Silence: Our Suffering Saviour Is Speaking!
Reading Luke Chapter 23 v 39-45

Introduction:

The first saying from the lips of our suffering Saviour directs our complete attention to our dear Saviour alone! His first prayer was a prayer for those who hated and crucified Him, He was praying for His foes, all of them. No other prompting brought about such a wonderful prayer than that He was fulfilling absolutely His office of Mediator and High Priest. He not only lays Himself out on a Cross as the Sacrifice, which God demanded for sinners, He also at that very same time begins to plead with His Heavenly Father for their Salvation. "Oh what a Saviour that He died for me".

The Apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Timothy 2 v 5.

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

How beautifully our suffering Saviour begins His Heavenly role even while breathing His last earthly breath. And dear folks, if that first word from the cross was a prayer for His foes, then this second word from the cross was an answer to His own prayer for even one of those who would turn to Him in repentance. That repentant thief became the first fruits of our Lord’s intercessory prayer for sinners. Surely our suffering Saviour is displaying in a marvellous way His Lordship.

Beloved, right at the commencement of this study may I call each of us to such a point in life, acknowledge our wonderful Saviour as Lord in your life if you have not already done so. He is Lord, no question of that, have you acknowledged Him as such?

We live in a world where everyone is trying to get away from it all, but one does not have to go to Disney World to get away from it all. We do not have to escape from reality; we can live in another realm even while living in the waste-howling wilderness we call a world, we can live in a world of spiritual reality and blessing.

 

To live in that world we must hoist the flag of Lordship. Perhaps without being aware of it, the dying thief set the best example of Lordship ever.

It was an old mountain preacher who followed an unusual outline in his sermon text. He was preaching on Mark 4 v 36.

"And there were also with Him other little ships."

The main ship, he declared, is Lordship. If that ship leads, all other ships will fall in line. Discipleship, Membership, Worship, Fellowship, and Stewardship. The reason beloved we fall down on all the other ships is, we have not yet hoisted the flag of Lordship.

George Muller was asked once as to the secret of his constant happy service for his Lord and master! Muller replied.

"There was a day when I died, utterly died" As he spoke, he bent lower and lower until he almost touched the ground. "Died to George Muller, his opinions, preferences, tastes and will, died to the world, its approval of censure, died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends, and since then I have studied to show myself approved unto God."

End quote!

Let the dear Saviour draw you to Himself today with these same cords of love that flow from that ‘Old Rugged Cross’.

Actually there are a number of cords of love that flow from the old rugged cross as we hear this saying from the lips of the Lord. Let me take time to

unpack three of those in order to display what Jesus can do for us.

Bob Weber, past president of Kiwanis International, told this story. He had spoken to a club in a small town and was spending the night with a

farmer on the outskirts of the community. He had just relaxed on the front porch when a newsboy delivered the evening paper. The boy noted the sign Puppies for Sale. The boy got off his bike and said to the farmer, "How much do you want for the pups, mister?" "Twenty-five dollars, son." The boy's face dropped. "Well, sir, could I at least see them anyway?" The farmer whistled, and in a moment the mother dog came bounding around the corner of the house tagged by four of the cute puppies, wagging their tails and yipping happily. At last, another pup came straggling around the house, dragging one hind leg. "What's the matter with that puppy, mister?" the boy asked. "Well, Son, that puppy is crippled. We took her to the vet and the doctor took an X-ray. The pup doesn't have a hip joint and that leg will never be right." To the amazement of both men, the boy dropped the bike, reached for his collection bag and took out a fifty-cent piece. "Please, mister," the boy pleaded, "I want to buy that pup. I'll pay you fifty cents every week until the twenty-five dollars is paid. Honest I will, mister." The farmer replied, "But, Son, you don't seem to understand. That pup will never, never be able to run or jump. That pup is going to be a cripple forever. Why in the world would you want such a useless pup as that?"

The boy paused for a moment, then reached down and pulled up his pant leg, exposing that all too familiar iron brace and leather knee-strap holding a poor twisted leg. The boy answered, "Mister, that pup is going to need someone who understands him to help him in life!"

Crippled and disfigured by sin, the risen, living Christ has given us hope. He understands us--our temptations, our discouragements, and even our thoughts concerning death. By His resurrection we have help in this life and hope for the life to come. James S. Hewett.

Beloved to have the greatest blessing from His precious help we need to acknowledge, "He is Lord, He is Lord, He is risen from the dead, and He is Lord." And I’m sure we need to add that second verse, "He’s my Lord, He’s my Lord, He is risen in my heart, and He’s my Lord."

"Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise."

That statement should stir the heart of every sinner whatever state of sinning he is at. For here is a message for you. This statement says, now listen, listen, there is a choice to be made here. Jesus says in response to the dying thief’s, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom."

"Today…Paradise" The call and the choice came from the dying thief, the response and the regeneration came from the Saviour.

Allow me to say dear folks, Salvation is never by chance but Salvation is never without choice.

We need to give some serious thought to the message that is coming from the cross here. I trust it will stir our hearts.

1. Tradition says the penitent thief was being put to death for insurrection. He is an example of what a man feels, believes and confesses in order to be saved.

   Matthew reminds us in chapter 27 v 44 that there was absolutely no difference in the two thieves, both are said to have reviled our Lord. Then as both hang either side of the Man of Calvary something happens to one of those wicked men. Conviction grips his heart, the very fear of God falls upon him, and he repents, calls upon the Lord and at once is promised Paradise. Here beloved is the sinfulness of man and the sinlessness of the Son of God being brought together in the Sovereignty of God through grace and truth. On the other side we have the second thief who rebels, rejects and refuses God’s Son and therefore Salvation, and for him there lies ahead Millenniums of Misery!

   Dear unsaved soul today, lay fast hold on this, the pleasures of sin are but for a season, but the penalty of sin is for all eternity!

   Dear Saint of God, will you grasp hold of this as well, we have been saved out of this world, to go back into this world to win others from it, and that’s the only business we have in this world.

   We have fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and relatives and neighbours, these may never hang on a cross of wood, but like that other thief they are lost souls, who will spend Millenniums of Misery in Hell if they die without Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.

   My dear friends, it is high time to awake out of sleep today and realise there are two pathways that lead from that ‘Old Rugged Cross’, one leads to Heaven, make no mistake about it the other leads to Hell.

2. There Can Be Miracles Of Mercy!

As we gaze upon the cross just now we know those sinners are suffering for their own sins; but the God-man is suffering for the sins of others. Now, right here are two basic elements of Salvation. If a man does not see or sense his own sin and guilt, he most certainly will not see or sense his need for Salvation. And secondly, if Jesus Christ is not the sinless one, then He is totally powerless to save others.

Dr. Percy B. Crawford, who was once one of America’s most powerful youth evangelists recounts. "As a boy I had gone often to Sunday School and Church, but never did know in those early days a sense of guilt and lostness. Some years later as a young man while attending the church of ‘The Open Door’ in Los Angeles I heard a guest speaker who was filling in for Dr. R.A.Torrey, who by the way, preached the Word of God with great power and conviction. The Holy Spirit convicted me and when the invitation was given, I walked forward and that same hour believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and was wonderfully saved.

Undoubtedly there were many others in that large crowd who were so convicted but who were not saved. If you were to ask me why, my answer is quite simply, I do not know. Why is it that some of you here who have heard the message of the gospel have believed and received Christ as Saviour and some of you have not! Most certainly Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost all that will come unto Him. And even today in this building there could be Miracles of Mercy, for Jesus said, "those that come unto me I will in no wise cast out." End quote!

Psalm 136 v 1

"Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever."

We are, like everyone who believes on His name, miracles of mercy. Like the man we read of in Acts Chapter 3, who sat daily at the Temple gate called Beautiful. He was carried there daily to beg for alms! He could not walk, therefore he could not work and because of his bodily state he was not allowed, according to Levitical Law, to worship. He was indeed in a sorry state. Just when he had been laid at the gate one day, Peter and John came towards the Temple. Noticing this poor wretch they pause with him and listen to his cry for alms. What was their response? "Silver and gold have we none, but such as we have we give unto you." What was it they had more than anyone else? Why it was Jesus! They made an offer this poor man could not refuse, on reaching forward and lifting this dear soul to his feet he, through Jesus name became a ‘Miracle of Grace.’ What was the response? Why he stood upright and leaped and walked, entering into the Temple for the first time with them and praised God. He is without doubt the evidence of a miracle of grace. As indeed my brothers and sisters are we, and I trust there are yet many more such miracles of grace to come.

C. There Certainly Are Monuments Of Mystery!

‘Tis mystery all the Immortal dies, who can explore this strange design?
Could we with ink the ocean fill or were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky.

Yes, without doubt there are monuments of mystery that we will never be able to understand while here upon this earth. But dear sinner friend do not let your not knowing everything you want to know keep you from knowing the one who died for you on that old rugged cross. Mysteries will be solved in a day to come. You see I don’t know all there is to know about electricity but I am not going to sit around in the dark until I do.

I don’t know how black cows can eat green grass and give white milk, but I still love ice cream. Yes, there are mysteries aplenty even to this dying thief, yet as he hangs on that Roman cross one of those amazing mysteries are revealed to him and he sees Jesus as the Son of God and the Saviour of the world. At once his cry goes out, Lord remember me! And just as quickly comes the reply, today! Instantly, no weighing up the pros and cons, immediately Jesus said, today, you will be with me.

What a message for the sinner!

Harry Houdini, the famed escape artist from a few years back, issued a challenge wherever he went. He could be locked in any jail cell in the country, he claimed, and set himself free in short order. Always he kept his promise, but one time something went wrong. Houdini entered the jail in his street clothes; the heavy, metal doors clanged shut behind him. He took from his belt a concealed piece of metal, strong and flexible. He set to work immediately, but something seemed to be unusual about this lock. For thirty minutes he worked and got nowhere. An hour passed, and still

he had not opened the door. By now he was bathed in sweat and panting in exasperation, but he still could not pick the lock. Finally, after labouring for two hours, Harry Houdini collapsed in frustration and failure against the door he could not unlock. But when he fell against the door, it swung open! It had never been locked at all! But in his mind it was locked, and that was all it took to keep him from opening the door and walking out of the jail cell. (Zig Ziglar.) James S. Hewett.

Could it be dear friend, there are mysteries that are keeping you in bondage, keeping you from breaking free from the sin that holds you so tightly, keeping you in the Devil’s prison. Then listen, listen, the door has already been opened by the Lord Jesus who died an atoning death for you, all you must do is repent and believe and walk into the freedom of God’s wonderful eternal blessings that will be yours forever.

2. Here’s A Message To The Saint!

There were two men hanging either side of the Dear Lord Jesus, one frowned upon the cord of love flowing from that lovely Saviour, the other fastened upon the cord of love flowing from the Saviour. It is this man I want the child of God to hear, for surely this is a very powerful message to the saint of God.

"God creates out of nothing-wonderful, you say; yes, to be sure, but he does what is still more wonderful. He makes saints out of sinners."

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

"The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light."

Felix Adler.

Here is a man who accomplishes more in minutes than many of us do in years!

This man does not have a lifetime of listening to preachers, reading books, attending seminars, and discussing with friends. He’s not sitting in the beautiful surroundings of a lovely home or church building with a brand new Bible with lots of time to read it and make up his mind about certain things.

He has looked and listened intently from the very moment they were hung together on those three ugly crosses on Calvary’s Hill and as he gazes on the Man of Calvary, his decision is made.

i. He recognises the Saviour:

When he looked to Jesus as he was, weary worn and sad, he found in Him a resting-place and He has made him glad. He had found the Promised Messiah, the one who had come to seek and to save the lost of which he was one. He responds immediately and finds a response to his cry just as immediately, he has found one, who can save, satisfy and sustain for time and Eternity.

ii. He responds to the Son:

As he hangs there in agony, he hears the voice of this man crying to the Father.

"Father forgive them for the know not what they do." He is convinced, without any doubt at all, this is the Son of God.

You see, some will live for a lie, but no man knowingly will die for a lie. There was a reality here that was rare. This was the simplest of faith in action. There on that old rugged cross with the knowledge that time was slipping past him, he responds to the Son of God. For all I take Him! For all I trust Him! For all I thank Him! Folks, that was all he could do! But do you know what? It was enough. That dying thief was going to be the first fruits of the Saviour’s first prayer on the cross.

iii. He rests in the Sovereign:

Surely only by the power of the Spirit of God did that dying thief learn that the man on the centre tree was none other than the Sovereign. Sure, He was Saviour, He was Son, but the truth is dawning fully on his soul that this man on that centre tree is the Sovereign God. What else can he do, time is not on his side, he must make his decision now or never, and he cries from his heart, Lord!

He knows, if we don’t beloved, there is no such thing as part time loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ, it is all or nothing. A husband or wife who is only 85% loyal are not loyal at all. Is it any wonder this dying thief looked full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth grew strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.

He not only witnesses to his faith in the Sinlessness and Saviourhood of Jesus, but he is confessing also His Sovereignty. He called Jesus, "Lord"!

Wherever there is a sense of who Jesus is, there is a sense of sin. If He is merely Jesus the man, then He cannot be the Saviour. But wherever His Lordship is believed, and by this I mean His absolute Deity, there you will find a work of Salvation going on in someone’s heart. If Jesus is not God, then He is powerless to save. God alone can forgive sins Mark 2 v 7, and that is exactly what Jesus did when He said, "The Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins" Matt. 9 v 6. And listen folks, "no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" 1 Cor. 12 v 3. "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God" 1 John 5 v 1.

There are two great forces at work in the world today: the unlimited power of God and the limited power of Satan. Corrie ten Boom.

Who has your loyalty?

B. Hear His Commitment!

Time was not on his side so commitment had to be real. We are always trying to find ourselves today, when that is exactly what we need to lose. Here is a man who discovered at once, "for me to live is Christ, to die is gain."

i. His Commitment Was Fixed:

In this day of self-exultation the Bible teaches self-execution. Not that we take our own lives, of course not, but that we submit to the death of our flesh life by the hand of God. The Apostle Paul witnessed his own execution, but there came forth-another Paul. "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."

And beloved, I believe that is the cry from the cross to the saint today! We need to be men of the cross, with the message of the cross bearing the marks of the cross.

The church has devised a new cross today, an ornament to wear around the neck, a common place symbol twisted out of context, a charm, a holy horseshoe. You see, such an ornament does not interfere with godless living, and never goes against the grain of the old nature.

We are being told to conform to the spirit of the age today! G.K. Chesterton says, "If the church marries the spirit of the age, she will soon be a widow." Bring the message down to their level they say. But dear friends, simply recruiting more Ephesians to more works and more labour without their first love will only worsen the situation. It is possible to be a warm Christian, but my Lord said He would rather have a cold Christian. "I would you were cold or hot." (Boiling is the word used) the point is if we are cold, our coldness may drive us the warmth of His love, but when lukewarm we become content in that backsliden state.

In the parable of the sower, the seed, or the soil, the Lord Jesus tells us about shallow hearts.

Here is a man whose commitment was well and truly fixed, no shallow promise here.

Someone asked a pastor what size his parish was. "Oh," said the good pastor, "twenty miles wide, thirty miles long, and one inch deep."

One wonders if we can every have a revival again in such a shallow generation! (Am I being unkind, or is that fair comment?)

ii. His Commitment Was Full:

This man could only give those last few breast-heaving minutes, but he gave them fully, no holding back, no half-heartedness, he goes all the way.

My beloved brothers and sisters, whatever you are giving to God, give fully. Remember God’s warning to big pretenders in Acts Ch.5.

Have I been singing,

"Naught that I have, I call my own, I hold it for the giver,

My life, my soul, my will, my all, are His and His forever."

Have I meant it? Did I mean what I was singing? Was this the desire of a heart submissive and meek with full commitment to my Lord?

Old John manned the railway crossing gates in my hometown many years ago. One day as we were passing we noticed the gates were being held half open by the old man. Boys will be boys, so we thought we would have a good laugh at the old man’s expense. "John, why are you holding the gates half open?" "Well, to tell you the truth," said the old man, I’m half expecting a train!" Needless to say, the laugh was on us!

Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, told a story about a goose who was wounded and who landed in a barnyard with some chickens. He played with the chickens and ate with the chickens. After a while that goose thought he was a chicken. One day a flight of geese came over, migrating to their home. They gave a honk up there in the sky, and he heard it.

Kierkegaard said, "Something stirred within the breast of this goose. Something called him to the skies. He began to flap the wings he hadn't used, and he rose a few feet into the air. Then he stopped, and he settled back again into the mud of the barnyard. He heard the cry, but he settled for less." End quote!

Half measures will not be acceptable with our wonderful Lord. After all, are we not glad beyond measure He did not only go half way for us?

iii. His Commitment Was Final:

Popularity, position, possessions and praise meant nothing to this dear man.

He knew nothing of theology, eschatology, doctrines, fundamentalism, principles or practices, but he was in every respect dead to the world, the world had no more hold or pull on him, truly, he had bid farewell to the world to walk in it never more.

The crowd underneath may have thought him a fool, but glad he was to be called a fool for Christ’s sake.

Matthew Mead said, "If the Gospel is to this world foolishness, then the disciple’s of Christ must be to the world, fools."

Jim Elliot said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

Strange today that we should want to be popular with the world, for our Lord said, John 15v19.

"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own, but because ye are not of this world, but I have chosen you out of this world, therefore the world hateth you."

The simple minded, yet sincere convert who carried a bill-poster declaring, ‘I’m a fool for Jesus’ on the reverse side asked the question, ‘Whose fool are you’?

We are beloved at a crossroads today! No question is of greater importance just now. Shall we let the hostility of this world scare us into becoming diplomats on good terms with the world, the flesh and the devil, instead of flaming witnesses in a head on collision with a godless age?

God never promised or planned that true Christians would ever be anything more than a persecuted minority, scorning the values of this world and living under his rigid discipline, swimming against the stream of this worlds thinking and living. As long as we follow that pattern, there is every possibility things will begin to happen for God.

"A sacrifice is an offering placed before the Lord so that he can make something of it. Once offered it is in God's hand to do with what He will. It is no longer in your hands to improve a little more. ... His will is to work with offerings, not your perfections or your press clippings. Just leave it. You have lived your day; now leave it on the altar, an offering."

Eugene Peterson.

3. Here’s A Message From the Saviour!

"Today thou shalt be with me in paradise."

William Carvosso a Cornish Wesleyn who could neither read nor write until he was over fifty, said, "Oh, the heart felt blessedness arising from a conscious union with the Son of God!" End quote!

This of course was what our dear Saviour was about when He knelt in Gethsemane, displaying a very wonderful conscious union with His Father, declaring that victory over the flesh is a real possibility. We don’t need to be the victims of the flesh we can be victors over the flesh again and again.

My brothers and sisters, these, sadly, are days when we are so busy doing everything, we have no time to be anything. Even religiously we are so occupied with activities that we have no time for affection.

The Psalmist reminds us to "Be still, and know that I am God."

We desperately need to take time out with God and His precious word and prayer that we might retune this instrument God has given us that it might play a sound note for him.

Moses called the people to "Stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord."

The chariots of Pharaoh were behind them, the mountains on either side, the sea lay before them, the people were crying bitterly. Moses stands in the midst of the people and says, God will make a way, the like of which you have never expected, but you will need to stand still for a time.

God commanded that the land should "Lie still one year in seven." The reason being, that the land would be the more productive in the next six years. This is the kind of thing Joseph discovered while in prison, as the Psalmist reminds us in Psalm 105 v17-18, all Joseph could do was lie still, trust God and wait.

What was the outcome? Why he was raised from that lowly waiting position to the one of the highest positions in the land.

Naomi encouraged Ruth to "Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will fall; for the man will not be in rest, until he hath finished the thing this day." Naomi was reminding Ruth that Boaz was her Kinsman Redeemer and if she would simply sit still and trust him to do what was right concerning her all would be well. Beloved waiting time is never wasted time in His glorious presence, He is our Kinsman Redeemer, if we take time in His presence, He will work all things together for His Glory and our good.

Do you know something dear Christian, waiting in His presence will give you victory the flesh.

B. Today Expresses Victory Over The World! Gabbatha:

We all agree well with the first verse of that lovely hymn.

I must need’s go home by the way of the cross,

There’s no other way but this.

The trouble comes in the last verse!

Then I bid farewell to the ways of the world,

To walk in them never more.

It would seem we find it a great difficulty today indeed to overcome the world.

"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this." C. S. Lewis.

Today the world has so infiltrated the church that we are more beset by the internal foe than by the external foe. Satan is not fighting churches today, he is joining them. He does more harm by planting tares than by pulling up the wheat. He accomplishes more by imitation than by opposition.

We gladly accept the world and its ways into our churches, we endorse its programs, call in the celebrities to enhance the gospel and bring growth, preachers content with each other to see who can have the best show in town.

The same popular singer combines sensuous publicity in the papers for his secular songs with pious pictures on his C.D. cover for his gospel songs in the bible shop. Listen, listen, folks, the Christian faith is not a way to explain, enjoy or even endure this world, but to overcome it.

"When Napoleon defeated the Austrian army, he moved into the great palace of Schonbrunn and mounted two eagles, symbols of his empire, on each side of the main entrance. He was soon dislodged and the palace returned to Austrian hands. But the eagles looked so good there, nobody ever bothered to take them down. They are still there today. The devil has been defeated in the life of the believer, but it is possible we may still carry some of his insignia. If so, we ought to get rid of it at once." End quote!

Robert C. Shannon.

C. Today Expresses Victory Over Satan! Golgotha:

All Hell, all Humans must have thought Golgotha was the end for this Jesus of Nazareth, but all Heaven knew a different outcome to this amazing happening on Calvary’s Hill. You see beloved; our God is the great I am, Satan is the great I am not. Just when he thinks it’s all over, why, it has only just begun. Satan is the great imitator and one of his great devices is to simulate the work of God. He could not thwart God’s plan at Calvary so he sends out many false

Prophets into the world to do as much damage to the work of God as he can possibly do. Therefore we who are the children of God need to be on the alert so that we may continue to know victory over Satan. We need the very wisdom of God, try the spirits and know if they be of God, don’t be easily taken in these last days. Remember, some of these false prophets can duplicate to an amazing degree the work of God. We can have victory over Satan, Calvary proved that and is a constant reminder to us.

Satan has a false gospel, a false repentance, a false dedication, a false faith, a false discipline, a false sanctification and a false everything else you may want to think of. Weak Christians not well read in the Scriptures will easily fall prey to modern magicians.

The Saviour defeated Satan again in His lifetime with the word of God. If you want to know similar victory then read the Scriptures Daily, Diligently, Devotionally and Doctrinally. Our Lord said, learn of me, we need to study in the school of Christ to know how to Express God’s Word, Extend God’s Hand, and Exalt God’s Son. Victory over Satan has been won for us, let us learn to live in the power of it.

D. Today Expresses Victory Over Death And Hell! Grave:

"Death is not the end; it is only a new beginning. Death is not the master of the house; he is only the porter at the King's lodge, appointed to open the gate and let the King's guests into the realm of eternal day."

John Henry Jowett.

Someone has said, this is a day of dead lines. A date is set to finish the job, to make that repayment, to reach our destination. We poor mortals race from one to the other as fast as our ulcers will allow. It is all a mad frenzy and we have little or no time to enjoy the scenery for nervously wondering if we will ever get to journey’s end on time.

No wonder we turn out such shoddy work. There was a time when craftsmen took time to paint great pictures, build great edifices, write great literature and prepare great sermons. The quality of the product suffers when it has to be ready for delivery on a set date.

It’s true, death is not the end for the child of God yet it is an appointment we will all keep unless the Lord returns first, but here’s my point, when that call home comes, how will we meet the Lord? Will we have finished the work he has given us to do? Will we have been victorious and win the crown?

E. Today Expresses Victory Over Time And Sense! Glory:

"By all standards, death is the most dreaded event. Our society will pay any price to prolong life. Just one more month, or even another day. Perhaps our desire to postpone death reflects our dissatisfaction with God's ultimate purpose. Remember, his work isn't finished until we are glorified. Most of us would like to see God's work remain half finished. We're glad we are called and justified, but we're not too excited about being glorified." Erwin W. Lutzer.

That’s a day I am looking forward to. When I stand in Glory, I will see His face and then I’ll serve my King forever, in that Holy place.

My brothers and sister, like the dying thief, Glory should be our goal. He had little time to prepare for it, we have been greatly privileged and been allowed quality time to live for God and live before our family, friends and the world.

Each life that is born of God is the canvas on which the Master is producing a work of art that will fill the everlasting ages with His praise. Praise God!