires honest confession. And the 1 criminal who repented, the 1 criminal who changed his mind and changed his way, not only was he saying, I'm a sinner, he was saying, I know you're a
21:25 sinner. I know I'm a sinner, and I know that man on the middle cross, he's not a sin. He's not done any
21:48 God is love. God is love. But love doesn't mean sweet, sappy, sentimentality. Do whatever you want and I'll just embrace love was a decision to die in your place for your sin. Love is truth telling
21:59 you there's no way you make it into heaven apart from Jesus Christ. Love is telling you Jesus Christ is the only way. That's love. Caring. That's honoring. And that's what we see. And
22:11 we see the contrition of the criminal on the side that says,
22:26 see And you see the third part of the story that I want you to see is that true faith calls on the Lord Jesus. I mean, if you
True Faith Calls on the Lord Jesus
22:38 get to the place where you have a contrite heart, where you're sorry for your sin, where you realize that you've rejected the Messiah, and that you've rejected Jesus your whole life, and you've been living completely for
22:49 you, and you realize that you deserve sin. You just I'm sorry. You deserve hell. You deserve death. You deserve all of that,
23:03 savior. If you really believe what the Bible teaches, that from the time you're born and you go, that you're already steeped in sin and you're already on your way to hell and there's nothing you can do about it. If you
23:13 really believe that you will start looking for a safe like if you really believe that when you stand before Jesus he's gonna say depart from me you worker of iniquity I've never known. Live differently. You would
23:25 start saying, well, then what do I do? And how do I get there? This is terrible because this is what happens to people that die. Yeah. Every single person that dies stands before the Lord Jesus Christ to give an account
23:36 for their life. And if they haven't trusted him on this side, they hear these words, depart from me, you worker of inequity. I never knew you. Right? That's what they hear. That's reality. But if
23:48 you get to that place, second. You mean all my church attendance and going to a Lutheran grade school and going to church pretty much every Sunday and trying to memorize scripture? None of that counts for
23:59 anything. Then I was terrified. Because then I realized my morality doesn't change things. Only Christ can change
24:11 things. And true faith calls on the Lord Jesus. Because notice what happens next. And he was saying, which means he was repeating it, Jesus, remember me when
24:23 you come into your kingdom. Now this is really interesting because in church, a lot of times, we tell people, here's the way you pray. And, you know, what we're doing when we say that is we're leading people into a
24:34 prayer of repentance and leading them towards Christ. There's nothing wrong with that. But when we teach people to pray the prayer of repentance, that's not usually how we pray. Lord, remember me when you come into your
24:43 kingdom. But what's he really saying? I mean, he's not been trained theologically. He's got nobody down here telling them out of a prey. All he's doing is expressing is What's he calling them?
24:57 Yours a day. Kingdom. So he was confessing that Jesus Christ
25:09 is the king of a coming kingdom. Then what was he saying? Remember me. Kingdom. Then what was he saying? Remember me. Don't forget me. I know you're the king. Please have mercy
25:21 on me. Don't leave me here. When you enter your kingdom, bring me with you. That's what he was praying. Right? Was that the desire of his heart? Why? Because he knew he was about ready to die. He knew he was a moment
25:33 away from eternity, and he realized he had no hope. And he realized when he met God, he was gonna hear the words, depart from me, I never knew you. So he's calling to the 1 that he believes can
25:44 be the advocate for God, who is God, saying, Lord, King, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Isn't that a beautiful prayer? I mean, we don't have to get all theological.
25:56 Even Peter, when he was drowning, he had a 3 word prayer. Lord, save me. That was a really good 1. Alright. You're the king. You have power. Deliver me. I mean, I need help. That's how this guy was praying too. You don't
26:08 have to have a magical prayer, but you definitely need a heart change where you recognize, left to my own devices, I have no hope at all, and I need Jesus to save.
26:21 And the news is this. Romans 10 13 says, forever who calls upon the name of the Lord will be. Notice
26:33 Acts 16 31, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Now, I keep saying the word Lord because there's a difference between just saying, well, I believe Jesus. I believe Jesus. Do you know that everybody says
26:44 they're a Christian in our culture? I'm gonna show you a short little video on Sunday. Everybody says they're a Christian in our culture. Everybody says that they go to church. They're Baptist. They're Catholic. They're
26:53 this. They're from this state. They you're you're gonna see it. It's gonna kinda cringy that I'm thinking about showing it on Easter Sunday because I've watched the video a couple times. I'm like, but everybody says
27:03 they're a Christian. Everybody does. Like, it's rare when you meet somebody that says, I'm not. Unless they're like a devout, hardened, rebellious atheist, and they might claim that. Or just kind of like I'm I'm nothing
27:15 but I do believe in God and I'm spiritual. You know, you may get that. But most people in our culture, if you ask them are you Christian? Yeah. I'm a Christian. I grew up in church. Yeah. I'm Baptist. Yeah. I'm
27:22 Methodist. Yeah. I'm Catholic. I'm I'm Christian. Most people would say that. But that's not what he's saying here. He's saying we have to receive him. John 1 12 says as many as received him to them, he give the right to
27:34 become children of God. Even Joel in the Old Testament, Joel 2 32 says, and it will come about in that day whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
27:46 Faith isn't just about knowing who Jesus is, it's about calling on him. People were breaking in your house, what would you do? You wouldn't be like, well I hope somebody comes and helps. You call 9 11. You call for help,
27:59 little kid that needs help from their parents, they don't usually say, father, I'm in desperate trouble right now, and I could really use your help. Dad, help. That's what it looks like. Right? Especially
28:11 as their little kids.
28:30 That was the last chance he would ever get to be with Jesus. So he didn't care who heard, and he didn't care who saw. He knew he was blind, and he knew only Jesus could help him. And what did he do? Jesus, son of
28:42 David, have mercy on me. And the more they told him to shut up, the louder he In other words, I am not stopping calling out until Jesus gives me a response. And then Jesus showed up. It's like, what do you want me
28:54 to do? Ask? Because he wanted Bartimaeus to tell him. What do you want Jesus to do? Well, I want him to save me. Then you have to tell
29:06 him that. Lord, save me. Can you be humble enough to ask for that? I mean, that's how a person gets saved by calling upon the name of the the Lord
29:17 Jesus. Amen? I mean, when you're drowning, if you've ever been in the water where you you think, oh my goodness. This I don't know if I'm gonna get out. There's desperation that leads to action. You you you're not
29:28 thinking about a whole lot of other things except I need I need to get rescued or I'm not gonna make it. Right? If you go under in the pool and you're a kid and you don't know how to swim, you're not thinking about, you
29:39 know, what kind of strokes can I learn? You're thinking about some I hope somebody's watching. I hope somebody sees. I wanna tell you, God sees. He sees you dead in your sin. He knows you're drowning. He's telling you he
29:50 came for you. He already died for you. But you've got to call on him. You've got to say that's what I want. It's not enough to say I'm a good person. It's not enough to say that I go to church because while that may work
30:02 in this world, when you stand in front of a perfect holy righteous God, those words will be empty. They may mean something. You actually may be a better person than the person sitting next to you. I see your faces. Most
30:13 of you think you are. Right. But when you're standing in front of a perfect holy God, you won't say those things. You'll it'll be terrifying. Even for those of us who believe in Jesus to see the beauty and
30:25 the holiness of the Lord, it'll be terrifying. But for those of us who believe, it'll also be beautiful at the same time. Because even though he's terrifying, he's loving for those of us who have received
30:37 him. But you gotta receive him. You you have to take him at his word.
30:49 This man is contrite, as he's humble, as he's silencing Jesus' critics, as he's calling on Jesus to remember him, as he's begging for mercy, he's asking for salvation. Jesus said to him,
31:01 truly, I say to you today, you shall be with me in paradise. Did you just answer the call? When the King of Kings and the Lord of
31:13 Lords that only knows how to speak truth says, truly, I say to you, it means truly, truly, like, this you can mark this you could take this 1 to the bank. And I'm gonna speak directly to you. And I'm telling
31:25 you, I'm not telling everybody, but I'm telling you because of your contrition and your humility and your recognition of your sin and your recognition that I'm God and the recognition you want me to save you. I'm telling
31:37 you on my authority and on my word that I can't break, truly, that today, this very day, you are gonna be with
31:49 me in paradise. Criminal's there? He's hours away. I mean, he's moments away. He might be minutes away
32:01 from breathing his last breath. He's gonna close his eyes that day, and that's gonna take his last breath on the earth. Together. We will not be pinned to this cross.
32:13 I'll be embracing you and welcoming you into my kingdom that you so desperately wanna be a part of. And I'll tell you when I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it today. And this is the fourth point I wanna make. That salvation
32:24 is immediate for those who it's immediate. You don't work for it. You receive it and you get it and it's yours for all eternity. And you can't lose whatShow more
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